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Melt and Pour Soap Additive List!


prairieannie

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I use the bases from C&S. I have tried a few others but they don't perform as well. I can add quite a bit of additives in all kinds of combos and still get great lather. Plus they have improved their formula so the bases are even better than before.

For example; my OMH soaps I add several TBS of oatmeal, goats milk, and honey, along with olive oil, shea butter, coconut oil, glycerin, fragrance, EO, and even more. It's my best selling soap so I don't want to compromise and use a brand that does not lather well with all the additives I use for all the different recipes I have.

I know others have their own favorite M&P bases. But I tried several different brands before I settled on the one I use. I have yet to find one that I like better.

I have read mixed reviews on the SFIC bases. Don't know how well it does or does not perform because I haven't tried it. Frankly I just don't have the time or money to waste on something that sounds too iffy. I may give it a sample tryout sometime to see but right now I am very happy with my C&S bases.

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I'm not fond of the lack of bubbles in SFIC base but I went back to using it because I really like how it feels on my skin. My daughters do, too. Other bases I've used contain chemicals and no matter what I add to make it feel good on the skin, it just doesn't make my skin feel silky smooth like the SFIC. For instance, I absolutely loved the bubbles I got from a base I bought that contained SLS!!...but it left a tacky film on my skin.

I'm still trying to improve bubbles and lather so I have this question:

Prairieannie wrote:

Veggie glycerin - helps big time with lather and a little with bubbles

Liquid Soap - helps hugely with bubbles! ......

.....If there is a specific item that I haven't mentioned here, please feel free to ask, and I will do my best to get an answer for you.

So...I'm asking. How much of each, please? I'm using 1 Tbsp/pp of both Bonners Liquid Soap and Vegetable Glycerin. It doesn't seem to be making much difference in bubbles or lather. Is there a specific type of liquid soap that gives better bubbles than others without compromising the 'chemical free' idea?

Thanks!

:cheesy2:

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I'm not fond of the lack of bubbles in SFIC base but I went back to using it because I really like how it feels on my skin. My daughters do, too. Other bases I've used contain chemicals and no matter what I add to make it feel good on the skin, it just doesn't make my skin feel silky smooth like the SFIC. For instance, I absolutely loved the bubbles I got from a base I bought that contained SLS!!...but it left a tacky film on my skin.

I'm still trying to improve bubbles and lather so I have this question:

Prairieannie wrote:

So...I'm asking. How much of each, please? I'm using 1 Tbsp/pp of both Bonners Liquid Soap and Vegetable Glycerin. It doesn't seem to be making much difference in bubbles or lather. Is there a specific type of liquid soap that gives better bubbles than others without compromising the 'chemical free' idea?

Thanks!

:cheesy2:

You can double or triple the Dr. Bronners. I'd at least double it. The veggie glycerin is great at that measurement.

Let me know what you get! :cheesy2:

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Prairieannie wrote:

You can double or triple the Dr. Bronners. I'd at least double it. The veggie glycerin is great at that measurement.

Thank you! :yay: I'm excited to have these measurements! I'll be making soap this week and will let you know how it turns out. Thanks again, P!

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  • 2 years later...
  • 8 months later...

I'm bumpbing this thread again. I think this is one of the most interesting for M&P.

I'm kind of new in M&P, still reading a lot, making lots of safe soaps (with given recipes), but wanting to make some great nourishing soaps.

I would like to ask the old experienced ones, how do they "play" with lotions in M&P? PA said something about using 1-2 T per pound, making a creamy lather.

Other opinions, please?

Thanks.

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  • Candybee pinned this topic
  • 6 months later...

Wonderful thread here! I've gotten quite a few ideas to get busy trying! Thank you!

 

I've tried herbs but not tea blends yet so I'll be doing that! I make some great smelling teas so can't wait to play around with that. My chai tea for this season will be first to try!

 

Some herbs I've included already are eucalyptus, calendula and chamomile in an eczema soap, coffee grounds in a cellulite soap, and lavender in a more relaxing soap.

 

I've done a couple soaps with butters and oils at 1Tpp. The coffee butter blend from WSP in my coffee soap was amazing!! 

Can't wait to try these other tips! :)

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  • 3 months later...

Starting to play with M&P soaps and would love to add fresh rosemary.  I did order Rosemary EO, but when adding a fresh herb, is there anything I should know?  I was going to grind the fresh rosemary and then, maybe, put some whole leaves on the top.  Any advice?

 

Also, I have always ordered my soap base from Symphony Scents - usually the white base and the oatmeal base.  From your experience, is this a good base to use?  I would love the bars to be a bit harder and from reading above, it seems like I should be able to do this by putting in an additive.

 

Love that I found this thread - so informative!

 

Jane

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  • 1 month later...

I don't make M&P soaps anymore so its been a while since I bought any bases. But when I was making it my absolute favorite bases came from C&S. They are from Canada and that is all I know about them as the bases come wrapped in plastic.

 

I've since been told that Candlewic now carries the same bases. But I can't confirm that as I used to buy from them before they supposedly switched bases according to a soaper friend of mine. All I know is the bases I used to get from Candlewic were not the same quality as C&S.

 

Other bases that I have used are the Stephenson from The Chemistry Store and the ones from Essentials By Catalina.

 

Personally I did not care for the SFIC. They didn't lather good enough for me and forget about adding additives if you want to retain lather. You have to be very stingy with additives in SFIC or you lose lather.

 

Adding glycerin or goat milk to produce more bubbles in M&P are a myth. I made it for years and tried with and without and found no difference. They only difference I found in the amount of lather would be the base itself. Not all bases produce the same lather so you have to test bases until you find the one that suits you.

 

Glycerin is a humectant that draws moisture from the air. It does not produce lather. Ingredients such as coconut oil or SLS make lather. So look for bases made with the right ingredients you want in your soap.

 

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I recently read that adding a bit of wine (white for no color, red for pink tint) ... I'm not sure how much per pound, I need to find my notes ... increases lather in m&p, although I don't know which type of m&p this works with ... I guess I'll need to try it out sometime to see if it's true.

 

 

 

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  • 1 year later...
On 4/12/2017 at 8:42 PM, kandlekrazy said:

Does anyone know what happened to Prairieannie?  She was my guru when I started M&P, helped me so much. 

 

I believe she had cancer and was sick a lot and that's why she quit posting. That was several years ago. I believe the worst may have happened but you never know, she could have kicked it and got into remission. Who knows? I just know she's gone.

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