Anyone go from CP to M&P? Or do both?

[honeysuds]

Weird as it may sound, I am nervous about doing my first batch of M&P, more so than I ever was with CP! I guess just trying something new and I guess I have to treat it like a super easy rebatch. I think secretly I am also scared I will love it more than CP because of the "instant gratification" (ok not instant but way faster than the 4+ week cure for CP!) and switch!

 

[FGOriold]

I do both CP and Melt and Pour. There I things I can do with melt and pour that I cannot do with cold process (like using water soluble paper, embedding molded soap into clear bases to make scenes. etc. Some melt and pour projects take longer to do than CP with more steps involved, but the results can be amazing. For using, I prefer to use my Cold process soaps, but I love what I can create with the melt and pour.

 

[lsg]

I second what FGOriold says. Each soap is unique. I never realized what beautiful creations can be made with M&P soap until I bought a few books on the subject. One of my favorites is 300 Handcrafted soaps by Marie Browning. It includes embossing and soap painting.

 

[honeysuds]

So I made a super simple 1lb sized loaf, half goatmilk & half honey m&p, added some purple clay and lavender essential oil. Was soooo easy I LOVED it! I cant wait to cut it and try it out in the shower. Thanks for the book recommendation, I will look into it I love to have books with ideas and techniques especially since I'm just starting out.

 

[moonbeam]

I think they each have their own unique cool things about them. I love to work with melt and pour and use the silicone molds, they pick up such cool detail. As far as selling, folks that arent into handmade soap are usually attratcted to the rbight colors or the M&P and buy them for gifts. There's really no limit to what you can create!

 

[Koshka]

I sell both CP and M&P and am having fun with both. I've realized some people actually prefer "glycerin" soap and that's why my company carries both. And now I'm experimenting with combining M&P and CP together! http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?p=365565#post365565

 

[Marilyna]

Me! I've recently been making MP and I love it. It's so pretty and there isn't all that FO testing.

 

[MOGal70]

When I made my first soap many years ago it was because a co-worker had told me how much she loved this homemade soap at a gift shop. I thought it was very pretty and bought a bar, then when I used it I found it was the worst bar of soap I had ever used. It was a MP bar. So after that I HAD to see if I could do better!

IMO if it is soap for displaying MP is fine. If it is for using go with CP or HP!

 

[savonierre]

I started with M&P and went to CP.

 

[honeysuds]

Oh man, this is no good. I think I am in love with M&P! I did use some goat milk & honey base I blended (1/2 each) with some lavender EO it smelled amazing! Left me a little drier than my CP soaps which I expected but not near as bad as store brand bars. I did some lemongrass in coconut milk M&P and I like that base a lot better, but variety is the spice of life so I would most likely have several bases to use or make gifts from.

I see benefits to both, and truly it is a personal preference but I like that it takes me 1/4 of the time it takes to do CP which means I can make several batches in a day, I feel safer while working with M&P (3 kids at home), a lot less EO and FO and don't have to worry much about seizing/accelerating. I also feel when using EO the benefit of the oil is better retained because it doesn't interact with the lye. Love the fly by the seat of my pants moment with M&P too can just make a batch whenever I feel like it, and easier clean up.

Very nice pics! I'm such a simple person by nature but hoping to get a little more visually creative with the M&P!

 

[lsg]

I made my own M&P base using a recipe from Kayla Fioravanti's book, How to Make Melt & Pour Soap Base from Scratch: A Beginner's Guide to Melt & Pour Soap Base Manufacturing . I made the high sudsing recipe and love it. I have also made the M&P base recipe from Edential Farms blog. Both are good recipes. I like them much better than the transparent soap recipes from Failor's book. The soap I made from a recipe in her book is very difficult to remelt.

 

[Pepsi Girl]

That's very interesting ISG I never thought about from scratch m&p soapbase. Something new to venture into!

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Soap Making mobile app

 

[PinkCupcake]

I love the artistic things that people can do with MP, but the few times I have tried it, I just didn't enjoy it. I'll try again some time, because I think MP is beautiful, but CP is what I really like doing.

 

[ShelleyW]

I love M&P simply because you can use EO in it with no problem. I got into soaping because of my allergy to fragrance and also because I am addicted to EO's. I think you can unleash the therapeutic powers of EO's much easier in M&P.

 

[honeysuds]

Exactly Shelley! I find the benefits of EO come through so much better in M&P and of course I use so much less oil it saves money too.

 

[seven]

I made my own M&P base using a recipe from Kayla Fioravanti's book, How to Make Melt & Pour Soap Base from Scratch: A Beginner's Guide to Melt & Pour Soap Base Manufacturing . I made the high sudsing recipe and love it. I have also made the M&P base recipe from Edential Farms blog. Both are good recipes. I like them much better than the transparent soap recipes from Failor's book. The soap I made from a recipe in her book is very difficult to remelt.

i just bought kayla's book but haven't tried making it. i did edentia farms' though and it was easy to follow with good result. i am very pleased.

comparing edentia's with the mp base that i bought from a local supplier, i much prefer edentia's. fast and easy to remelt, no sticky business, almost no residue on the container used for remelting. with the local bought base, yes it is transparent like water, but it's a bit sticky and it left some residue, like i can't totally pour the whole thing to the molds.

 

[itunu]

honeysuds, glad it worked out for you.

tip - don't make the mistake I did and try and cut the M&P soap using a CP wire cutter! It broke my cutter.