These jelly soaps were a delight to make from start to finish, and they were a huge hit with the kids! It was so much fun working with the mixture and watching it solidify. Once the soaps were done, squishing them with your hands was pretty satisfying! If I’m being completely honest, between trialing the product and then making it with the kids I spent a fair amount of time playing around with the jiggly soap. It’s hard to resist!
To begin, you will need to gather your supplies. You will need: liquid hand soap, silicone baking trays or small cookie cutters, Mr. Gulaman Jelly Powder, and rubbing alcohol (optional). I purchased unflavored, Mr. Gulaman Jelly Powder at a local grocery store. It was located in the baking section by the jello and gelatin. This product comes from the Philippines. So, you may also be able to find it at a Filipino grocery store. It can be purchased online as well. I found that buying the jelly powder was a lot more cost effective than buying Agar powder (which had been my original goal). I posting a jelly soap recipe with gelatin in the near future so stay posted! The notable difference will be that jelly powder creates a firmer product than gelatin.
To begin, pour one package of powder into 4 cups of water. Unlike gelatin, the water doesn’t have to be warm or hot before you pour the powder in. Just use plain tap water! When you pour the mixture in you can see the powder floating on the top. The powder I purchased was already coloured green. Mix your powder in until it is completely dissolved. I recommend using a regular spoon. A whisk adds a lot of bubbles to the final product.
When the powder is completely dissolved you can pour your water mixture into a pot. Then, add 2 cups of liquid soap (the more “gel” like the soap is the better). I bought this soap because it was on sale and I knew I would be using a lot of it for crafting. However, you can feel free to use any other soap or shower gel.
Once your soap has been added to the water mixture heat up your concoction on the stove. The goal is to heat until boiling while stirring constantly. However, the bubbles in my mixture never actually “popped” when reaching the surface. I made it to more of a rapid simmer rather than a boil and my end product turned out just fine! I think the weight of the soap might have affected the over all “boiling” process.
Time to get your silicone mold ready! I sprayed mine down with rubbing alcohol. This is totally optional! It will just stop air bubbles from being trapped in your soap. Next, put your mold on a hard surface that can easily be moved (e.g. cutting board). If you don’t have a mold, you can always use a baking sheet and cookie cutters to make your soap.
Time to pour your soap! I put the mixture into a liquid measuring cup to make for easy pouring. The jelly soap sets pretty quickly. I was dawdling between this project and another. So, a film set over my mixture before I poured it! It was super easy to remove the film, but if you want to make sure all your mixture gets used I recommend pouring it fairly quickly. If you want to speed up the setting process you can put your mold in the fridge. Although it will turn to jelly if left at room temperature I find that the final product is a bit more watery and less firm. So, I recommend cooling and storing your soap in the fridge.
So there you have it! Jelly soap! I had some Lego molds laying around so I made a batch of Lego soap as well. I really recommend using jelly powder if you chose to make jelly soap. The soaps were pretty durable and set super quick! One packet of jelly powder also makes a HUGE batch of soap. After having done some experiments with gelatin based soaps I think I would chose jelly powder. Gelatin based soap is “wigglier” but it costs more, makes less, and breaks easily. Either way, this product is sure to encourage more hand washing and during flu season that’s definitely a plus!
Craftigogo 