Step By Step Melt and Pour Soap Instructions

Making Melt and Pour soap is both easy and fun. Out of all the types of soapmaking out there this and Hand-milled soap is the easiest, making it so even the most inexperienced non crafty person can make soap. The nice thing about Melt and Pour soap is that it is safe for the kids to do as well and needs minimal adult supervision, although either recommended or required depending on the age of the children, for melting the soap.

These are general step by step instructions and some tips and techniques on how to make Melt and Pour soap. The specific information on adding Fragrance and Essential Oils, Colorants, additives, botanicals, and other ingredients is provided in the individual soap recipes found on the recipe pages.

Skilled soapmakers can turn Melt and Pour soap base into beautiful sculptures, they will often embed little gifts or trinkets, such as costume jewelry, tiny toys, toy creatures, coins, and so on in the Melt and Pour soap base.

Step 1: Preparation

Calculate the amount of melt and Pour soap base you need to fill your mold by filling it with water and pour into a measuring cup.

Melt at least on extra ounce of soap base to account for the amount that will cling to the sides of the measuring cup.

Slice and cut the soap base into small pieces for quick easy melting.

Make sure all the bowls, measuring cups and mixing spoons bowls, measuring cups and mixing spoons are completely dry. NEVER ADD WATER to melt and pour soap bases.

Step 2: Measuring and melting

Place approximately 1 cup of chopped up soap pieces in a heat resistant glass measuring cup and microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute on high. The amount of time needed for melting depends on the amount of soap. Melt the soap in small time intervals to keep it from boiling over.

Remove from the microwave and stir lightly to completely melt any remaining soap pieces. Do not leave the mixing spoon in the soap while heating. You can also melt your soap base on the stove in a double boiler. Just adjust the heat to keep the soap at a constant liquid point, but do not let the soap heat more than 10 minutes.

Step 3: Add your additives, colorants and fragrance

Add in your additives, colorants, any butters and oils , and your fragrance or essential oils to the melted soap and stir in gently to mix.

Step 4: Mould your soaps

Pour your soap base into the molds

Step 5: Let cool

Let the soap cool and harden completely before removing from the mold. The soap should pop out easily when completely set.

• To set your melt and pour soap faster, set in the refrigerator until the soap is cooled.

• If your soap starts to solidify before you are done pouring it in the mold or adding you additives, gently reheat it to remelt it.

• It is harmless to remelt your soap base. Repeated remelting of the clear soap base makes it more transparent as the excess moisture evaporates; but repeated remelting of coconut oil soap base will make it a harder bar of soap.

• If you melt more base than what is needed to fill your chosen molds, pour the leftover soap base into another mold or plastic container, let set, unmold, and remelt for another project. Always have an extra mold on hand just in case this happens when you are creating your soaps.

• When cleaning up, don’t put your measuring cups or spoons in the dishwasher. The melt and pour soap base is designed to make lots of luxurious bubbles, and the soap left on the equipment could foam and cause the dishwasher to leak.

Chunk Style soaps

This method suspends colored soap (base #1) pieces in a larger block of clear or opaque soap (base #2). Base #1 can be molded, slivered into long or short curls, cut into chunks, or grated before it is added to the mold and base#2 is poured over top. If base #1 is made out of opaque melt and pour soap base, it is best to chill the pieces before pouring the clear soap base #2 over top. This is to prevent the white pigment from leaching into the clear soap base. If soap base#1 is made out of coconut oil melt and pour soap base, don’t chill it. Chilling could prevent the pieces from forming a solid bar.

Defined Colored areas

You can create multi-colored soaps by double molding different colors and types of soap. An example of this would be to make a checkered soap. You would first mold soap in one color (color 1), cut the soap into squares, and arrange the squares in a checkerboard pattern. Then the second colored soap (color 2) is poured over top. These soaps differ from the chunk style soaps in the fact that the pieces of color #1 are arranged to create a specific pattern or picture.

Marbling Melt and Pour soap

You can make wonderfully beautiful marbled soaps by pouring clear glycerin melt and pour soap and white glycerin melt and pour soap bases into a mold at the same time and letting them gently swirl together. You can pour these soaps colored or not. You can however pour different colors of coconut oil base together but you can’t pour coconut oil melt and pour soap base and clear glycerin melt and pour soap base together as they will separate because of their different densities.

Layering Melt and Pour soaps

Since you can’t mix coconut oil soap base with the glycerin soap base as they will separate because of their different densities, you can however layer them. The glycerin soap base will sink to the bottom of the mould and the white coconut soap base will rise to the top of the mould, with a mixed layer in the middle. You can also layer different colors of the same soap base, simply let the first layer set before adding the additional layers.

Additives on top of your Melt and Pour soaps

Additives such as powdered spices, seeds, and grains will tend to sink to the bottom of the molds, giving your soap a natural, authentic look. To achieve this effect, simply add your additives to the melted soap just before pouring, or place your additives in the bottom of the soap mold before pouring in the melted soap base in.

Suspend additives throughout your Melt and Pour Soap

If you would like your additives suspended throughout your soap, you need to do this extra step to keep them from sinking to the bottom of your mold. Add your additives to the melted soap base and gently stir with a fork to slowly cool and thicken your soap base. Immediately after your soap starts to thicken, pour the soap in to your mold. The soap will harden with the additives suspended throughout the soap.

Be careful not to let your soap thicken so much that it is too thick to pour into the mold. IF this does happen, just remelt and start again.

Now that you have got an idea of how to make Melt and pour soaps why not head over to the recipe collection and try a few out.

Click here to go to hand-milled soap instructions

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