Tried M&P

[TheGecko]

My sister ran across this M&P Salt Soap (with recipe) online, thought it might be good for her eczema so I bought GM M&P and the mold...already had the salt and a ton of FOs.

So I'm a 'seasoned' soap maker...right? Been doing this for over two years (CP, CPOP), how hard can it be? Ya cut it up, melt it, add some color and scent, let it get a little thick so the salt is suspended and Bob's your Uncle.

Once again it turns out that Bob is not my Uncle. Doesn't even live in the same country!

Wow. I no sooner put in the salt and give it a stir in than I had warm solid mess to try and push down into a pretty mold! To be honest, I would have done better shaping the soap by hand. LOL

Okay...one down, three more cavities to fill.

Melt the soap, quickly stir in the color and scent, even more quickly stir in the salt (2/3 of what the recipe called for) and pour in the mold. So okay...I got all the pretty waves from the mold, but the back side of the soap look preggers. Can you plane M&P?

Okay...two down, two to go.

I don't even mess around this time...I'm going for it. Melt, stir in new color and scent, pour into molds...add a couple of heaping teaspoons of salt and stir. FYI - BrambleBerry's Plum Dusk looks like crap in GM M&P. Should have called it Zombie Dusk or Plum Zombie.

I bought two pounds of this stuff and my hostess liked the mold (no salt please) so I mixed a batch up for her. She was happy with the pretty soap.

I wasn't interested in M&P previously. And for those who love M&P...I'm still not, but I have a new respect for your craft because it's not a 'easy' at it looks. I know that when I venture into making Marshmallow Soap (Granddaughter begged pretty please), I will follow the directions to the "T".

 

[AliOop]

I totally agree! The only M&P base I found easy to actually melt, and then pour (as opposed to glop or smash) into the mold, was the Stephenson’s Jelly Soap base.

Thanks to @cmzaha I got to make this with my grandkids, and they went crazy over it (boys, 8 and 10, so anything slimey and gooey is a big hit).

But all other attempts with other bases resulted in gloppy batter and bumpy soaps. Not sure how those amazing M&P artists do it, but they have my respect.

 

[Jersey Girl]

My sister ran across this M&P Salt Soap (with recipe) online, thought it might be good for her eczema so I bought GM M&P and the mold...already had the salt and a ton of FOs.

So I'm a 'seasoned' soap maker...right? Been doing this for over two years (CP, CPOP), how hard can it be? Ya cut it up, melt it, add some color and scent, let it get a little thick so the salt is suspended and Bob's your Uncle.

Once again it turns out that Bob is not my Uncle. Doesn't even live in the same country!

Wow. I no sooner put in the salt and give it a stir in than I had warm solid mess to try and push down into a pretty mold! To be honest, I would have done better shaping the soap by hand. LOL

Okay...one down, three more cavities to fill.

Melt the soap, quickly stir in the color and scent, even more quickly stir in the salt (2/3 of what the recipe called for) and pour in the mold. So okay...I got all the pretty waves from the mold, but the back side of the soap look preggers. Can you plane M&P?

Okay...two down, two to go.

I don't even mess around this time...I'm going for it. Melt, stir in new color and scent, pour into molds...add a couple of heaping teaspoons of salt and stir. FYI - BrambleBerry's Plum Dusk looks like crap in GM M&P. Should have called it Zombie Dusk or Plum Zombie.

I bought two pounds of this stuff and my hostess liked the mold (no salt please) so I mixed a batch up for her. She was happy with the pretty soap.

I wasn't interested in M&P previously. And for those who love M&P...I'm still not, but I have a new respect for your craft because it's not a 'easy' at it looks. I know that when I venture into making Marshmallow Soap (Granddaughter begged pretty please), I will follow the directions to the "T".

Lol. Yeah, M&P is definitely not as easy as it looks. It’s what I started with and I did it for a few months and never anything too complicated. I would melt clear base, add some color and then cut that up in chunks to add to a loaf of a white base that I colored and scented...sometimes added a solid layer at the bottom. I didn’t experiment with too many bases but some are very hard to work with as they start to harden very quickly and keeping them fluid enough but not too loose is a real art. I too marvel at people that are able to make such intricate designs with it. But once I finally made my first CP batch...I didn’t look back! Here’s a couple I made in the beginning. That’s about as fancy as I got.

 

[bluebirdwing]

Well, when I make M&P I add 2% water while melting it, so, it wont be too thick when I have to pour, it prevents the fast thickening and the layer forming on top. I never did a salt soap, but, suspended pumice, coffee grounds and walnut powder. I got both sides smooth. I add the suspending additive, only after the base reach 120 F and stirs slowly for 2-3 mins and then pour.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Well, when I make M&P I add 2% water while melting it, so, it wont be too thick when I have to pour, I never did a salt soap, but, suspended pumice, coffee grounds and walnut powder well, got both sides smooth.

View attachment 54636View attachment 54637

I never heard of adding water...interesting. Will have to do some research on that!

 

[bluebirdwing]

I never heard of adding water...interesting. Will have to do some research on that!

It is added to compensate the water loss from melting. It will also reduce the chance of glycerine dew, when it got enough water in the soap, it wont attract more water from air.

 

[jcandleattic]

I never heard of adding water...interesting. Will have to do some research on that!

I add water to mine simply because I live in such a dry climate, it dehydrates pretty quickly if not used right away. I only use M&P for embeds though because it is way too drying for my skin, no matter which type/brand I use.

 

[KimW]

Lol. Yeah, M&P is definitely not as easy as it looks. It’s what I started with and I did it for a few months and never anything too complicated. I would melt clear base, add some color and then cut that up in chunks to add to a loaf of a white base that I colored and scented...sometimes added a solid layer at the bottom. I didn’t experiment with too many bases but some are very hard to work with as they start to harden very quickly and keeping them fluid enough but not too loose is a real art. I too marvel at people that are able to make such intricate designs with it. But once I finally made my first CP batch...I didn’t look back! Here’s a couple I made in the beginning. That’s about as fancy as I got.

I'd buy those!!! Love the colors.