Summer is approaching, and it's time to get creative! Our Melt and Pour Soap Project is here to bring a touch of Zen to your day. With our butterfly column mold, flower mold, square soap loaf mold, vibrant colorants, and soothing Inner Peace Fragrance Oil, you'll be crafting beautiful, calming soaps in no time.
Click here to download the detailed Step-by-Step Guide!
Recommended Ingredients:
- 454g SFIC Clear Melt & Pour Base
- 454g SFIC Shea Butter Melt & Pour Base
- 30g Inner Peace Fragrance Oil
- 250ml Isopropyl Alcohol in Spray Bottle
- 15ml Jewel Tone Liquid Concentrate - Magenta
- 15ml Jewel Tone Liquid Concentrate - Blue
- 2 x 0.15cc scoop of Majestic Violet Mica
- 2 x 0.15cc scoop of Sunset Orange Mica
-
1x 0.15cc scoop of Buttercup Yellow Mica
Recommended Utensils:
- Short (Small) Loaf Silicone Soap Mold
- Flowers Embed Silicone Mold - 11 Cavity
- Butterfly Column Silicone Soap Mold
- 3 x Mini Silicone Measuring Cup
- 2 x Easy Pour Measuring Cups
- 4 x small mixing cup
- 0.15 cc Plastic Scoop
- Stainless Steel Heavy Gauge Soap Cutter
- Scale
- Sticks to stir
- Soap Detailing Tool
- Fine Paintbrush
- Gloves
-
Microwave or Double Boiler
Directions:
- Step 1: Carefully cut and measure 2 x 135g portions of Clear Melt and Pour soap base. Place each portion into a separate measuring cup.
- Step 2: Gently warm both cups in the microwave using 10-second intervals. This helps avoid overheating. Once they're perfectly melted, add 4g of Inner Peace Fragrance Oil to each cup. Stir thoroughly to blend it all together.
- Step 3: Add a drop of Magenta Jewel Tone Liquid Concentrate to one cup and a drop of Blue Jewel Tone Liquid Concentrate to another. Stir each cup gently for just a second to create a beautiful swirl without fully mixing the colors.
- Step 4: Gently pour both colors into the Butterfly column mold at the same time. After pouring, give it a light spritz with Isopropyl Alcohol to pop any bubbles that may appear. Let the soap set for 1-2 hours.
- Step 5: While the other soap sets, cut the white Melt and Pour Base into small pieces. Divide it into four parts: three portions of 20g each and place the remainder in one cup.
- Step 6: Gently melt the three small cups with 20g of base, using 10-second intervals to ensure even melt and avoid overheating. While they melt, prepare three small mixing cups. Spray each with a bit of isopropyl alcohol, then add two scoops of Majestic Violet mica to one, Sunset Orange mica to the second, and Mint Chip mica to the third.
- Step 7: Add one color to each of the three cups filled with melted soap base, keeping one cup white if you'd like some white flowers. Pour the white base into your mold first, then mix in the colorant to the rest for some more colorful flowers.
- Step 8: Gently pour the colored soap into the flower mold, ensuring even distribution. Allow it to set for about 20 minutes.
- Step 9: Once the soap is set, gently remove the flowers from the mold and trim any excess soap.
- Step 10: To give your flowers a realistic touch, use a paintbrush with a mix of isopropyl alcohol and Buttercup Yellow Mica to paint the centers.
- Step 11: Gently remove the Butterfly soap from the column mold. Measure and cut the soap to 11cm to fit perfectly into the square silicone mold.
- Step 12: Make sure the soap embed comfortably fits by trying it out in the mold first.
- Step 13: Gently melt the remaining white soap base in 10-second intervals, ensuring it doesn't overheat. Add 15g of Inner Peace Fragrance Oil and mix thoroughly. Allow it to cool slightly before pouring. This prevents the butterfly design from melting into the white base, keeping your creation beautiful and intact.
- Step 14: Position the butterfly at your preferred angle within the mold, then gently pour the white base around it. If you'd like, save a bit of the white base for the next step.
- Step 15: For a final touch of color, add a drop of magenta to your remaining soap base. Give it a gentle swirl to create a soft, marbled effect, then pour it over the white soap. Allow it to set for roughly one minute.
- Step 16: Once the soap forms a thin layer on top, gently place the flower soap embeds. After your masterpiece is decorated, let it rest for at least 6 hours. This ensures the soap is fully set and ready to be cut.
- Step 17: Gently remove the soap loaf from its mold. With a steady hand and a trusty knife or soap cutter, slice the loaf into four even bars. To keep your soap pristine, package each bar carefully so it stays dry and ready for use. Enjoy your handmade creations immediately, no curing required!
Common Issues:
Discoloration:
Fragrance Oils are most of the time the Culprit when a soap discolors. Some fragrance oils already have a dark color straight out of the bottle. Also you will want to check each fragrance for its Vanillin content. If the Fragrance contains Vanillin, your soap will over time turn to a tan color. Some Fragrances can even turn them to a very dark brown. Keep that in mind when wanting to make a bright or white colored soap.
Ripples:
Ripples can happen when the Soap is not fully hardened and the mold is being moved or a fan or air draft is blowing across the cooling soap.
Bubbles:
Bubbles happen when mixing fragrance and colorants into the soap, however they burst easily by being sprayed with Isopropyl Alcohol
Sweating:
If your Soap starts sweating after a few days of making it , it could be due to the humidity . It's best to package Melt and Pour Soap right away into shrink wrap or plastic wrap. Sweating does not mean that your soap is bad, it merely does not look appealing. However, sweating can also be caused by overheating the base. So be sure to not have it boil in your microwave . Even if the base starts steaming as you remove it from the microwave it's very likely burned.
If you have a lot of issues with your melt and pour sweating, try our SFIC Low Sweat White and SFIC Low Sweat Clear bases.
Botanicals:
While dried Botanicals look amazing in Soaps, they are not compatible with Melt and Pour Soap. Due to Melt and Pour Soap being Glycerin based it will rehydrate dried Botanicals and cause them to eventually mold . Lavender buds will turn the soap brown and moldy so it's best to refrain from adding them into your soap.
Layers separating:
When adding a 2nd layer to a soap you may notice it separating from the first layer, if this happens you likely poured the 2nd layer too long after pouring the first. The bottom layer has to solidify but cannot be too cold. The top layer cannot be too hot nor too cold.You can also score the first layer and be sure to spritz some Isopropyl Alcohol as it helps the layers to adhere to each other.
Low lather:
Adding too much of an additive will reduce lather. This is often seen when adding powders or additional oils.
Powders such as clays or even activated charcoal in excess will increase the volume of the soap,with more of the powder there will be less soap hence your lather will be affected.
Adding oils will also cause this low lather affect. While adding oils will increase moisture it will decrease the ability to lather, as oil by itself does not lather.
To prevent a loss in lather use small amounts of additives to your soap, just enough to give the desired affect but not too much to disrupt the ratio of soap to additive.