Crafting melt & pour glycerin soap looks effortless and is perfect gift to give any time of year. Better yet, why not just start making and selling it? Apparently, some over-enthusiastic people think that because glycerin soap is so easy to craft; it can be sold with little to no preliminary testing. After you’ve made your first batch you might be just beginning your way to rivaling Primal Elements, yet you’re nowhere near ready to sell. Your Soap Base Melt and pour soap base is premade. This means that you can buy a small amount, cut off a piece, and use it to wash your hands. However, most of us see this as just first step into creating wonderful looking bars, slabs, domes, rounds, squares or rectangles of colorful and/or beautifully scented soap.
This can only be done if your soap base is well made. How can you find out? First of all, stay away from soap base with a very long list of ingredients. Don’t purchase soap base that doesn’t have any ingredients listed. The manufacturer is required by law to list what’s in that soap base. If you’re shopping online, make certain that ingredient list is posted on web site. If not, go to another site.
As with food, ingredients listing on soap bases begin with most prominent component listed first. For melt & pour glycerin soap base you’ll want to see word GLYCERIN within first two or three ingredients. If not, you might just not have a great product, or you may have a coconut soap base. There’s nothing wrong with coconut soap, it’s just a bit heavier than glycerin soap, and it’s not translucent.
Soapy Myths The most common myth is that glycerin soap doesn’t contain lye. Yes it does. ALL soap contains lye. Lye is mixed with fats and water and in case of melt & pour, other clarifying ingredients such as sugar, alcohol, propylene glycol and sorbitol. The soapy fact here is that once you purchase glycerin soap base YOU don’t have to use any lye. And that’s what’s so appealing to us.
Not 100% Glycerin Soap Time and again I’ve read of people who claim they use 100% Glycerin soap. That’s impossible as it would be a jar of a clear, sticky plant-derived substance that’s devoid of lather and cleansing ability. What melt & pour soap contains is 100% plant glycerin – and usually at around a 20% rate. Some soap bases contain more, others less. But even at about 20% that is what helps this soap achieve its clarity and its softness – as well as its shorter lifespan in tub, sink or shower.
F.O. Versus E.O. First off, learn what do these initials mean. F.O. = Fragrance Oil. E.O. = Essential Oil. Now, what’s difference?
A fragrance oil contains up to 200 components to make it smell like a fresh-baked slice of chocolate fudge brownie, a luscious ripe raspberry, or a just-picked jasmine flower. Fragrances often contain natural ingredients, but also a lot of synthetic ones. They’re created in a lab, and are less costly than essential oils. They are also more plentiful. Another advantage is that you can obtain your favorite perfume or cologne for just a few dollars an ounce!