We can all use a little more magic in our lives. Bring some of that magic into your shower with this DIY glitter galaxy unicorn soap. Made with a ridiculous amount of eco-glitter, this unicorn soap recipe offers a fun spin on galaxy soaps. And, because it’s made using melt and pour soap base, anyone can tackle this project as a fun weekend DIY.

Sometimes you don’t FEEL like a unicorn.

It’s easy to forget sometimes, especially in times of emotional turmoil, that we are all magical creatures. Since sneaking into my forties, my life has been wrought with its fair share of chaos. Not only is this (middle?) age thing a tough pill to swallow, it’s also brought with it an array of unexpected side effects. Wrinkles, thinning skin, weight gain – and this crazy thing called perimenopause.

I don’t remember my mom ever going through the change before the change. She had a hysterectomy (due to an abnormally heavy menstrual cycle) when I was in high school. So perimenopause – or even menopause – was not a subject that ever came up in those mother daughter talks. Recently I did garner a discussion with her on the topic. As it turned out, my mother started hormone therapy at some point surround her hysterectomy. “Because I was bitchy all the time. Don’t you remember?” “I mean, no? You’re my mother. It’s your job to be occasionally bitchy.”

Sadly, my mother’s need to always be pleasant and helpful resulted in FIFTEEN years of prescription hormone pills. (Made from horse urine, mind you.) That’s ten years longer than is recommended. Of course, her doctor assured her she’d be fine. She wasn’t.

My mother ended up with cervical cancer.

Luckily, surgery seemed to handle the unfortunate consequence of being over-prescribed hormones. Chemo, thankfully, was decided against due to the high probability of toxicity at her age. And later genetic testing put her at almost zero risk of developing other cancers later in life.

The sheer fact, however, that my mother took a prescription to tamper her mood – up to the point it gave her cancer – has stuck with me. Are we, as women, not supposed to be angry? Because there are days I am outraged over so many things. And when women are angry, men say we’re crazy. But we aren’t crazy. We’re coping with life while there’s a war raging inside us.

Recently I learned that it’s NORMAL for perimenopause to cause difficulty sleeping, irritability, loss of libido, vaginal dryness, irregular periods, mood swings, anxiety and depression. In addition, it can also cause RAGE. And for those of us who had severe PMS growing up, in addition to prior episodes of depression or other mental health problems, perimenopause rage is COMMON. And the science backs it up. (Source.)

When we, as women, transition into perimenopause, we also experience (unfamiliar) changes in estrogen. These estrogen changes then directly affect the serotonin levels in our brains. As I’m sure you’re aware, serotonin is a chemical in our brains that regulates mood. When it’s up, we feel happy and elated. Yet when it’s down, we are sad, irritable and depressed. As our estrogen fluctuates throughout this period known as perimenopause, it throws off our estrogen-serotonin balance. This in turn causes a decline in our emotions. So we feel sad. We cry for no reason. Or we’re just really really angry. (Source.)

So, yes. I’ve had quite a few days, especially when those days are coupled with chronic pain, where I feel like I’m going mad. Some days I feel like giving up. I cry over songs and television shows. Other days I’m just pissed at the whole world. (And yes, my ex-husband in particular.) Days that I forget, yes, I am still as magical as a unicorn, even if I don’t feel like it.

Making my glitter galaxy unicorn soap, then seeing it when I take my shower in the mornings, reminds me I am more than just how I feel in that single moment. And in the end, I’ll survive whatever comes my way. (And so will you!)

Glitter Galaxy Unicorn Soap Recipe

© Rebecca D. Dillon

Ingredients:

13.5 oz. white melt and pour soap base
5.7 oz. clear melt and pour soap base
.2 oz. fragrance oil, of choice
purple mica or soap colorant, to suit
eco-friendly biodegradable cosmetic glitter, to suit

Materials & Tools:

Rainbows & Unicorns Silicone Unicorn Mold
Digital scale
Glass Pyrex measuring cups
Utensils, for stirring
Spray bottle with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol

Instructions:

I used the same awesome unicorn mold for my DIY glitter galaxy unicorn soap as my super sparkly DIY unicorn air fresheners I made for Galentine’s Day. So if you already have this mold, you’re all set. Otherwise, you get this mold in two days via Amazon. Or you can simply adjust the recipe to fit inside an existing unicorn mold you already have. (Just fill one of the mold cavities with soap base, weigh once it’s hardened, then go from there.)

Begin by weighing out 13.5 oz. of white melt and pour soap base. Cut the base into chunks, then combine in a large glass Pyrex measuring cup. Heat in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each heating, until melted. Once melted, mix in your choice of skin safe purple soap colorant as recommended by the manufacturer. Then stir in .15 oz. fragrance oil. (I used this vanilla free Pomegranate Noir fragrance oil.)

Now pour the melted soap base into each of the six cavities of your unicorn mold. (Each cavity should be around 3/4th of the way full.) Then spritz the top of the soap with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol to remove any air bubbles.

Set the mold aside and allow the soap to fully harden.

Once the base for your unicorn soap has set up, you’re ready to move on to the next step. Weigh out 5.7 oz. of clear melt and pour soap base. Cut into chunks, then combine in a glass Pyrex measuring cup. Heat the clear soap base in the same manner as the white soap base. Then, once melted, weigh out and stir in .05 oz. fragrance oil.

Now dust spritz the top of the soap in your mold with isopropyl alcohol. Dust with glitter as desired.

Spritz with alcohol once more, then gently pour about half of the clear melted soap base into the unicorn mold. Dust the soap with additional glitter, then pour the rest of soap base into the mold. Spray the top of the soap with alcohol to remove any air bubbles.

Next, use a utensil to lift the glitter up into the clear base as it cools to create a layering effect. While still fluid, spray the top of the unicorn soap once more with isopropyl alcohol. Then dust with a final layer of glitter.

Once the glitter galaxy unicorn soaps have solidified fully, remove the soaps from the mold.

Then wrap each unicorn soap tightly in foodservice film until ready to use.

More Unicorn Soap & Beauty Recipes

If you like my DIY glitter galaxy unicorn soap, then you may also like some of my other unicorn bath & beauty recipes.

• Unicorn Macaron Soap Tutorial
• Unicorn Glitter Body Butter Recipe
• Tri-Color Scented DIY Unicorn Eyeshadow
• Shimmering Unicorn Beauty Balm Recipe
• Moldable Unicorn Rainbow Sugar Scrub Recipe

For more homemade soap recipes, as well as natural beauty and skin recipes, be sure to sign up for my semi-weekly email newsletter. You can also follow me on Pinterest, twitter, facebook and instagram.