Why do children hate cleaning themselves so much? Showers, teeth brushing, hair combing — it’s like torture to little kids. I am constantly asking my kids, “Did you wash your hands?” “WITH soap?” And then they slink back into the bathroom to wash properly. Little buggers. I think I may have found a way to make hand washing less of a chore. These homemade jelly soaps are like washing with jello, all wiggly and wobbly. They are great fun and not hard at all to make.
HOMEMADE JELLY SOAPS
Supplies You Will Need to Make DIY Jelly Soap
To make jelly soap, you really only need two ingredients: liquid soap and gelatin. In addition to those ingredients you can add food coloring, scented oils, glitter, or even small toys. You can set the jelly soap in molds or in jars, both will work.
I chose to use scented soap and food coloring and a heart-shaped mold, but you can make different choices.
These are all affiliate links, if you make a purchase (of anything from the site, not just these items) after clicking through, I will earn a small commission. Ads and affiliate links are the way I am able to keep this website running and to offer you free tutorials all year long. Thank you so much for supporting me and Mad in Crafts!
- Unflavored gelatin
- Liquid soap
- Soap colorant
- Fragrance oils or essential oils
- Silicone mold
- Rubbing alcohol
- Mason jar, favor tins or other airtight container
Want to know which craft supplies I always keep in my craft room?
Visit the Mad in Crafts Amazon Storefront to learn more and to buy your own supplies!
How to Make Jelly Soap at Home
Jelly Soap Instructions
- Add two packets of unflavored gelatin into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Pour in 3/4 cup of boiling water and whisk until the gelatin is dissolved.
- Add in 1/2 cup of liquid soap and stir to combine.
- Add in desired food or soap coloring and fragrance.
- If your mixing bowl does not have a pour spout, you may wish to transfer the soap mixture to a container with a spout to make pouring the soap into the mold easier.
- Carefully fill the cavities of the silicone mold with the soap mixture.
- If there are bubbles on the surface of the soap, spray them with rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle to pop them.
- Refrigerate the soap in the mold for at least two hours.
- Demold the jelly soaps and store them in an airtight container.
These little soaps are so fun. They have the same feel as jello jigglers in your hand. DO NOT eat them. I feel like I have been saying that a lot this week.
Storing Jelly Soap
I think these little heart soaps would make fantastic classroom Valentine gifts. Package them up in little favor tins like these to keep them clean and fresh.
If you choose to create the jelly soap in a jar, you will end up with a jar full of jello-y soap. Just reach in a grab a chunk of jelly soap whenever you need to wash. NOTE: Jars of jelly soap may need more than two hours in the fridge to fully set up.
You don’t need to refrigerate these soaps unless your home is very warm, but I would recommend keeping the soaps you aren’t using in an airtight container. They get a little goopy when exposed to humidity.
Storing Jelly Soap
Yes, these are real, functional soaps! You can’t get much foam out of them, but it creates a decent amount of lather when you rub one between wet hands. I know my kids are going to love these! They should be able to get a few hand-washings out of each heart-shaped soap, and one or two showers out of the larger cube soaps.
You might like these other spa DIYs too:
Doesn’t the food coloring stain your hands??
Nope! There is so little food coloring in the batch that it isn't enough to color your hands or the container.
How many jellys do you get from this recipe? thank you very much
It depends on the size of your mold. I got about 30 hearts and 9 cubes from my batch.
i have been making these and love making them but i hate the gelatin its always gets lumps of the gelatin that wont completely melt and go away so i have to pick them out of there and there all sticky and gross. any suggestions?
That is frustrating! I would try adding the gelatin more slowly and whisking really well. Hope that helps!
Try thinly sprinkling the gelatin over cold water & let it disolve for 2 mins.. then microwave for 10 seconds!! No lumps!! (As long as the gelatin isnt too thick – a bowl works better than a cup as there’s more surface area)
mine didnt solidify enough
Sorry about that! Did you make sure to fully dissolve the gelatin before adding in the other ingredients?
Do they have to be refrigerated forever? Or can they stay at room temperature in the bathroom?
They will last at room temp, but they can dry out if you don’t keep them in an airtight container. I stored ours in a mason jar in the bathroom, and they lasted the few weeks until we used them up.
Thanks!!!
How much do u mean by 1 packet? Coz the pkt quantity will vary.
As far as I know Knox gelatin only comes in .25 oz. packets.
So fun! Do you think these would work if I used Castile soap?
I have never tried it, so I can’t say for sure. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out!
Hi, I was wondering if vegetarian gelatin sachets would work as well as regular packs?
Thanks ?
I have never tried a vegan or vegetarian substitute (like agar agar) for these soaps. Sorry, I can’t give you an answer on this one!
Cool ideas!
Struggling with getting the hearts out of the mold once they r set up…you made it look so easy. I got about 3 good ones that are usable for gifts…any suggestions?
This sounds like one of two issues. Either you didn’t use quite enough gelatin (sometimes fishing the clumps out means there’s not enough left for a really good set). Or you need to refrigerate the soaps a bit longer so they are good and solid when you unmold them. Hope that helps!
Would pectin work instead of gelatin? I don’t have any gelatin on me but I have pectin.
I don’t believe it would set up properly.
I tried my hand at jelly soaps recently. The soap seems to be very floppy but is uniform as a soap bar. My questions is:
can I reheat these bars and put them in a smaller mold similar to your heart mold for my final product. I’m not to happy with my first attempt. Afraid that they would not hold up in a shower very long!
Thank You
I am not sure you can remelt gelatin. If you would like to try again, I would recommend starting from scratch and upping the amount of gelatin for firmer soaps.
Where is the actual recipe?? All I see is long drawn out story of soap!
There is a video tutorial embedded in the post that takes you through the whole process, including giving the correct ratios for the soap. The long drawn out story of soap is what gives this post enough information that you were able to find it on Google or social media. I’m sure you can find other information if this comprehensive post doesn’t suit you.
I love the jelly soaps! In the recipe for the heart soaps, what do you use the alcohol for?
Great question! If you have bubbles on the surface of the soap before you refrigerate them, you can pop them with a spritz of alcohol. You likely wouldn’t use it for the egg soaps.