Melt and Pour is a clear glycerin soap base that is easily melted, coloured and moulded into stunning and creative soap. It is very gentle on Fragrances and Essential Oils and you don't need as much as with Cold Process Soapmaking. You can use vegetable dyes to colour your soap, but be aware that they will bleed (move around in the set soap) and they are not approved for cosmetic use. Nearly anything flexible can be used for a mould for this soap so long as it can withstand the temperature of hot Melt & Pour. We have a HUGE Range of Moulds for you to choose from!
Additives you can use are the same as for all Soap except you can embed toys, other soap and, with creativity, your soap can become artwork!
- Adding Beeswax will reduce the clarity and lather and won't necessarily make a harder, better soap
- Isopropyl Alcohol will increase the clarity and remove bubbles from the surface
- Butters and Oils add moisture to your bar but can cut lather as well
- Ground Loofah, Loofah Rounds, Herbs, ground nuts & ground pumice are exfoliants, so less is more!
You can:
- Embed toys (not for children under 5 years)
- Embed other M&P Soap pieces
- Embed Cold Processed Soap pieces or shreds
- Mix amazing Colours and fragrances
- Make works of Art
- Safe for ALL ages, so soap with a loved one!
What you can achieve with this wonderful soap is only limited by your imagination, and if you feel you may be creatively challenged there are always Books to look for ideas, and you can try imitating real life in soap!
We are often asked to recommend an amount of Butters and Oils that can be added to Melt & Pour Soap. Firstly - moderation! Never add more than 2% of any Oily additive to your base. Start out low with 0.5% and carefully increase keeping notes, to a maximum of 2% till you reach your desired effect.
Try adding 1 tablespoon of Oil (not more) per kilo of soap. If you add too much Oil or Butter you will reduce the lather, and all our bases already have Butters and Oils saponified into them, so they aren't as drying as other commercial bases. If you want to experiment, you can try a little Jojoba, Shea Butter, Mango Butter or Almond Oil to name just a few.
Melt or heat first, then add to your base. GENTLY stir through and then stir and stir some more! It is important to keep stirring and folding in the oil or butter until it is completely incorporated evenly into the base. We have found that as the base cools, the oils will begin to incorporate better. This takes a little longer, but the added oils are such a wonderful addition to your soap.
Glycerine attracts moisture and so the soap will appear to sweat. However, it is actually drawing water FROM the atmosphere, not exuding it from the centre of the soap. If it does sweat, simply wipe it away it's still fine to use. Glycerin is a humectant, which means it draws moisture to the skin. It is also 'Hygroscopic' which means that it takes up and retains water particularly during humid or wet weather. This is why you must wrap your soap as soon as it has rested a while.
To avoid this, firstly, be careful not to overheat the base. The optimum melting temperature is 50°C for our new custom bases. If you heat the soap above this, it will sweat badly and have a high degree of water loss, which affects its composition. We suggest you wrap your glycerin soaps within a day or so, particularly in humid or damp weather. We sell Cello Bags and Sheets which work well.
Spritzing with Isopropyl Alcohol will eliminate bubbles from the surface of the soap which makes a nice finish for your soap. It is also necessary if you want to embed other pieces of soap, or pour different layers - it is your melt and pour soap Glue! So don't forget to spritz with alcohol before trying to embed or add layers as this will help the embeds/layers stick together better.
Rememeber, with Melt & Pour Soap, if you aren't happy with the result, simply remelt and adjust the colour or fragrance, and repour! No waste, it can all be used again.
