The Basics to Making Melt and Pour Soaps
Several years ago I was given a couple bars of hand made soap as a gift and I loved how beautiful and different they are to the ones we are so used to buying in the stores. This got me started into making my own melt and pour soaps. I know when we think of soapmaking, most of us will conger up thoughts of pilgrim ladies making soaps with animal fat and lye and stirring them for what seemed like forever.
Now with the discovery of glycerin or clear soaps, they can be made at home very simply. Melt and pour soaps are made by melting a soap base which can be bought at most craft stores and adding your favorite fragrances and colorants, and then pouring it into a mold. When it hardens back to room temperature, you simply pop the soap out of the mold and it is ready to be used. This is just a basic description of making melt and pour soaps and perfect for any beginner. As you get more into this craft, you will experiment with different types of additives, inserts, molds, and then maybe explore the areas of creating other bath products using some of these basic ingredients.
Making melt and pour soaps is really a very inexpensive craft to get into. The soap bases can be found in most craft stores and range from clear bases, white bases, all vegetable bases, animal based, aloe vera, and even made from goats milk. It is basically up to your personal preference and what you want your final soaps to look like. I would suggest looking for soap making kits when getting started just so you can learn the process and see if you are really going to enjoy soap making. I have found kits that contain a couple pounds of the soap base, a fragrance, soap dyes, and a soap mold. These usually have enough supplies to make about six bars of soap. Afterwards, if you see that soap making is something you want to be doing, there are many websites that allow you to buy soap making supplies in bulk. Besides this, you will need a microwave to melt your soap in, a good cutting knife, a cutting board, a spritz bottle of rubbing alcohol, some glass measuring cups, and I found craft sticks or Popsicle sticks to be very handy in stirring your soaps.
