From David Fisher,
Your Guide to Candle & Soap Making.
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Making soap with a "melt and pour" base is sort of like making a cake with a cake mix. What you lose in control of your ingredients and customization of your recipe, you make up for in safety, ease and convenience.

With melt and pour soap making:

1. You buy pre-made blocks of uncolored, unscented soap “base” from a craft store or soap supplier.
2. You chop it up into small chunks and melt it in the microwave or a double boiler.
3. When the soap is fully melted, you add your fragrance, color and/or additives.
4. Put it in a mold and let it cool and harden.
5. voila, you’re done. The soap is ready to use as soon as it hardens. Pop it out of the mold and hit the tub.

To get started making melt and pour soap you only need:

• A counter top or other clean workspace with a microwave or double boiler
• A heat resistant bowl or Pyrex pitcher for the microwave
• A couple of spoons or whisks & some measuring spoons
• Some melt and pour soap base
• Fragrance, color, and/or additives, as desired
• Something to mold the soap in

That’s it. From your first try, you can have wonderful results.

Pros of Melt and Pour

• An easy and inexpensive way to start making soap
• No need to deal with dangerous lye mixture
• You don’t need a lot of ingredients to start
• Your soap is ready to use as soon as it hardens

Cons of Melt and Pour

• No control over your ingredients
• Melt and Pour is not quite as “natural” as other methods. (Many manufacturers add chemicals to increase lather or to better allow the soap to melt.)
• Your soap is only as good as the base you purchase

Some soap makers frown on melt and pour as not "authentic" soap...not good enough or not natural enough. But soap made with a high-quality melt and pour soap base can be excellent. I prefer cold process soap from scratch for my everyday use, but there are just some things you can do with melt and pour that you just can't do with cold process soap.

Whether you try melt and pour soap and never give making soap from scratch a try...or whether you try it just to get started, melt and pour soap is an easy, affordable and safe way to dive into the wonderful world of making your own soap.