Easy DIY Dinosaur Soap with Melt & Pour Soap

Making your own DIY dinosaur soap is fun and easy! This project is great for kids and adults alike. Whether you’re making these soaps as a fun family project, or making them to give as a gift, you’ll love these cute soap bars.
This dinosaur soap project is fun for kids, but keep in mind that adult supervision is required for the entire project. As some steps are more difficult than others, use your best judgement about which parts your little ones can help with. If your kids only want to do some of the project with you, Steps 3 & 4 will probably be the most fun for them.
Dinosaur Soap Project Overview
We’ll start by pouring a white base into the oval soap mold and making the dinosaurs. Next, we will remove the dinosaurs from their mold and arrange them in the oval mold. Finally, clear soap is poured over the dinosaurs to finish the soap bars.
We love this project because there are so many ways to get creative with it. And the cute dinosaur shapes are also great for encouraging kids to wash their hands! Follow along as we get started on this project.
If you like this project, check out our other soap recipes!
Supplies & Ingredients
You will need the following items to make this project:
- 10.5 oz Premium Shea Melt & Pour Soap Base
- 10.5 oz Premium Extra Clear Melt & Pour Soap
- Mini Dinos Silicone Mold
- Oval Soap Mold
- 4-8 ml Citrus & Cilantro fragrance oil (or other skin-safe fragrance)
- 3 colors of mica powder – we’re using Orange, Aquamarine, and Chartreuse
- 3 micro scoops
- 3 3oz measuring cups
- 28 oz Funnel Pitcher
- Spray bottle
- Pipette
- Whisk
- Soap cutting tool
- Digital thermometer
- Digital scale
- Nitrile gloves
- Microwave
- Rubbing alcohol*
- Optional: 4 soap boxes and plastic wrap for packaging
* We recommend using at least 91% rubbing alcohol for best results.
Find all the supplies you need for this project at NorthWoodDistributing.com
Getting Ready
Please read all the instructions before getting started. This project involves several steps that need to be done in the right order.
Begin by creating a clean workspace on a table or countertop. Keep in mind that mica powder can stain porous surfaces. You may choose to cover the workspace with newspaper or parchment paper.
Before starting, add some rubbing alcohol (91% alcohol) to a small spray bottle. You will use the rubbing alcohol to pop bubbles that may form in the soap after you pour it.
Finally, put on a pair of gloves before getting started.
Watch a Video of this Project!
Check out this video for a quick overview of making this soap.
Step 1: Mixing the Mica Colors
- Get out your 3 oz measuring cups and add 2-3 micro scoops of mica powder to each cup. Each color should be in its own cup.
- Add a small amount of rubbing alcohol to each cup (approx. ½ tsp to 1 tsp).
- Stir or swirl the cups to mix the mica powder. It should dissolve and disperse in the rubbing alcohol.
- Set the cups aside for later, being careful to place them somewhere they won’t get tipped over.
Step 2: Cutting & Melting the White Soap
- Cut the white soap into small cubes (approx. 1” in size) using your soap cutter and cutting board.
- Place your funnel pitcher on the scale and tare it to zero.
- Add 10.5 oz (approx. 298 grams) of the white soap cubes to the funnel pitcher.
- Place the funnel pitcher in the microwave and heat it in 15-second intervals. Remove and stir the soap between each interval. Stop when the soap is fully melted.
Caution: Melted soap is very hot. Please handle with care.
Step 3: Pouring the Dinosaurs & Oval Bases
Melted soap will begin to cool and set up fast. Work quickly to ensure you have time to pour your soap before it cools.
- As soon as the soap is melted, use a pipette to add 2-4 ml of fragrance oil. Save the pipette, as you will use it later. Stir the fragrance with a whisk.
- Pour 1 oz of the melted soap into each mica cup that you made earlier, and set the cups aside for now (it’s easiest to use the measurement lines on the mica cups).
- Next, pour the remaining white soap into the Oval Mold, dividing the soap evenly between each cavity. There should be about 1.75 oz (50 grams) of soap for each cavity. Each cavity will only be about 1/3 of the way full with soap.
- After pouring the oval soaps, spritz the top of the soap bars with 1-2 sprays of rubbing alcohol. This removes small bubbles.
- Next, stir the colored cups to evenly blend the mica and soap. You can use the whisk or the back of the micro scoops.
- Carefully pour the colored soaps into the cavities of the dinosaur mold. You can make each type of dinosaur a different color, or pour the colors randomly. Be careful not to fill the cavities too full.
- Spritz the top of the dinosaur soaps with 1-2 sprays of rubbing alcohol to remove any small bubbles.
- Let the ovals and dinosaurs set until they are completely cool and hard. We don’t recommend cooling them in the fridge, as this can cause sweating.
- Wash and dry the funnel pitcher and whisk. You will need these for Step 4 below.
Step 4: Arranging the Dinosaurs
- When the dinosaurs are cool and hard, remove them from the mold.
- Spritz the oval soaps with 1-2 sprays of rubbing alcohol. This will help the layers bind together.
- After spraying the soap, place 3-4 dinosaurs into each cavity of the oval mold. For best results, arrange the dinos so that they do not touch each other or the walls of the oval mold. If the shapes touch, it can create air pockets in the clear soap.
Note: If you want to use all of the dinos, be aware that one soap bar will only have 3 dinosaurs, while the other bars will have 4 dinos.
Step 5: Melting & Pouring the Clear Soap
- Cut the clear soap base into 1” cubes using your soap cutter and cutting board.
- Place your funnel pitcher on the scale and tare it to zero.
- Add 10.5 oz (approx. 298 grams) of the clear soap cubes to the funnel pitcher.
- Place the pitcher in the microwave and heat it in 15-second intervals. Remove and stir the soap between each interval. Stop when the soap is fully melted.
Caution: Melted soap is very hot. Please handle with care.
- As soon as the clear soap is melted, use a pipette to transfer 2-4 ml of fragrance oil to the pitcher. Stir with the whisk.
- Important! Use a thermometer to temp the melted soap. It needs to be about 130 degrees F before you pour it into the mold. If the soap is too hot, it will melt the soap that’s already in the mold. However, if you wait too long and the soap gets cooler than 125 degrees F, it may be difficult to pour neatly (If the soap gets too cool, you can briefly pop it back in the microwave for 5-10 seconds).
- When the soap is approximately 130 degrees F, spritz the dinosaurs in the oval mold with a small amount of rubbing alcohol. This will help the layers bind together.
- Next, carefully pour the soap into the oval mold to cover the dinosaur shapes. For best results, avoid pouring directly on top of the dino shapes.
- As soon as you fill the mold with soap, spritz the top of the bars with 1-2 sprays of rubbing alcohol to remove any bubbles. Avoid spraying too much, or it may leave a residue on your finished bars.
- Let the soap sit undisturbed until it is completely cool and hard. To prevent the bars from sweating, we do not recommend cooling them in the fridge or freezer.
Step 6: Finishing Your Dinosaur Soap Bars
When the soap is cool and hard, remove it from the mold. You can wear gloves to prevent fingerprints on the soap.
The Extra Clear soap base has a high glycerin content, which makes these bars prone to sweating. For the longest shelf life and to keep the soap looking its best, we highly recommend wrapping them in plastic cling film. This will keep the soap from getting sweaty or cloudy. Note that if the bars do develop sweat or cloudiness, this will go away as soon as the soap is used with water.
After wrapping the bars in plastic, you can package them in rectangular soap boxes to protect them. Boxes make the soap look polished and professional if you are selling or gifting these bars.
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