Pros and Cons...?

[Kelly]

What are the pros and cons of using M&P?

What are the pros and cons of making HP Soap?

What are the pros and cons of making CP Soap?

-Base this on your own personal experiences, this is not intended to start an arguement over what is better than the other.-

I hope to get tons of responses!! :)

TIA

[Raggedy Dani]

What are the pros and cons of using M&P?- this is what i do...they're great.

just melt and pour!! let your creativity flow.

What are the cons of making HP Soap? LYE LYE LYE- Pro on this is they dry faster. that's what I learned on here CT lol

What are cons of making CP Soap? LYE LYE LYE...LOL ME SKEER OF THEM!!! THAT'S THE CONS..

PRO ON THEM ARE GREAT CREATIVITY IS BEYOND YOUR IMAGINATION

THEY'RE GREAT SOAP!!!! I LOVE THEM.. BUT SCARED TO MAKE THEM LOL

I LEAVE THAT TO THE PRO!!!

DANI

[Kelly]

Lol, yeah I guess I shouldn't have asked for the pros for M&P. I think those are probably obvious!

I'm also afraid of lye! But I wonder if I may need to overcome that fear if I want to make a great bar of lathery goodness.

Thanks for the reply!

Kelly

[Raggedy Dani]

everyone i talked to that make soap..said they geared up from head to toes

when making soap for first time...and now they're doing it blind!! like it's nothing....lmbo

it's scares me lol

some said they get burned from lye...eeek

it just takes a lot of guts to do it...and I envy those who can do it.

now with me, my boys who's 18 and 16 said "yeah mom" get some lye so we can experiement with it...I DON'T THINK SOOOO! LOL

Dani

[sockmonkey]

Lol, yeah I guess I shouldn't have asked for the pros for M&P. I think those are probably obvious!

I'm also afraid of lye! But I wonder if I may need to overcome that fear if I want to make a great bar of lathery goodness.

Thanks for the reply!

Kelly

Let me assure you, that you can get a great bar of "lathery goodness" from m&p. I've made HP that didn't lather nearly as much as my m&p. If you're not getting a good lather from your m&p, you need to try switching brands--some are better than others.

[Kelly]

My first brand (see my other thread) was Michaels brand. It was awful! I'm kind of new to soap making (other than the Michael's adventure) so I'm not really sure where to start as far as M&P bases are concerned. I was going to try the one's from BCN since it's close to me and shipping probably won't hurt tooooo bad.

But maybe I'd like to try my hand at HP or CP. That's why I hope I get tons and tons and tons of responses to this thread so I can hear about how others feel about these processes. I'll probably have to try them all to see what works for me.

But will customers (not that I have any) really buy M&P soap? Aren't they more interested in the HP or CP soaps?

[Raggedy Dani]

kelly...where are you? in wisconsin

cause i buy my soaps from nature bouquets something like that

they're BETTER priced than going to BCN

Dani

[Kelly]

I'm in Madison. Not sure how far Lisle IL (Nature's Bouquet) is from me. I will look into it. Thanks for the suggestion.

I want to also find a supplier that is willing to help with ingredient listing incase I add some additives or something. Do you find Nature's Bouquet to be helpful?

[Raggedy Dani]

I'm in Madison. Not sure how far Lisle IL (Nature's Bouquet) is from me. I will look into it. Thanks for the suggestion.

they're only hour and half from me and i'm in Hartford, which is 40 miles north of milwaukee and they're quick and CHEAP on shipping.

Dani

[sockmonkey]

My first brand (see my other thread) was Michaels brand. It was awful! I'm kind of new to soap making (other than the Michael's adventure) so I'm not really sure where to start as far as M&P bases are concerned. I was going to try the one's from BCN since it's close to me and shipping probably won't hurt tooooo bad.

But maybe I'd like to try my hand at HP or CP. That's why I hope I get tons and tons and tons of responses to this thread so I can hear about how others feel about these processes. I'll probably have to try them all to see what works for me.

But will customers (not that I have any) really buy M&P soap? Aren't they more interested in the HP or CP soaps?

M&P soap is all that I sell. Most customers do not have a clue, nor do they care if a soap is HP/CP/M&P. They want a bar that smells good, lathers well, and is attractive. Of course, there is the possibility that you will encounter a former soapmaker--no big whoop. I don't describe my soap as anything but "goat's milk soap." Let them take from that what they will.

I'm not trying to discourage you from making one or the other. But if you're afraid of lye, why even bother with anything but m&p? Obviously, the level of care you take while making soap has an impact on whether you get burned from lye or not. You can also suffer burns from m&p. There are dangers to everything--it's how well you follow procedures that will determine your success at soapmaking.

[Kelly]

I guess I am slightly nervous about the M&P because the previous experience with Michael's stuff. There was no lather and just a waste of time and money. I could avoid that (but bring on a whole new batch of problems) with the CP or HP.

I guess I'll give the M&P bases a try, they can't be worse than Michaels!

[NNK]

first of all, i'm not going to say anything about M&P, because you probably already know what pros and cons of it are. so, here is my 5 cents on CP vs. HP

CP pros:

takes less time from the start to pour in the mold.

you can get creative and make beautiful swirls, and each bar of soap you make will have a unique pattern.

CP cons:

needs at least 4 weeks to cure.

you can't pick what to supperfat it with, unless you use over 8% of that oil to see the difference.

you have only 1-2 minutes to do your swirls. you screw it up and you end up with not so pretty looking batch.

HP pros:

makes the mildest soap

can add goodies after cook and they will be there to nourish your skin

can be used as soon as cooled down (better after couple weeks of cure though)

HP cons:

takes a while to cook.

takes some practice to get it right , not too runny not too dry, not bubbly and looking more or less decent.

pretty limited as far as presentation goes.

hopefully that will help you chose. once you overcome "i'm scared of lye" thing and try it once, you will not go to M&P again, only maybe to decorate your made from scratch soap a little bit

[Nanasnecessities]

I only make regular cp, I have never tried any of the others mp stuff, although I have looked at it. Pros on it would be, once you get it, you can nuke it or shave it and add whatever you want, you are right most people do not know anything about making soap and could care less how you made it. It is quick and easy and fail-proof. You just don't ruin 50 bars of this stuff, by not tracing long enough. Although I imagine you could still have the uglies or the stinkies.

We learned from Barbara Bobo, (24)years ago and have never even tried hp.

cp

Pros, you can make anything, use any oil, and it is so creative. I love to have a new kind turn out prefect, and try to rebatch what does not. Mom swirls the best, but she likes all the expensive stuff. Using lye is just the same as anything else, use care and don't make soap when you are busy, preoccupied, or have anybody in the house to bother you (kids, neighbors)

cons, expensive shipping for oils, etc. once mixed the lye backwards and had a vulcano of spewing foaming mess. I have had to rebatch some depending on the weather, plus there is the curing time.

The smell is a plus and a minus depending on what you have curing and how they smell together, I have had some that smell great and others I couldn't wait for them to cure they smelled so bad together. patchouli once just about made me leave my house, yuck.

another con on soap making is the amount of space it take sup while they are curing. I think this is prolly true of most kinds though.

[mountainmadness]

What is your style? What is it that is fun to you? Do you want natural looking soaps or more artsy? Do you want patterns and lots of colors?

I think that you need to identify what you want to do and the look that you are wanting to achieve before you can choose.

I started with M&P may years ago but really wanted to make soap from scratch. That is why I switched to CP. I like the creativeness and work that goes into it. I also like having control of what is in the soap.

Choosing one over another is not bad....but everyone has an opinion on what they prefer.

[Kelly]

I like more natural looking soaps, that makes me think you are going to say to go with HP or CP then, but I don't really know where to start. I'd like to be able to try it in the microwave or oven, I don't want to try the crock pot.

[NNK]

why don't you start with CP batch then, see how you like it. and if it doesn't turn out the way you want it, you can rebatch it and have almost the same thing as HP. you can add a bit of oil of your choice, or other goodies. you can rebatch in microwave too.

[Kelly]

Well I don't really understand the CP process. For whatever reason I can't get the instructions here at candletech to work for the CP soap.

[NNK]

I'm not quite sure what you mean, maybe there are some rules i don't know about, i'm new here... but if you are interested, go to Kathy Miller soap page www.millersoap.com

she has instructions, tutorials, recipes, and tons of other helpful info. even tips where to find oils and other soap supplies. her site has helped many, many soapers to start. I think "Modern soapmaking procedures" page will be a good one to read first.

~Nat~

edited to add: now i see what tutorial you were referring to. it didn't work for me either.

[cindym]

If you are talking about Robin's tutorial on cp soap, it is surefire IMO. What are you using for a scale? Are you using soap safe fo's. You have to take your time and practice. It does not happen overnight. Sounds like more research would help you a bit. Post a recipe and we can help you with your numbers if you want.

I think it is important that whatever you choose you let the customer know what they are buying. If it is glycerin soap then that should be clear. If it is handcrafted from scratch, again that should be clear. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against glycerin soap, I have a customer that buys it from me but I call it what it is.

[TexasBrat]

From personal experience:

What are the pros and cons of using M&P? I am not good at M&P, I am not that creative to make cool things with it. I don't like the feel of it on my skin, I dry out easier. Yes, I use the good stuff not Michaels.

What are the pros and cons of making HP Soap?

You can use it right away. It's so easy to do and you get to see the entire saponification process. You don't have to wait for lye water to cool down before adding to oils. You can swirl and make beautiful soaps but it takes lots of practice but it can be done. No seizing after adding fo. I unmold my soap after about 3-4 hours. Instant gratification. Makes a great bar of soap. Depending on the oil but sometimes the fo isn't as strong.

What are the pros and cons of making CP Soap?

I make a mess while making cp and it gets all over me and burns me each time. I like the way you can be more creative with swirls and it is easier. Takes more time to cure than hp. Your oils can seize from fo and get soap on a stick. Takes a day or two in the mold. No instant gratification. Makes a great bar of soap. I think the fragrance is stronger in cp too.

[Kelly]

I meant the CP tutorial under Bath and Body on the left navigation bar at this site. It doesn't work. You go the first page then there is no link leading to the next step, so I can't learn the CP Process from this site. I will check out the other site recommened though. But that's alright, I think I'll give M&P (I'll try something other than the Michaels stuff this time!) and I 'll probably give HP I try in the over if I can find some detailed instructions. I'm sure I'll screw up a million times before getting a good bar!

Thanks for sharing all your personal pros and cons on the various processes. It was very helpful to me.

Kelly

P.S. I don't have a receipe because I was just asking about the pros and cons of each process before I made a decision on where to start learning, but on another thread someone did share a beginner recipe I will be trying out when I get some free time.

[beau's mama]

pm'd you

Oh, just a warning...this has the potential to become VERY addictive! You're bound to end up addicted to either the soap itself, molds, colorants...something! I've been making soap (mp) for about 3 months and have become sort of a FO "garden tool". In 3 months, I've managed to collect almost 70 fo's...and have used each & every one of them. And to really feed my addiction, I just ordered 10 more from Nature's Garden...they have a pretty extensive fo list, & you can get 10 1oz bottles for $20 + shipping.

It's insane!

Sharon

[RobinInOR]

The CP tutorial is actually at http://watersgulch.com/howtocp.shtml The page here never got finished.

[NNK]

The CP tutorial is actually at http://watersgulch.com/howtocp.shtml The page here never got finished.

wow, wonderful tutorial! too bad it isn't easy to find.

I totally agree about being addicted part. At lest with M&P you are limited to FOs, molds and additives. CP and HP opens up the whole oil selection, and that gets really expensive. LOL. i look back now and wish i would have never started.

sounds like you have it sorted out, so good luck and have fun!

[Kelly]

Not all FO's will work with M&P? I have so much to learn!! I don't know if I'll try CP soap, I just read the tutorial (thanks for the link) and I don't know how safe that would be in my 1 bedroom apartment with two cats. Two cats that like to hide in blankets and towels.