Seashell Mini Soaps (Melt & Pour Soap Recipe)

These cute mini seashell soaps can be used as guest soaps, or packaged up for gifts or seaside wedding favors, but I especially like them as toppers for the Easy Beach Bars recipe, also found on this site.

To make them, you’ll need: melt and pour soap base, mini seashell molds, rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol, and natural colorants of your choice.

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

Although I list the specific colorants used to make the shells shown in the photo, this is a perfect recipe for using up random scraps of colored melt-and-pour that you’ve saved from other projects.

Indigo, madder root, and lemon peel powder can all be purchased from online shops such as Bramble Berry or Wholesale Supplies Plus.

You’ll need small silicone fondant seashell molds for this recipe; look for them in local craft stores or online, found alongside cake decorating supplies. I bought my seashell molds from Amazon.

Some links on this site are affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Small seashells made of soap colored pink, blue, and yellow

You will need:

10 oz (283 g) white soap base, cut into 1″ (2.5-cm) cubes, divided
1/16 tsp madder root powder + 1/2 tsp rubbing alcohol
1/16 tsp indigo powder + 1/2 tsp rubbing alcohol
1/4 tsp lemon peel powder + 3/4 tsp rubbing alcohol
1/8 tsp lemon peel powder + 1/2 tsp rubbing alcohol
Mini shell molds (Amazon has a good selection)
Rubbing alcohol, for spritzing

YIELD: ABOUT 25 MINI SEASHELLS

Melt and pour soap book and round soap on a rope

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

If so, I think you’ll love my 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 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.
Pour 2 ounces (57 g) of the melted soap base into a half-pint (250-ml)-sized canning jar. Stir in the diluted madder root powder and mix well, forming the pink soap base.

Melted melt and pour soap colored pink, green, and blue

Pour 2 more ounces (57 g) of the while soap base into a second small jar. Stir in the diluted indigo powder and mix well, forming the blue soap base.
Pour another 2 ounces (57 g) of the while soap base into a third small jar. Stir in the diluted 1/4 tsp of lemon peel powder and mix well, forming the dark yellow soap base.
You should now have around 4 ounces (113 g) of white soap base left. Add the diluted 1/8 tsp of lemon peel powder and mix well, forming a pale yellow soap base. This will be the inside of your shells.

TIP: This recipe is easy, but it can take some time to make, so the soap bases will need reheating a few times. You can keep the soaps warm by placing their jars in a pot of hot water set over low heat, or you can use a microwave to briefly heat a specific color for 5 seconds at a time, until it’s rewarmed.

To make the outer layer of the shells, use a hot soap base- 145 to 150°F (63 to 66°C) since soap that’s too cool will form a thick layer instead of the thin color wash we’re aiming for.

Hands holding pink soap mold full of blue soap, surrounded by other pink molds

Spritz the mold with alcohol.
Choose one of the tinted soaps to start with.
Pour a small amount of hot colored soap into the mold, them move the shell around 3 or 4 times, allowing the hot soap to swirl inside the mold, coating the sides.

Pink soap mold with a thin layer of blue soap inside

Pour most, but not all, of the melted soap, back into the jar it came from.
Spritz the mold with alcohol, them continue to swirl the remaining soap inside the shell mold as it rapidly cools, creating a thin layer of color that adheres to the inside surface of the mold.
If needed, spritz alcohol inside to mold to help the soap move more fluidly.
Once the mold is evenly coated and the soap inside has solidified enough so it no longer moves, turn the mold upside down on waxed or parchment paper and allow it to cool for 2-3 minutes.
The reason we turn it upside down is to prevent a solid soap puddle from forming right in the middle of the mold.
After a few minutes, turn the mold right side up so the extra alcohol can evaporate.
Allow it to air-dry while you use the same method on the other shells in the mold set, alternating between the pink, blue, and dark yellow soap bases.

Pink soap molds being filled with liquid melt and pour soap base

To fill the shells, rewarm the light yellow soap to 125 to 135°F (52 to 57°C).
Spritz the coated soap inside of the mold with alcohol and carefully pour in the light yellow soap base, filling it almost to the top of each mold.
Spritz again with alcohol to remove any air bubbles.
As soon as the soaps have hardened and cooled, or almost cooled, they can be removed from the molds.
Rinse the molds and pat them dry with a dish towel, then start another batch.
Repeat until you’ve made as many shell soaps as you’d like.

Wrap the finished shells in airtight packaging. Store them in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight.

Here’s a photo of the mini seashell soaps, used as a topper for my Easy Beach Bar Melt & Pour Soaps!

These soaps are really cute for beach themed parties, or beach weddings or bridal showers, or any time you want to evoke the wonderful memories of a seaside vacation!

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