My supplies finally came, and I got to make some soap bars! I picked melt and pour soap making rather than cold process because I don’t have a safe, well-ventilated, dog-free space to handle lye.
The soap comes in big blocks having already turned oils and lye into soap. Like so:
The white base will make more of a pastel, and the clear base makes strong colors, or so I’m told. Of course, the amount of colorant you add makes a big difference.
I picked out two scents and a matching color:
The Lavender Chamomile scent was strong, and I didn’t care for it as much, so I tried this one first. If I’m making mistakes with limited supplies, do the one I like least first!
The colorant is mica so it’s sparkly and fun.
I picked out a fun mold:
Now, my plan with the mold was to put a dark colorant with a pipette into the bee shape, and frame it with a lighter color, and then make the rest a darker color.
I ordered 25 pipettes, and I PAID for 25 pipettes… but they sent 100. Which turns out well since each one is a single color soap use – you can’t wash these!
And here’s my firs attempt:
I misjudged the mica colorant mix, so the bee isn’t popping out. Also, I tried pouring the fragrance in instead of using a pipette so it’s really strong.
These don’t take long to set up, so I got to see them just an hour or two after I made the soap. They’re not my favorite – the scent is so much more concentrated in the fragrance oil that the smell is a bit much.
The second attempt with the Rosemary Mint scent:
I adore mint anything, and this is a fun fragrance. They came out surprisingly well! Here’s a close up:
I gifted one of each to my mom and to my mother-in-law. They’re meant to be used, not collected after all.
So, I had some fun making these! Have you ever tried to do melt and pour soap? Do you do cold process soap? What kinds of scents do you prefer? Inquiring minds want to know!
