Melt and Pour Soap Primer
Melt and pour (M&P) is by far the easiest way to make your own soap. All you need to do is take a few chunks of M&P soap base, melt them down, add color and scent, and pour the melted soap into a mold. A few hours later, you’ve got soap! It’s a very easy, quick craft to learn.
I’ve made more batches of M&P soap than I could even count. It sells extremely well at craft fairs, especially holiday-themed soap. You can play with it a lot more than soap from scratch too. Molds can be anything that will hold the hot soap, and release the solid bars easily. Embedding small toys, herbs, dried flowers, or even smaller soaps into an M&P bar is decorative and fun. And the best past is that if you make a mistake, you can just melt it down again and try something else!
To guarantee your success, keep a few things in mind. First, the best and most fool-proof way to melt your soap base is in a double-boiler. Microwaves can tend to overheat the soap, and nothing smells worse than burnt soap! Melt it down just until it’s smooth and completely liquid. Remove the top pan containing the soap from the heat and add your color, a little bit at a time, until you get the shade you want. Then add the fragrance - you can use scents specifically made for soap making, or try essential oils or even perfumes. Add the scent the same way you did the color, a little at a time.
Pour the prepared soap base into your molds almost to the point of over-filling. Then spray the bottom (which will be facing up) of each bar lightly with rubbing alcohol to reduce air bubbles that will rise to the surface. Once your bars have cooled completely, pop them out of the molds and use a vegetable peeler to smooth any rough edges. Your soap is ready to use!
Store melt and pour soap in a cool, dry place, preferably in an airtight container.
soap making, melt and pour soap, easy crafts
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