MochaMama

Dh used my first experiment at MP and it melted within a week. He showers every day and apparently left the soap in the shower which is probably why. I read somewhere that if you add fractionated coconut oil or 72 degree coconut oil, it would make the soap harder. I sort of understand why the 72 degree would make the soap harder, but the fractionated is obviously a liquid - how would that make the soap harder?? I've also seen other tips on here too, which I plan on using also.

Hi all: I did my first MP today - used gourmetrose shea butter base, added Bramble berry Soapy Clean fo@ 1/2 oz lb (still very strong!!) and Select Shades color. Tried to do a swirl in the mold, just to experiment, but can't really see in the pics. Oh, used Martin Creation Molds and had no trouble with release once I put them in the fridge. All in all, a great first experience with MP:yay: I think next time I would like to try a log mold and slice it, then stamp it. also I have to get the alcohol spritz - got a bit of bubbles on the back. The molds are pricey for me to buy too many right now. I am also eyeing one of my old 13X9 pans - I figured I'd line it with wax paper, then cut the soap with a wavy cutter. PS I do not recommend Brambleberry's Soapy Clean. It has a harsh detergenty smell. enjoy the pics!

Made my first melt and pour soap which is cooling now. I used the white shea butter base from thegourmetrose, which I used plain before actually attempted to make anything. So I added 1/2 oz Soapy Clean FO from brambleberry - it was a sample --to the 1 lb of soap. I used select shades to color a hideous blue. (next time I'll use less - I used 1/4 tsp). I then got adventurous and attemped a swirl within a mold. I figured the color was so ugly anyway, it wouldn't matter. Anyway, I was happy because the basic technique was easy, but it will take a lot of practice for me to get a good looking soap. And while I used molds, i would much rather use a tray or log mold. Quicker and easier to make a lot at one time. Plus the log mold takes up much less room on the "curing" table. Either way I am glad that I did it. Now I can joint the rank of the MP soap makers. I will post pics in the gallery when everything is firm.

LOVE the cakes! I can imagine how good they smell. How do you get your cuts so nice on the soap (I have never made CP soap)?

There are two kinds of shrink wrap - the "crackly" kind and the stretchy, plasticy kind. Does anyone know the official name for the stretchy kind? I bought some shrink wrap off of ebay and it turned out to be the crackly kind because I don't know what to look for. TIA

Thanks for the info. I am used to using just that amount between KB and WSP. At least I won't have to change my ratios!!

Hi all, maybe I'm missing it on the website, I am wondering what is the % of use with Solas FOs in bath and body, i.e. whipped shea and lotion bars. I have heard so much about Solas that I've got to try them for myself. Plus, they have the men's dupes that I've been looking for !!!! Thanks in advance!

Hi, I don't do candles, but I do b and b and I've found that the FOs from "FNWL" were very weak and did not have a strong scent when used in b/b products. It might be different for candles, but I haven't bougtht from them since.

I have some here too - they just arrived - I am assuming these colors are water and/or glycerine based? I will make sure to look carefully.

Well, they finally arrived today. It seems just when I've just given up that the package shows up. Ugh! But they're here, so that's what counts! Thanks for all the suggestions on alternatives. It probably was stuck in Customs, so what can you do?

good gracious meridith!!! :laugh2: Dublon: I think it looks great for your first batch. Reminds me of caramel.

Hi all: I wanted to go in to melt and pour soap to piggyback on my lotion bar business. In preperation for this, I placed a large mold order on 12/26 so that I could work over the Christmas break when my husband was home. Turns out by some error, my molds did not go out until 1/2 and finally arrived on 1/8 (They are shipping from a supplier in Canada). Yay! My molds were here and I was ready to melt and pour. Guess what? The molds were the wrong size. Much too large for what I wanted to do. So, I email the supplier. Oh, no problem, we'll send out the right molds right away, sorry for the error! This was the 9th of January and I haven't seen my molds yet. I have emailed and been told "the mold have gone out a couple of days ago.." whatever that means. I am totally frustrated that I have been waiting over a month for my molds. And, unfortunately, despite me searching high and low over the internet, this is the ONLY place I can find the molds with the Asian symbol on a tray in 2 oz size. I just wanted to rant, because I was supposed to have a "grand opening" on the feb 1 and it looks like it ain't gonna happen. I don't want to knock the supplier publicly- they did say for me to keep the larger molds, but I needed the smaller molds, like yesterday. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Whew! Thanks for "listening". As a side note: Is there anywhere I can get Asian symbol molds, round 2 oz or so in a tray? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

sudsnwicks: Thanks for the info - of course I should have been more clear at the first question. Trae: I do have a Soverign Bank in my area. I'll check them out. I didn't think about mailing in checks etc. (my mind, I beleive is running on mud this morning). Makes sense to have a bank in the area .....that's why they have drive thrus!!! (I'm so out of it today!) Thanks for all the help and pointing me in the right direction, as always!!!

I think I might be a little confused about what I need to do, so I hope you all don't mind me asking a question: I have an LLC (filed w/state of NJ) w/fed tax ID number. I was thinking I had to open an account using this paperwork I read somewhere (after seeing in the thread) that I could get a DBA account - which is what I think I want. I just want people to be able to write checks to the ABC company instead of my personal name. It would also help if I could get a debit card w/ABC name on it too, but that's not a necessity. Maybe I could get this straight, I could go back to my bank and negotiate. Thanks in advance everyone, I really appreciate your patience w/this.

You are lucky. I talked to both my banks, both of which I've had accounts for years, and they want to require me to open a new business account rather than just a DBA account. That's why I'm looking online - convenient for me also, with 3 little ones!

I have checked out my local banks for a business checking account, but I was wonderingif any of you had any luck online securing a checking account. Some of them have such high minimum balances (1,000- 3,000) that a small-timer like me can't handle right now. thanks in advance

That's what I use to color my lotion bars - lip balm color - I get mine from thesage.com. You literally only need a drop per pound of product. It has worked very well for me.

Hi Ladies: Well, I checked my bank account and I can cough up a couple bucks for melt and pour. So, help me decide on a base. I want a white soap that can be colored to match my lotion bars. I also want a high lathering, moisturizing soap. I am willing to add some coconut oil or shea butter or avocado oil to the mix too. So which would you choose?

Wax paper? Or Freezer Paper? The coating may keep your paint from sticking.

I bought a couple loaf molds a while back from a seller on Ebay. Along with those molds, I bought a soap slicer. Though I like the molds that I use for my lotion bars, it just wasn't practical for me to make a large amount in a short period of time. The soap slicer was like cutting the lotion bars with the other side of a knife. The edges were all crumbly - I could have just torn the bar with my nails and the cuts would have looked better. So I started looking around on the boards, etc. I finally ended up getting a cheese slicer after reading a post in the soap forum, you know the ones with the guillontine (sp?) wire and the cutting board. WORKS LIKE A CHARM!!! Beautiful slices of lotion bars and I can make a lot of lotion bars in a short amount of time. When I go to cut the "real" bars, I will put the bar in the freezer for abou 10 min to really firm it up, then cut. The loaf got a little mushy while I was holding it in my hand. I highly recommend these cheese slicers!!

For the past few days, I've been reading about melt and pour soap and all the different things you could do to it to make it look like CP soap. In addition, I had a request from someone who had one of my lotion bars, if I made anything else with this particular scent. So, I've decided to venture into MP. I mean, I all ready have the molds, right??? I have decided, after much reading, to jump in with either SFIC or Stephenson bases (oh, how I wish someone would have a SFIC co-op). I also saw a BUNCH of great add ins from the old board. I never knew that you could add stuff besides fragrance and color to your MP to make it what you wanted. One question- why is brambleberry's base so much more costly than Stephensons? Has anyone tried Brambleberry's base - is it better or just different?? One last question.....I can use liquid or gel colorants with MP (as long as they are body safe, etc.) How about lip balm colorants? They are just made from castor oil and oxides (I get mine from MMS). I am just trying to make my current supplies do double duty. Oh, and I just wanted to say you are such bad ladies ( )to make MP soaping so appealing. I was trying to stick to my own little lotion bar corner! But then I began dreaming of little lotion bar/soap packages....and that's all she wrote!

Have you trield goplanetearth.com? they have a large selection of molds and they tell you the approx. size of each mold - I've found them to be very helpful. You could also go to the milkywaymolds.com website where you can search by "guest mold soap". Hope this helps!

I used to be a math teacher!! Glad to help!

I think the tins look good too, and they got a great response at my first ever "show". I am just going to stick with what works, searching out more 2 oz molds which are circular and about 3 in diam. The snowflake Life of the Party molds (I think) work really well, as well as the round massage bar mold. I have to mind whether I want to focus on one mold or a variety of molds. OT: I have three little ones under four!!

Add 13 plus 25 plus 12, which gives you 50g, then multiply the 50g by .02 (for 2%). So you would add 1g of flavor oil to make it a 2% mix. I do believe you can add too much flavor oil - I've never done it, but I suppose it would make people's lips burn or turn bitter or something. hope this helps.