I am new to soap making, can you help me?Updated 3 months ago

We are here to help you succeed! We are going to answer some common melt and pour soap questions that we get asked frequently by customers. Since these questions are common, its likely that these are the issues most soap makers will come across when making their melt and pours soaps. So, let's get these soaping issues solved so you can create some gorgeous bars of mp soap!

Do you Offer Melt and Pour Soap Supplies?

Yes, we do! We offer all kinds of melt and pour soap making supplies! Click on the Soap Making Supplies tab on the website and you will find soap base, soap colorants, an mp soap kit, soap additives, and soap molds. Everything that you could need right in one easy place!

Can I Make Soap Without Using Lye?

Since the mp soap base has already been made, you can create melt and pour soap without worrying about the lye. If you are wondering "What is the difference between melt and pour soap and cold process soap?", then this is a big difference. While melt and pour is pre-made and can be remelted, cold process soap is made from scratch using lye.

Can Melt and Pour Soap Be Used Right Away?

Since mp soap was already made and the saponification process has already taken place, you don't have to wait to use your soap. As soon as the melt and pour soaps have hardened in the molds, you can pop them out and use them!

Where Do I Find the Melt and Pour Soap Ingredients?

You can find the soap base ingredients in two places. The first place is online, as each mp soap base has the ingredients listed in the description. Also, these ingredients can be found on the label of the base itself.

What Soap Making Supplies Do I Need to Make Melt and Pour Soap?

Most importantly, you will need a microwave or double boiler and mp soap. Also, you will need a cutting board, knife, a microwave safe dish, spoon, rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle, and a soap mold. If you want fragrance, color, or herbs you will need to have these out, too.

How Do I Melt Soap Into a New Bar?

Melt and Pour soap can be melted using a double boiler on a stove top or a bowl in the microwave. Just make sure that you use 30 second intervals to warm the soap int the microwave. Otherwise, it may get too hot and your soap will be ruined. Also, make sure that you are watchful when melting soap on the stove. While a double boiler on medium heat will help to protect your soap, you don't want to heat it too much longer after it is liquid.

How Much Soap Will I Need for My Mold?

Formula: (Weight Needed Per Ounce) x (Ounces Mold Holds) = Total Weight

How Do I Get My Melt and Pour Soap Out of the Mold?

Sometimes your soap may get stuck in the mold. You can place the mold in the fridge for a short amount of time. Once the chilled soap mold is removed, the soaps should pop out fairly easily.

What Temperature Should I Pour Melt and Pour Soap?

Melt and Pour soap should be poured in a liquid state, which should be around 140 degrees Fahrenheit. So, you can pour your soap once it has all completely melted.

Why Do I Have Bubbles in My Melt and Pour Soap?

Although making air bubbles is unavoidable, you can get rid of them by spraying lightly with rubbing alcohol. These are often air bubbles that form when you pour, so you can release them by spraying right after you pour. However, bubbles that are a light-yellow color are fragrance oil and won't go away by spraying. This is either due to adding too much fragrance oil or not mixing thoroughly.

Why is My Homemade Soap So Oily?

One reason that you soaps would be oily is that they contain too much oil. So, you can try reducing the amount of the fragrance oil and/or the carrier oil that you are adding to your soaps. If your bars look like they are sweating, then it could be due to not wrapping the soap soon enough. Since your soap contains an ingredient, vegetable glycerin, that pulls moisture to it, it will pull moisture out of the air to create "sweat". But, you can lessen your chances of this by wrapping your soaps right after they are out of the mold.

Why is My Melt and Pour Soap Dissolving So Fast?

While a softer bar of soap is great for nourishing the skin, it is more likely to dissolve quickly in water. So, you can add some extra oil to your soap to moisturize. However, adding too much will make your bar very soft and it will dissolve quickly in the shower.

How Do I Swirl Melt and Pour Soap?

While it is possible to swirl mp soap, it is a bit trickier to swirl compared to cp soaps. On its own melt and pour soap won't swirl. Instead, the colors will mix before the soap hardens. So, you need to add a cosmetic powder, like clay, fruit, or veggie powders. This will slightly thicken the soap and create tension between the two colors that are gong to create the swirl. We did this in our own Swirled Melt and Pour Soap Recipe!

Why Won't My Melt and Pour Soap Lather?

There are a few possible answers to this question. First off, soap can loose its lather due to an excess of oils and herbs being added to the bar. Also, some types of our soap base use ingredients that naturally lather better.

Why is My Soap Not Hardening?

If your melt and pour soap isn't hardening, then it could be due to adding too much oil. Whether the culprit is fragrance oil, carrier oil, or both, it is most likely that this excess oil is to blame. Another possibility is that the soap was overheated, which resulted in a break down in the soaps that prevents it from working properly.

Can You Use Essential Oils in Melt and Pour Soap?

Of course! Many essential oils can be used in soap making and the rules for using them safely are just like the ones for fragrance oils. So, you need to check the IFRA sheet to determine usage rates and figure out whether the specific essential oil is body safe. You can find this IFRA statement on the page of each individual essential oil that we carry. Many are body safe scents, but some are not considered safe for prolonged skin contact.

How Do I Color Melt and Pour Soap?

We have soap dye, soap colorants, and powdered herbs that can be used to color your homemade soaps. The soap dyes are great for solid color soaps, but tend to bleed when used in layered soap. Also, the white soap base will provide a more pastel color and the clear soap will give a more true color. The FUN Soap Colorants are vibrant colors that are more true in all soap bases. Lastly, the natural form of coloring soaps is cosmetic herbs, which are perfect for a rustic or natural look. Just be aware that herbs can oxidize over time and cause discoloration of the soap.

Do You Offer Melt and Pour Soap Recipes?

Of course! We have a wide variety of melt and pour soap recipes and soap making ideas. Check out our recipes section on our website.

Do you Offer Soap Making Kits?

Yes! We have the Melt and Pour Soap Kit available.

Why Won't My Soap Frosting Setup on My Melt and Pour Soap?

If you are making cupcake soap wholesale, then the frosting is a pretty big deal. You are going to want to use the whipped soap base, melt and pour soap, and vegetable glycerin. The soap base allows the frosting to harden on the cupcake, while the vegetable glycerin allows for a little flexibility. If you are curious and thinking, "How do I make melt and pour soap frosting?", then check out our Soap Frosting Recipe to see how we make the frosting for our soap cupcakes. While the recipe goes into more detail, basically it is equal parts of mp soap base and whipped soap base with 5% of vegetable glycerin and fragrance oil all whipped into a frosting consistency.

Are Most Recipes are Showing Oils Measured in Weight Ounces Or in Fluid Ounces?

In our soap recipes we will use weight ounces. We do this because weight ounces are more accurate than fluid ounces. So, we highly recommend weighing your ingredients using a gram scale. This will allow you to be precise in your measurements and prevent accidental mix ups.

What is the Best Way to Wrap Melt and Pour Soap?

There are a few different ways that you can package your finished soaps. We prefer to use shrink wrap, but you can use ziplock bags, or a decorative box.

How Should Soap Be Stored?

After your soap is wrapped, you can store it in a cool, dry place for later use.

Do you Offer Any Melt and Pour Soap Recipes with Shea Butter?

We sure do! If you go to the Shea Butter Melt and Pour Soap page of the website and click on the Recipe tab, you will see all kinds of melt and pour soap recipes. For example, we have the Zebra Print Soap Recipe and the Graffiti Melt and Pour Soap Recipe that both use shea butter mp soap.

History of Soap

Today, there are all kinds of different types of soap from melt and pour soap recipes to commercially made soaps. However, the first soaps ever made weren't too fancy. In fact, the first known use of soap was by ancient Babylonians that used animal fats and ashes as their ingredients. If you want to learn more interesting soap facts, then check out History of Soap and Soap Interesting Facts by Soap History.

Ask Us Your Questions

Hopefully, this blog was helpful in learning a bit more about melt and pour soap. If you have anything else that you aren't sure of, then please ask us your questions. One easy way to reach out and talk to us is social media. We have an account on Facebook, Twitter (@ngscents), and Instagram (@ngscents).