Teach Soap

I have had the urge to make soaps for a while now. Hot Processed and Melt & Pour. I think I pretty much have my ideas for Hot Processed, but as far as Melt & Pour I am working on purchasing initial supplies to do basic designs and techniques. I have a ton of questions:

How in the world does one make swirls? Is there a stick that people use and if so what type of stick and where can I buy it from?

Colorants? I have decided to purchase a few colorants that are skin safe and do not bleed on the BB website. They are sampler kits:

Pigment Sampler Pack, Earthtones and Metallic Micas Sampler Pack, Brights and Pastel Micas Sampler Pack. Are these the correct sampler packs that are non bleeding and for someone just starting out with M&P Soaps?

When using colorants, I need to make sure that I am within the correct amount so it won't cause the colorants dye the skin am I correct?

I am purchasing the M&P Sampler Kit to see what I like the best.

I would prefer to use my double boiler for my M&P Soaps instead of a microwave. Am I able to do this as well, I see many people using microwaves but I would like to use my double boiler. I just have to make sure its within the proper temperature right?

Embeds? I see so many people doing Embeds. I know you can use toy embeds, molds etc… but I am wondering if people use other M&P bases to do other types of embeds such as blocks, shreds etc?

Some of these questions may seem really crazy and I apologize. But I am new to soap making.

Thanks

Try Anne-Marie's from BrambleBerry tutorials.
http://www.soapqueen.com/category/bath- ... pour-soap/

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I found color blocks with your link lol. Thanks I am going to get some of these too. From what I am reading the color blocks are M&P but the coloring process is already done.

Am I correct?

I think I am going to order a few products and take a break. Information overload.

Yes. The colors blocks are made from MP and are pre-colored, so they are easy to use.

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Dream:

Yes, you can certainly use a double boiler for melting your melt and pour bases. I happen to do my soaping in 3 different places and one of them doesn't have a micro wave. There are a few differences, but not to worry.

I have found that using a microwave makes soaping very quick and simple, but you have to make sure not to boil the MP. You have to keep an eye on it and not let the timing of the microwave go on too long. Some times this can be tedious as you may have to re-heat the base a couple of times after adding your fragrance and color.

On the other hand, the double boiler method keeps the soap nice and warm while you are fiddling around with colors and cups and molds and other preparations. I can place more that one measuring cup in the double boiler to get more than one soap going when doing swirling, etc. I really like the fact that I can melt a tiny bit of soap in a little container and by using the double boiler method, I avoid steaming/burning the soap in just a few seconds in the microwave.

I hope this helps and I hope you enjoy soaping as much as I do!