How to Make Melt and Pour Soap
with
David Fisher
Making your own soap from scratch combines a little bit of creativity with a little bit of science and a little bit of cooking. See the easy steps to making melt and pour soap in your home.
Transcript: How to Make Melt and Pour Soap
Hi! I'm David Fisher with About.com. Making your own soap from scratch combines a little bit of creativity, a little bit of science, and a little bit of cooking. Today we are going to do a really basic batch of melt and pour soap base. While we will still be able to customize it with our own color and fragrance, the base is already pre-made.Melt and Pour Soap Supplies
For this project you will need:- a large microwavable Pyrex pitcher
- a cutting board
- an accurate scale
- about 12 oz of melt and pour soap base
- a good sharp knife
- fragrance
- colorant
- something to measure your fragrance
- a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol to get rid of any bubbles that may come on your soap
- a mold
Melt the Soap Base
The first thing we will need to do is measure out our soap base. This mold has three 4oz bars in it, so we are going to measure out 12 oz of soap base. We are going to put those pieces in the microwavable bowl, but they will melt quicker if you cut them into small chunks.Once the soap base is cut into smaller pieces, we can put it into the microwave. This 12 oz of soap will take about 2 minutes to melt. But you should melt it in let us say about 20 to 30 second segments to make sure you do not over cook it. It is also a good idea to cover it with saran wrap to keep all the moisture inside of the soap.
Measure the Soap Fragrance
While our soap is melting, you can measure out your fragrance oil. I usually like to fragrance my melt and pour soaps in about 3 percent (giver or take a percent depending on how strong your fragrance oil or essential oil is), so for about 12 oz of soap that means a little less then 4 tenths of an ounce of fragrance oil.Add the Fragrance and Color to the Soap
Our soap is all melted so now we are ready to put in our fragrance and color. Stir both of them with your whisk. If you wanted just a plain color clear soap you could just pour it like this, but we are going to make this soap a little more interesting but adding some color to it. And since it is a gem stone themed mold we are going to use an amethyst color in it.Just add a couple of drops and stir it with your whisk. Once the color and the fragrance oil are in, you are ready to pour.
Let the Soap Cool
This is where you would use your spray bottle of alcohol to get some of the bubbles away. That is it. Pretty easy, huh? You will wait until it hardens and cools. That will take about 30-40 minutes. You could even pop it into the refrigerator to cool more quickly. When the soap is cooled completely and hardened, simply flip the mold over and press gently on the back of the cavity and they will slowly pop out.The great thing about melt and pour soap is once you pop it out of the mold it is ready to use. Thanks for watching. For more information, visit us on the Web at About.com.