Yields 10 cubes.
Designed especially for calloused skin, these scrub cubes polish and smooth away rough skin, helping to get your feet in tip-top shape for sandal season. They include ultra-fine pink Himalayan salt and cranberry seeds, which are both exfoliants, and they’re enriched with apricot kernel oil and lanolin, which have intense healing properties. If you’re vegan or allergic to lanolin, simply use more oil, or substitute shea butter.
- 10 ounces triple butter or other white soap base, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon apricot kernel, sweet almond, or sunflower oil
- 1/4 teaspoon lanolin
- 10 drops sea buckthorn oil, optional
- 3/4 teaspoon pink grapefruit essential oil
- 3/8 teaspoon orange essential oil
- 1 tablespoon ultra-fine pink Himalayan salt
- 1-1/2 tablespoons cranberry seeds
- Silicone ice cube tray (1 ounce cavities)
- Rubbing alcohol, for spritzing
- Place soap base in a heatproof glass jar or container, and place in the top of a double boiler over medium-low heat. Heat until melted, about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring often. Alternatively, melt it in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds or so.
- Stir in apricot kernel oil, lanolin, and sea buckthorn oil, if using. Add essential oils, and mix well.
- Place the salt and cranberry seeds near your work surface. Working quickly, pour a small amount of melted soap base in the bottom of 10 cavities of the silicone tray. Immediately sprinkle them with a thin layer of cranberry seeds.
- Spritz with alcohol.
- Add another thin layer of soap, just enough to barely cover the seeds.
- Spritz with alcohol, and sprinkle on a layer of salt.
- Continue alternating thin layers of soap with thin layers of salt and cranberry seeds, until the cavities are full.
- Top with a final layer of cranberry seeds and salt, pressing lightly so they adhere.
- Spritz with alcohol. Let the cubes set up in the mold for 3 to 4 hours, or until completely cooled and hardened.
- Remove and store the cubes in an airtight container until needed.
Jan Berry is a published author, herbalist, soapmaker, and owner of the website The Nerdy Farm Wife, which offers online courses for making soaps and more. She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with her family. This article is excerpted with permission from her book, Easy Homemade Melt & Pour Soaps (Page Street Publishing).