These soaps are a favorite with kids because they have small items inside the soap bar. When you’re done with the soap bar, if it contained a small toy the kids have a little something to play with.

It doesn’t have to be a toy inside the soap bar, so don’t be afraid to be creative. It can be a silk flower, a luffa sponge, or smaller soaps. This is a fairly easy technique but it can require some patience, especially the first few times you try it.

Always make sure that whatever mold you’re using is deep enough to allow the embedded item to be completely submerged in the soap.

The Basic Technique

Melt your soap base. Add your dye and fragrance and pour into the mold. It is best not to fill the mold completely full, but probably about ¾ full. You need to leave room for the soap base to expand once the embedded item is placed inside soap base.

Allow the soap to begin cooling. Once it has cooled enough to form a nice semi-thick skin on the outer layer of the soap, use a toothpick or craft stick to gently remove the skin.

Very gently, disturbing the soap as little as possible, insert your embedded item into the soap. If you need to move it a little, adjust an angle or push it deeper into the bar, use a toothpick. Slower, gentle movements work best for this technique. Some items can be prepared by spraying with alcohol or water. This allows for the soap to adhere to the embedded item.

Place your bar in the freezer once you have the item positioned the way you want it.

Once it’s hardened all the way through, pop it out of the mold.

**Tip to remember: if you’re using an embedded item, it’s best to not allow very small children to use the soap. Most of the items that you would embed in a soap bar are small enough to choke a child. They also have tender skin, and once the item starts to protrude through the bar, it may scratch them.

**Tip to remember: If you are embedding a smaller soap inside a bar, be sure to place the small soap in the freezer before you put it inside the melted soap. This will help it hold it’s shape until the bar cools.