Have I mentioned my love of mint chocolate chip ice cream? Because I could eat a whole carton of that stuff anytime, anywhere. In an effort to avoid doing just that, I made mint chocolate lip gloss. And it makes me happy every time I taste it. So when I started playing around with homemade soap, well, you know where this is going….
How to make mint chocolate soap
How to make mint chocolate soapHave you ever made homemade soap? It’s way easier than you probably think. One of the first things I made after starting this blog was glycerin soap with fresh herbs. It was crazy easy! But after giving it all away I never made more. On a random trip to Michaels I discovered the mother load of soap bases – goat’s milk, olive oil, shea butter. Time to make some soap!
To make your own soap recipe, you will need:
- Shea butter soap base
- 1-2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- 6-10 drops of peppermint essential oil
- Soap mold. Don’t bother buying a plastic mold – just reuse a plastic or cardboard container.
Melt the shea butter soap base in 30 second intervals in the microwave until it is liquified. Use a microwave safe container, like a glass Pyrex measuring cup, that makes it easy to mix and pour. Stir after every 30 second interval to help everything melt evenly.
After the soap is melted, add the cocoa powder, chopped mint and a few drops of peppermint essential oil until it smells like mint chocolate chip ice cream. Obviously this method is very scientific *wink*, but it’s the best way to know that your soap has enough!
Stir together really well and pour into your mold. We don’t want any big clumps of cocoa powder, so make sure that everything is very well blended before pouring!
Sprinkle a bit more cocoa powder on top. Honestly, the cocoa powder on top is the best part—it makes this look good enough to eat and contributes to a bit of an exfoliation when using your soap! If you’re feeling fancy, you can even use a toothpick to make some swirly patterns on top—but do whatever you want to do, after all it’s your soap.
Let it sit for an hour or so until it hardens. Then take it out of the mold and cut into bars. I like using a wire clay cutter, like the kind you would find in an art supply shop. It makes it super easy to get cleanly cut, even soap bars.
You could also use small silicone molds, like the ones in the baking section! They’re perfect for making smaller soaps, aka soaps that look even more like actual chocolate.
I love how decadent and rich it looks – and yes, it smells amazing. Is it a good sign that 2 of my kids tried to take a bite? They both thought it was candy! I can’t blame them—I definitely see chocolate ice cream sandwiches when I look at them, and that’s not even mentioning the smell… Yum!
These are the perfect soaps to make around the holiday season. Wrap with a little beeswax wrap (which you can also make!) and they’re the perfect stocking stuffers.
Homemade Cocoa Mint Soap
Equipment
- Microwave safe bowl or Pyrex measuring cup
- Soap mold
Materials
- 1 pound Shea butter soap base
- 1-2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint optional
- 6-10 drops peppermint essential oil
Instructions
- Chop the soap base into cubes and melt it in 30 second intervals in the microwave until it is liquefied. Stir after every 30 second interval to help everything melt evenly.
- Add the cocoa powder, chopped mint and a few drops of peppermint essential oil until it smells like mint chocolate chip ice cream.
- Stir well and pour into your mold.
- Sprinkle a bit more cocoa powder on top.
- Let it sit for an hour or so until it hardens. Then take it out of the mold and cut into bars.
Notes
This post was medically reviewed by Dr. Jennifer Haley, a board-certified dermatologist with extensive experience in medical, cosmetic and surgical dermatology. Learn more about Hello Glow’s medical review board here. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor.
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Hello.
How long does it take for the soap to dry up?
Thank you for the great recipe.
Can you use goats milk base instead of Shea butter
Hi. If I don’t have fresh mint, will dried mint work or maybe omit and add peppermint essential oil instead? Any suggestions on how much?
I have the cocoa butter melt and pour base but I be able to use that?
Sure, that will work too!
Thank u…can’t wait to make it
Did anyone find out the amount of Shea butter to use?
Hi Nancy! I buy the 1-pound bar of shea butter soap base and that’s enough to make about a dozen bars (depending on their size). You can find the soap base at craft stores or online.
How much soap base do you need for this? I am going to make it but I am not sure how much soap base you used.
I don’t know if it is a weird question or something, but can you replace the shea butter by coconut oil? Because shea butter is hard to get where I live..
Thank you x
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This soap looks amazing and I have all the ingredients at hand. One question: Does the cocoa powder make “chocolate milk” out of the bath water?
I’m just wondering if there will be stains on my white washcloths.
I am a big fan of natural remedies and herbal healing, trying to find an alternative for all the chemicals-so I am looking for an alternative to soap, shampoo etc. but I am questioning myself-HOW can a mixture of something greasy( shea butter and peppermint oil)with a powder(cocoa)remove grease(what a purpose of a soap is)? How can something like this remove natural grease and dirt from your skin, eventually(mainly)your hair? I have tried soap nuts as a detergent and to wash my hands and hair, but the hand made extract is not very concentrated. I am looking for the best all-in-one natural hand-made detergent all my life. Thank you so much for your answer!!!:)
My chief complaint about commercially produced scented soaps is that the scent does not linger after rinsing. How long does the scent linger with the homemade soap?
I don’t know about this particular kind of homemade soap, but I make goats milk soap and I’ve only had one scent that lingered after rinsing off. The bathroom always smells like it but the skin rarely does. If this one does I REALLY want to try it. The essential oil may make the difference.
Do I have to use Shea base or can I use Glycerin ?
DO NOT microwave anything if you want this soap to be beneficial for the skin.. microwaving alters the compounds of the items to a cancer causing compound… and use cacao not cocoa.. there is a difference between the two .. and get your ingredients from a a organic source as well..
Do you know of a sight online to get organic cacao?
And how much shea base do i need?
OK, wow. I was skimming this post and felt the need to point out to other readers to ignore this advice.
1) If you actually knew what microwaves are and how they work (instead of Googling it and reading all the crap online), then you’d know this is so not true. Not even remotely. It’s like someone still being afraid of electricity just because they don’t understand it. Don’t use a leaky microwave and you are fine. Similar to don’t stick scissors in an electrical outlet.
2) And also, as someone who works for one of the largest botanical gardens in the world, I feel I should mention that cocoa powder is just ground cocoa beans, which come from the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao). If someone told you cacao is different from cocoa….well, you’ve been scammed.
3) However, I do agree we should look for especially fair trade cocoa powder (not the easiest to find in North America) and organic if you can get it. Growing cacao is extremely difficult without pesticides/fungicides, so be prepared to pay. But then I’m a bit of a chocolate snob ;)
Thank you for this.
Not a fan of microwaves (harmful to your health), so can the base be melted on the stove?
Sure! Just use a double broiler to heat & melt slowly.
What is the shelf life? And should I add citric acid because if the fresh mint ?
I would say you probably want to use the soap up within 2-3 months. And the citric acid wouldn’t hurt but I wouldn’t think it’s necessary.
Is there a recipe for the soapbase? I have some shea butter. Just wondering if I can make it myself. Thanks and I love your recipes. Thank you so much!
Finally a boutique soap that I can make at home! Since I am not going to use lye, this is a perfect homemade recipe. Thank you for sharing! :)
This is such beautiful soap. But it it not “homemade” soap. Melt and pour takes a lot of work still, but the title is misinforming.
How much is it to get the base? And where can you get the essential oils???
The soap base is about $10 (less if you have a coupon). And you can get essential oils in the same section at the craft store.
You can get all your supplies ALOT cheaper at WholesaleSuppliesPlus.com And there is always Free. Shipping with no limit amount! Great supplier!
AWESOME site!!! Thanks
Awesome recipe! I was just wondering how much soap base you use, and does the bar come out creamy and moisturizing (I’m assuming it does!) Thanks!
Great question! I used about 1/3 of the soap base to make this amount. And yes, it’s very creamy!
Great idea! Is that 1/3 of a cup, of a pound, of a package? Sorry but I just want to make sure before I start. Thanks again!
It was 1/3 of the shea butter package. Sorry I don’t have a set up shot for you to see all of the ingredients! Craft stores sell it in a block (I think it’s about 1 pound?) and I cut off the part I needed.
I only saw a 32 oz block of soap bases at Michael’s. They were all $10. So that would make the base 1/3 of a two pound block.
How much soap base do you use with the rest of recipe? Thanks
My husband really wants to make soap so I’ll definitely have to show him this one
Goodness, they look good enough to eat…
Ronnie xo
I love choc-mint ice-cream too Stephanie. There’s a shop we go to up the beach and ever since I was little my order has always been the same. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever tried more than about 3 of the flavours. Lucky you were around to stop your kids eating it!
Chocolate soap? Ummm…hello! You are talking my language!
Those DO look good enough to eat! Chocolate and mint is one of my favorite flavor combinations!
Oh I love the idea of making soap! And this almost looks good enough to eat, I don’t blame your kids!
I have all these soap making supplies that I used exactly twice. Which is sad! You have inspired me to dig them out and make this soap. Well, next time I have a Michael’s coupon I can use for the base, at least. :)
They look almost like some gourmet chocolate bars :-) Thumbs up for you!
These look great, can’t wait to try them. They really do look good enough to eat :)
Part of me wants to eat this! Haha
I would try to take a bite too – I bet they smell delicious!
I can’t believe how easy this sounds! I might have to put this on my crafty gift list!
Yummy!
This looks so yummy! No wonder your kids tried to eat them :)