Easy Beach Bars (Melt & Pour Soap)

Here’s how to make these cute beach-themed melt and pour soaps, featuring natural colorants!

Beach bar soaps on top of a net, with small shells scattered at the edges

The simple round shapes could be left unadorned, or you can make them extra special by topping them with the pretty mini seashell soaps shown.

That recipe is on this site too!

Seashell Mini Soaps (Melt & Pour Recipe)

mini seashell soap made with melt and pour soap base and natural colorants

Oatmeal melt and pour soap base forms the top layer of “sand” on these beach bar soaps, but if you don’t have any available, check out the substitution tips using plain soap base + diatomaceous earth for alternative ideas.

The “water” portion of the soap is naturally colored with indigo and spirulina, and I added a light sprinkle of white cellulose-based Bio-Glitter over the shells to complete the beachy effect.

Check online shops such as Wholesale Supplies Plus or Bramble Berry for indigo, spirulina, and biodegradable or eco-friendly glitters. Mad Mica also carries some bio-friendly glitters. (Read labels at all shops and make sure you’re choosing the biodegradable kind.)

beach themed bars of melt and pour soap made with natural colorants

You will need:

8 oz (227 g) oatmeal melt-and-pour soap base, cut into 1″ (2.5-cm) cubes
Silicone mold (Crafters Elements 12-cavity round mold pictured)
Rubbing alcohol, for spritzing
16 oz (454 g) melted white soap base, cut into 1″ (2.5-cm) cubes
1/4 tsp indigo powder + 1 tsp rubbing alcohol
1/4 tsp spirulina or chlorella powder + 1 tsp rubbing alcohol
6 Seashell Mini Soaps (for soap toppers, optional but really adds to the effect)
Clear or yellow soap left over from other projects (to “glue” the mini seashell soaps on top of the soaps)
White Bio-Glitter, or other eco-friendly glitter (optional, for a salty/sandy look)

YIELD: six 4-ounce soap rounds

cover of Easy Homemade Melt & Pour Soaps book, mold filled with soap

Looking for more melt and pour soap projects featuring natural colorants, herbs, and essential oils?

If so, I think you’ll love my print book: Easy Homemade Melt & Pour Soaps! :)

You can find it on Amazon, or check with your favorite bookseller.

Instructions:

In a heatproof jar or container, melt the oatmeal soap base, using the double-boiler method, heating over medium-low heat for 15 to 25 minutes, or the microwave method, heating for 15 to 20 seconds at a time, until it’s melted.
Evenly divide the oatmeal soap among six 4-ounce (120-ml) mold cavities.
Spritz the top with rubbing alcohol to remove any bubbles, then allow the soap base to set up for about 15 minutes while you melt and color the white soap base.
After the white soap base has been melted, pour 6 ounces (170 g) into a second container, leaving 10 ounces (283 g) of white soap base in the original melting container.
Color the 10 ounces (283 g) of white soap base light blue, by adding a dew drops at a time of the diluted indigo mixture, and stirring until you reach a color you like.
To the 6 ounces (170 g) of white soap base, add a few drops of the diluted spirulina mixture, along with a few drops of the leftover indigo mixture, to form a blueish-green soap color.

Blue and green soap being poured into well of blue soap mold

Check the temperatures of the blue and green soaps. When they are both 125 to 135°F (52 to 57°C) they are ready to pour.
Spritz the oatmeal layer in each section of the soap mold with alcohol.
Hold a container of colored soap in each hand and pour both colors at the same time into each mold section.
Since there’s more blue than green soap base, you’ll start pouring the blue one slightly sooner, or for a little longer than the green one.

Beach bar soap being misted with rubbing alcohol

Once all six of the mold cavities are filled, spritz the tops with rubbing alcohol to eliminate any bubbles from the surface.
Leave the soaps in the mold for 4 to 5 hours, or until they’re completely cooled and hardened.
When cooled, remove each soap from the mold and turn them sandy side up on a sheet of wax paper.

Small shell soaps being attached to beach bar bases with melted soap base

If you’re adding the mini seashells, melt a small amount of clear soap, or any leftover yellow soap you have from making the seashells.

The little bit of melted soap will be used to “glue” the seashells on top of the round bars.

Spoon a small amount of hot melted soap onto the back of each shell, then immediately press it onto the sand surface of an oatmeal soap bar.

Be sure not to use too much melted soap, so it doesn’t drip or ooze out when added to the soap surface.

Beach bar soap with attached shells being sprinkled with bio glitter

If you’d like, top the soaps with a sprinkle of white Bio-Glitter, or other biodegradable glitter, to add the finishing touch.

Wrap the soaps tightly and store them in a cool, dry place, out of direct sunlight.

Shell-topped soaps on top of a pile of sand, with a few small shells and a section of net

Substitutions:

If you don’t have oatmeal melt-and-pout soap base to create the sandy layer, try one of these ideas instead:

8 ounces (227 g) of white soap base + 2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons (5 to 6 g) of diatomaceous earth

8 ounces (227 g) of white soap base + 3/4 teaspoon of diatomaceous earth + 3/4 teaspoon of lemon peel powder