This post of an easy homemade soap jelly DIY may contain affiliate links.
I cannot be the only parent with a child who is protesting bath time. It seems like in the spring and summer, we absolutely love playing in the mud and dirt, but we hate actually getting clean after. I’ve started having to get creative to get my kiddo nice and clean. And I think I finally found the trick! Nice, cool, gummy soap jelly. These are easy to make in any fun shape your child likes. It’s the perfect thing for cooling off and getting clean, too! They aren’t edible like other gummies, but with a soap and gelatin base, they allow for fun, jiggly, squishy clean fun!
Soap Jelly Ingredients and Tools
You’ll only need a few ingredients to make your DIY soap jelly.
- Water
- Colorless, flavorless gelatin
- Dye-free bath gel or shower gel
- Food coloring or soap coloring
- Luster dust, if desired
- Silicone molds in various shapes (we went with dinosaurs). The exact silicone mold that we used is sold out at the time this post is going up. This appears to be the exact same mold in brown instead of green, in a set with other fun shapes!
- A whisk, saucepan, and airtight containers for storing the finished jelly soap
How to Make the Soap Jelly
To start this easy soap jelly, you’ll need to start with boiling water and some gelatin. You’ll want to whisk it firmly until all of the gelatin completely dissolves. It’s important to dissolve all of the gelatin before you add the soap– you don’t want to whisk vigorously enough to get the gelatin dissolved after the soap because you’ll whisk out everything that makes the soap bubbly.
Once the gelatin is dissolved, carefully stir in soap very gently. You don’t want to whisk very hard because you don’t want to activate a ton of bubbles. It’ll make your soap cloudy and will make it less bubbly when it is finished.
A clear soap or dye-free soap is the best to use because it won’t change the color of the soap. Some of the fun comes in making your own colors. You can, of course, opt for any fragrance you want, or you can go fragrance-free and add a drop or two of your favorite fragrance oil or essential oil.
Skim off as many bubbles as you can. Then, divide the soap mixture into small containers so you can add as many colors as you desire. If you only plan to make one color, you can skip the dividing. However, we loved adding plenty of colors to the soap jelly!
You’ll need to add a couple of drops of food coloring or soap coloring, and then mix it gently with a spoon or toothpick. Again, try really hard not to agitate it too much and make too many bubbles. You can also add a little luster dust for shimmer if you’d like, but be sure you’re sticking to glitters and shimmers that are safe for your bath drainage!
When the mixture is ready, spoon or squirt it into silicone molds. I like to rest mine on a flat surface like a cookie sheet to make sure that it has more stability when I go to place it in the refrigerator.
If you can, skim off any bubbles or blot them off gently with a paper towel.
Pop the soap jelly into the refrigerator for several hours. You’ll know the soap jelly is done when you touch them and they’re firm and squishy to the touch, and can be easily removed from the silicone mold.
Then, you can pop them out and enjoy bathtime with them! They’ll lasther up just like soap (because they’re soap based), and the rest of the mixture will just dissolve.
Between washes, you’ll want to store your leftovers in an airtight container or jar in the fridge for next time!
While these are so much fun for kids, they’re also super refreshing for adults in the summertime. Make them in larger shapes for cooling off after a workout or a hot summer day as you soap up, or make them in small, fun shapes for kids for washing hands with the hose before they come inside from a muddy play date.
What’s your favorite way to get your kids to take a bath?
Let me know in the comments below, and be sure to scroll down for the full, printable recipe for this fun soap jelly DIY!
More Bathtime Fun Ideas
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DIY Colorful Bubbles
Follow my Tech-Free Crafts for Kids board on Pinterest!
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Follow my Sensory Play board on Pinterest!
Soap Jelly DIY Recipe
- 3/4 C boiling water
- 1 pkt flavorless, colorless gelatin
- 1/4 C clear bath gel
- Food coloring or soap coloring
- Luster dust (optional)
- Boil water, then mix with gelatin until gelatin is completely dissolved.
- Carefully mix in bath gel, being sure to not create many bubbles.
- When well mixed, divide mixture between bowls and tint each one using food or soap coloring as desired (or tint the entire mixture one color without dividing).
- Pour into silicone molds and swirl in luster dust if desired.
- Chill in refrigerator for several hours, until soap jelly is firm and can be removed from mold easily.
- To use, lather with water and use as a soap.
- To save for later, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
- Please note that this soap jelly is non-edible. It is for bathing purposes only and should not be eaten. The type of soap that you choose to use will determine if this is a non-toxic soap jelly or not. These are not intended for consumption, but are perfect for the bath.
