Ever finished a can of Pringles and thought, “This would make a great soap mold?” No? Well, buckle up, because today, we’re turning snack trash into DIY treasure! Using a Pringles can as a soap mold is not only budget-friendly but also gives you a perfectly round bar—no fancy equipment needed!

I love making soap in a Pringles can—it’s cost-effective and creates perfectly round bars, just over 3 inches across. For this tutorial, I’m using a Pringles Party Stack can, which is a bit longer than the regular one. I cut my bars on the thicker side and ended up with eight chunky soap rounds, but if you slice them a little thinner, you could easily get nine or ten.

The round shape makes these bars perfect as a shaving soap, pairing nicely with a badger brush for a rich, luscious lather—or just as an everyday soap. And let’s be honest—they also look ridiculously cute in a gift basket! Not to mention, they smell amazing—like chamomile and lavender.

Ingredients

• Sodium Hydroxide (Lye) – 150g
• Distilled Water – 336 g
• Olive Oil – 369 g
• Coconut Oil – 567 g
• Shea Butter – 28 g
• Cocoa Butter – 28 g
• Fragrance Oil – 57 g
• Mica Powder
• Titanium Dioxide

I love a moisturizing soap, so I’ve formulated this recipe with 5% superfat for extra skin-loving goodness!

For this batch, I had more soap batter than my Pringles can could hold—which is exactly how I like it! I always make a little extra to fill the mold to the brim and use the leftovers for small sample bars.

Want to tweak the ratios or switch up the oils? Click here to use my free online lye calculator and create your own perfect formula.

Pringles Can Soapmaking Supplies

Gather your supplies. Hey, we are using a Pringles can as our soap mold, so don’t forget that you you likely have many supplies you can donate to your new hobby right in your kitchen, these might even include old old sour cream containers or plastic cups. Just make sure that when you use them for soap, you continue to use them only for soap. refer to The Ultimate Soapmaking Supply Checklist here for a complete beginner-friendly list of soap making supplies.

• Pringles Can
• Parchment Paper
• Masking Tape or Duct Tape
• Rubber Band
• Scale
• Stick Blender
• Mixing Bowl
• Funnel Pitcher or Plastic Measuring Cup
• Spatula
• PPE: Gloves, Apron, Eye Protection, Long Sleeves
• Microfiber Towels
• Vinegar
• Soap Cutter

How to Make a Soap Mold from a Pringles Can

First, you’ll need to tackle the toughest part of this project—eating all the chips. (Tragic, I know.) Once that’s done, give the can a good wash—unless you’re aiming for a sour cream & onion exfoliating bar (which, let’s be real, no one wants).

Remove the bottom of the can with a can opener—this makes it easier to unmold the soap later. Keep the lid! You’ll need it soon.

Cut a piece of parchment paper slightly larger than the can’s height. Roll it up and place it inside to check the fit.

Next, snip slits into one end of the parchment, then fold them outward over the edge of the can. Leave extra parchment sticking out from the other end.

Secure the folded parchment paper tabs with a rubber band, then place the Pringles can lid over the top. Finally, use masking tape to hold the lid in place.

Now, you have made a very simple DIY soap mold from a Pringles can!

Prepare Ingredients

Safety first! Put on your PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), and make sure kids, pets, and curious onlookers are out of the room. Also, ensure you’re working in a well-ventilated area.

Prepare Your Oils and Fats: First, weigh out your oils, fats, and butters. Heat them until fully melted and combined. For small batches, the microwave works great—just heat in 30-60 second bursts, stirring in between. Coconut oil melts fast, but butters like cocoa and shea take a little longer. Once everything is melted, set it aside to cool to around 90-120°F.

Weigh out your lye and water. Be careful—lye can be staticky, so watch where it goes and avoid spills.

Now, it’s time to mix:
ALWAYS add lye to water—never the other way around!
Slowly pour the lye into the water, stirring gently until fully dissolved. The mixture will heat up fast and release fumes, so work near an open window or even outside if possible. Set it aside to cool to around 90-100°F.

Prepare Your Fragrance Oils and Colorants: Weigh out your fragrance or essential oils. If you’re using my recipe, 2 ounces of fragrance oil works well—but check with your supplier’s usage guide to get the right amount. Important: Use only fragrance oils designed for cold process soap! Regular oils can cause your batch to seize or separate, leading to a soapy disaster.

For color, I’m using mica powder and titanium dioxide. I add the mica directly to my soap, but if you’re working with multiple colors, it’s best to pre-mix it with a little oil for a smoother blend. That said, I’ll admit—I sometimes get lazy and just toss the mica straight into the batter!

For the white, I am using titanium dioxide. I always keep it pre-mixed so I can easily shake it up and use it as needed. Most titanium dioxide powders need to be mixed with water before adding them to soap, while others require oil. Be sure to check the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure you’re using the correct mixing method!

Combine Oils and Lye Solution

Check that both your melted oils and lye solution have cooled to 90-120°F.

Slowly pour the lye solution into the oils.

Grab your stick blender and blend until you reach light trace—a thin pudding-like consistency.

What is trace? Trace is when the mixture thickens enough that a drizzle leaves a trail on the surface. If you’re using a fragrance oil that speeds up trace, stop blending when it’s still thin, like heavy cream.

Once your soap reaches trace, you’ll need to work quickly, so make sure everything is prepped for the next steps!

Customize Your Soap

Once your oils and lye solution reach trace, you can pour the mixture into a mold and let it saponify. That will give you plain, fragrance-free bars—which is fine… but let’s be real, we can do better!

If you’re like me, you want beautiful, great-smelling soap—so now’s the fun part! It’s time to add fragrance, color, and any special touches to make your bars truly unique.

When you are using a cylinder like a Pringles can as a soap mold, One of the best ways to achieve a unique design is to alternate colors into the mold. It creates a circular design. Once the mold is full, you can also swirl it as well with a skewer or long object. They even make kaleidoscope tools that make a super cool design. For this batch, I am using two colors, a bubble gum pink and a creamy white. 

Pour half of your soap into a different container.

Add your mica or mica/oil mixture to one container and lightly blend with your stick blender until it is just combined.

In the other container, add some premixed Titanium Dioxideand lightly blend with your stick blender until it is just combined.

Add about half of the fragrance oil to each one of the soap mixtures and combine.

Watch your soap closely after adding the fragrance! Some fragrance oils can cause the mixture to thicken fast, so be ready to move quickly. The moment you see it start to accelerate, it’s go time!

How to Pour Soap into Pringles Can Mold

When you are using a cylinder like a Pringles can as a soap mold, One of the best ways to achieve a unique design is to alternate colors into the mold. It creates a circular design. Once the mold is full, you can swirl it as well with a skewer or long object.

You will see that the fragrance oil I used caused my batter to accelerate more quickly than I would have liked, so in this instance, rather than continuing to pour my soap batter in the Pringles can, I ended up alternating spoonfuls into the mold.

As you are filling your Pringles can, tamp down the mold to ensure there are no air bubbles. Fill the can as high as you can. You may stick a chop stick or long skewer in the mold to create a swirl pattern, or leave it as is.

Optional – if any leftover soap batter that remains, pour into another mold for sample bars.

Saponification Process

Cover the top of your Pringles can mold with plastic wrap or parchment paper—this is where the magic happens!

That magic is called saponification—the chemical reaction between oils and lye that turns your mixture into actual soap. Depending on different factors, your soap may take a little longer to harden, but in most cases, it’s ready within 24-48 hours.

Clean Your Work Surface & Supplies

Next, wipe down your work surface with water and clean up any remaining oil and debris. Rinse all of your bowls and utensils with warm water. Then, spray everything with a little bit of vinegar, let sit for a few minutes and wipe dry. The vinegar will neutralize any remaining traces of lye.

Unmold and Slice

Once your soap is firm to the touch, carefully remove it from the Pringles can mold. If your soap is still feels very wet once you slide it out, leave it in the parchment paper and let it dry out a little longer to avoid frustration.

Once unmolded, slice your soap into bars using a sharp knife, soap cutter, or cheese cutter.

Isn’t a making soap from a Pringles can easy? It is honestly one of my favorite ways to make soap because it is SO EASY and creates such a huge impact!

At this point, your soap is likely safe to use, but it won’t be completely hard until it is cured. However, if you just can’t wait to wash your hands with your beautiful fresh bars of soap, you can test your soap to ensure the lye has worked its way out of the soap.

You can test your soap using PH strips which we will discuss in another blog post, or try the zap test. Simply dampen your fingertip, lightly swipe it on the soap, and gently touch it to your tongue. If the soap still contains a lot of lye, you’ll feel a distinct zap sensation, similar to a static shock. If this is the case, the only thing keeping you from testing your beautiful soap is time.

Cure Soap

Place your freshly cut soap bars on a rack in a cool, dry place and let them cure for 4-6 weeks. During this time, the bars will harden as excess moisture evaporates. The longer they cure, the harder and longer-lasting your soap will be!

Want a fail-proof soap recipe? Download my FREE printable PDF—I call it my “no-fail” recipe because it creates hard, bubbly, ultra-moisturizing bars every time!

Save this post to your favorite Pinterest board so you can find it later!