The melt and pour soap bases are carefully balanced formulations designed for the home/craft/gift markets where an easy to handle and easy to pour/set product is required.
Melt and pour soap is a vegetable glycerine base which produces a pleasant, soft and stable soap at a wide variety of temperature ranges. It is supplied both as a clear base and a white base. Finished soaps are effective yet mild on the skin and produce a rich creamy lather in use.
Melt and pour soap readily melts by gentle warming and with a typical melt point around 60 deg C. Melt and pour should not be overheated and should not be left on continuous heat as this can damage the soap causing moisture to be driven off and affecting the set point and texture of the finished soap. Overheating will also cause the product to discolour.
Once the product is fully melted you may choose to add fragrance, colours and botanicals to obtain the desired finished result. These ingredients should be added when the melted base is cooling but still liquid and well stirred to disperse them. Typically fragrance is added at around 0.5-2% depending on strength required. Colours can be added as required. It is not recommended to add more than 5% of additional ingredients as these may effect the final texture and if too much is added the soap may be softer when set.
Liquid melt and pour soap can be poured into any available mould. Take care as the liquid will still be very hot and the mould must be capable of taking a hot liquid. When poured, the soap may be left to set evenly (usually overnight). Once set it can be removed from the moulds and cut as required.
Many interesting shapes and variations can be achieved by experimenting with layers or by adding pieces of set soap back into the moulds when pouring. Melt and pour soap is water based and over time may shrink by up to 9%. Wrapping the soap is recommended. Cold temperatures will force moisture to accumulate on the surface of the soap if not covered. Removal to a warmer place will rapidly resolve this slight problem.
