Our DIY Bath Crayons Recipe was the darkhorse product for 2024. When we released it, we were not prepared for the massively enthusiastic response from our community, and I was genuinely blown away.
One of the reasons I think it was such a surprise to me was that, for all intents and purposes, it’s an incredibly simple formulation. There is also the fact that no one had ever asked for a recipe like this. There was no need to. People have been successfully making soap crayons using melt and pour soap for years, so why create a solution when there is no specific problem?
To be honest, it was to scratch my own itch, if you will. I live somewhere that is incredibly hot and humid and melt and pour soap doesn’t fare very well here. Even the more expensive types that claim to be “no sweat”, still develop that odd film over them known as glycerin dew. This is just a natural part of melt and pour soap, and it doesn’t affect the performance, but I still don’t like it.
The other issue that I came across with the soap crayons most people were making was that it was very hard to draw with them once the bathtub tiles were wet. I don’t know about you, but when my kids take baths it looks like the splash zone at sea world–so, yeah, the walls are going to be wet.
And finally, I don’t really keep much melt and pour soap in stock because I rarely use it, which means crayons made with it would incur extra costs. The cosmetic ingredients used in our bath crayon recipe however, are all things I use on a regular basis in other projects.
All of that is to say that, while I absolutely love our DIY bath crayon recipe, I recognize that it might not be for everyone. If glycerin dew isn’t an issue for you, if you’re not too pressed about how a kid will use the crayons, or if you keep melt and pour base in stock, then this recipe might not save you any money, time, or frustration (take your pick!). Regardless, if you use our recipe, or just regular melt and pour soap, the color block crayon projects in this blog post are still going to help you get a head start on holiday projects!
Color blocking your crayon sets will help you in a couple different ways. Firstly, while I totally love seeing the rainbow collection of bath crayons, it requires 6-7 colors (therefore 6-7 batches) to make a complete set. Streamlining it down to color blocks will help you get your shelves stocked and ready for the holidays in less time!
Secondly, if you have customers who aren’t sure about the concept of bath crayons, having smaller, 3 color sets will help bring down the price point and make them more accessible to first time buyers. One of the biggest issues a DIY maker will ever have is gaining your customers trust. One of the best ways to hook people and create return customers is to stock at least a few small items with a low price point that are consumed quickly. Bath crayons can totally fit that bill!
Here are 3 color combinations and fun molds you can utilize!
1) SPOOKY SEASON COMBO
Bright orange, lime green and bright white paired with a fun spooky mold makes the perfect halloween or fall set. For my mica I used Orancha Glad, Like Toadally, and Winter White. The mold was a candy mold from the Walmart holiday aisle.
2) YEAR ROUND FUN
Grassy green, reddish orange, and lovely blue paired with cute animal shaped molds is a nice fun palette that will tap into any kid’s imagination! It’s perfect for any time of the year. For these micas I used Frogger, Mango Tango and True Blue. The mold is from Bramble Berry.
3) HOLIDAY MAGIC
And finally, burgundy, deep green and sparkly gold make the most gorgeous set for the winter holidays. I used a mini bundt cake silicone mold from Michaels. The micas I used were Frankly Darling, Savage Garden, and Lannister Gold.
Even if you don’t use these color combinations, hopefully you’re starting to think about more ways that color blocking can work for you. Whether you use them as sampler sets to pique your customers interest, or as quick stocking-stuffer type products to fill your holiday shelves, bath crayons are easy to make and sell.
PRO TIP:
If you’re concerned about the price of cocoa butter, one of the ingredients in our bath crayons recipe, I have been testing substitutes and have found that in this recipe, palm kernel flakes, palm oil, or kokum butter all work really well. What’s even better is that even RSPO (responsible sourced palm oil) is significantly less expensive than cocoa butter and will drive your costs down even further! Palm kernel flakes were my personal favorite, but let us know if you try any substitutes and if so, which one you prefer!
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