Teach Soap

Hello all! I recently discovered this forum while doing some online research into melt-and-pour soapmaking.

I was originally going to have some soapmaking friends of mine make me some custom batches of cold-process soaps, with essential oils that I would supply them, but they suggested I look into melt-and-pour as a possible alternative. I had originally dismissed the idea of doing any melt-and-pour myself, as I was initially led to believe by some online reading that it was a low-quality way to go, but this forum has led me to reconsider that thought.

So my questions to anyone here are on how the melt-and-pour soapmaking method (OK, OK, I know it's not technically "soapmaking") compares to the cold-process one, in the following ways:

1) For a given final amount of soap, does one generally need LESS essential oils to give a M&P soap the same aroma as the same-sized batch of cold-process soap? I have read several tangential suggestions to this effect, but it seems that nobody will come right out and say so;

2) Is the lathering ability of a M&P soap always or general inferior to the lathering ability of a cold-process soap? Again, there are many mixed comments to that effect here;

3) Will the exact amount of essential oil(s) used in a particular batch have a noticeable effect on the lathering ability of the soap? For example, I gather that one needs to add more (maybe double as much) of say an orange EO to get the same intensity of aroma in the final soap as one would need for a stronger oil like pine --- so would the orange soap be less lathery than the pine one, as it would have had more essential oil added to it?

4) Do the scents last longer in an M&P soap vs. a cold-process soap, or would they last about the same amount of time in either case?

5) Regarding molds: This is not an M&P vs. Cold-Process question, but I personally prefer larger bars over smaller ones, yet all the molds I have seen online are for 4 oz. bars or smaller. What would be the options for making larger bars?


I am sure that I will have more questions, but I thought I would throw those out there into the forum right now.
And any other helpful comments, observations or hints that anyone here might have for a melt-and-pour newcomer would be most welcome! Thank you all in advance.

Essential oils have different strengths. The nice thing about adding them to MP base is that they do not morph are fade as much because they don't have to interact with lye. EO's like cinnamon or peppermint are generally used at lower amounts while EO's like orange are used at higher amounts. I use anywhere from 0.4 oz to 1 oz. of essential oil per lb. of MP base.

Lather depends on what type of MP base you purchase. Some lather better then others. There are also natural bases out there as well as synthetic bases. The stuff you buy at your local craft store is usually lower quality then bases like BrambleBerry sells.

Essential oils have no bearing on how much a MP base lathers. That depends on the ingredients in the base. Depending on fragrance or essential oil used, the scent can diminish whether it's cold process soap or MP base. Buy quality fragrances and they will last longer.

For making larger bars, you can use plastic containers that you might have around the house. Just make sure that it's a thicker type of plastic, so it can withstand the heat of the MP poured into it. Or use a loaf mold that's safe for MP and cut the size to what you want.

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

Soapbuddy, thanks for the detailed response!

So regarding the amount of essential oils used in a batch, you say that you have gone as high as one ounce per pound of M&P base? Wow, that seems quite a bit higher than ANY other usage level that I have read of! Granted it will depend on the particular oil used, but I had been led to believe that even in cold-process soapmaking, two ounces of essential oils per three-pound final batch would be considered a high level.

Are there any particular essential oils that you have found just not to work well in soapmaking of any kind? I have wondered about using Jasmine Absolute in a batch of melt-and-pour soap, but have read no references to using floral absolutes in soap in general. Yes, they are expensive, but the Jasmine absolute, at least, is SO intensely strong that I imagine it would not take very much at all per batch --- maybe just a milliliter or two.

Have you seen any of those pre-made plastic or silicone molds that would make soap bars of larger than about 4 ounces? That is what I would ideally like to find.

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

I didn't meant to confuse you. I don't add the lye or the water amount into my calculations of fragrance for CP soap.

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

You will find by trial and error what works the best for you. Read up on the strength of essential oils. Some, you would never add 1 oz. per MP base; some do. From my experience in working with MP soap, I hardly ever use the max amount of 1 oz. per lb. of soap base. That is just a suggestion. I don't gel my CP soaps so there is a better chance of the fragrance staying.

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

For your Patchouli example I would use the same amount whether it's CP or MP.

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

You're welcome.
The exception is regular orange oil which fades in CP soap. I use 10X Orange oil for CP soap which works better there.

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

Lime and lemon work fine for me, so in my experience it's only orange oil that fades in cold process soap.

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