Hobbies
Melt & Pour Soapmaking 101
By
Jan 23, 2003, 12:04

Many people feel that to make your own soap you need to have, at the very least, a degree in chemistry and a whole kitchen full of expensive, complicated equipment. Let’s dispel that myth. Melt & Pour soapmaking is simply melting premade basic soap and getting creative with it. Once you melt the soap down there are endless ways to color, fragrance and decorate your soap.

Melt and Pour soapmaking started with the concept of making transparent soap back in the 1800's. It was thought that a clear soap would appeal to the people as being more "natural". At first, clear soap was made using grain alcohol for its clarity. The soapmaker made a cold process or hot process soap and added alcohol as a solvent. The more alcohol - the clearer the soap. Quickly, people that were making soap using alcohol began looking for alternatives. Alcohol makes the soap very drying to the skin and as the soap ages, the alcohol evaporates out resulting in a misshapen and less clear bar. Many alternatives have been found and can be used today. Follow the steps below to start learning the basics and then you will see how fun and easy it really is.


Step One:
Melt the soap base in a double boiler. If you do not have a double boiler you can improvise by placing metal utensils in the bottom of a pan, fill with an inch or two of water and set a smaller pan on top of the metal utensils. Your goal is not to have the soap pan directly over the heating element. This will cause your soap to get too hot. You will want to keep the double boiler covered to prevent a thick layer of soap from drying on the top of the melted soap and to prevent moisture loss. A microwave can be used safely with some soap bases. Each soap base is formulated differently so check with your manufacturer. Melt the soap base slowly and try to avoid boiling.
Step Two:
Once the soap base has turned to liquid, remove it from the heat. Add your cosmetic grade fragrance oils. The maximum amount of fragrance oils you should use are 1 Tablespoon per pound of soap base. Of course, you can use less. The fragrance intensity is up to you. You should note that different fragrances may naturally color your base. You can always color the soap to hide the potential fragrance color in the soap.
Step Three:
Immediately after adding the fragrance, you will want to add a cosmetic grade colorant. Add the color very slowly because it is easier to make it darker and impossible to remove color. If you are using color creams you will want to microwave the cream for 20 seconds in the microwave and mix with a small amount of melted soap. Once mixed, you can then add the small mixture to the larger batch of soap. If you are planning to one day reproduce your soap, you may want to use specific measurements so you can repeat your creation.
Step Four:
Next you will want to customize your soap and add any other additives. If you choose to add ingredients such as sweet almond oil or aloe vera, please remember that it will decrease the soap's clarity and lather. If you add oils you will also need to add a preservative because the oil will mold overtime. Other additives that are fun in soap are cosmetic grade glitter, pumice and goat's milk. Ground Oatmeal makes a wonderful scrub.

Step Five:
Pour Into Molds. Look for professional soap molds. You will find they last longer and are well worth the investment. Pour your soap into the soap mold. Let the air bubbles rise to the top. Lightly spray the top of the liquid soap base with rubbing alcohol and the bubbles will disappear. The easiest way to get the soap to release from the mold is to place it in the freezer for 20 minutes. Take it out and let it sit for several minutes. As the mold warms up it will expand and the soap will pop out.
Step Six:
As soon as your soap is hard it is ready to use. If you want to sell your soap you will want to wrap and seal it. Some of your options are plastic wrap, shrink wrap or cello bags. This will ensure that the fragrance will stay strong until the soap is used. Don't forget to label your soap!
Now it is time to get creative. Here are just a couple of ideas to get your started.

Layered Soap

Pour the first layer and let it cool just until it is firm enough to support the weight of the next layer. Spritz with rubbing alcohol and then pour the second layer. The alcohol will encourage adhesion. You can repeat this as many times as you would like.

Suspending

You can suspend items such as herbs in your soaps. You will want to prepare the soap as usual. After you have added the fragrance and colorants, remove the pan from the heat and cover with a lid. Let the pan sit until the outside is just warm to touch. While it is cooling, organize your additives and spray with rubbing alcohol. This will encourage adhesion and dissolve bubbles that may form. Once the pan is cool to touch remove the lid and stir in. Stir consistently but slowly and then pour into your molds

Embedding

Just pour a small layer of your clear scented soap into your mold. Wait until it is fairly solidified, then spray the item with rubbing alcohol and carefully place in the center. Pour in remaining clear soap until the item is fully covered and mold is filled. Wait until hardened, then remove.

Chunk Soap

Wait until soap is hard enough to remove from mold, then cut into small square chunks using a knife or chopping blade. Place chunks into your soap molds, single or multi colors. Pour in clear, uncolored soap base scented with fragrance of choice. Wait until hard and remove from mold. If your chunks tend to run into the clear outside soap, try putting them in the freezer for a while before pouring over them. Instead of chunks, try using a slicing plane and make curly shavings!

Swirls of Color

Using the white soap base, make a small batch of soap with concentrated coloring. Also make a larger batch of plain white soap in the scent of your choice. Pour the white soap into a mold. Wait until it begins to thicken slightly, then slowly dribble in some of the colored soap, gently swirling it around with a toothpick. Be careful not to swirl too much so it doesn't fully blend the two together. Do not move mold around. Let it sit until fully hardened, then remove.




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