Making soap with a melt and pour soap base is really simple. But there are a lot of different kinds of soap bases to choose from. In this post, I’ll break down the different kinds of soap bases so you can choose the soap base that’s right for you!
Glycerin Clear Soap Base
Glycerin is a natural byproduct in soap making created by mixing oil from a plant or animal fat with lye to create soap. Most soap bases contain some glycerin.
The glycerin soap base is clear and odorless. It’s gentle, smooth, and a great moisturizing soap base making it great to use on your face and hands.
Since it’s clear, it’s a fun soap base to experiment with colorful additives like peppermint leaves or dandelion flowers to create beautiful soaps.
Try glycerine soap base with one of these soap recipes.
Glycerine soap base can come with a variety of additives like aloe or cucumber juice. You can also look for low sweat varieties. Glycerine soap base tends to collect condensation so a low sweat variety will help prevent the soap from breaking down due to condensation.
Olive Oil Base
The olive oil soap base is a base made usually up of glycerin and olive oil.
It is foamy and moisturizing. It’s also generally clear with a slight yellow tint. It’s odorless making it a great base to add essential oils to.
Shea Butter Base
This is a white soap base that’s nourishing to the skin. It has a neutral odor and foams well.
Try it in one of these great recipes
Castile Soap Base
Castile soap is popular in its liquid form to create foaming hand soap like in these recipes.
But it also can be used in a melt and pour form (combined with glycerin) to create bars of soap. Castile soap foams well but can be drying to the skin so it is not ideal to use on the face.
Oatmeal
The oatmeal soap base is usually a shea and glycerin-based soap that has oatmeal added to it. Oatmeal is a great natural exfoliator that is gentle enough to use on the face.
You can opt for buying a base it oatmeal in it, or you can simply add oatmeal (ground or whole) to your soap base for a natural exfoliant.
What Kinds of Melt and Pour Soap Can You Make?
Hand Soap
Each of the natural soap bases described above can be used to create homemade bars of soap. You can use fun molds and get creative in the appearance of your soap with natural additives like lavender buds.
Some of my favorite essential oils to use in hand soap are Lavender and Lemon Essential Oils and Clean and Fresh Essential Oil Blend.
Face Soap
My favorite base for the face is glycerin soap base with aloe. I find it really gentle on my sensitive skin while leaving my skin feeling clean.
The oatmeal soap base is great to help clear dead skin and shea is a great option as well.
Try making your face soap with essential oils like Cedarwood, Lavender, or Clear Skin Blend for added antibacterial benefits.
Shaving
My favorite melt and pour shaving base is shea because it is so moisturizing. For a men’s homemade shaving soap I really like Orange and Patchouli Essential Oils together.
Body Soap
Each of the soap bases also works as a body soap. My favorite body soap base is shea because it is so nourishing. I like to add oatmeal to this base to create a natural exfoliant as well.
What Melt and Pour Soap Base Are You Going to Use?
Let us know in the comments below or connect with us on social media @fromsimplyearth. I’d love to hear what you’ll use your soap base for and what essential oils you’ll use to scent it!
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