School's Out Pencil Soap

Makes ~ 6–8 full pencil soaps if cut thicker or 10–12 smaller pencil soaps if cut more narrowly 

Recommended Equipment:

• Easy Pour Measuring Cups
• Professional Digital Read Thermometer
• Precision Scale
• Small Mixing Cups for Colour Slurries
• Mini Whisks or Stir Sticks
• Isopropyl Alcohol (99%) in Spray Bottle
• Soap Detailing Tool
• Soap Cutter or Knife
• Silicone Mini Tall & Skinny Loaf Mold

Formula:

Main Base
515 g Stephenson High Clarity Vanilla Stable Melt & Pour Soap Base
15 g Vanilla Bean Marshmallow Fragrance Oil
5 g Vegetable Glycerin USP 99.7%
4 g White Kaolin Clay

Natural Colour Slurries
Eraser Layer:
1 g Vegetable Glycerin
4 scoops French Pink Clay (0.15 cc scoop)

Ferrule Layer (Metal Band):
1 g Vegetable Glycerin
1 scoop Bamboo Activated Charcoal

Pencil Body Layer:
3 g Vegetable Glycerin
2 scoops Ground Turmeric

Sharpened Wood Layer:
1 g Vegetable Glycerin
3 scoops Old Rose Brazilian Clay

Pencil Tip Layer:
1 g Vegetable Glycerin
6 scoops Bamboo Activated Charcoal

Ingredient Profile: 

Stephenson High Clarity Vanilla Stable Melt & Pour Soap Base: 
A vegetable-based melt & pour soap base specially formulated to dramatically reduce the browning and discolouration commonly caused by vanilla and vanillin-rich fragrance oils. This base offers excellent transparency, strong foaming properties, and a high glycerin content that contributes to a pleasant skin feel and excellent moisturizing properties.Its neutral odour helps provide strong fragrance lift while maintaining colour stability even at elevated temperatures. Well suited for layered soap projects and highly detailed melt & pour designs.

Vanilla Bean Marshmallow Fragrance Oil: 
A rich gourmand fragrance inspired by warm bakery-style desserts, blending notes of marshmallow crème, sweet honey, toasted almonds, and creamy vanilla caramel. This comforting scent profile adds warmth and sweetness to handmade bath and body projects while pairing especially well with vanilla stable soap bases.

White Kaolin Clay:
A mild cosmetic clay composed primarily of the mineral kaolinite. White Kaolin Clay is commonly used in soaps, masks, cleansers, powders, and cosmetic applications where gentle cleansing and soft oil absorption are desired.  In this project, White Kaolin Clay helps soften the transparency of the clear soap base to create a creamy pencil appearance while also contributing slip and a smooth skin feel. Its gentle nature makes it well suited for sensitive and dry skin applications.

French Pink Clay:
French Pink Clay, also known as Rose Kaolin Clay, is a naturally gentle blend of White Kaolin Clay and Red Kaolin Clay. Its soft pink colour comes naturally from iron oxides present within the clay rather than synthetic dyes. This finely textured clay offers balanced cleansing with mild oil absorption while remaining less drying than more absorbent cosmetic clays. In this project, it creates the soft pink pencil eraser layer while maintaining a natural handmade appearance.

Old Rose Brazilian Clay: 
A mineral-rich Brazilian cosmetic clay containing naturally occurring Copper, Manganese, Zinc, Magnesium, and Selenium. Old Rose Brazilian Clay is considered one of the mildest Brazilian clays and is valued for its gentle skin feel and stable natural colour.In soap formulations, it helps contribute creamy lather, mild exfoliation, and a smooth sensory profile while also functioning as a stable natural colourant. In this project, it creates the warm exposed wood appearance of the sharpened pencil layer.

Bamboo Activated Charcoal: 
A super fine, steam-activated bamboo charcoal powder that has been triple-milled for consistent particle size and reduced impurities. Activated charcoal is widely used in soaps, masks, wraps, and cleansing treatments where detoxifying and oil-absorbing properties are desired. Within this project, Bamboo Activated Charcoal provides strong natural contrast for both the ferrule and pencil tip detailing.

Ground Turmeric: 
Ground Turmeric is a botanical powder derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa and is commonly used as a natural colourant in soap and cosmetic formulations. Depending on usage rate, turmeric can produce earthy shades ranging from soft yellow to deeper golden orange tones. In this project, it creates the recognizable yellow pencil body while maintaining the natural colourant theme of the design.

Vegetable Glycerin: Vegetable Glycerin is a plant-derived humectant widely used throughout personal care formulations for its ability to attract and retain moisture. In this project, glycerin is used to create smooth clay and botanical slurries, helping disperse powders evenly throughout the melt & pour soap base while minimizing clumping and speckling. Its water-soluble nature and skin-friendly properties make it especially useful in soap, lotions, creams, cleansers, toners, and haircare formulations.

Isopropyl Alcohol (99%): Isopropyl Alcohol is a versatile cosmetic and crafting ingredient commonly used in soap making to reduce surface bubbles and improve layer adhesion. In melt & pour soap projects, spritzing the surface with Isopropyl Alcohol helps eliminate trapped air bubbles and encourages stronger bonding between layers. It is especially useful in detailed layered soap designs such as this pencil soap project. Beyond soap making, Isopropyl Alcohol is also widely used as a sanitizer, solvent, and dispersing agent for cosmetic colourants such as mica powders.

Instructions:  

• Weigh 10 g of vegetable glycerin into a small mixing cup. Add 4 g of White Kaolin Clay and mix thoroughly until smooth and lump-free.
  This step helps soften the transparency of the clear soap base, creating a more opaque pencil appearance.
  
  
• In separate small cups, pre-mix each natural colourant with the listed amount of glycerin until smooth. Preparing slurries in advance helps prevent clumping and ensures even colour dispersion throughout the soap.
  
  
• Cut the Stephenson Vanilla Stable Melt & Pour Base into small cubes for faster, more even melting. Weigh 515 g into a heat-safe Easy Pour Measuring Cup. Heat gently using short microwave bursts or a double boiler until fully melted. Avoid overheating.

• Ensure the previous layer is fully set. Spritz the surface with isopropyl alcohol to improve adhesion. Make sure the soap is not excessively hot, as overheating may melt the layer beneath. Pour carefully and spritz again with alcohol.
  
  
• Pour the Pencil Body Layer, add the turmeric slurry to Cup 3 and mix thoroughly. If needed, gently remelt the soap base. Spritz the previous layer with alcohol before pouring. Carefully pour the yellow pencil body layer. Spritz with alcohol and allow to harden.
  
  
• Create the Sharpened Pencil Texture. once the yellow layer has fully hardened, use a soap detailing tool to carve long narrow grooves lengthwise into the surface. These grooves create the appearance of sharpened wood once the next layer is added. The carved lines do not need to be perfectly uniform. Spritz with isopropyl alcohol before proceeding.