DIY Bacon Soap

Things to note. While this DIY bacon soap is made with bacon, it does not smell like bacon. If you'd like a bacon scent you can find a bacon scented fragrance oil online from a variety of soapmaking suppliers.

To adjust the size of this soap recipe or for my soapmaking notes on this project as well as direct links to suppliers and materials needed, please visit the original blog post for this DIY bacon soap at Soap Deli News blog. (The link can be found at the bottom of this post.)

For more of my DIY Father's Day gift ideas, visit Soap Deli News blog here.

You'll need to begin by rendering your bacon fat. Basically all this means is you'll need to cook up a bunch of bacon and save the grease that's left at the end. I saved up my bacon grease over many weekend morning breakfasts in cups in the fridge. Once you have the necessary amount you can either strain out the tiny bits of bacon that may have snuck in or leave them in just for fun. (I totally left mine in. No, they will not go rancid.)

For the rest of the bacon soap recipe you'll need to follow my basic cold process soapmaking instructions here. You'll also need two Wilton 6-Cavity Silicone Heart Molds. (This mold can be found at most local crafts stores like Joanne's, A.C. Moore and Michael's as well as online. Visit the original blog post for this soap recipe by clicking the link at the bottom of the page for a direct link to online suppliers for all materials and ingredients.)

Begin by preparing the lye-water. Measure out the distilled water into a pitcher. Then, using a digital scale, weigh out the lye. Slowly pour the lye into the water in a well ventilated area and stir until the lye has fully dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Now prepare the soapmaking oils by weighing out the bacon fat, coconut oil, castor oil and olive oil into a large stainless steel pot. Heat on the stove over medium heat until all of the oils have melted then remove from heat and set aside.

While you are waiting for the oils and lye-water to cool you can go ahead and weigh out the fragrance oil if you want to make a scented soap.

Once the lye-water and oils have cooled to around 95-100F you're ready to make soap. Slowly pour the lye-water into the soapmaking oils and mix with a stick blender until you reach a light trace. Add the fragrance oil and mix thoroughly until you reach about a medium trace. You don't want the soap to thicken too much or you'll have trouble filling your mold cavities so there are no air bubbles or pockets.

Now pour the soap evenly into nine of the mold cavities. This will fill one mold completely and half of the second mold. Cover the mold with cling wrap or foodservice film.

My homemade bacon soaps were ready to unmold the next day. However if you live in a particularly humid area you may want to wait an additional day before unmolding to ensure your soaps come out of the molds cleanly.

Once you've unmolded your heart shaped bacon soaps set them aside to cure for 4-6 weeks. Then wrap and label as desired for gifting.