M&P Recipes

[prairieannie]

I have never added a preservative, and I have never had any of my soap go bad! And no, you're not being too ambitious using this recipe. It's easy peasy, and I would highly recommend it for anyone with any amount of soap making experience... I hope you love it!

[Candlebuddy]

What do you use as a mold for this recipe? Just wondering if it will fit in a 2 lb. loaf mold?

[Candybee]

The recipe will make about 3 lbs of soap. So you would have to adjust it for your 2 lb mold.

[prairieannie]

The recipe will make about 3 lbs of soap. So you would have to adjust it for your 2 lb mold.

OR, you could fill up your 2lb loaf mold, and then pour the rest into individual molds too! Remember that the loaves of soap will take longer to set up. I most often make loaves also, I usually make batches in the afternoon and wait until the next morning to slice the soap.

[Candybee]

If it helps I use an old bread loaf pan for 3 lb batches. You have to wait for the base to cool completely before demolding. I usually wait about 3-4 hours or even overnight for a 3 lb loaf.

[TheWickedWick]

Okay..I just made a 1 lb. batch of PA's goat milk soap and poured into my Old Fashion molds from WSP. Did not add jojoba oil but did add 1 tsp. of coconut oil. Used Honey (L'Occitane type) from Elements. I must say I've never poured a creamier soap before. I don't usually add anything to my m&p bases except FO of course so this will be really exciting for me. I'll let you guys know how it went in a couple of days. I use a white base from WSP and have never considered it to be a "soft" base but then I've never added anything to it either. That's why I added the coconut oil...just in case. Did have beeswax but wasn't sure how much to add and not sure I really want to anyway.

By the way, if you've never tried that FO...it really, really smelled wonderful!! OOB I wasn't sure if I'd like it but in this soap recipe it smelled great!

Karen

[prairieannie]

Okay..I just made a 1 lb. batch of PA's goat milk soap and poured into my Old Fashion molds from WSP. Did not add jojoba oil but did add 1 tsp. of coconut oil. Used Honey (L'Occitane type) from Elements. I must say I've never poured a creamier soap before. I don't usually add anything to my m&p bases except FO of course so this will be really exciting for me. I'll let you guys know how it went in a couple of days. I use a white base from WSP and have never considered it to be a "soft" base but then I've never added anything to it either. That's why I added the coconut oil...just in case. Did have beeswax but wasn't sure how much to add and not sure I really want to anyway.

By the way, if you've never tried that FO...it really, really smelled wonderful!! OOB I wasn't sure if I'd like it but in this soap recipe it smelled great!

Karen

I'm excited to hear how it turns out! I always love how creamy and luscious the soap looks before I pour it.. like a milk bath that you could indulge in huh?!!

I'm really enjoying sharing this recipe and getting feedback. I should have done it a long time ago! Thank you for thinking of this thread Candybee!!

[CandleMama6]

I have never added a preservative, and I have never had any of my soap go bad! And no, you're not being too ambitious using this recipe. It's easy peasy, and I would highly recommend it for anyone with any amount of soap making experience... I hope you love it!

Would someone with NO soap making experience be able to make it??

[TheWickedWick]

Candlemama6....why not...just think of it as if you were baking a cake. Maybe do what I did and start off with just 1 lb. of soap base. I just weighed & measured my ingredients into my pour pot and melted them all together using the double boiler method. (except for the FO..I added this to my mixture at around 130.) For me this made just 3 bars so if it needs tweaking I only invested a small amount. Even when my soaps do not work out for me to sell, my family and friends still seem to enjoy my rejects!

Have fun..it's always exciting to experiment using small batches.

Karen

[TheWickedWick]

Prairieannie...I have a question for you. I just tried a small piece of my soap and although it was not totally hard, I'm thinking it's going to need more lather/bubbles. I made a 1 lb. batch and used 2TB of liquid soap. Should I up that another tablespoon or would letting the bar harden fully make a difference. I did get some lather/bubbles but not tons. Also noticed when I washed out my pour pot there were not a ton of bubbles coming from it.

Thanks

Karen

[prairieannie]

Would someone with NO soap making experience be able to make it??

Absolutely! It's easy as can be! And wickedwick is right, just think of it as making a new food recipe.. You may even figure out some things that make it better just for YOU and what you need or want in soap! MP soap is so awesome that way, you can experiment with it so easily!

Prairieannie...I have a question for you. I just tried a small piece of my soap and although it was not totally hard, I'm thinking it's going to need more lather/bubbles. I made a 1 lb. batch and used 2TB of liquid soap. Should I up that another tablespoon or would letting the bar harden fully make a difference. I did get some lather/bubbles but not tons. Also noticed when I washed out my pour pot there were not a ton of bubbles coming from it.

Thanks

Karen

You can up the liquid soap if you want to, it won't hurt anything! Bubbles are a personal preference I think. Lots of people don't think they're getting clean unless the bubbles are everywhere!!

[TheWickedWick]

Thanks..I'll try an extra tablespoon. Someone else suggestion m&p shaving soap..adding some of this would increase bubbles. Have you ever used this and if so, how much would you add. Just do not want to have to order something else.

[prairieannie]

Thanks..I'll try an extra tablespoon. Someone else suggestion m&p shaving soap..adding some of this would increase bubbles. Have you ever used this and if so, how much would you add. Just do not want to have to order something else.

I've never added shaving soap, but I've heard it's nice to use too.

[candlemama]

Soooo excited.... Finally got all my ingredients to try PA's recipe! Gonna give it a shot tonight. I can't wait for my molds to be delivered from Peak's, so I'm planning to use some small, 8oz Tupperware cups I have. Figured they're flexible so it might be easier to use than my metal muffin pans?!?

Please let me know if the plastic cups are a bad idea...

I'll let you know how it goes.

[prairieannie]

The muffin cups should work very well. Anything flexible is wonderful when unmolding the soap!

[MarsBars]

If load my soap with butters and such I put in a ratio of 1:3 shaving soap to regular MP soap base. It works wonders!

[candlemama]

Tried PA's recipe last night, and it was very easy. My bars are harder than I expected just 12 hours later but still just a touch soft. I left another thread about my preschooler using a "muffin cup" soap this morning, and the soap disappeared in the water! Got some wonderful suggestions on how to make it last longer, and I think it perhaps just needs to set up a little more.

My husband and I both tried the soap in the shower, and we both love it! My husband said his skin feels both squeaky clean and moisturized. I added 1 oz of CS Rain Water to the recipe (2 lbs of base + all the goodies). I like it, but husband says the scent is a little strong. I'll see how the scent holds up in a couple days.

Anyway, thanks so much for sharing the recipe! Can't wait to try some of Candybee's recipes next! And maybe some day I'll get good enough to share a recipe of my own...

[TheWickedWick]

Marsbars...thanks so much....not a math wiz so if I'm using 1 lb of white soap base..how much shaving soap. Sorry...my brain and numbers just don't mix :embarasse

[TheWickedWick]

Round 4 of testing Prairieannie's recipe and "Houston..we have lift off"!!

Had to adjust for my base which comes from WSP. For a 1 lb. batch, the adjustments were: 4 TB liquid soap, 1 tsp. coconut oil & .4 oz. stearic acid (which if I remember right is about 3% based on 1 lb of base).

Used the old fashion mold from WSP.(Makes a pretty thick bar). Bars were a tad soft but let cure 3 days before wrapping. Probably could have let them sit out 2 days and they would have been fine. FO was Bamboo Sugar Cane from AH...smells wonderful! Lather was nice and creamy...had nice bubbles..not overly like a shower gel but very acceptable. Used a nylon pouf. Did not need to apply lotion after my shower....big plus. Oh, almost forgot..did not add jojoba oil. Was running low and needed it for making emulsified sugar scrubs.

Thanks PA for all your help. Next up is testing the Honey recipe. Can't wait..that one sounds yummy!

Karen

[prairieannie]

Awesome! Thanks for letting us know how it turned out!

I think once people learn not to be afraid of adding stuff to MP soap they will realize that the possibilities are just endless!!

[rebeccajo99]

PA.

I am hoping to get down to the health food store to get the stuff that I don't have and try your recipie. I have a question though. The health food store is a 30 to 40 min drive from my house, so I was thinking about just getting the powdered goat milk so I don't have to go every few weeks to pick up some more. Do you think I could just keep it powder and let all the moiture from the base turn it to milk? If that won't work, should I use distilled water to turn it to milk?

Thanks

[prairieannie]

PA.

I am hoping to get down to the health food store to get the stuff that I don't have and try your recipie. I have a question though. The health food store is a 30 to 40 min drive from my house, so I was thinking about just getting the powdered goat milk so I don't have to go every few weeks to pick up some more. Do you think I could just keep it powder and let all the moiture from the base turn it to milk? If that won't work, should I use distilled water to turn it to milk?

Thanks

Yes, use distilled water to reconstitute the powdered GM. I'll warn you now that you have to stir or shake the crap out of it to be sure that you get all of the lumps out. When I've used powdered milk in the past I've not used the full amount of water that the can suggested. I only used about half and made it double strength!

I put it in a gravy shaker and shook it forEVER until there weren't any lumps in site.. if you can't shake it you'll have to use a whisk and stir it for awhile to get it smooth.

Good luck! Happy soap making!

[TheWickedWick]

If I wanted to sub canned coconut milk for the goat's milk, do you use the same amount? The canned coconut milk is pretty thick should it be diluted some?

[Candybee]

I use both canned coconut and goats milk. No need to dilute either. The thicker the better! Just use according to recipe.

I save the unused portions in ice cube trays. Then next time I make soap I just take out a milk cube.:smiley2:

[TheWickedWick]

Candybee...what a great idea about the using icecube trays...you're so smart!! Thanks once again for your help.