Homemade Heart Soaps for Valentine's Day

 These beautiful soaps not only make cute gifts but are a fun way to explore a little science too! With the recent winter weather, we've been discovering the properties of snow/ice, & what causes them to melt. All of this led neatly into this activity where we explored how a solid transforms into a liquid, & then becomes a solid again. 

To make our soaps we used:
* a transparent soap base (available from craft stores or online) 
* a few drops of any essential oil
* liquid soap dye
* ice-cube molds

Minnie started by cutting our block of soap into smaller sections with a blunt knife & added them to a pyrex bowl. While doing this we were able to explore weight, texture, scent & the translucent appearance of the solid material.

To melt the soap we placed the bowl over a saucepan of boiling water, taking care no water was added to the soap. Minnie (under close supervision) stirred the mixture occasionally until the solid soap had melted. The trick is not to stir too much, otherwise, you'll finish up with a bubbly frothy mixture. 

Once all the solids had melted I transferred the liquid soap into a jug & left to stand for a minute. Obviously, the liquid is incredibly hot at this stage so Minnie just observed this process. 

To colour our soap Minnie added just a couple of drops of the liquid dye before gently stirring it into the soap. She loved watching the colour change, & the patterns it made as it moved through the melted soap.

To add a scent we stirred in a couple of drops of lemon oil, but any essential/aromatherapy oils can be added. 

Holding the jug together, we poured the red liquid into the ice-cube trays. After we had filled half the heart shapes together, Minnie independently filled the remaining shapes. You have to work fairly quickly at this stage as the mixture starts to solidify. This is a great process to observe & feel! Minnie gently pressed her finger onto each soap to feel the change in texture as they gradually became cooler & firmer.

Leave the soaps to set for a couple of hours & then gently just push them out of the moulds.

This activity had my girl captivated, she was so proud to have created her very own soap & eager to share it with friends too, so we wrapped them in a little paper & gave them out as Valentine's Day gifts. 

♥

Looking for more Valentine's Day Activities?

Take a look here for more ideas.