by 10 people |
A Fun, Easy and Creative Hobby
Discover a great craft project to do with kids. Homemade soaps make attractive gifts. It is also great for people with sensitive skin because you can choose and control the ingredients. Most melt and pour bases are made from glycerin and are gentle.
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List of Materials
Melt and pour soap base
Pyrex container
Food scale
Cutting board
Cling wrap
Fragrance oil (optional)
Spoon
Soap-safe dye (optional)
Large knife (non serrated edge)
Rubbing alcohol in spray bottle
Ramekin for fragrance oil
Cloths and paper towels (for cleaning up any mess)
Soap mold
Pyrex container
Food scale
Cutting board
Cling wrap
Fragrance oil (optional)
Spoon
Soap-safe dye (optional)
Large knife (non serrated edge)
Rubbing alcohol in spray bottle
Ramekin for fragrance oil
Cloths and paper towels (for cleaning up any mess)
Soap mold
Melt and Pour Soap Base - White
Step 1: Melt the Soap Base
Cut the block of melt and pour base into chunks with a large knife. Use a food scale to measure the amount of soap you will need to fill the mold. First put the container you will use on the scale and set it to zero. Then add chunks of base until it is the right amount.
If you are improvising your own recipe, it is useful to know how much soap you are melting to add an appropriate amount of fragrance oil. The general guideline is .25 (1/4) to .3 (about 1/3) ounce of fragrance oil to 1 pound of soap.
Microwave Method
Add chunks to a Pyrex container.
Cover container with cling wrap.
Heat in microwave on high power for short bursts, 20-30 seconds at a time, until completely melted.
Double Boiler Method
Add chunks to the top section of a double boiler or medium to large metal mixing bowl.
Add water to the bottom section of a double boiler or a pot.
Put the bowl on top of the pot.
Bring the water to a boil and heat the soap, stirring occasionally until it melts.
Warning
Be Careful once the soap is melted. It will be very hot, around 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Children should be well supervised and should not pour the melted soap.
If you are improvising your own recipe, it is useful to know how much soap you are melting to add an appropriate amount of fragrance oil. The general guideline is .25 (1/4) to .3 (about 1/3) ounce of fragrance oil to 1 pound of soap.
Microwave Method
Add chunks to a Pyrex container.
Cover container with cling wrap.
Heat in microwave on high power for short bursts, 20-30 seconds at a time, until completely melted.
Double Boiler Method
Add chunks to the top section of a double boiler or medium to large metal mixing bowl.
Add water to the bottom section of a double boiler or a pot.
Put the bowl on top of the pot.
Bring the water to a boil and heat the soap, stirring occasionally until it melts.
Warning
Be Careful once the soap is melted. It will be very hot, around 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Children should be well supervised and should not pour the melted soap.
Soap Base Ready to Melt
Step 2: Customize the Soap
Add soap-safe dyes, fragrance oils, herbs, oatmeal, or soap-safe mica colorants. There are many free recipes and instructions for decorative melt and pour soap projects available on the Internet.
Feel free to improvise and make new recipes. Imagination is the limit.
Guideline for Adding Fragrance
.25 (1/4) to .3 (about 1/3) ounce of fragrance oil to 1 pound of soap base. Use the food scale again to measure the fragrance oil. Put the ramekin on the scale and set it to zero. Add drops of the oil to the ramekin until it is the right amount.
Feel free to improvise and make new recipes. Imagination is the limit.
Guideline for Adding Fragrance
.25 (1/4) to .3 (about 1/3) ounce of fragrance oil to 1 pound of soap base. Use the food scale again to measure the fragrance oil. Put the ramekin on the scale and set it to zero. Add drops of the oil to the ramekin until it is the right amount.
Step 3: Pour the Soap Into the Mold
Pour slowly and carefully to avoid creating bubbles or splash. A spritz from a spray bottle filled with rubbing alcohol will get rid of small bubbles.
Let the soap cool. It can take several hours at room temperature or about one hour in the refrigerator.
Plastic soap molds are available at the craft store, but baking sheets, baking dishes and ramekins can be used as molds. Most heat resistant containers will work.
While they may be very decorative, don't use chocolate molds. The plastic is not as heat resistant.
Let the soap cool. It can take several hours at room temperature or about one hour in the refrigerator.
Plastic soap molds are available at the craft store, but baking sheets, baking dishes and ramekins can be used as molds. Most heat resistant containers will work.
While they may be very decorative, don't use chocolate molds. The plastic is not as heat resistant.
"Children must be closely supervised around melted soap base. It is around 150 degrees F."
Step 4: Unmold the Soap
If the soap does not easily pop out of the mold, try tapping the back of the mold firmly with the palm of your hand or a spoon. Still stuck? Turn the mold upside down and run hot water over it.
Handmade Molded Soaps
Book Recommendation
Melt & Mold Soap Crafting
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 11/09/2009)
This book has lots of fun projects that show different techniques step by step. It is well illustrated with colorful photos.
Melt and Pour Recipe: Lavender Soap
Ingredients
1 lb. melt and pour soap base (preferably white, not clear)
.3 ounce (almost 1/3 ounce) lavender fragrance oil
10 drops lilac (or purple) soap-safe dye (or 5 drops blue and 5 drops red)
1 1/2 Tablespoons dried lavender flowers
Add the fragrance, dye and dried flowers separately and in that order. Stir gently after adding each ingredient to the soap.
If it is hard to find a bag of dried lavender, buy a lavender sachet (without added perfume) from a bath store. Untie or cut open the sachet and pour out the tiny dried flowers.
Read and follow the tip for even distribution of suspended ingredients.
1 lb. melt and pour soap base (preferably white, not clear)
.3 ounce (almost 1/3 ounce) lavender fragrance oil
10 drops lilac (or purple) soap-safe dye (or 5 drops blue and 5 drops red)
1 1/2 Tablespoons dried lavender flowers
Add the fragrance, dye and dried flowers separately and in that order. Stir gently after adding each ingredient to the soap.
If it is hard to find a bag of dried lavender, buy a lavender sachet (without added perfume) from a bath store. Untie or cut open the sachet and pour out the tiny dried flowers.
Read and follow the tip for even distribution of suspended ingredients.
Tip: Even Distribution of Suspended Ingredients
Ingredients like oatmeal, herbs, spices and dried flowers add texture and decoration to soap. One common problem is that they naturally float up to the top and do not stay distributed throughout the whole bar. There are two options to keep ingredients suspended evenly.
1. Buy a special base. Some melt and pour bases are specifically formulated for suspension. They stay thicker when melted and the ingredients do not float.
2. Use a regular melt and pour base. Add all the ingredients. Let the melted base cool and partially thicken, gently stirring occasionally to keep suspended ingredients distributed. This will only take a few minutes. When it is thick enough that the additives no longer float up, pour the soap into the mold.
Be careful not to let it get too cool and thick or it will not pour well. If it gets too thick, the soap can be warmed up for a few seconds in the microwave.
1. Buy a special base. Some melt and pour bases are specifically formulated for suspension. They stay thicker when melted and the ingredients do not float.
2. Use a regular melt and pour base. Add all the ingredients. Let the melted base cool and partially thicken, gently stirring occasionally to keep suspended ingredients distributed. This will only take a few minutes. When it is thick enough that the additives no longer float up, pour the soap into the mold.
Be careful not to let it get too cool and thick or it will not pour well. If it gets too thick, the soap can be warmed up for a few seconds in the microwave.
Lavender Soap Bars
Links to Free Melt and Pour Recipes
- Melt and Pour Soap Recipes
- An informative site with several recipes and photos of finished soaps by Carolyn Hasenfratz.
- Soapcrafters
- Several recipes, including Chocolate Kiss Soap and Jewel Soap.
- Soap and Body Spa
- Several recipes, including Orange Marmalade Soap and Ocean Herb Soap.
Soap Making Supplies
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Soap Sushi Rolls
Fun Fall Project 1: Autumn Leaves
Fun Fall Project 2: Apple Autum Bars with Embedded Leaves
Vote for Your Favorite Soap Making Book
Have you used any of these guides? Vote for the most helpful one.
The Art of Making Melt and Pour Soaps by Deborah R. Dolen
If you want to make bath time fun, just make your more...0 points
Gourmet Soaps Made Easy by Melinda Coss
Using modern materials and exotic oils, here are d more...0 points
Soapmaker's Companion: A Comprehensive Guide with Recipes, Techniques & Know-How (Natural Body Series - The Natural Way to Enhance Your Life) by Susan Miller Cavitch
Basic soapmaking instruction and specialty techniq more...0 points
The Natural Soap Book: Making Herbal and Vegetable-Based Soaps by Susan Miller Cavitch
An inspiring exploration of the goodness of chemic more...0 points
Making Transparent Soap: The Art of Crafting, Molding, Scenting & Coloring by Catherine Failor
With common ingredients and equipment, readers can more...0 points
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What do you think?
Was your creativity inspired? Were the instructions helpful and clear? Did you have fun making a project?
Light-in-me wrote...
This is a great lens, I love the homemade soaps that you show they are really nice.
I want to try it now !
Great job !
Posted May 25, 2009
Ramkitten wrote...
I'm smiling, partly because I misread the title of your lens, thinking it was "Melt and Pour SOUP." Actually, though, this topic was much more interesting to me. I love specialty soaps, but I never buy them, just receive them as gifts now and then. This is a great idea for homemade gift-making, and then I could make some extra to keep for myself. Glad I found this. Nice job!
Posted May 24, 2009
LaraineRose wrote...
It looks like fun and ... so easy that even I might be able to make it. Mum used to make her own soap but it looked a lot harder than this. 5*s for the information. Favored and lensrolled to my LaraineRose lens.
Posted March 21, 2009
Margo_Arrowsmith wrote...
They look like little candies, I might eat them by accident! ***** to you
Posted January 04, 2009
Comfortdoc wrote...
Thanks for adding this to the Month of Thanks Challenge. Looks like a lot of fun. I have the models and the soap, just haven't had the time to do anything.
Posted November 03, 2008
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I am a freelance writer living in the magnificent Pacific Northwest. Formerly I taught ESL to adults in Korea and in the US. I have always expressed m... (more)
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