# Soap molds



## Candle Guy (Apr 22, 2020)

Hello everyone, 

I am a beginner at soap making and I want to purchase a soap mold. I was looking into a 42 inch loaf or log mold. My question is can you make less soap than the 42 inches. There is a recipe that I would like to try out but it will not fill the mold completely. Will this affect how the soap turns out?


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## artemis (Apr 22, 2020)

First, no. It we just not fill the mold.

Second, that seems like a really big mold for a beginner.

Third, If you run your recipe through a soap calculator, you can adjust the size to fit any mold you like.


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## Candle Guy (Apr 22, 2020)

Thank you for the quick response. I am looking to buy a mold right now. I just ordered all of the supplies minus the mold. Any suggestions for CP soap?

The soap calculator is confusing me lol. That is how much of a soap rookie that I am.


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## artemis (Apr 22, 2020)

Ok. My favorite small mold only holds about 16 oz. There's one at Bramble Berry and another at Nurture. I would use that or one for 32 oz.

If you have an existing soap recipe from a book or website, the first step I would take is to convert the amounts to percentages.  In the calculator, you input the amount of oils (16 oz or 450 g). 

Adjust the superfat.

Then, you select each of the oils and put in the percentage for each oil. The calculator will give you your new recipe with measurements for oils, water, and NaOH.


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## Candle Guy (Apr 22, 2020)

Ahhh thanks and I will give this a try


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## shunt2011 (Apr 22, 2020)

I highly recommend a smaller mold. I make and seek and don’t use a mold that big. Plus if you make that much soap as a beginner you may not even like the recipe or something goes wrong thats a  lot of wasted money.  I wouldn’t make more than a pound or two at a time tops.


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## Candle Guy (Apr 22, 2020)

shunt2011 said:


> I highly recommend a smaller mold. I make and seek and don’t use a mold that big. Plus if you make that much soap as a beginner you may not even like the recipe or something goes wrong thats a  lot of wasted money.  I wouldn’t make more than a pound or two at a time tops.



Thanks and I ordered a roughly 2lb mold. I also ordered a bunch of supplies to get me started. I am starting with a beginners recipe so hopefully it will work out  lol. The recipe calls for 2lbs.


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## shunt2011 (Apr 22, 2020)

Just be sure to run it through a soap calculator. You should be fine.


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## Candle Guy (Apr 22, 2020)

Thanks again I do appreciate everyone helping me out. I have been making candles for a few years now and I always help out the candle rookies lol. Guess it's coming around for me with soaps now lol


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## dibbles (Apr 22, 2020)

I think it is very important to learn how to use a soap calculator. The first post in the beginner’s forum is a how-to. Spend a little time playing around with it. It’s time well spent.


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## Jersey Girl (Apr 22, 2020)

Candle Guy said:


> The soap calculator is confusing me lol. That is how much of a soap rookie that I am.



Try the soapmakingfriend.com calculator. I think it’s the most beginner friendly one.


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## cmzaha (Apr 22, 2020)

Just a little note, the 42 inch mold you mentioned would have made roughly 13 lbs of soap. That is a lot of soap and a lot of wasted product if you hate the soap. That is why we usually recommend 1 lb molds. Wholesale supplies has a neat 1 lb silicone mold that makes 4 bars. I love it for small test batches. 
Crafters Choice™ Short (Small) Loaf Silicone Mold 1504 - Wholesale Supplies Plus


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## Candle Guy (Apr 23, 2020)

cmzaha said:


> Just a little note, the 42 inch mold you mentioned would have made roughly 13 lbs of soap. That is a lot of soap and a lot of wasted product if you hate the soap. That is why we usually recommend 1 lb molds. Wholesale supplies has a neat 1 lb silicone mold that makes 4 bars. I love it for small test batches.
> Crafters Choice™ Short (Small) Loaf Silicone Mold 1504 - Wholesale Supplies Plus



Great idea on the smaller molds. I do appreciate that input. I will definitely check this out


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## lsg (Apr 23, 2020)

A Velveeta box is good for a rectangle mold and a Pringles can (lined) is good for round soap.


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## Candle Guy (Apr 23, 2020)

Pringles can hmmmm that's pretty cool


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## jcandleattic (Apr 24, 2020)

I was going to suggest this mold for a beginner for small batches - soap mold
It's inexpensive, and it's the mold I used for YEARS before going to a very slightly bigger mold.

But I see you have already purchased a mold and supplies.
Next is making soap and posting pics!!


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## Candle Guy (Apr 24, 2020)

Hello Candleattic,

I remember you from craftserver. How have you been? Also I am not against trying out another mold also. So thanks for the link I appreciate it.


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## jcandleattic (Apr 24, 2020)

Candle Guy said:


> Hello Candleattic,
> I remember you from craftserver. How have you been? Also I am not against trying out another mold also. So thanks for the link I appreciate it.


HI!!  I don't go over there much anymore, but I'm still around, still creating. Good to see you joining the soap side of things!!  Seems like a natural progression.


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## Candle Guy (Apr 24, 2020)

I haven't been on that site in a long time. I am still doing candles but I want to learn soap as well. I know that I will have a huge up hill climb but i am not scared lmao. If anything i can make stuff for friends and family and personal use.


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## jcandleattic (Apr 24, 2020)

Candle Guy said:


> I know that I will have a huge up hill climb but i am not scared lmao


IMO the soapmaking learning curve was MUCH easier to master than candlemaking. So so much easier. 
After you get a few batches under your belt, you will have to tell me what you think and if my assessment is accurate.


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## Candle Guy (Apr 24, 2020)

Well that is a relief to hear lol. God knows how much money that I have spent and still spending in candles. I will update you as soon as I begin. All of my supplies are supposed to come in next week.


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## TheGecko (Apr 24, 2020)

I started with BrambleBerry's Beginners Cold Process Soap Kit.  It came with a tried and true recipe, step-by-step instructions, enough supplies for two batches of soap and a 10" Silicone Loaf Mold (2lbs, 10 bars).

After ruining a couple of 2 lb batches, I invested in a couple of 1 lb molds. It's allows me to test new scents and colorants and if I have another opportunity to learn (failure), I'm only out a small amount of ingredients.

I think it's important to set a budget for the first year because it's too easy to get caught up in the excitement of soap making.  Most of my mixing equipment came from the Dollar Store.  I bought a stick blender, digital scale and cheese slicer from Amazon.  I picked up a nice stainless steel pot with lid for $6.00 at the local thrift store.


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## Candle Guy (Apr 24, 2020)

Great info Gecko! What soap distributors do you recommend otherwise Brambleberry?


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## Jersey Girl (Apr 24, 2020)

I absolutely LOVE this little 2lb basic wooden mold from Nurture Soap. I really prefer wooden molds as I like to gel all my soaps and it happens much easier in the wooden molds for me. I use this all the time. I get 7 one inch bars which is perfect for testing recipes. It uses about 26oz of oils.








						2 lb Basic Wood Mold
					

This is the wooden mold for our 2 pound soap mold. It can be lined with freezer paper if you do not prefer using silicone liners for your molds. Mold Specifications Matching Liner 2 lb Liner Matching Lid N/A ID of Mold 3 1/8 x 7 1/2 x 2 9/16 inches




					nurturesoap.com


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## TheGecko (Apr 24, 2020)

Candle Guy said:


> Great info Gecko! What soap distributors do you recommend otherwise Brambleberry?



I have purchased supplies from Costco, Rustic Escentuals, Be Scented, Nurture Soap, Mad Micas, Nature's Garden, Elements Bath & Body, Amazon, Dollar Tree, and Wholesale Supplies Plus to name a few others. Oh...and a mold from Hobby Lobby (not realizing that it needed to be lined). I've been wanting to try out Bulk Apothecary, but it seems every time I got in to place a large order, they are out of the stuff I want and given the shipping costs. I'm not spending less than $50.00.

Always make sure you purchase your ingredients, colorants and scents from reputable sources.  I once thought I got a killer deal on some Blue Mica only to discover that it couldn't be used in soap making.  And since I didn't know anyone else that could use it, I just tossed it.

Basically...I shop around for best prices including shipping when it comes to my bulk ingredients.  Scents and Colorants I'm a little more picky about as they vary from from company to company.  An example of this is Dragon's Blood FO; I was given a small bottle of it by Wellington Fragrance.  I have tried a few other companies, but I really like WF's version!


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## Candle Guy (Apr 25, 2020)

I am having some supplies being delivered from Natures Garden. I love their candle supplies so I am hoping that their soap stuff is ok because that would save me on shipping lol


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## cm4bleenmb (Apr 25, 2020)

I don't think I've ever made a batch larger than one pound and I've never purchased a mold. (Obviously, I don't make large amounts of soap. lol) I use the heavy cardboard bottom box from Velveeta-style cheese blocks and line it with freezer paper. If I want individual soaps I use the containers from spreadable cream cheese. Oh, wait, I do have some molds I had to buy Jell-O to get.


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## Candle Guy (Apr 25, 2020)

Will parchment paper work as well?


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## jcandleattic (Apr 25, 2020)

Candle Guy said:


> Will parchment paper work as well?


It will, but freezer/butcher paper works better. Don't use wax paper. The wax will melt and stick to the soap.


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## Candle Guy (Apr 25, 2020)

Thanks Attic


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## Candle Guy (Apr 29, 2020)

Any idea what these white spots are in my melt and pour soap? Would it be from maybe the soap not melting enough?


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## Jersey Girl (Apr 29, 2020)

Candle Guy said:


> Any idea what these white spots are in my melt and pour soap? Would it be from maybe the soap not melting enough?



That’s most likely exactly what it is.  A piece wasn’t melted all the way.  Pretty color!


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## Candle Guy (Apr 29, 2020)

Thanks I appreciate it


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## rdc1978 (May 1, 2020)

Candle Guy said:


> Thank you for the quick response. I am looking to buy a mold right now. I just ordered all of the supplies minus the mold. Any suggestions for CP soap?
> 
> The soap calculator is confusing me lol. That is how much of a soap rookie that I am.



Soapcalc was confusing as heck to me too, but it's so worth it to learn because there may be a fun, non-traditional mold you want to use.  I love repurposing Amazon boxes as soap molds and if I want to use a recipe, I can run it through soapcalc to resize it for my mold.  

I think it's totally worth learning and it's not hard, it just has a very intimidating interface, IMO and a lot of different options. 

I'm a newbie and I was totally intimidated but once I committed to sitting down and trying to work with it, it was great.  Totally worth it. 

Happy soaping!!!


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## penelopejane (May 1, 2020)

Candle Guy said:


> Great info Gecko! What soap distributors do you recommend otherwise Brambleberry?


Annoyingly you probably won’t be able to get all your supplies from one supplier. They all have different things that are good and sometime specials woo you in. Watch the shipping though. I love nurture and BB has some good scents. Look at our fragrance review chart (last page or so of the thread for the latest detail) so you don’t get seduced by lovely sounding FO names and descriptions.


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## Candle Guy (May 1, 2020)

This is all helpful information and yes I want to check out the fragrance review chart for sure.


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## earlene (May 9, 2020)

Welcome to the forum, *Candle Guy*.  A chandler turned soapmaker, fab!  To me candlemaking seems intimidating, and since I rarely use candles, I am not particularly motivated to delve into the craft.

Soapmaking is so much fun, I think you will really enjoy it.


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## Candle Guy (May 9, 2020)

Thank you Earlene and yes candle making can be tough but after a while it's like every other craft. Test test test and test again lol


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