melt and pour homemade soap step-by-step guide

Stop being intimated to make soap and start by making melt and pour homemade soap. It’s perfect for starting your homemade soap journey, while making it a fun and very enjoyable experience! You will only need a few ingredients, along with some optional ones, soap molds and a little bit of time.

why use melt and pour soap for your homemade soap?

Melt and pour soap is extremely forgiving, which is why so many of us love to use it. You can re-melt the soap if it starts to cool, or you put it in the wrong mold. It’s also very gentle, which gives it a great base for most people no matter what your skin type (dry, sensitive, acne, oily, normal, mature). Lastly, you can add several ingredients to enhance the melt and pour soap. Or you can leave it extremely simple, and the melt and pour homemade soap still works either way!

what supplies do you need to make melt and pour soap?

The supplies are simple when it comes to making melt and pour homemade soap. You will need a melt and pour base, essential oils for a natural scent and a soap mold. I love this soap mold set from amazon since it comes with lots of options!

Optional supplies for melt and pour soap making include natural skin enhancers and natural exfoliators. They can add to the recipe if you have a certain skin types, looking for something extra to make your soap beautiful or simply want some texture to the soap. I included a basic list of add in’s further down in the blog post.

step-by-step guide to making melt and pour homemade soap

STEP ONE : Chop up 1 pound of your melt and pour soap base into similar size pieces, about 1-2 inches in size. This will make it easier to melt and stir the soap

STEP TWO : Place the pieces of melt and pour soap into a double boiler on your stovetop. For mine, I used a large saucepan with water halfway and a 4 cup glass measuring cup to make pouring into the molds easier. Heat water to a gentle boil, stirring the soap pieces after they start to melt.

STEP THREE : Continue stirring the soap until smooth and no pieces are left. Once that happens, remove the measuring cup from the stovetop and dry off the bottom. The measuring cup will be hot, so make sure to have towels and pot holders nearby. Turn off the stove.

STEP FOUR : If you are making all of the same soap, you can add you essential oils, optional skin enhancers and optional skin exfoliators directly to the melted soap based in your measuring cup. For 1 pound of soap base, I would suggest using 35-45 drops of essential oils. Then you can 1-2 teaspoons of each skin enhancer or exfoliator. I always start with the smaller amounts, and then add more if needed.

Mix the soap, essential oils, skin enhancers and/or exfoliators well. Then pour into your soap molds of choice. I find that this makes around 5 bars of soap, depending on the molds you use.

STEP FIVE : If you are making different types of soap, you can pour the soap into the molds first. Then add 8 drops of essential oils into each soap mold. If using a skin enhancer or skin exfoliator in your recipe, add 1/4 teaspoon to each soap mold and stir gently.

You will either need to have all your supplies ready to go at once or work on one bar of soap at a time, so your melted soap doesn’t start to harder. If this happens, you can put it back in the double boiler for a few minutes to melt the soap again.

STEP SIX : Leave the soap in the molds for several hours to overnight. I find the soap is usually ready after a few hours, but I like to leave it overnight to be sure it has hardened. Peel the molds back slowly and gently, so the soap comes out clean and beautiful.

STEP SEVEN : If you aren’t going to use your melt and pour homemade soap right away, then you will need to wrap your soap so it stays in good condition for your future use.

amazing scent combinations for melt and pour soap

all about fall

• bergamot
• grapefruit
• northern lights black spruce
• clove

lavender dreams

• lavender
• peppermint
• honey
• oatmeal

stress relief

• stress away
• orange

skin clearing

• peppermint
• rosemary
• tea tree

give me all the trees

• evergreen essence

vanilla frappe

• vanilla
• coffee grounds

fresh scent

• eucalyptus
• peppermint
• grapefruit
• poppy seeds

optional add-in’s to use in your homemade soap

NATURAL SKIN ENHANCERS

Honey

Oatmeal

Dried flowers

Dried milk

Aloe

NATURAL EXFOLIATORS

Coffee grounds

Poppy seeds

Salts

Sugars

what do you use to wrap your homemade soap in?

Plastic wrap, coffee filers and parchment paper are great choices for wrapping your melt and pour homemade soap. You can also use tissue paper, scrapbooking paper and wrapping paper! Your best choice may be dependent on where you live and the humidity. Melt and pour soaps are not a fan of humid conditions. In that case, the less air between your soap and your wrapping choice the better! Lots of people will choose plastic wrap to keep the humidity out of their soaps, especially in the summer.

melt and pour homemade soap gifting

My biggest tip for gifting is to wrap the soap once it’s dried and unmolded. The melt and pour homemade soap will start to dry out if left unwrapped and exposed to the air for too long. If you aren’t ready to package it for gifting that’s fine, since you can use a temporary wrapping. Then transfer the soap bars to your gift wrapping later.

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