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| handmade melt and pour soap samples |
I don’t need to say much about glycerin soaps, as they are widely known as one of the easiest and fastest ways to make handmade soap. The melt and pour method allows anyone to create their own soap without dealing with the risks and complexity of cold process or hot process soap making.
This is exactly why glycerin soaps are ideal for beginners. They require minimal equipment, no handling of lye and very little preparation time, while still allowing room for creativity through colours, scents and moulds.
Personally, I prefer glycerin soaps not only because they are simple to work with, but also because they remain practical in everyday use. They do not become slimy as easily as soaps made with cold or hot process methods, even when kept hanging, and they maintain their shape and scent well over time.
Because of their stronger and longer- lasting fragrance, glycerin soaps can also be used beyond personal cleansing, helping to gently scent bathrooms, bedrooms, closets or drawers.
- We cut and weigh 100 g/ ~3.6 oz of melt and pour soap base of our choice.
- We cut the soap into small cubes and place them in the beaker. If you do not have a beaker, a large heat-resistant coffee pot can be used. The beaker is then placed in a bain-marie.
- Once the soap has melted, we check the temperature with a thermometer. When it reaches 60°C, we remove it from heat and mix gently with a whisk or spoon until the base is fully melted and uniform.
- We add the food colouring drop by drop, mixing well.
- Next, we add the essential oil or soap fragrance and continue mixing.
- We spray the soap in the beaker and the inside of the silicone mold with alcohol or alcoholic lotion. We pour our melted soap into the mold and we spray its surface again to get rid of the bubbles that have been created.
- We spray both the beaker and the silicone mold with alcohol or alcoholic lotion, then pour the melted soap into the mold. The surface is sprayed once more to eliminate any air bubbles.
- The soap is left to cool and set, which can take between 15 minutes and 1 hour depending on room temperature. If needed, the soap can be carefully placed in the refrigerator for 20–30 minutes.
- Once fully set, the soap is removed from the mold and wrapped in plastic wrap to preserve its scent and moisture.
- In the soaps pictured above, each soap contains a different essential oil, chosen purely for its scent. As soaps are rinse-off products, essential oils are included for aromatic purposes rather than for skin-conditioning effects.
