Citrus Slice Soap

Submitted by Sara to the Wholesales Supplies Plus Forum.

Materials

A 4-6" length of 2" diam. PVC pipe
A 4-6" length of 3" PVC pipe
Clear base
White base
Colorants (pink, yellow, green, orange - non-bleeding is best, but some color migration can add to the charm)
Citrus fruit scents - Lime, orange, lemon, grapefruit
Plastic wrap (i.e., Saran Wrap)
Rubber bands

Directions

Step One: Melt your clear base. I'm embrarrassed to say, I never pay attention to how much I melt, but for a 4" length, start with a cup. You can always reuse the leftovers. While your soap is melting, fold a piece of plastic wrap in quarters, keeping it as tight as possible, and fasten it to the end of the 2" PVC pipe with the rubber bands, effectively sealing off that end. Once your clear base is melted, add your colorant and scent (I usually go just 8 drops per 4 ounces of base, but you can go up to 3% for FOs.). Pour into PVC pipe and spritz with alcohol to kill off any bubbles. Let it set up. To unmould it easier, stick it in the freezer for about half an hour once it's cooled. Remove it from freezer and let it come completely back to room temp before unmoulding. It'll take a while. This makes the "meat" part of the fruit, the part you eat.

Step Two: After you've removed your soap from the PVC pipe, stand it on end and cut it into 6 slices, like you would an orange. Don't worry that they're not perfect. These are fun, whimsical soaps. Stick them in the fridge.

Step Three: Melt your white base. While that's going, seal off your 3" length of PVC pipe just as you did the other one. Since this pipe is bigger, you can lightly grease the inside of the mould with a little oil on a paper towel if you want. Scent the base the same as you did for the inside part. For lime, I make this light green. For pink grapefruit, you'd make the inside pink and this part light yellow. Orange and lemon, you'd leave white. Let the melted white base cool down until a skin forms on top. Stir that in and let it cool until another skin forms. Stir that in, and you're ready to pour. While you're waiting for the second skin, carefully place your cold slices inside the 3" PVC pipe. Again, perfection isn't the goal here.Just before pouring your white, give the slices a good spritz of alcohol; this will help the soap adhere better. Slowly and carefully pour the white over the slices. You will likely have to hold them in place as you pour, so be careful not to burn yourself. This next part is a test of coordination. Keep holding the slices for about 30 seconds and spritz the top of the soap with alcohol. That little window of time is usually enough for the bottom to set up a little, holding the slices in place.

Step Four: Let harden and unmould just as you did in Step One. After the soap is completely finished, slice it in 1" segments and wrap.

Good luck! To see pictures of this soap, click on the link below.

Source: http://forums.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/index.php?showtopic=715