Just finished my first batch of M&P soap and it’s in the molds now. I used PVC pipe about 6" long for the molds. How long will it take to set up? The surface seems to have set within 15 minutes or so but I want to make sure it’s solid all the way through before I remove it for cutting.
I don’t know what melt and pour soap is but my sister and father make and sell goat milk soap and they wait for several hours after pouring to cut and remove it from the mold. It looks solid to me a few minutes after pouring, but they say they have to wait.
Fubaya: *Melt & Pour *is a soapmaking technique that uses a glycerin soap base rather than lye. Real easy to make. Just like the name says…melt the soap base (in the microwave or double boiler), add fragrance and color, and pour it into molds. Anyway it was solid enough to remove and cut into individual cakes after about 2 hours. It was a fun and easy project and I’ll be doing it again. Great gifts for the ladies! Next time your dad and sister make a batch join them.
hm, a friend makes that type of soap [she also adds essential oils an colors] but she uses soap molds that look like chocolate molds. I believe she sprays the molds with some form of mold release. Never saw anybody using a pvc pipe as a mold =)
As this was my first time making soap I didn’t want to invest too much. Those molds are beautiful but a little pricey for a beginner. The PVC works great. Makes a cylindrical loaf that can be cut into round cakes of any thickness you like. I used petroleum jelly as a mold release. Thanks for the link though. As I become more skilled at soapmaking I’ll eventually be needing some more sophisticated equipment.
If you wanted to make simple bars of soap, here’s how my sister and dad do it. They made wood molds that are sorta troughs, they line them with wax paper (I think it’s wax paper anyway) and cut the soap with a putty knife that is exactly the width of the molds. They sell their soap, that’s why the molds are so long and there’s 100 bars of soap in the photo.
