This peppermint melt and pour soap is one of my most requested soaps. It has a red and white confetti center, a fluffy soap frosting top with pink sprinkles, and a sparkle of bio glitter. It smells like a candy cane and makes a perfect Christmas gift. Nothing goes to waste either, because the skins and leftover bits all go back into the soap.
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Materials & Tools
Soap Bases
- Clear melt and pour soap base (for the red layer)
- Shea butter melt and pour soap base (for the white layer, the main pour and the frosting)
- Total: enough to fill a 20–22 oz mold, plus a few extra ounces of shea butter base for the frosting
Colorants, Fragrance & Glitter
- Stardust Red Strawberry mica (from this Stardust mica set)
- Stardust Pearl mica
- Peppermint fragrance oil (I used Crafter’s Choice Peppermint Candy)
- Bio glitter (plant based, no plastic)
Tools
- Rigid square 20–22 oz soap mold
- Silicone tray or silicone mat for pouring the thin color layers
- Hand mixer with whisk attachment
- Zester or fine grater
- Skewers or a chopstick
- Spray bottle of 91% or 99% isopropyl alcohol
- Thermometer
- Digital scale
- Soap cutter
- Gloves, spatula, pour cups and a small sifter
- Shrink wrap for packaging
Fragrance Amount
I use 5 ml of fragrance oil per 16 oz (1 lb) of soap base. You can always use less if you like a lighter scent, but I wouldn’t go over 5 ml per 16 oz. Peppermint is strong, so a little goes a long way.
How to Make Peppermint Melt and Pour Soap: Step by Step
1. Melt and Color the Bases
Melt the clear base and the shea butter base separately. Mine were around 151–153°F after melting. Mix Red Strawberry mica into the clear base. Red looks deeper in clear base, and it will still soften to pink later, which is fine for a peppermint soap. Mix a little Pearl mica into the white shea butter base for a soft holiday shimmer.
2. Add Fragrance and Pour the Red Layer
Add peppermint fragrance to the melted base (up to 5 ml per 16 oz). Pour the red clear base into a silicone tray so it forms a thin sheet, and spray it with alcohol. If you’d like glitter inside the soap, stir it into a clear base when it’s a bit cooler and keep stirring, or it will sink. Glitter doesn’t show in an opaque base like shea butter.
3. Pour the White Layer Over the Red
Let the red layer set. Then spritz it with alcohol and pour the white shea butter base over and around it. Mine was about 119°F. Don’t pour it too hot, or it will melt into the red and turn the whole thing pink. If a skin forms on your melted soap, just peel it off and add it right into the tray. It all gets used.
4. Tear It Into Confetti
Once the layers are set, peel them up and tear and mash them into random pieces. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, and that’s the fun part. You never quite know how the design will turn out. Save a little of the pink soap in a small mold to grate for the frosting sprinkles later.
5. Fill the Mold and Pour the Shea Butter Base
Press the confetti pieces flat into the square mold, leaving room at the top for the frosting. Poke a few holes with a skewer so the base can reach every nook. Melt more shea butter base until it’s hot, about 170–175°F, and pour it slowly over the confetti. The heat helps everything fuse together, and you’ll see a few pink undertones. Push out air bubbles with the skewer, spray the top with alcohol and let it set.
6. Make the Sprinkles and Score the Top
When the loaf is firm, scratch some crosshatches across the top with a skewer. This helps the frosting stick. Grate the saved pink soap with a zester to make a cup of little shavings for sprinkles.
7. Whip the Soap Frosting
Melt a few ounces of shea butter base (mine was about 167°F) and whip it with the whisk attachment on a hand mixer. You can add a couple of drops of fragrance, but I didn’t need to because the peppermint in the loaf is strong. Keep whipping as it cools. At about 115°F it reaches a light trace and starts to thicken quickly, so be ready.
8. Fold In the Sprinkles and Frost the Soap
Spritz the shavings with alcohol and gently fold them into the frosting. Don’t stir hard, or the whole frosting will turn pink. Spoon the frosting onto the loaf and spread it out as evenly as you can. Spray the top with alcohol again and sprinkle on bio glitter with a small sifter or your fingers.
9. Unmold, Cut and Wrap
Let the soap set for about an hour, then unmold it. Because of the tall frosting top, lay the loaf on its side to cut it so the frosting doesn’t squish. I cut 1-inch bars. The frosting stays soft, almost like a marshmallow, but you can still shrink wrap the bars. I like a shrink wrap that doesn’t have an odor.
Tips & What I Learned
- Use a rigid mold. I switched from flexible silicone molds to a sturdier square mold because it doesn’t bow, so the bars come out even.
- Watch your temperatures. Pour the white layer cooler (around 119°F) so it doesn’t melt the red. Pour the main shea butter base hot (170–175°F) so it fuses the confetti together.
- Fold, don’t stir. Stirring the sprinkles into the frosting turns it all pink. Gently folding keeps the sprinkles separate.
- Nothing goes to waste. Peel off skins and toss them into the soap. Leftover pink becomes your sprinkles.
- Save leftover frosting. Soap frosting can be remelted, but it never goes back to a pourable bar soap. It stays fluffy and airy. Add leftovers to your next batch of frosting.
Troubleshooting
My red layer turned pink.
Red mica often softens to pink in melt and pour, especially next to white soap. For a peppermint soap, pink looks great.
The white layer melted into the red.
The white base was too hot. Let it cool to around 120°F before pouring.
My frosting won’t hold its shape.
Keep whipping until it cools to around 115°F and reaches a light trace. It thickens quickly after that.
The frosting is sliding off the soap.
Scratch crosshatches into the top of the loaf and spray it with alcohol before adding the frosting.
My glitter sank to the bottom.
Add glitter to clear base when it’s cooler and keep stirring, or sprinkle it on top at the end.
FAQ
How much fragrance oil should I use?
I use 5 ml per 16 oz of soap base. You can always use less, but I wouldn’t use more than 5 ml per 16 oz.
Can I add more fragrance to the soap frosting?
Yes, a couple of drops is fine. I skipped it because the peppermint in the soap was already strong.
How long does the soap need to set before cutting?
I let it set for about an hour after frosting, then unmolded and cut it.
Can I make this without frosting?
Yes. Fill the mold to the top with the shea butter pour instead and skip the frosting steps.
How do I package soap with a frosting top?
Cut the loaf on its side so the frosting holds its shape, then shrink wrap each bar.
More Holiday Soap Ideas
- Candy Cane Confetti Melt and Pour Soap
- Holiday Gum Drop Melt and Pour Soap
- Christmas Tree Melt and Pour Soap
- How to Make Whipped Soap
- All my melt and pour soap tutorials on YouTube
If you make this, I’d love to see it! Tag me on Instagram or Pinterest, and subscribe on YouTube for new soap tutorials.
