Make Your Own Moroccan Spiced Soap

 

Are you wondering what to get for those friends and family still in need of a gift? These cute little soaps make the perfect present for anyone on that list.  The aroma of exquisite spices are reminiscent of Morocco — exotic, intriguing, and warm. Not only do these ingredients have a marvelous smell, they hold countless healing and health attributes. Cardamom promotes respiratory health, anise works as an antiseptic to promote healing and prevent infection, cloves can increase blood flow while stimulating and rejuvenating tired skin, while allspice soothes sore muscles and is also often used as a remedy for arthritis. Whip some up for your loved ones, but don’t forget to keep a few for yourself.

Materials:

Soap base: you can either use a pre-made bar of store-bought soap, a craft store soap base, or any basic soap recipe. I used two bars of pre-made organic vitamin E oil soap from Whole Foods.
Ground cardamom
Anise, full or ground. I used full seeds to act as an exfolient in the soaps.
Ground cloves
Ground allspice
Ground cinnamon
Full bay leaves, placed in the bottom of your soap mold

Optional Extras:
*To make moisturizing soap: add in a tbsp of coconut oil or vitamin E oil.
*For calming soap, add in fresh mint leaves which yield an additional lovely scent.
*To make your skin softer, add in 1 tbsp of honey.
Cut your soap base into small bits so they easily melt. With a double broiler, melt your soap in a ceramic or glass bowl, stirring constantly. If the consistency becomes too thick, add a tbsp of coconut oil to the mixture.


Once the soap has fully melted, you’ll want to move quickly. Add in about 1 tbsp of each spice, more or less depending on your favorite scents.
Spoon the soap into the mold and press mixture in firmly to compact it. I used large square silicon ice trays because the soaps easily pop out after freezing, but you can use soap molds, plastic containers or lined muffin trays.

Stick your soap in the freezer for about three hours or until it has hardened completely. Remove the mold from the freezer and voila! You’ve got the perfect little soaps and enough to share!

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