Stinkydancer

It's so funny I started with CP and ended up doing HP and MP which I like better personally than CP. There is a market for both as long as your putting out a good product with great customer service. Most people will go to the store and buy whatever "soap" because it's cheap so you really have to convince most that your 6 dollar plus shipping soap is worth it, this is where the put out good soap comes in whether it's CP/HP or MP. Make your soap special. It takes a good long while to build a customer base especially online so be prepared to spend a lot of money to get started at first and you reap the rewards later. Soap is definitely not a get rich quick or even make money really quick sort of business.

Good luck and have fun!

Yes you can be creative with both CP and M&P. One of the things that makes M&P easier to be creative with is that you have the option of using clear bases so embeds can create scenes within the soap. Another factor is that CP soap can start to saponify on you rather quickly at times and you have a limited window of manipulating your soap batter.

Probably the best way to see the results is to go check out the soap gallery. You really need to view current work and well as researching as far back as 4-5 yrs to see some awesome M&P and CP soap. Some of the most creative are M&P but then they are some very talented CP masters whose soap creations will knock your socks off.

Well said but far easier to be creative with melt and pour and more fun too. :-) You can't CP clear soap- well you could but it's a PITA.

Cp soapers do more of the swirls and bakery soap cakes and such.

MP soapers do beautiful swirls or even scenes in their soap.

Both are really amazing.

I do mostly HP anymore- CP scents aren't strong enough for me- so my soap is "rustic". LOL My MP soap is my wild creative side. You should try both after research and decide which you like better.

I will say try CandyBee's recipes for MP- WOW! I can thank you in person- CB. :-) I make your GM and Honey for myself but your additives are always spot on without killing lather. Amazing. Ok Sorry to hijack with the Candy Bee love fest. I've been a lurker for awhile so I'm new to posting here.

I use Peaks Pink sugar.

Very nice soap. I gave up stabilizing that FO, it works for a couple of weeks and that's it- I have used 2 different companies with stabilizers too. :-( Good luck with it. FYI- my customers love the brown and I top it with pink. Less to worry about. Peaks Pink Sugar is the best I think.

I'm curious as well. I know the Stephenson Goat Milk Soap Base with SLES is amazing- way less drying than SFIC, probably because the ph is lower and my skin loves low ph even though I make high ph soaps. LOL My customer base wouldn't like the SLES so I use SFIC but I use Stephenson personally if I use MP.

My favorites are the wooden ones. You can pick them up cheap on Ebay. Never had a stuck soap problem with a wooden mold lined with freezer paper. I have been lining molds for so long, it take me about 30 seconds to do and less of a hassle to unmold than anything else.

Eczema is so different for everyone. I can't imagine wanting to soak in a tub when you have it with a bath bomb but to each their own. I cannot use Pine Tar Soap or even my HP soap and no melt and pour either. I use the foaming bath butter from NDA to wash with unscented but with olive oil infused with Calendula, Comfrey and Burdock. I will have to try Chef Mom's other herbs. I think it's the lower ph of that product that doesn't aggravate me. Castile even aggravates when I'm in a flare which of course most of the time- stays to my hands. Sometimes the infused oil doesn't even work and I have to go to my commercial stand by Gold Bond Ultimate with Aloe or the Shea one but that is a last resort. Sometimes my lotions or lotion bars even aggravate. My skin is just hyper sensitive when I have a flare. Hard to avoid on your hands as a soap maker. :-(

Anyway, good luck- I would maybe infuse those herbs into the bomb or try stinky Pine Tar. Ugh!

WOW!!! Just WOW! There are no words. She had to know that bowl wasn't going to be big enough right?

Thanks so much for the reply.

I know I can buy the white as well but I wanted to just stick with one base for MP and make life easier and try to keep costs down. I knew I should have just bought both- LOL. I only sell a handful of MP compared to my CP and HP but it's fun to play with sometimes.

Thanks again!

This is a stupid question but I'm not used to MP so much.

How much TD should I use to get an opaque base from a clear soap? I'm just trying to cut costs a little by just having one base. I know I don't want to have too much TD in the soap.

I tried today but just used a popsicle stick and it isn't opaque enough.

Thanks in advance...

Cream soap dupes with Lush or BBW scents.

I'm not sure I like either of them.

It seems Snowdrift has denatured alcohol (SD40B) and it doesn't look like they have a broadband preservative either.

MillCreek is OK but I'm not a paraben person and they use them.

Have you looked into Rainshadow labs- they have some awesome bases and use fab ingredients.

ladies, I bought this tiny little soap kit ( melt and pour from hobby lobby ) and had a lot of fun messing around with it and making little soaps. I was so proud of my first soaps that I gave them to my mama!

I really want to buy some melt and pour soap but haven't a clue where to get the best deals. I have been looking around and haven't had much luck. I wanted to try and make some soaps and candles for Christmas gifts this year. And I would like to purchase enough melt and pour to do this. 10lb 25lb? Please if you know a good place, with great prices and great quality let me know. Of course if you don't mind sharing. I have noticed the prices differ to extremes from place to place. But I cannot afford to spend a fortune. I just thought it would make nice Christmas gifts this year for my family and friends Instead of going out and buying something. I believe something handmade means so much more.

With me just starting out with soaps I would hate to spend a fortune.

There are a few places you can go- I do M/P on occasion and I like the SFIC bases that are sulfate free.

I would compare prices at Elements, TKB Trading, and Brambleberry (they are usually more expensive) The last batch I bought was from elements.

Prices on Glycerin soap have gone up.

Oooh- Wisteria Lane is good too.

Yep- it's usually people wanting free stuff. I would do it for a You Tuber or a blogger that is big but those people generally buy then review. They never ask for anything free.

Not meaning any disrespect or trouble, if this woman's soap is HP, then the soap is fully saponified in an hour in the oven or crock pot if that's what she uses and the mold is simply to give the soap it's shape. I think there is a difference in opinion between the definition of "cure" and "saponification" on many soap forums.

I can make someone soap in the morning and it is perfectly saponified, meaning no free lye in the soap and ready to give to them in the evening. That is fresh to order.

Soft is one thing, saponified is another.

I agree with you there. Granted I have never exactly asked her but I'm assuming that it is cpop or a version of it. On her webpage, she says all my soaps are made cp which kind of threw me and I had to try it. It was soft and melted away quick. It was fully saponified just soft because it hadn't been left to sit.

Is there really a difference in opinion on curing and saponification on different forums? They are two different things at least that's what I think from too many soapy years. Weird...

I didn't think you were disrespecting or anything.

Yeah I understand that it just seems overly soft, if you know what I mean.

Also, its advertised all my loaves are made fresh when ordered, so that led me to believe it isn't going through a full cure.

It's good soap regardless, but just wondering how she can pop out loaves that fast.

hear is what I do to save on oils, i do the oven hot process where i mix soap till heavy trace and put the pot in the oven for 2 hrs then let sit in oven overnight then reheat in the am....takes about an hour or so to soften again then add oils at that time and scoop in to mold and slam out air bubbles...let is set up and then slice

hth

That is a great idea! :)Thanks!

Do you still need to line them?

Nope not at all and soap logs do pop right out. I keep them in for 48 hours just as a precaution but you can unmold after 24.

I do and I love it.

Seems to me that these get hotter than wood molds do. So I don't insulate anymore. I just preheat the oven and turn it off- stick the soap in the oven overnight and it's great.

Try to insulate and not to insulate and see how it works out for you.

Clean up is a breeze and no more soap sticking to everything.

Best of all no more liners!

I never sell them uncut. I do know someone that does very well selling her loaves online.

I think she uses CPOP to do it because she seems to make a lot of loaves. It leads me to believe she isn't curing them.

I bought one once because they are beautiful and nice soap but I cut as soon as I got it and the bars had to sit. It was still pretty soft.

I'm guessing there is an online market for loaves especially with the economy in the tank- people want their money to go further.

I was thinking about trying to sell mini cp loaves- I have a good mold for it.

I don't think I would cut at a fair in front of people- my cutting skills are bad too- LOL.

They want 12.00 shipping on that single item? Seems high if that is the only thing your getting.

Have you tried to google clamshells? It might bring up every soap/candle place that sells them.

I was going to mention all of those above. Good info in all of them.

Thanks very much- I really appreciate it.

Learning how to make rebatch has been a process- it was annoying me but I wouldn't give up on it.

Too big of a soap addict here.

duh!! I knew that.

I fired my brain. The economy, I couldn't afford the salary, insurance, and cost of living.

LOL that sounds like me...

I know sometimes my violet colored liquid dye causes speckles in my finished soap. From what I have found is when I remelt/repour it the speckles blend in and disappear. I am not sure if the powders will do the same but it might be worth a try.

Also, if you are using a brown tone in the gingerbread scent I would stay clear of the stabilizer. I tried making a light tan/dark ivory OMH soap once and added the stabilizer so it wouldn't darken and ended up with an army green colored soap. Thank goodness I have monster truck molds...the little boys loved it!

A darkened OMH is awesome!! I tried the stabilizer once too for that...I ended up with camouflage soap! LOL Kids loved it too.

The tongue zap test...when you touch a bit of soap to your tongue to see if your lye is still active.

If you get a little jolt, your lye is active. If it isn't active, it just tastes like salty soap.