DIY Soap Eyeballs

I have literally been making eyeball soaps for almost 2 weeks, now. It has been this crazy ordeal where I have tried multiple molds and ideas and techniques and not until here recently did anything yield really nice looking results. And what the heck is the point of sharing a project if you’re going to get a crappy looking finished product?

So when this finally worked out I was freaking STOKED! And then I made a whopping 36 eyeballs because I don’t do anything in moderation. It’s freaking all or nothing, baby.

I did learn SO MUCH while trying to do this and, to be honest, I’m just darn happy I was able to post this before Halloween. Because eyeball soaps can be used any time of the year but it was kind of inspired All Hallow’s Eve for sure it seemed like it would be better to post it now than, say, right before Christmas, right? :)

For this project you will need:

• Sphere silicone mold
• Clear melt and pour soap
• White melt and pour soap
• Soap colorants (I am in LOVE with this set that of soap colorants has black for pupils in it)
• Fragrance oil
• Silicone craft mat
• Rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle

This is a spherical ball shaped mold that I have but unfortunately I cannot find one like it to link to on Amazon. This is a medium sized from Bulk Apothecary. I also get my soap bases there for a steal. They don’t have them at Amazon, my typical go to for all things crafty these days but they do have these 2 piece round molds. They work and, in fact, the eyeballs are more complete spheres, really, but the seam is really visible. So those are your two options as far as making eye BALLS.

To start cut a small amount of clear soap base and place it into a glass measuring cup. Melt according to package directions.

Just in case you were wondering what my work space typically looks like, this is it :)

Add black soap colorant and stir to incorporate well. Do NOT add fragrance or essential oils to extend your working time with the soap. Pour the black soap onto a silicone mat and allow it to start setting up and cooling down.

Public Service Announcement r.e. Black Soap Colorant:

I had the hardest time finding black soap colorant. At the craft store I was told I could use candle colorant even though it says not to on the package and so I gave that a go try number 1. It turns out I just wasted $4 unless I decide to start making black candles because that business bled into the white soap like crazy. Like, it didn’t work and it wasn’t a good idea. So I found this set of soap colors that had good enough reviews and, most importantly, a little squeezie bottle of BLACK soap colorant and guess what? I’m in freaking LOVE. I got the smallest sized bottles as a tester and I’ve already got another set in my shopping cart for my next order because I love it that much. Oh, and it has neon colors that I’ve already used for another soap project I’ll be sharing soon that turned out so neat!

Using something small and round cut out pupils once the soap becomes firm enough to hold shape but don’t leave the soap to set up overnight or whatever because it will be easier to cut shapes while the soap is still warm. You’ll want these suckers to be at least as thick as a quarter, but thicker is better if you can swing it with your circle cutter. For most of my pink eyes I used these thin ones you see above and the black isn’t dense enough to be seen as a pupil on those ones.

Place a round cut out in the bottom of each of your round molds and push down to help take the rounded shape of the silicone.

Next melt another small amount of clear soap and color it the shade you want the iris to be. Don’t feel like you have to do traditional eye colors, I did pink ones and they are my favorite!

Spray the black pupils with a small amount of rubbing alcohol and then gently spoon in a small amount of colored soap. If poured in slowly while nice an liquid, it tends to pool up like a circle. As it thickens it will make odd shapes so remelt as needed.

p.s. there is my first halfway decent eyeball soap I made after lots and lots of experimentation! I used mica to make the colorful eyeball sparkle but decided I didn’t like it for the real deal but feel free to add cosmetic grade micas or glitters if you’d like.

Next melt white soap base to finish the eyeballs according to package directions. Allow the soap to cool a bit and add fragrance oil in your choice of scent. My blue eyeballs are night air, the green are pineapple and the pink are cotton candy. And you know how Jelly Belly does those beans thatBeanboozled business where you get a jelly bean that looks buttered popcorn and it might taste like it but it might also taste like rotten egg? I thought it might be kind of funny to make all of the orange ones smell different. I didn’t want to go full on unpleasant because, ew. So instead I used P&J dirt scented fragrance oil. Yep, DIRT scented! Ha! The amazing thing is it really, really smells like dirt scent, too :) It’s just like digging into a bag of potting soil, man! Can you imagine going to wash your hands and smelling them like, erm, are my hands clean or are they still DIRT-y? I totally crack myself up sometimes :)

Spray the molds with alcohol and add your white soap while it is warm but not blazing hot. Once the white soap is poured and the molds are full allow it to sit still for at least 10 minutes. At this point you can move it to the fridge for it to set up faster or you can just leave it be for a few hours.

Once the soap mold is no longer warm to the touch pull the silicone around each eyeball away from the soap and then push to pop the eyeballs straight out of that business.

Look, a perfect pair of soapy eyeballs!

And another! Make the eyes in as many colors as you’d like, and feel free to make a batch with several different colors, if you please.

Now I did learn a lot about making this business work and so here are my top tips for this succeeding all together:

1. Make sure your pupils are well tinted and nice and thick so that they stand out well enough from the irises.
2. Push the black pupil pieces into the bottom of the mold well so that it takes the shape of the mold and allows less of the next layer of soap seeping under making a less than awesome look.
3. If you do get this seepage, you can might be able run an X-acto knife around the black pupil and pull the excess soap right off. I used 2 different clear bases and this worked for one but not the other, so this may or may not work with your formula.
4. Keep your colored iris soap nice and thin/runny while making the iris shapes or they won’t be round and will be wonky looking, instead. Zap it in the microwave if you need to to keep it the right consistency.
5. Be sure to let your white melt and pour cool enough that it’s not blazing hot. This will help you use less fragrance oil, some of which will burn off with the high heat, and it will prevent your other soaps from bleeding into the white giving you a nice, sharp iris edge instead of something streaky.
6. Always remember to spray rubbing alcohol onto the different layers of soap so that they stick together (otherwise they will peel off of each other and it’s a huge fail).
7. If putting your mold in the fridge and starting all over again, the cool silicone can make the next layer of soap set up a bit more quickly. This can make for wonky shapes when pouring the colorful irises. Either allow the silicone to come to room temperature on its own, or to keep things moving quickly, zap that sucker in the microwave for just a few seconds (seriously, it took me like 4 seconds and boom, done).

And I that’s it! Have fun :)