First batch M&P....not sure what's happening here

[kristina_mko]

Hi everyone!
I'm completely new to soap making, been researching for about a month before finally deciding to try and make my own loaf.
I melted down the base, added my oils and fragrances and then poured it into the mold, I wanted to make a cute design on top by swirling a spoon around but I noticed my soap seemed to have created a plasticy skin on top however when I pressed it down, the bottom still seemed to be liquid. Am I doing something wrong? Where might I have gone wrong in the process? Perhaps I overheated the base?
It was forming a skin on top when I still had it in the bowl but I thought nothing of it and decided to proceed by adding it to the mold.
I was using my microwave to melt down the base as that is what most people use and seem to not have any issues (I was doing 30 second bursts and would only put it back into the microwave if I felt it start to harden while incorporating my oils) I wouldn't be surprised if maybe it did start to bubble in the microwave, and that is what caused the base to form a skin on top.

I would love to hear any tips or suggestions, or even what may have caused this to happen and if potentially I could salvage this soap somehow? It was about 2.5lbs of base that I would feel bad throwing out.
Thank you!

 

[basti]

Hi there

Forming a skin on top is very common for MP that is cooling and has been exposed to air. It isn't out of the ordinary. It doesn't sound like anything is wrong with your soap from what you've described thus far.

Are you trying to make a textured top (3D texture) using the spoon? Like the image below?


Unfortunately, that's trying to make MP soap do something MP soap can't do*. MP soaps have smooth tops compared to CP/HP soap that can be textured.

melt & pour soaps vs a cold process soap

*MP soap CAN be textured. The bottom layer of the top left MP soap was textured. However, it takes a lot of temperature control and patience and wouldn't really look good as a soap top, as the surface is very rough and messy.

I will add a note here at the end. I'm not sure what you mean by "added my oils" or "incorporating my oils" but it is not recommended to add additional oils, fats, or butters to MP. Added oils can inhibit lather, create texture issues, and/or prevent the MP from setting up. If there's an oil you'd like in your MP soap, it's best to look for a base that has that oil in it already. I stick to very simple additives when making MP: fragrance, kaolin clay, mica colorants.

 

[kristina_mko]

Hello,

Thank you for getting back to me!
Ahhh okay, I guess I might have to do the whole lye solution soap after all since I really did want to have a 3D texture on top for my soaps.

When I was doing some research I did come across an article that mentioned if you wanted to add extra oils to M&P you can add no more than 1-2 tbsp per pound and since I'm finding that the M&P base itself doesn't give me the hydration I want, I added 2 tbsp of a mixture of castor, sweet almond and vitamin e oil to my 2.7lb base and it seems to lather up well on the test bars that I've made in the past.

Since I won't be able to create a design with this loaf, would it be okay to cut it up, melt it down again and place it into 3D molds, or is it a one time melt and pour type of situation?
Thank you for clearing all that up and for the wonderful advice!

 

[basti]

When I was doing some research I did come across an article that mentioned if you wanted to add extra oils to M&P you can add no more than 1-2 tbsp per pound and since I'm finding that the M&P base itself doesn't give me the hydration I want, I added 2 tbsp of a mixture of castor, sweet almond and vitamin e oil to my 2.7lb base and it seems to lather up well on the test bars that I've made in the past.

Glad to hear you did research, used a reasonable amount, and got results that suited you. Some people glob a few oz of shea butter into their MP and then wonder why their soap is weird

Since I won't be able to create a design with this loaf, would it be okay to cut it up, melt it down again and place it into 3D molds, or is it a one time melt and pour type of situation?

Yes, you can melt it back down just fine.

 

[Ekuzo]

Yes, you can melt it and pour it again with no issue

 

[FFLinOhio]

one way to decorate the top of MP soap is by using embeds.
another way is to use cavity molds with texture/patterns

 

[akseattle]

@kristina_mko ,
as @basti indicated, it is not really possible to get the same type of sculpting in the top of M&P that is so common in cold process.

But, as @FFLinOhio said, you can still decorate or add some texture to the top of your M&P bars. I have done it by dripping partially cooled base on the top of the M&P as shown in the soap on the left. I have also created a soft wavey texture by pressing my finger into the top of the almost set but still warm loaf. I didn't take a photo because I didn't like the color of the last third of the loaf- so I chopped it up and re-melted it.

As to the skin on the top of the base, you can spritz the heated soap with alcohol and keep stirring to keep it from forming that skin until you are ready to pour. Otherwise, that skin will be cooler than the hotter base underneath it and it will glob on you.

I think the rule of thumb on adding other oils to your M&P base is no more than 3%. I think of one teaspoon as 5 grams. So, it sounds like you were right in the ballpark. And it sounds like it worked for you- so, good job on your hydrating oils!!!

I couldn't say for sure, but it is possible that adding additional liquid oils can make your bar a little softer in the sense that it will have less longevity when exposed to water. If it is a face bar, you probably don't expose it to as much water as a bar you might use in the shower, so, those additional moisturizing oils may be a reasonable trade off.

Generally, M&P is a completely different craft than cold process. It can be harder to formulate the perfect cold process bar, especially since you have to wait for a couple months of curing to know the results!! If you like the way your M&P FEELS, you may want to surf the internet for videos on different M&P techniques to see if there is something that is aesthetically what you are after. If you bought alot of base, you definitely want to, at least, use it all up.

Anyway, welcome to the soapmaking world!! I hope you enjoy your journey, whether it ends up being CP or M&P!