# So, why do you prefer or use M&P over handmade bases?



## jamandjellypicnic (Jan 27, 2012)

I would LOVE to be able to regularly make soap completely from scratch, but my situation has started making me lean more towards the comfort and safety of M&P soaps. I'm sure if I ever go into business they won't sell nearly as well and will probably end up costing me more to produce, but that may be my limitiation I have to work around I guess.

You see this is the thing. I have a nice big two bedroom apartment, but it's just that. An apartment. My kitchen doesn't have the best setup, so although I have all the room in the world to mix and store soaps, the actual 'cooking' process would not be easy when attempting anything other than small batches soap from scratch. And where's the fun in super small batches?

The other thing is that I also have a wonderful (but pain in my butt) cat. While I'm in the kitchen he is constantly by my legs, so not only would I have the fear that I could trip with the lye solution one unfortunate time, but I also hate worrying that any small little lye particle may somehow end up on the floor, or a surface that he comes in to contact with. Maybe I'm too paranoid, but even with cleaning the counters and floor immediately after, I still don't know if I would feel comfortable for it to be a regular occurance, you know?

So that's my reason!


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## paillo (Jan 27, 2012)

i love making both cold process and m&p. i feel good about using one of the natural mp bases, and i can be creative with mp in ways that are much harder with cp - embeds, geometric designs, crazy colors and fragrances that are really finicky or discolor too much in cp. i actually started making mp just to use up some fos that are a pain in the butt with cp, and found i enjoy it sooooo much. started looking on etsy for mp soap, and there are some gorgeous inspirations out there. don't feel it's 'inferior' soap, it surely doesn't have to be  

--edited to add: totally agree with tabitha -- it's all about what you put into it and your vision of what you want it to be and where you want yourself to go with it. don't ever sell yourself short -- believe in your products, whatever they may be.

i am super limited on space, and my poor so has almost no room in the kitchen, as i always have some soap, candles, salts or other project hogging most of the space. i'm lucky he doesn't complain too much 

whatever you decide to do, just make sure it's fun for you! and of course fun and safe for the kitty!


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## Tabitha (Jan 27, 2012)

*Re: So, why do you prefer or use M&P over handmade bases*



			
				jamandjellypicnic said:
			
		

> I'm sure if I ever go into business they won't sell nearly as well and will probably end up costing me more to produce, but that may be my limitiation I have to work around I guess.



The above comment is completely without merit. It is all about your customer base, your level of experience, your education, what you know about marketing, design, sales, running a small business & the time you are willing to commitment.

You can have 500 people making CP soap, the same scents as everyone else, the same colors as everyone else, the same boring 'shop' name & claims, everyone swirling this week like the tutorial on so & so's blog, then embedding the next week beause they saw it on so & so's page. never excelling, never stepping away from the pack, then you have 1 CP soaper come along w/ a vision, with spunk, with desire & she/he will make a living at it.

You can have 500 people making M&P soap, the same scents as everyone else, the same colors as everyone else, the same boring 'shop' name & claims, same soap molds, copying every 'cool bar' of soap they see someone else making, nice but not really excelling, not stepping out of the pack, then you have 1 M&P soaper come along w/ a vision, with spunk, with desire & she/he will make a living at it.

It's not the medium you choose- it's what you do with it & do you have the desire to be that 1.


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## Healinya (Jan 27, 2012)

I don't make mp because I am just not talented enough lol... My mp just looks like small block with something either sinking to the bottom or rising to the top with colors either too light or too dark.. I feel like with mp, u need a vision on what u r making. With cp, its a lot easier to experiment and pretend it was intentional. I am glad u are so cautious of lye, as u should be, but I honestly think u will be fine... Put the cat in the bathroom while u mix the lye, then keep it out of the way while cooling (the sink or top of fridge) .... While one flake of lye is all is takes to cause a burn, it's never been an issue with my menagerie... We all keep vinegar handy for burns, because it neutralizes it immediately, but water will do that as well.. take a wet sponge(don't ring it out too much) to tbe counter when done, and run a mop over ur workspace and your kitty should be fine... If u aren't making soap with more than two colors, then a small workspace will be fine.... You may love crock pot soapmaking, u don't have to wait for lye to cool so less chances for the cat to come snooping..


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## Genny (Jan 27, 2012)

*Re: So, why do you prefer or use M&P over handmade bases*



			
				Tabitha said:
			
		

> It's not the medium you choose- it's what you do with it & do you have the desire to be that 1.



Exactly  :wink:  

I make mp and cp.  I started off in the mp world & then after getting that under my belt, I decided to try cp.  I love making both of them and have bought and used mp & cp soaps from many different soapers.  Some were wonderful and some were not very good.  

I have 5 kids, ranging in ages of 3 weeks-10yrs old, so I understand the "what about the lye?" thing.  When I'm working in my kitchen, I use baby gates to block off the kitchen.  I have no idea how baby gates would work on a cat though LOL

When making soap, just try to enjoy it and be safe


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## DiCroz (Jan 29, 2012)

I have been making CP for years and only recently started with M & P. My first experience with M& P was awful as I tried the low sweat base and found it incredibly drying. I left it for a few months then tried the regular bases, goat's milk, cocoa butter and clear and loved them! I'm hooked! I will continue to make both but love the convenience of M&P.


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## Hazel (Jan 29, 2012)

I agree with everyone else. It's about creativity and vision. I've seen some incredible looking MP soaps which are very artistically designed. I'm amazed by some people's skill...and patience.   Plus you can do some really fun looking MP soaps. Also, I use glow powder and my nieces prefer the glow in the dark soaps over my CP ones. I don't do much MP anymore but I still will occasionally make some for quick gifts. 

As to your comment about MP not selling as well - Lush does quite well MP soaps.  :wink:

eta: I forgot to mention sygrid used to post pics of her MP flowers. I was always impressed with her creations. Here are a couple of links to her posts so you can see her soaps.


http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20041
http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19681


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## soapballs (Feb 26, 2014)

Tabitha said:


> The above comment is completely without merit. It is all about your customer base, your level of experience, your education, what you know about marketing, design, sales, running a small business & the time you are willing to commitment.
> 
> You can have 500 people making CP soap, the same scents as everyone else, the same colors as everyone else, the same boring 'shop' name & claims, everyone swirling this week like the tutorial on so & so's blog, then embedding the next week beause they saw it on so & so's page. never excelling, never stepping away from the pack, then you have 1 CP soaper come along w/ a vision, with spunk, with desire & she/he will make a living at it.
> 
> ...


 
I LOVED this post and you re-inspired me...I had my vision and thought well I'm the odd one out after reading all these post for about 3 hours or more now...but, after reading your words I was like why am I going to throw my vision away and follow the 'norm'???  I need to follow my original vision I created and that what sparked me to do this in the first place.  So thank you I needed to read that to go back to my true passion and flow with it.  :razz: Although I have picked up a lot of vital information still I will return to my original plan of action!!


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## Lin (Feb 26, 2014)

Since this thread has been bumped... I'd like to mention that putting vinegar on a lye burn will cause a more severe burn. Vinegar and lye react together in an exothermic reaction, that means heat. So if you have lye causing a chemical burn and add vinegar you're giving yourself a chemical AND heat burn. Please always use water to dilute and rinse away lye on living creatures.


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## soapballs (Mar 3, 2014)

Lin said:


> Since this thread has been bumped... I'd like to mention that putting vinegar on a lye burn will cause a more severe burn. Vinegar and lye react together in an exothermic reaction, that means heat. So if you have lye causing a chemical burn and add vinegar you're giving yourself a chemical AND heat burn. Please always use water to dilute and rinse away lye on living creatures.


 
Thank you for sharing that!


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## summerflyy (Jul 8, 2014)

I started with MP soaping because I wanted to learn how to make soaps since I was young and just nice when I have some free time, I found out that there's a M&P workshop so I went for it and I was hooked. I really want to learn CP too but Sodium Hydroxide is a controlled chemical and it's not sold anywhere here in my country. [I would need a permit to buy the NaOH]

Hopefully I can move on to CP soon .. But I have to say that MP soaps also have some things to learn from !  !


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## SoapyQueenBee (Jul 9, 2014)

I've been using M&P for a long time.  I love the artistic aspect of it!  So many designs that look amazing in M&P just don't work out with scratch soaps, and most of my clients love that you can use the bars right away, vs the wait with standard soap curing.  
That being said, I finally gutsied up and made my first CP batch today, and it's a fantastic sense of accomplishment.  
Stick to what you're comfortable with, and remember how many huge names out there sell M&P.  
Follow your vision and desire, and show us some beautiful soaps when you're ready!


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## FGOriold (Jul 9, 2014)

I do both because there are things I can do with melt and pour I cannot do with cold process and things I can do with cold process I cannot do with melt and pour.  You can get very, very creative with melt and pour by using embeds too.  Most of my melt and pour soaps take far longer to create than the cold process bars and come out beautiful.

<------------- That soap is my avi pic is melt and pour.


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## Ellacho (Jul 9, 2014)

I make both CP and MP soaps. I was very stubborn about making only CP soaps(now going on 7+ years)for the  first five years of soaping. But when I was asked to make MP soaps for a church bazaar three years ago, I had really fun making them. From that on, I was hooked on making MP soaps. Love it! I have been buying  all kinds of silicon molds - too many to count, like 100? 

I also just love about the artistic side of MP - designs, colors, shapes, etc. I was never good at art, but MP soap has brought the artsy side of me . Plus I always get WOWs from people when I give MP soaps away. 

When I make CP soaps, I tend to use essential oils and natural colorants. For MP soaps, I go all out  - all different kinds of colorants, FOs, even packaging! It's very fun! However, the downside of MP is that you have to be very patient!


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## Ellacho (Jul 9, 2014)

FGOriold said:


> I do both because there are things I can do with melt and pour I cannot do with cold process and things I can do with cold process I cannot do with melt and pour.  You can get very, very creative with melt and pour by using embeds too.  Most of my melt and pour soaps take far longer to create than the cold process bars and come out beautiful.
> 
> <------------- That soap is my avi pic is melt and pour.



Hi FGOriold,

I just visited your website. Wow!  Just love the graphic art soaps! I don't know how to make them, but they are amazing beautiful and lovely! Great job!


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## Sheila Pullar (Jul 11, 2014)

Hi could you recommend a favorite mould ?


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## Sheila Pullar (Jul 21, 2014)




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## Sheila Pullar (Aug 2, 2014)

Is Goats milk a better base to use? I need to order some more base, not sure what is the best to use?


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## lisamaliga (Aug 3, 2014)

I recommend goat's milk base as it has phenomenal lather. Or, you could make your own by using standard white base and adding about 1 teaspoon [per pound] of powdered goat's milk.


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## Sheila Pullar (Aug 3, 2014)

Great! thanks for your help x


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## shoresoap (Sep 18, 2016)

Love tabitha's remark! I make MP because that's all the time I have to make soap! I am jealous by the lush and beautiful swirls in CP but I don't have weeks to wait for it to cure. People love my ideas and creativity when making soap. And I even have repeat customers! I also feel that the MP bases available are good quality. I've learned in summer to buy LCP bases so the humidity does not destroy my creations! So far so good!

I have a question - is there a place where I can unload FO that were bad purchases : trade out with another soaper? Same for molds?


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## shimmersoap (Sep 21, 2016)

You can have 500 people making CP soap, the same scents as everyone else, the same colors as everyone else, the same boring 'shop' name & claims, everyone swirling this week like the tutorial on so & so's blog, then embedding the next week beause they saw it on so & so's page. never excelling, never stepping away from the pack, then you have 1 CP soaper come along w/ a vision, with spunk, with desire & she/he will make a living at it.

You can have 500 people making M&P soap, the same scents as everyone else, the same colors as everyone else, the same boring 'shop' name & claims, same soap molds, copying every 'cool bar' of soap they see someone else making, nice but not really excelling, not stepping out of the pack, then you have 1 M&P soaper come along w/ a vision, with spunk, with desire & she/he will make a living at it.

It's not the medium you choose- it's what you do with it & do you have the desire to be that 1.[/QUOTE]

Wow, thanks, you really inspired me.


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