Homemade soap with coloured squares

1 Weigh the soap base. You will need 150 g soap base (50 g per finished cube of soap). We recommend you use gloves because the soap base gets hot.

2 Wash the mould and spray it with rubbing alcohol. Leave to dry.

3 You can melt the soap base either in a water bath or in a microwave when it is cut into 3 x 3 cm chunks. Melt in the microwave at 80% power with 30 second intervals and stir between each interval to prevent heat damage.

4 Pour the hot non-coloured, white molten soap into three holes in the mould. Remove any air bubbles from the surface by spraying with rubbing alcohol.

5 Melt another 150 g soap base as described in step 3. Add 2 cm soap dye paste to the molten soap and stir well.

6 Pour the coloured molten soap into the remaining three holes in the mould.

7 Remove any air bubbles from the surface by spraying with rubbing alcohol.

8 Weigh 150 g crystal soap base and cut it into 3 x 3 cm cubes.

9 Melt the crystal soap base as described in step 3.

10 Pour the non-coloured, transparent hot molten crystal soap into three of the holes in the mould. Make sure that the mould is clean and has been sprayed with rubbing alcohol beforehand.

11 Remove any air bubbles from the surface by spraying with rubbing alcohol.

12 Melt another 150 g of crystal soap base and add 1 cm soap dye paste to the molten soap. Stir well.

13 Pour the coloured hot molten crystal soap into the remaining three holes in the mould. Remove any air bubbles from the surface by spraying with rubbing alcohol.

14 Cut one of each of the finished cubes of soap into 1 x 1 cm cubes. Make a large bar of soap for carving by melting 1 kg of crystal soap base. Begin with 500 g and add colour by using 1 cm soap dye paste. Pour the molten soap into a clean mould. Leave to cool slightly before distributing the first layer of soap cubes into the molten soap.

15 Melt the remaining 500 g of crystal soap base and add colour by using 1 cm soap dye paste. Cover the soap cubes in the mould with the liquid molten soap and add the remaining cubes of soap.

16 Remove any air bubbles from the surface by spraying with rubbing alcohol. Leave the soap to set and then cut out small bars of soap.

Other variants The finished bars of soap.