Choosing a Melt and Pour Soap Base
(This post contains affiliate links)
What is a Melt and Pour Soap Base?
Essentially, Soap Base is pre-made plain soap ready to be melted and poured. (Remember the article about What is soap?) Soap Base is created by combining fat (such as tallow, oils, etc.) with a strong alkaline solution (like lye). This leads to a chemical reaction called saponification. That’s the base.
Melt and pour soap bases are usually named and identified by the type of fat or oil that was used to create it or by a distinguishing ingredient. For example, olive oil soap base is derived from olive oil and other oils. Goat’s milk soap was made using a significant amount of goat’s milk.
Soap bases are made with a variety of ingredients for their unique characteristics and properties. The different fats/oils and ingredients that make up the bases have different characteristics after the saponification process.
Why use Melt and Pour Soap Bases?
The main benefit of using Melt and Pour is that you don’t have to handle lye. When making hot or cold process soap, you need to carefully handle, measure, and combine lye into your soap. Some people are concerned about lye because it’s caustic and dangerous. If you’re new to soap making or afraid of messing up lye measurements, Melt and Pour is a great option for you.
Another benefit is that there is no curing time! Once your soap is cool and hardened you can pop it out and use it right away. So for all you who are impatient and chomping at the bit to make your soap and use it, go with Melt and Pour!
Choosing a High Quality Melt and Pour Soap Base
Not all soap bases are the equal. If you just grab the first soap base off the shelf at your local craft store, you are likely getting a soap base full of chemicals, detergents, and lathering agents. One of the greatest benefits of making your own soap is that you get to choose the ingredients! Your soap base is the largest component when you learn how to make homemade soap. Your melt and pour soap is only as good as the soap base you choose. Choose one that is completely natural and free of synthetic ingredients and chemicals. (See also my Detergent free soap base post) I personally like SFIC brand bases and you can find them at numerous online retailers such as Bramble Berry, Soap Goods, or Bulk Apothecary. If you are buying in bulk you can buy from SFIC directly.
Melt and Pour Soap Base Options
Here are some common soap base options for melt and pour soap. This chart contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using this link. You can also explore other soap base options and soap making supplies throughout BB or Amazon - there are lots of great ingredients and materials to be found! | White Soap Base Benefits: Robust lather, Very moisturizing, Plain soap Appearance: Opaque White Scent: Unscented |
 | Olive Oil Soap Base Benefits: Gentle, Creamy lather, Very moisturizing Appearance: Translucent & slightly Olive, may darken over time Scent: Slight olive oil scent |
 | Goats Milk Base Benefits: Delicate creamy lather, Softens skin Appearance: Opaque Creamy Off-White Scent: Has a slight scent |
| Hemp Seed Oil Base Benefits: Abundant lather, Squeaky clean feel, Crowd-pleaser Appearance: Somewhat translucent, olive green color Scent: Slightly nutty scent |
 | Aloe Vera Soap Base Benefits: Soothing, Healing Appearance: Clear with Slight Green Tint Scent: Slight pleasant aloe scent |
 | Shea Butter Soap Base Benefits: Easy to use, Moisturizing Appearance: Opaque Ivory/White Scent: Unscented |
 | Honey Soap Base Benefits: Soothing, Moisturizing Appearance: Translucent Amber, color varies Scent: Slight honey scent |
Try 7 Soap Bases – 7 lb SFIC Sampler
If you want to get a great deal and try several different SFIC soap bases, you can pick up this Sample back of 7 different soap bases, 1 lb of each! Bramble Berry Melt and Pour Sample Kit
– Clear
– White
– Hemp
– Aloe
– Honey
– Shea
– Goat Milk
Can you mix soap bases? for example 1/2 goat milk 1/2 shea butter M&P?
Yes you can!
Which of the soap bases would you recommend to be the most moisturizing? Also, can you add essential oils and/or soap dye to any or all of these?
I like SFIC soap base and yes you can add fragrance or essential oils to any base. and you can add colorants to any base.
Hi, Thank you for the information. Which soap base would you recommend for adding essential oils?
my favorite M&P soap base is SFIC brand.
Any thoughts on an oatmeal soap base?
Never tried one personally but could be nice! Worth a shot especially from a reliable MP Base manufacturer like brambleberry or SFIC. Not sure if they make an oatmeal base. If not, it would be pretty easy and safe to add dried oat powder to your MP soap base. Just don’t add fresh or wet ingredients – introducing moisture invites mold
Hi I’m new to soap making with soap bases. I know your not supposed to put a lot of additives in. Can you put fragrance in?
yes you can add a little fragrance (or essential oil) and some colorant. I wouldn’t add a whole lot more than that… maybe 1-2 more things sticking with a small percentage and DRY ingredients to add exfoliation or visual interest
Thank you for the info 🙂
What’s the best melt and pour to use for baby?
I would see if SFIC has a castile option. Castile soap is (should be) nearly 100% olive oil base. It might need some extras in order to make it re-meltable for M&P. Some skin-friendly variants are referred to as “bastile” usually mostly olive plus 1 or 2 other oils in small amounts.
I am wanting to make a shampoo bar for myself. So many recipes and I have even joined soap groups that don’t seem to help. I would like a tried and true shampoo bar recipe , or instructions. I have purchased shampoo bar MP base, but some say to add shea butter and castor oils, some say no. If I do want to add shea butter and castor oil, how much per pound? Or where can I find this rule of thumb? Also, which MP base is good for shampoo if you don’t buy the shampoo base? I am looking for something very moisturizing and conditioning.
Thank you for your help.
That is definitely a question outside my expertise. I have heard of making shampoo bars from scratch (cold process, dual lye) it is a bit more involved than making a for-skin soap bar cold process method. If you were to go with a melt and pour shampoo base I would probably alter it as little as possible as the manufacturer has already formulated it for hair. Good Luck!! Let me know how it goes
I started my own soap using aloevera and glycerin soap base… I added half teaspoon of coconut oil and glycerin… But the final product gives very less lather… What is the reason? Also tried making soap without adding glycerin and coconut oil still not getting abundant lather… Plz suggest
What soap base are you using? I get a decent later with SFIC brand but nothing compares to formulating your own super bubbly cold process soap. That’s out of scope for this blog tho!
Hi Becca, I’m trying to make a shampoo bar – can I use melt and pour soap? And if so, do you know which type of base is best for hair shampoo, particularly coloured or dry hair? Any advice much appreciated.
I’ve never made a shampoo bar – Melt and pour NOR cold process! I have tricky hair so I just have to stick with what I know already works for me. I hope you find something suitable. I’d search for a shampoo-specific M&P base or learn how to do cold process – there are lots of shampoo bar recipes out there – i think they use dual lye…?
Hi I would like to make soaps for my kids who has really dry skin please help me with it.im not able to see the recipe s
I have a few recipes on this site or you can also check out soap queen or lovinsoap. For extremely stubborn cases it might be worth learning how to make cold process soap and making a completely fragrance-free castile soap (100% olive oil base oil) with no additives. It takes a long time to cure though
Do you know which sfic soap dissolves the slowest?
you mean like in the shower lasts the longest? I’m not sure. i’ve recently made honey base mixed with opaque and it seems to be shrinking fast. But then again it’s my toddler’s bar and she lets it sit in the bottom of the tub!!!!
Becca, what soap base would you suggest for a new user? I want it to be easy to work with, I tried a while ago, and it was really sticky like glue sticks and didn’t really melt all the way so I could pour it better. It was clump.
I like SFIC. Try an opaque option. I find them to be less sticky than clear types
Of all the melt and pour soap bases; which is the best to use for somebody with extremely sensitive skin? Thank you in advance for any help you can give!
Extremely sensitive…. hmm you could *try* SFIC but you might just be better off learning cold process from scratch and doing 100% olive oil base with NO fragrace or essential oil (AKA “Castile” soap)
can you mix different m & P soap bases eg. half goats milk and half shea butter?
yup I do that sometimes. Usually from same maufacturer…. ie all SFIC base
Lots of great info all around this site. Looking to make my first attempt here shortly. Lots of ideas, little experience, not exactly a great recipe for success, but everything starts somewhere. Starting with Shea butter, the girlfriend likes moisturizing soaps, but I hate that funny feeling left from moisturizing bars like Dove. I know that helps with dryness, but I like feeling clean. Is there any base I can utilize that will leave me feeling that squeaky clean and still not dry me out? Happy medium I guess…? And what purpose, if any, could beeswax serve in a melt and pour process?
Adding beeswax to Melt & Pour could add some hardness to your bar. But melt and pour is not really intended to add in a lot of extras, so bear in mind that before you add lots of extras to your MP recipe. The best way to learn is to test! 🙂
Not sure what funny feeling you’re getting from commercial soaps, but they are often drying because there is little to no glycerin in the final product and they often contain harsher cleansers. The way soap feels on your skin is also really affected by your water! We moved to a house a year ago that has totally different water and all my soaps feel much different.
I always recommend soap bases made by SFIC. Hope that helps
Can you used a pour and melt base soap on its own? I have been researching the benefits of goat milk for the skin and I want to try it. Before your article I didn’t know there were pour and melt soap bases with special ingredients already in them like goat milk. I taught I would just go to the store and by a clear melt and pour base.
You mean can you use a base without adding anything – even fragrance or colorants? Sure – in that case you don’t even need to melt and pour it! You could just cut up a block of MP base and use it right away 🙂
I am gonna make my own soap using soap base.. can u please tell me which soap base is good for 2year baby
Hmm good Question. I’m not sure if I know of any melt and pour bases specifically for young children. I’d recommend using a base that is formulated to be extra gentle. Remember though, that real soap stings in the eyes!
Hi i want to make soap which one is good
I recommend soap bases made by SFIC.
I made first soap with ready aloevera mp.but it is melting fast nd sweating.pl suggest what to add .so that soap become hard nd no more sweat
Hi Sonal. What aloe M&P base did you use? In my experience I’ve found that clear melt and pour bases tend to sweat more or be softer and stickier. This would include an aloe base.
Have you read my post about preventing soap sweating? Humidity is the #1 culprit, so keeping your soap in a dry place and/or wrapping it tightly in plastic film can help. I also recommend using a low-sweat or LCP “Like cold process” melt and pour base.
My soap get sweat some time nd desoule fast.how to prevent that?
Great info ! Thank you . Have one question do all soaps ( cold process, hot process, melt and pour contain lye ) . Can there be a lye free base ?
Yes. All true soap is a product of fatty acids reacting with lye (sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide) to create soap. The process is called saponification. There cannot be true soap without both sides of the chemical equation! In the final soap, no free lye exists because it was all turned to soap by the saponification process.
When making hot or cold process soap from scratch you can tweak your formulation to have an excess of oils. If you need X amount of oil to turn Y amount of lye into soap, you can add extra oils to guarantee that all lye is neutralized. This excess oil factor is called superfatting or lye discount. Hope that helps!
I’m about to start making my very first soap, your post is very informative!
awesome! good luck! Share your creation on our FB page – search Make Your Soap on Facebook
Like your info that you give
Thanks! 🙂