Organic Peppercorn Massage Melt and Pour Soap Recipe

Experimenting with melt and pour soap recipes can be a lot of fun. Not only are there endless combinations of fragrances and additives you can use, the results are practically instantaneous. (If you’ve ever made homemade cold process soaps then you know how restless you can get waiting to try the results of your recipe for the first time.) I’d been eying coriander seeds for a while debating on using them to create a massaging soap bar, but ended up opting for black peppercorns as I preferred the natural scent of the peppercorns. The roundness of whole peppercorns massages your body whenever you use the soap. (Did you know that black pepper essential oil is naturally antibacterial, antimicrobial, and has antiseptic properties?)

Organic Peppercorn Massage Melt and Pour Soap Recipe

© Rebecca’s Soap Delicatessen

Ingredients:

12.5 oz. organic melt and pour glycerin soap base
.25 oz. orange zest
.5 oz. organic whole black peppercorns
10 drops organic clove essential oil
10 drops organic basil essential oil
10 drops organic lavender essential oil

Directions:

I used a square Gladware container as my mold for this melt and pour soap recipe and lined it with a plastic office trash bag. I used masking tape to hold the lining in place. You could also use plastic cling film to line your mold. Once your mold is ready, weight out 12.5 oz. of my glycerin soap base using a digital scale, cut it into chunks and then place it inside a large glass Pyrex measuring cup. Melt the soap base in the microwave on reduced power and remove once melted.

Now weigh out your peppercorns and orange zest – I cut my zest from the rind of fresh orange – and stir into your melted soap base. Using a different plastic transfer pipette or glass dropper for each essential oil, add ten drops of each essential oil to the soap mixture and stir well to blend.

Now pour your liquid soap base into your lined mold. You can spritz the top of your soap lightly with witch hazel or alcohol to get rid of any air bubbles on the top of the soap. Your additives will settle to the bottom and top of the soap. (If you’d like the peppercorns and orange zest to distribute evenly throughout the entire bar, use a suspension melt and pour glycerin soap base.) Next, place your filled mold in the freezer until your soap has hardened completely.

Once your soap has solidified, remove from the mold and cut into bars. Finally wrap tightly in plastic wrap until ready to use.

For more diy melt and pour soap recipes, tips and techniques and inspiration for making handmade glycerin melt & pour soaps, check out the books The Joy of Melt and Pour Soap Crafting by Lisa Maliga, Melt & Pour Soapmaking by Marie Browning, Soapmaking the Natural Way: 45 Melt-and-Pour Recipes Using Herbs, Flowers & Essential Oils by Rebecca Ittner, and Soapylove: Squeaky-Clean Projects Using Melt-and-Pour Soap by Debbie Chialtas.

For more of my homemade melt and pour soap recipes as well as bath and beauty DIY’s, be sure to follow my boards on Pinterest. Or keep up with all of my new posts and recipes by following me on Blog Lovin’ and Tumblr as well as on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and G+.