Hi, in order to make loofa soap, your loofa should be fully dried. You may need to purchase dried loofa from your local craft store if loofa is not dried in time.
Loofa Soap Recipe:
Cut the loofa into slices depending on the size of your mold and the desired effect you wish to have. Round, Rectangle...using whole slices, shreds or chunks of loofa etc. Carefully melt glycerin chunks in a glass measuring cup in your microwave ( or low heat on the stovetop in a coated pan ), approx. 40-60 seconds depending on the amount you are melting. Be sure to add a few drop of fragrance if you choose when melting. Once melted, pour soap into molds and let cool. Loofa will sometime pop up, I use something small to keep it down and then correct the cosmetic flaw once it has cool. This is usually not noticed as it is the bottom of the soap. Once cool, pop out of mold, add a ribbon or two, place in a decorative basket and prepare for the ohh's and ahh's your son will receive as he hands these out to relatives for Christmas.
This is a great rainy day activity, also great when kids bring their friends over. It is amazing what will wow most children these days due to their TV Tuned Lifestyle. It always keeps them coming back for more. Lip gloss is another great one, however I have 3 girls so the "wow" factor may be lost on your son with that one. **It would be great to add to the gift basket though for aunts and grandma's. I have recipes for boby butter and lotions as well. Drop me a line if your interested. I will be happy to pass along some of my recipes.
Hope this helps!
Sincerely,
Annie

I tried them once just for fun, I got just one small one, but I let it dry and picked the green stuff off the outside. It looked kinda dirty and scruffy till I washed it real good with soap and then bleached it, then it looked like a real luffa, just smaller and softer, good for your face. I think I will try them again.
Reading the other post about melting glycerin on the stove or in the micro, that sounds a little scary with kids. I melt all my old candle wax in a jar or glass measuring cup , but I just leave it on the coffee maker for a while, its smells good and I don't have to worry about a fire. Then I soak up the wax in balled up toilet paper and use it for kindling in my fireplace. Smells good there too. Gotta use everything, right?

I grew luffas last year. Check how heavy the luffa is. If it's lightened up considerably you can probably peel the skin off and use it. If it's still quite heavy, it was probably taken off the vine too soon. If it feels heavy let it sit a couple weeks and see if it dries up some before trying to peel it. I used sliced luffa in melt and pour soaps that I made with my daughter last year. I cut the luffa in slices however, after using the abrasive soaps I decided in the future to chop the luffa. Try it both ways and see what works for you!

Thanks all! I appreciate the soap help!! Irmgard--I will definately supervise him with the soap melting and pouring. As far as the actual luffas, they do seem to be considerably lighter than they were when they were on the vine, so hopefully they are drying just fine. I might give them a few more days. Do they change color, or do they stay green?

I've posted this pic. before but it's been awhile. I peeled the skin off my luffas when they were still green but a bit brown.
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So, if I harvest them early, then they will be soft enough for face cleansing?

Luffas at the grocery store are very hard. Even too much for any part of my body.

What else can luffas be used for?

Luffas are hard once they're dried and there's no getting around that-that I know of. You can use them for scrubbing grout or other things that need scrubbing, instead of using them to bathe. I wouldn't use them for anything gooey, like scrubbing dishes because they just wouldn't rinse well. It's important to let them dry between uses or they can mold.

Ivegrown luffas the last 2 years..you wait till they turn yellow or completely brown.The drier they are -the easier the seeds come out..but the not quite completely dry ones are easier to peel..the drier they get,the harder they become..some from last year can can get very hard,even after bleaching and cleaning..i try and wait till you can hear the seeds rattle when you shake them...

I was trying to find the directions on how to make the loofa soaps. I am still growing my gourds am having a very successful year for the first time of growing them. I am going to use your directions. I am not sure what to use for the base as to being able to get them out when finished.

The luffas don't have to be brown on the vine before you pick them. If you look at the photo I posted on this thread 2 years ago, the luffa is still green. You can tell by the weight whether it's ready. If it's very light, it's basically dried and ready to peel, green or brown. I've never left mine on the vine until they're brown. As far as soaps go. I put a luffa into a cylinder mold and pour in the warm soap. After it sets, I cut the roll into soaps. Or you can cut the luffa up with scissors beforehand and mix it in with the warm soap before pouring into the mold.

My first year with luffas they were late, I was able to harvest them all by drying them in the microwave. Seeds were hurt, but I am still using them for the dish scrubbing. I LOVED the beautiful yellow flowers and greenery. Would love to have hundreds of them.

My lufas were picked green but then froze while drying. I brought them in the house and now are covered with mold. Are they a lost cause?