"start out with melt and pour"

[LuckyStar]

*Disclaimer* I am not trying to be controversial or a pot stirrer with this post, just honestly curious how other people think in this regard*

I saw it a lot in videos i watched before i stared making soap, i heard the advice given from time to time on different forums or youtube comments on CP videos. "If you're new to making soap, start with melt and pour".

Don't get me wrong, M&P soaps are very beautiful ,and there are some amazing things you can do with them that you just cant do with CP(I'm looking at you translucent sparkly soap); however, i never understood the advice of do melt and pour first.

True they are both soap making, but the process between the two seems completely different. They use different ingredients, the ratios for FO and colourants are different, the temperatures are different, what you can and cant add to the batter is different, the way you treat and pour the batter is different, cutting and storage is different.

They really only seem similar to me in that they are soap. It always struck me as telling someone who wanted to learn to make a cake, to learn to fry ground beef first. Both are cooking, but over all,not remotely the same thing.

 

[CanaDawn]

I agree with you. M&P is a separate craft/art that hasn't got a lot in common with CP or HP for that matter. (unless you're making your own M&P base)

 

[pamielynn]

I agree also and have said so myself. Two completely different things. MP doesn't teach you anything about making soap - except maybe how to pour EOs without getting them all over the place

 

[LuckyStar]

I agree also and have said so myself. Two completely different things. MP doesn't teach you anything about making soap - except maybe how to pour EOs without getting them all over the place

I STILL can't do this most of the time. I think the trick is to pour boldly and with confidence....I however pour slowly and nervously....and I dribble a bit down the side nearly every time -.-:lolno:

 

[roseb]

I've never been able to figure out that advise either. The two crafts are very different.

The trick to pour eos/fos without dripping is to put a chop stick or thin wooden stick up to the lip of the bottle and let the oil drip out and down the stick. The stick controls the flow of the oil. When you're done just tip the bottle up and the flow stops. Works every time.

 

[dixiedragon]

I agree. I guess it's good advice for the person who just wants to try out scents and colors and is not interested in using lye, etc. I think they're unrelated, though.

 

[seven]

i kinda understand the advice. i think it's meant so people don't have to deal with lye. basic mp is the easiest way to make soap, you just cut the base, melt, and mold.

i also understand the part where mp and cp/hp are 2 totally different animals. i did start with mp, but never really learn the craft and decided to branch out to cp. mp is an art of its own.

 

[Dorymae]

I always thought of melt and pour as designing soap rather than making soap. The melt and pour is already soap, you don't make it but rather you design a beautiful bar with it.

Making soap is a different animal, you can make melt and pour soap too, but lye is required. I was never told to use melt and pour first and I wouldn't advise it to anyone who wants to learn to make soap. I would however advise it to anyone who does not want lye in their home and would like to design a nice looking, good smelling soap to go with their bathroom design. I'd also advise it to anyone who needs to learn more patience! (That'll teach em!)

 

[CanaDawn]

Dorymae, you said it very well, I think. That sums up what I think better than I summed it up myself!

 

[cerelife]

M&P soap is gorgeous and I have full respect for the artists who create these lovely designs, and that's how I think of them - as 'artists' more so than soapmakers.

 

[jenneelk]

Yes definitely.. M&P is creating with soap already made and adding some extra additives for artistic appeal and a little extra personal touch to make it unique. I've used it in the past and tried making bars but didn't like it.
I still work with it in various ways but not for soap bars I sell now.
When I started CP I don't know how much I leaned on my MP past. Had some loaves, but they worked very different with each kind.
Scents worked also every different, and colors too. Plus the whole process to make the final product is different.
I can't make and don't really want to make the pretty fancy MP soaps, it's artistically way out of my league. Lol
But I can make, what I feel, is some amazing CP soap.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

As I was reading, I was waiting for something like Dory posted - M&P is not making soap. It is something that I don't think is mean or unkind or unfair to say - it is just true.

I find the advice to start with M&P rather odd - I don't see how it would help prepare someone for making CP soap at all.

 

[Mellifera]

I started with rebatch. I could still add some things, test scents and the like, but I didn't have to deal with lye. With a toddler and cats and an open floor plan, I wasn't comfortable using lye. One the toddler was in school and I fixed up the downstairs kitchen, I was off and running!