Walk into Fun With Soap and you’ll quickly sense it’s more than just a store — it’s a playground for creativity. The air is sweet with the scent of essential oils, shelves gleam with jars of shea butter and fragrance blends, and colourful soap moulds line the walls like candy for makers. Since 2006, this small but mighty business has been quietly fueling South Africa’s thriving community of crafters, hobbyists, and boutique entrepreneurs — people who don’t just buy bath and body products, but make them.
In a world where so much feels mass-produced, Fun With Soap offers something refreshingly different: the tools, ingredients, and confidence to create with your own hands. From DIY kits for gift stores, hobby shops, and salons in South Africa to bulk cosmetic bases and candle-making materials, this is a one-stop haven for anyone with a spark of curiosity and a love of beautiful, handmade things.
From Kitchen Experiments to a National Brand
The story of Fun With Soap starts, as many great ideas do, with a bit of curiosity and a kitchen full of ingredients. What began as a passion for soap crafting soon evolved into a fully-fledged business supplying everything from soap making ingredients and apparatus including soap moulds in South Africa to advanced raw materials for skincare and aromatherapy products.
Today, their Kempton Park store serves as both a retail hub and a creative community. Customers visit not just to shop, but to learn — to swap ideas, show off their latest creations, or get advice on perfecting a new formula. It’s a place where novices are welcomed, experts are challenged, and every customer leaves with the sense that they can make something truly their own.
The Heart of the Brand: Accessibility Meets Expertise
Not everyone can (or wants to) buy mass-market cosmetics. But crafting your own products — from soaps and scrubs to bath bombs and body butters — can feel daunting without the right guidance. That’s where Fun With Soap really shines.
They’ve built a platform that makes the DIY journey accessible at every level:
- Free recipes posted online that take you from first experiment to flawless finish.
- Online training courses designed to teach the fundamentals of formulating products safely and effectively.
- A walk-in store for those who prefer hands-on browsing and personal advice.
- Nationwide shipping starting from just R80, bringing creativity to every corner of South Africa.
Their blend of education, affordability, and reliability has made them the trusted supplier for individuals and small businesses alike — from boutique salons crafting house-brand soaps to artisans selling handmade products at local markets.
The Soap That Started It All
Among Fun With Soap’s best-loved offerings is their signature Pure Glycerine Melt and Pour Soap, manufactured in-house. For those unfamiliar with the term, “melt and pour” refers to a soap base that’s ready to be melted, customized, and re-moulded into your own designs. It’s the ultimate beginner-friendly entry into soap making — safe, fun, and endlessly versatile.
Their range also includes Natural Melt and Pour Soap infused with botanicals and plant-based additives. Think chamomile for calming properties, charcoal for detoxifying, or oatmeal for gentle exfoliation. It’s nature and chemistry dancing in perfect balance — and customers love how customizable it is.
Whether you’re running a small business or crafting gifts for friends, their competitive pricing and bulk options make it easy to scale up your creativity without breaking the bank.
Beyond Soap: Everything You Need to Create
To call Fun With Soap a soap supplier is to miss the full picture. It’s a complete ecosystem for makers — a supply house built around imagination.
Their inventory includes:
- Cosmetic-grade oils and butters — from cocoa butter and shea to jojoba and argan oil.
- Fragrance and essential oils in hundreds of blends.
- Colourants, clays, and botanical powders for natural pigmentation.
- Packaging solutions — bottles, jars, pumps, and sprayers for finished products.
- Candle-making supplies, waxes, and wicks for those who love the flicker of handmade light.
In short: if you’ve dreamt it, they probably stock it.
And for businesses looking to launch their own product line, Fun With Soap offers more than ingredients — they offer cosmetic packaging for bath and body products in South Africa, helping brands bring their creations to market beautifully and professionally.
The Rise of DIY Beauty in South Africa
The global shift toward sustainability and handmade goods has only amplified Fun With Soap’s relevance. South Africans are increasingly embracing DIY skincare and body care as both a hobby and a business opportunity. Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are filled with creators showcasing handmade soaps swirled with natural colourants, bath salts infused with local botanicals, and candles poured with intention.
It’s a cultural moment where wellness, creativity, and entrepreneurship intersect — and Fun With Soap sits right at the centre. By providing easy access to raw materials and education, they’re helping South Africans tap into the joy (and profitability) of self-made products.
Teaching, Not Just Selling
One of the brand’s most endearing traits is its commitment to education over mere sales. Every product listing is paired with guidance: safety tips, recommended pairings, and even full recipes. Their online tutorials cover everything from soap layering techniques to advanced formulations like emulsified body scrubs and lotion bars.
And the tone isn’t intimidating — it’s friendly, warm, and rooted in real experience. You can tell the advice comes from people who’ve made their fair share of messy batches and perfect bars. There’s a sense of community here, not competition.
A Space for Every Kind of Maker
Who shops at Fun With Soap? Pretty much everyone.
- Beginners who want to start small with DIY kits or basic melt-and-pour projects.
- Craft stores and vendors looking to stock locally made, unique bath and body products.
- Salon owners interested in private-label beauty lines.
- Educators and hobby groups teaching workshops on natural skincare.
- Entrepreneurs turning their creativity into side hustles and small businesses.
It’s this diversity of customers — and the business’s ability to support them all — that has helped Fun With Soap endure for nearly two decades.
Why Customers Keep Coming Back
It’s not just the ingredients. Or the prices. It’s the way the team behind Fun With Soap makes the creative process feel easy. Their customer service is personal, responsive, and rooted in a shared love for the craft. You can sense that they genuinely care about your end result — that the success of your first soap bar or body butter feels like their own victory too.
Their commitment to service, combined with an ever-evolving product range and reliable nationwide delivery, makes them a cornerstone of South Africa’s maker community.
A Business That Grew With Its Community
Seventeen years in, Fun With Soap has seen trends come and go — goat’s milk, charcoal, CBD, glitter bombs, minimalist aesthetics. But the brand’s philosophy has never wavered: empower people to create safely, affordably, and joyfully.
Their long-standing relationships with craft shops, gift stores, and small manufacturers are proof of that consistency. Many of their current wholesale clients began as hobbyists who made their first batches using Fun With Soap’s kits. That continuity — from beginner to business owner — is something rare in the world of retail.
Creativity Meets Sustainability
Another quiet reason for the brand’s success lies in its alignment with sustainability values. Handmade skincare and soap making naturally lean toward eco-consciousness: you control what goes into your products, avoid excessive packaging, and often reuse containers.
Fun With Soap encourages that mindset. Many of their recipes promote natural ingredients over synthetics, and their packaging selection includes eco-friendly and reusable options. It’s creativity that respects the environment — a philosophy perfectly suited to modern consumers.
The Future: Expanding Possibilities
As the DIY and craft economy continues to grow in South Africa, Fun With Soap is positioning itself not just as a supplier, but as a creative partner. Plans include expanding their educational content, introducing more local botanical ingredients, and strengthening their online platform for remote learners and bulk buyers alike.
With their mix of old-fashioned customer service and forward-thinking innovation, they’re set to keep inspiring the next generation of creators — one batch, one mould, one spark of imagination at a time.
Final Thoughts
Fun With Soap isn’t merely a retailer; it’s the quiet heartbeat of a national maker movement. Whether you’re melting your first soap base, designing packaging for a boutique skincare line, or looking for reliable DIY kits for craft and gift stores across South Africa, it’s a brand that meets you exactly where you are — and helps you grow from there.
In a world dominated by fast consumption, Fun With Soap reminds us that slowing down to make something — something that smells good, feels good, and came from your own hands — is a kind of luxury in itself. And that, perhaps, is their real gift to South Africa’s creative community: proving that with the right tools and a little curiosity, anyone can turn simple ingredients into small wonders.