The short answer is no. Melt and pour soap is NOT cheating as long as you do not claim it is something other than melt and pour (often called “glycerin” soap). The reason so many people ask that question is because using melt and pour soap is technically not considered “making soap” – at least not from scratch.
Melt and pour is using already made soap bases to create soap products. MP is much faster and easier than cold or hot process soap making methods and a great way to break into the soap business with minimal cost and time.
How is Melt and Pour Different from Other Soap Making Methods?
MP soap bases are already soap when you buy them. You don’t have to add the fats, oils and lye like someone making hot process (HP) or cold process (CP) soap. Melt and Pour, or glycerin soap, provides a certain level of instant gratification – but it is still very much real soap.
Think of it this way. If we compare soapmaking to baking, the difference would be:
1.) Making cookies from scratch by adding very specific ingredients at specified amounts and following a recipe of steps that must be done in the proper order, then spooning the dough onto the cookie sheet and baking. OR…
2.) Buying a roll of pre-made cookie dough, slicing it, arranging the slices on the pan, then baking.
Why do some people think melt and pour soap is cheating?
There are a handful of reasons that some people might consider using melt and pour soap as cheating. What it really comes down to is context and opinion.
1st
First, we have the skill and effort considerations. Going back to our baking example, if you were to sell “homemade” cookies at a bake sale and did nothing more than slice up a roll of dough and bake it… Is that really “homemade” or just “home baked?”
It might be a small distinction to the purchaser – as long as the cookies taste good. But to anyone who spent hours finding the perfect recipe, gathering ingredients, following every tiny step of the recipe from scratch, and making similar cookies; that difference is huge.
Caveat Alert! What if you bought plain cookie dough and then shaped, baked and decorated them? Now the buyer’s decision is based on more than just taste.
2nd
Second, we have the more general school of thought that any shortcut is considered cheating (by some people).
With a block of melt and pour soap base you can create a beautiful bar from the finest detailed mold available in a matter of minutes. Once that bar has set, which only takes a couple hours usually, it is ready to use. There is no curing time. There is no saponification timeline to worry about. It is just ready to go and looks absolutely amazing with just a few minutes of work and a microwave oven.
Take it a step further by adding some essential oils, fragrances, or colors and now you have a display-worthy creation that only took one or two minutes more to make per bar. This is also the case when adding exfoliants, such as sea salt or herbs or coffee grounds or anything else you can think of.
Why would anyone intentionally cheat by using MP soap?
Unfortunately, some soapers (a.k.a./ a soap maker) try to pass MP off as cold process soap that they claim to have made from scratch. This is typically either because they can charge more or want to take credit for perfect soap with significantly less effort, and risk, than making a similar product from scratch.
Did I say Risk?
Yes, I said risk. In order to make soap from scratch you need to combine fats, lye, and a fluid to dissolve the lye (now a lye solution). The lye solution interacts with the fat in a natural reaction called saponification – which is just a fancy way of saying ‘becoming soap.’
Lye is a caustic material that can be dangerous to handle if you are not careful. It makes water come to a near boil almost instantly and gives of noxious fumes.
I use lye nearly every day in my soap business. The trick for me is to not fear it, but rather to respect it and treat it with caution.
Not having to handle lye is one of the main reasons so many people like using melt & pour soap bases. You can work with a single base, or combine different kinds, then add whatever scents and colors you like. But more on that in a minute.
How can I avoid the melt and pour “cheating” stigma?
To avoid any accusations of melt and pour cheating all you need to do is not make any false claims about how you crafted you are creation. If you’re selling soap that happens to be art, most people will not care that it’s melt and pour.
You’re selling a creation – not just any old bar of soap. That’s a very important consideration, by the way. A lot of professional soapers use melt and pour soap bases because it gives them more control over the artistry of making a bar of soap that looks and acts exactly how they want. And not just from an aesthetic point of view, but also how the bar is to be used. Let’s take a look…
How can I make melt and pour soap unique?
We quickly looked at this earlier but here is some more detail. Options for customizing melt and pour soap is only limited by your imagination. Most soap makers will start with a mold that works well for the soap’s final intended purpose. That shape might be round or square or rectangular or even of a mermaid sitting on rocks. It can be anything.
MP bases are ideal for capturing the tiniest of details in a mold because the soap is liquid when in a melted state. MP finds and fills every little nook and cranny of the mold.
It is not uncommon for soap crafters to implement exfoliants such as ground oatmeal and two add more at specific layers while pouring the bar in the mold. And, it takes only a few seconds to pour two different layers in a soap mold; one with heavy exfoliates or colors and the other without. That is just one example, but I think you get the point.
Insider Tip: Just be sure to spray some isopropyl rubbing alcohol on the first layer before pouring the second. The alcohol helps the layers bond. The closer the grade is to 100%, the better. Most local pharmacies will stock 70% or above and you can get 99% (medical grade IPA) online through Amazon or specialty outlets.
Are there different types of melt and pour?
Yes! In fact, the hardest thing about getting started is trying to choose the one to try first – assuming you are trying to keep trial costs low. Here are some of my favorite bases that I find sell extremely well:
- Goat Milk
- Coconut Oil
- Oatmeal
- Buttermilk
- Olive Oil/Castille
- Aloe Vera
- Beer
- Wine
- Coffee
- Many more
But there’s more to glycerin soap (a.k.a./ melt and pour) types than just varieties. “Type” can also refer to its properties such as: all natural, detergent-based, vegan, organic, and plenty more.
How can I get into the soap making and selling business using melt and pour?
I’ll do a more elaborate post on the business aspects, including how to buy your MP bases and supplies at deep discounts, but for now we’ll focus on the creation aspect. There’s no sense in going all out until you know this is something you want to do, as a hobby, to make handcrafted personal gifts, and/or to sell.
Try to find a single source for your materials – at least for the experimental phase. If you pursue this at a grander scale later, you will likely have multiple suppliers.
Speaking from Experience: I have an Amazon Prime account, so I found everything there and got free shipping. But you can also get supplies at local arts and crafts stores. Just be sure to look for coupons. Michaels’ and Hobby Lobby, for example, usually have some good online coupons.
Here’s a good start to try your hand at melt and pour soap making…
- Two pounds (or 1 KG) of melt and pour soap base of your choosing (MANY options available)
- A soap mold (I suggest silicone for ease of use and durability)
- Soap colorant: liquid or mica powder (make sure it is rated for skin contact and not food coloring or candle coloring as it can stain skin)
- Scent or essential oil (always consult a chart for essential oils so you don’t overdo it)
- Exfoliate: sea salt, ground oatmeal, even coffee grounds work great
MP Cost Expectations
On Amazon or in a craft store you can expect to pay anywhere from $5 to $9 per pound of MP soap base. Once you know what you want you can buy in bulk. One of the suppliers I use is https://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/
I generally spend less than $2 per pound and get free shipping – even on relatively small orders. Other reputable melt and pour suppliers include Brableberry.com and BulkApothecary.com. There are plenty to choose from.
Remember – the goal is not to sell this first test batch. Thee idea here is to make it and use it yourself as well as possibly getting feedback from others.
BUSINESS ALERT
Consider getting insurance before you sell or gift any soap. I bought my first policy through https://www.handmadeinsurance.com/ for $285. The $1,000,000 (1 million dollar) coverage was instant. This is all my company, Good Life Goods, LLC used for its first two years because the policy covered tons of handmade craft goods that we experimented with.
Are there any melt and pour gotchas?
Yes, there are as few things to look out for when you first get started, including:
- If you use a microwave to melt your soap base, be sure to cut the base up into small cubes (1” is good) and microwave it in short bursts, such as 30 seconds – NOT minutes at a time.
- Over-microwaving can burn the soap and cause an odor, ruin the texture, and change the color. If you microwave in 30 second bursts you can use the heat of the melted soap to make the rest melt faster and more evenly, by giving it a gentle stir.
- If you use a stove-top, be sure to use a double boiler. The soap at the bottom of a kettle, placed directly on a burner, can easily burn.
- Glycerin attracts moisture so your melt and pour soap can appear to “sweat” in humidity. To avoid this, once your soap has hardened (usually several hours after being poured into the mold), wrap it in plastic as soon as possible. Shrink-wrap makes a nice presentation, but plastic cling-wrap works great too.
- Most MP bases start to melt at 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius). If it is wrapped in plastic in direct hot sunshine it might get soft. If left in a car in hot weather, it can deform. Also consider this when shipping.
>>> Get The Inside Edge
It you want to work with melt and pour you should find the best supplier possible. There is a an article on this site dedicated to that very thing. The information presented is the result of years’ of trying over 40 MP suppliers. It can save you a lot of time and money.
I hope this helps. Now get soaping!