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How to Properly Melt Soap

How to melt soap

1 pound of Soap Noodles Shredded Soap
1/2 to 3/4  cup of whole milk  (Skim or Goat's milk okay too)
Oven safe pot
1/2 to One Teaspoon of soap making Fragrance
1 Tablespoon dried herbs, (Optional)
molds for soap bars
One plastic spoon (a rice paddle works great)

Put soap shreds into
your oven safe pot with the whole milk.   Your soap shreds and milk need to fill your pot.   
Melt Soap Noodles Shredded Soap
Measure Milk How to melt soap
Cover and put in the oven. Set oven at 150 degrees (up to 200 if your oven tends to run cooler.)
Prepare your molds.  It is easiest to use a mold if it is first sprayed with a vegetable spray like PAM. Have your fragrance and colors ready.
Soap Making Fragrances and Colorants

Melted Soap Noodles Shredded Soap

In one hour, stir carefully and stir well.  Mix, but don't create bubbles. It should take any where to one hour to three hours for the  soap shreds to melt, depending on how many pounds you are melting.

When the  soap shreds are completely melted it will look like runny mash potatoes without any
chunks. If it is too thick to pour, then add a 1/4 cup more milk.When the  soap shreds are completely melted, stir in your herbs and fragrance oil. Stir thoroughly and quickly!  Soap can set up very fast.

Add Soap Making Fragrance Oils
Spoon in to Soap Making Molds Spoon or pour your mixture into molds.  Push it in completely, to avoid air pockets in the soap
For fast and easy mold removal, put your full mold in the freezer for an hour or more depending on the size of your molds. Take the frozen soap out of the freezer and blow dry it.  When condensation forms, the soap will slip right out of the mold. This method makes it very easy to just pop the soap out of the molds. Soap Making Molds
Soap Noodles Soap Use part of the batch as different colors and scents!
Soap Making Molds Soap Making Molds

Carefully remove your soap from the mold.  Set your new bars of soap out to dry. It will be ready to use in 2 weeks. This is called curing.  The longer your soap cures, the better it is!  You can cheat and use the soap sooner, but it is really best to wait weeks.

Other Notes:
If you are making a variety of scents, keep your unused  soap shreds warm while you are using a portion of it.  You don't want your unused portion setting up while you're busy being creative.

You need to let your nose be your guide with other fragrance brands.   Soap Crafters Fragrances are recommended for crafting soap.  Essential Oils will evaporate very easily and the heat of the soap seems to waste some of it.  Essential Oils can be used, but you can be more thrifty with Soap Crafters Fragrances. Other brands of Fragrances generally don't produce such a clean, sharp, strong and lasting scent. 

It is very important to use low temperature when melting  soap shreds.
Don't be tempted to get in a hurry and turn up the heat.  The soap will separate and you'll have quite the sloppy mess on your hands!  My first soap crafting was like a bad matzoh ball soup because I tried it on a stove top.  I have a couple of those bars sitting on my dresser as a reminder to take my time.  They look awful.

If your soap turns an orange color:  This means it is in too high of heat, or it has been in the oven way too long. This is only a cosmetic problem, the soap is still perfectly fine to use. As a matter of fact, some soap makers do this caramelization intentionally so that they will have that natural color soap!

It is best to use Soap Crafter's molds for soap making or other molds designed for that.  Candy molds will work, but the detail is so small that it just doesn't turn out very well.  I've also tried the soap molds from Wal-Mart.  Those molds are okay, but again the detail tends to be too small leaving you with a bar of soap that you can't quite tell what it is.