Teach Soap

Hi everyone, like the title says I am a newbie and a novice.........I have always wanted to make soaps and fragrance them with things I like, but always thought it was a bit too scary and really didn't know where to start.......I have tried looking up about making soap and I get lots of info on cold pressed, melt and pour and to be perfectly honest I have no idea what is the best, the easiest for a novice, or the nicest and was hoping some of you could give me some advice or hints, or basically speak to me in good old plain english so i understand whats being said to me

Me and my family love nice smelling bathing products, and I love to give handmade gifts, I'm not interested in selling, but would just like to give to friends and family for presents or gifts........I sew and make lots of quilts and bags for gifts for friends and thought this might be a nice extra to make......

So a little bit about me........I'm married with one daughter who is away at university, I live in Surrey, England and am almost 42. Looking forward to getting to know you......thanks for any help, advice, book recommendations or welcomes

Julez

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Julez xx

Welcome to the forum.
Honestly it's pretty hard to say which one is better, cp or mp. It just matters what you want out of your soap.

There are many good cp recipes and mp recipes on here. I'd look through them and see which ones interest you and then go from there.

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Please visit my blog

Hi Julez and welcome!

Easiest is probably MP because it's already made. You just melt it, add color and fragrance, and pour it back into your mold. (I know - that was very simplified because you can do some very creative soaps with MP) When it's cool, it's ready to use! I like MP but much prefer the challenge of CP.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Welcome to the Forum!

I usually recommend doing some MP first, this helps you get used to using some of the basic ingredients like fragrances and colors.

There are some great videos that Anne-Marie has done here; http://www.youtube.com/user/soapqueentv on both methods. If you are going to try some CP then I definitely recommend watching those videos as they cover safety issues.

Welcome!

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

Thanks guys, I was thinking of trying the melt and pour first..........would you think its best in a microwave or on a double boiler

still trying to get used to all the terminology, and working out what the english equivalent of some of the ingredients are.......like i found out that rubbing alcohol in the USA is surgical spirit in the UK.......as much as I want to dive in a have a go, i think i need to really make sure i have everything to hand and understand it all first.......

One question though, how much does your melt and pour base get used in a typical mould........i don't want to melt up a batch and then find i have more mix than molds to pour it in to

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Julez xx

Here's a tip. Take your mold and put it on your scale. Tare the scale. Then carefully fill it with water. What the weight of the water is, it's approximately how much MP base you will need.

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

Your soap mold should say what size it is when you purchase it, however Soapbuddy's method really does work great! I also like to keep a smaller mold out in case I do have a bit left. You can make a baby soap, or over time with all your scraps you can do something like this


If I am just doing a quick bar, 1 maybe 2 colors then I use the microwave.

If I am doing a lot of detail work, or multiple colors then I like using a double boiler as it keeps the base melted and ready for me to use. I don't have to keep popping it in the microwave if I am not fast enough. =)