Teach Soap

Hi,

I have been searching the internet literally for weeks now to find a good M&P base. The cheapest ones I could find in Germany are about 8 € per kilo + 4 € postage costs (= shipping), which means 2.2 lb. for about 11 $ + about 5.30 $ postage. More than 16 $ for slightly more than 2 lb. of soap base???

That's actually what made me look elsewhere and so eventually I came across Brambleberry and this forum. Having read quite a bit about different soap suppliers and MP bases, I am actually now convinced that BB has the best bases.

Now I am just wondering which ones would be best to order for an absolute beginner.

Can I mix them somehow, like would it actually work and make sense to pour layers with different bases? Like could I make a layered soap with an olive oil base as the translucent part and a normal white M&P base for the opaque part? Or would it rather make sense to buy both the normal clear and normal white bases for this purpose and use the special bases like olive, shea butter, aloe vera etc. strictly by themselves without mixing them with other bases?

If I want an olive oil bases M&P soap with translucent and opque parts, is it then maybe better to achieve the opaque effect by using titanium dioxide? Or does this not work for other than normal clear bases?

What is the difference between the normal clear and white M&P base and the LCP white and clear M&P soap base? What I've so far understood is that the LCP base is a CP like soap even though it's not CP. However, I am wondering whether particular soap bases are better for some soap project than for others and what they are actually all best for or - on the other hand - not suitable for?
Can I make the same kind of soap projects with both bases regardless?

Which bases do you mostly use for your projects?

What kind of projects can you recommend the different normal and special BB M&P bases for?

Uuuh, so many questions, but somehow I need to figure out which kind of base to order.

There will be more shortly... as there is still the question of color...

Looking forward to your replies,
Susie xxx

Does nobody have an answer or was my post just too long and complicated?
Would it be better to ask at BB directly?

I just thought I could save them some extra work in case anyone here has answers to my questions.

Thanks.

Susie xxx

Yes you can mix bases - I love a goats milk & honey blend. Honey and aloe is another good one. the main thing to remember is that the clear and opaque bases have different density and so won't blend unless they're stirred or melted together...if you try pouring say red honey and blue goats milk in a mold at the same time, instead of a pretty red at one end, blue at the other and purple in the middle you're going to get red at one in, blue at the other and some odd looking solid "clouds" in the middle where the two meet without blending.
I've never used titanium dioxide, so can't tell you about that. But the best way to figure out what base to use for what is just to dive in and order a few, and play with them. Make one bar of each blend you want to try, see what works and what doesn't. Basically when it comes to M&P, what you can do with one you can do with all. The LCP I know nothing about, but I've yet to find a product that didn't do exactly what Bramblebery said it would do so read the website description thoroughly and it should answer most of your questions.
Happy soaping!

Ooops -it posted twice...

Thanks so much. This helps a lot.

Susie xxx

hi! I think the LCP is low sweat, which means it won't sweat as much as the regular one. It was my first base I bought and no it hasn't sweated yet and I have a couple pieces sitting out in the air on my bathroom sink from 2 months ago that don't have any "sweat beads" on them. I have to say I haven't had any sweating issues with the regular one either. I thought it was humid in here but I guess it's not. I have a couple pieces made from the regular base that have not sweated yet either. I do think a piece of my goats milk has sweat spots on it though. Just wrap them in plastic wrap when you are done and you should be good not matter which type you buy.

When I m and p I purchase clear base and use titanium dioxide to make it white. I use the same base for a single batch it makes my ordering much simpler also, just LCD clear.

Yes, BB is definitely the best. I just began soapmaking about three weeks ago so I'm with you on the "beginning!" I have tried the clear and white M&P and both performed brilliantly. Much better than the other company I tried some from. It melts more evenly and lathers well. I ordered some Shea Butter M&P to make some solid sugar scrubs. I'll let you know how that goes, but I've heard it is great. Good luck!
Cheers!

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Carrie


Photos of my jewelry: www.flickr.com/photos/takimakidesigns

Hi, Susie!

I don't see why you couldn't mix or layer different types of bases. Normally I use the clear and white bases when I layer, but I would think you could layer, say, goats milk and honey bases so long as the preceding layer is still warm but has a thick enough skin to support the next layer, and you spritz with rubbing alcohol between pours. I have heard that you should never try to layer different brands of bases (i.e., bases from different manufacturers) because they are formulated differently from each other and may set up at different rates, making adhesion difficult. So you wouldn't want to layer BB's base with a craft store base, for instance.

When I use the special bases, like olive oil or goats milk, etc., I tend to stick with that base all on its own, but that's just a personal preference. You can always try to layer them up in a small batch. The nice thing is, if it doesn't work out, you can just remelt!

I've never tried to add titanium dioxide to a base. If I want white, I usually just get the white base. Or, if I want a touch or opaqueness in my clear base, I usually just melt a bit of white base in with my clear. If you add TD to a base like olive oil or honey, I'm not sure if you'd get a true, bright white since those bases have a natural golden tint to them, but it should give you some degree of opaqueness.

LCP base (like cold-process) contains less glycerin than the regular base so that it sweats less (I think I'd still wrap it in plastic just to be safe - I live in humid Florida). I used LCP once when I couldn't get the regular, and I liked it fine (although I prefer the regular base). I was afraid to try to layer LCP with the regular base, though, because I was worried they might wear down at different rates.

If you want to try just a little bit of a bunch of different bases, you might like BB's M&P base sampler kit: http://www.brambleberry.com/A-Melt-And- ... P4280.aspx

BB does have the best bases I have used. When I started out with M&P, I bought a kit at my local craft store, just to see if I liked it. The difference between the bases (and colorants and fragrance oils) was huge - BB has such high quality ingredients, stuff you can't find in the craft stores.

Have fun experimenting!

_________________
- Jenny -
My soapy blog:
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BB has great MP bases, though I will say, the LCP made 95% of my customers itch, and it was bad! I quit using that base and went back to the regular base and just wrapped in saran wrap (cling film) right away. None of my customers have complained about itching with the regular base.

Best of luck!

Brandy

PS-BB has a bit of a long turn out time right now, so order early.

I've used pretty much all of them and it really does come down to personal preference. I've lately been using the LCP (clear and white) as here in Melbourne, Australia we've had one of the most humid, wet and miserable summers in living memory! The other day we had the highest humidity in the world at about 98%!!! I wouldn't recommend the LCP for e beginner soaper though - I find it set up REALLY quickly and, when you're new, you need that extra time to fiddle about a bit ... I still do! lol
All of the bases seem to work well together for detailing, embedding, layering etc and I've not had any separate (goat's milk, normal base, LCP, shea, hemp, etc) unless it's from something I've done wrong
Titanium Dioxide can be handy to have for those moments when you run out of white soap base but as a general rule it's easiest just to have the white base on hand. The pack referred to above by jrose is a great way to start - most of us use bases that we've tried and like for MANY different reasons! I love the hemp soap and also the goat's milk for myself but most of the people who buy the soap off me seem to like the plain base. Goat's milk with no colour or fragrance is great for those with sensitive skin though!
Soapyloves colourants are great as you get a beautiful crisp colour in clear base and beautiful shades in white base. It does say on the website that they bleed but (touch wood) I've not had any bleed yet! The best colours to get are those you think are "mixable" eg red, blue (together make purple) yellow (yellow and blue make green and yellow and red make orange). Hot pink is also a great one as it makes a really pretty girly colour! Keep in mind that the colours you get will be intense in clear soap and pastel in white.
Fragrance Oil/Essential Oil - don't get me started!!! Once you start it's hard to stop!!!!! Molds are the same - it's an addiction! You always say - NO MORE ... except for maybe that one lol.
Have fun with it - it's a great craft and you can let your imagination run wild!

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Soaper from Melbourne Australia
Founding member of Melt & Pour Soap Crafters ... find us on Facebook - we'd love to see you!

Molly, I totally agree about the addiction to molds and FO. Just when I tell myself you have enough I go 'just to look' and then have to have at least 3 more!

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

I can recommend a couple of UK online stores. I'm not sure if they would be cheaper postage to Germany or not.

http://www.justasoap.co.uk/catalog/index.htm is cheaper for orders under £20 and http://www.soapbasics.com/contents/en-uk/d23.html if your total order is going to be over £20.

They don't have the same range that Brambleberry do though. This doesn't bother me, as I usually just buy palm-free clear base. If I want it white or opaque, I add titanium oxide. If I want honey I add honey (local honey if I can). If I want shea butter, I add shea butter. For goats milk... wait for it... I add... CABBAGES! (Only kidding... I actually add powdered goats milk, which is also a really nice ingredient to add to bath bombs, to give you a really luxurious skin softening soak). I kind of like being able to just add the extra ingredients I want.

I always buy either palm-free or from companies that are committed to using sustainable resources.

Also, I found a random uk based craft company selling a nice set of micas more affordably than I've seen anywhere else.

Oh and these guys do some really great fragrance oils.

seem to have the best selection and value for moulds in a UK based store, though justasoap do some nice better quality ones. I'm guessing most of the above companies would be happy to ship to the EU. (In fact, pretty sure I've seen it on postage options). Also, I don't know if its the same in Germany, but in the UK, we sometimes have to pay extra customs tax if we order things from the US. I would expect this to be less costly (if it is even an issue at all) between EU countries.

Remember if you get past beginner stage and decide to sell your products that EU regulations are different to US ones.

...I have to keep reminding myself to buy moulds which produce soaps which are marketable... as I'm hoping soon to make the shift from hobby to small business. I really love these playing cards moulds (), but reckon I could only sell playing card soaps as a set, and that people probably wouldn't buy individual playing cards. Booo!

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"The question is: does it work on stage? If it works on stage, does it fit the theory? If it works on stage, but doesn't fit the theory; throw out the theory." Bertolt Brecht