Melt & Pour Soaps are fun and easy to make, especially when you stick to the basic elements, such as Scents, Colors, and Soap Base. In our Holiday Projects Series we covered how to create basic Melt & Pour Soaps using those three main elements. We often get questions regarding how to use Additives, such as Milk Powders, Herbs, or Exfoliants in Melt & Pour Soap. Here is a little insight into including these specialty ingredients in your Melt & Pour creations.
Herbs
Many Herbs have the potential to change dramatically when added to Melt & Pour Soap. Often, these changes are not apparent immediately, but appear within days or weeks after pouring the soap. The most infamous for this behavior is Lavender Buds. Lavender Buds look and smell great fresh out of the package, and can even be pretty when you first add them to your soap. However, after a week or so they take on a brownish yellow tinge, and can bleed that color into the entire bar of soap. Rose Buds and Petals also have a hard time retaining their beauty when fully immersed into Melt & Pour Soap. When you are dealing with these tricky Herbs, try using them as toppings instead of embedding them completely inside your soap bars. For example, Rose Buds look very cute peeking out of the top of soap.
Other Herbs, such as Parsley Powder, or Calendula Petals retain their color beautifully when added to Melt & Pour Soap. These Herbs can be added at a rate of 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons per pound of soap, depending on the appearance desired. Experiment with small batches to get comfortable with how individual Herbs behave. Natural ingredients, such as Herbs, often have unique quirks.
Some Herbs that work well in Melt & Pour Soap are: Alkanet Root Powder, Anatto Seeds, Beet Root Powder, Calendula Petals, Carrot Root Powder, Oat Straw Powder, Sandalwood Powder, Sea Vegetables.
Clays
Clay can lend extra cleansing ability, exfoliation, and color to your Melt & Pour Soaps. Make sure to choose your Clay carefully, taking into consideration each Clay's strength. Kaolin and Rose Clay are the gentlest Clays, while Illite Clay or Bentonite can be too harsh for sensitive skin. Clay can be added to Melt & Pour Soap at a rate of 1 – 2 tablespoons per pound. The easiest way to add Clay to your Soap is to wet it with a small amount of Distilled Water prior to adding it to your Soap Base. Creating a smooth paste with the Clay and Water will help keep the Clay from clumping when you add it to the Soap. While Clays can help lend color to Soap, keep in mind that the resulting colors will be slighlty different than they dry Clay. Expect earthy, dusky tones from added Clay.
Milk Powders
Milk and Honey Powders can be added to Melt & Pour Soaps for their skin conditioning properties. Keep in mind that the addition of these ingredients may shorten the shelf life of your Soaps. Like most Additives, Milk Powders can be added to Melt & Pour Soap Base at a rate of 1 – 2 tablespoons per pound of soap. To add the Milk Powder, mix it with a small amount of warm water to form a slurry or paste. Add the paste to your Melt & Pour Base and stir well to make sure it is fully dispersed.
Exfoliants
There are many different types of Exfoliants that can be added to Melt & Pour Soap. To choose the right one, consider the texture and behavior of each Exfoliant. The biggest challenge you are likely to encounter when working with these Exfoliants is their habit of either floating or sinking in soaps. Using Suspension Melt & Pour Soap Base can sometimes help alleviate this issue. Exfoliants are generally added at around 1 – 2 tablespoons per pound of soap, but you may want to add more or less to achieve the texture you are looking for.
Fruit Seeds and Fibers provide gentle exfoliation, but can alter the appearance of your soap. Fruit Fibers will lend subtle color to Melt & Pour Soaps, but not always the color that you expect. For example, Blueberry Fruit Fiber tends to make Opaque Soap Base slighlty gray, while Cranberry Fruit Fiber adds a gentle, pink tinge. Fruit Seeds can look adroable in Melt & Pour Soaps, but they are particularly prone to floating or sinking when added to Melt & Pour Soap Base.
Jojoba Wax Beads come in a wide range of bright, beautiful colors, and provide gentle exfoliation. They are very tempting to use in Melt & Pour Soap, but they can also be very tricky to work with. If Jojoba Wax Beads are added directly to hot Soap Base they are likely to melt, changing the color of the soap, as well as making it much harder, with less lather. In order to add Jojoba Wax Beads to Melt & Pour Soap they must either be added at a very low temperature, which can be quite challenging, or they must be used as a topping on soap bars and logs.
Grain Powders, such as Oat Flour, Oatmeal, Rice Bran Powder, or Adzuki Bean Powder provide a range of gentle exfoliation. It may be helpful to mix the very fine powders, such as Oat Flour or Adzuki Bean Powder with a small amount of water before adding them to the Base, as they can have a hard time dispersing when added directly.
Seed Powders and Nut Meals are generally the harshest Exfoliants. These more instense Exfoliants are great for Gardener's Soaps, Mechanic's Soaps, and Pedicure Soaps. Use these Exfoliants with care. Too much Exfoliant can cause the soap to be hard to use, while too little Exfoliant can cause them to feel harsh and scratchy.
Thanks so much for this post, it was very informative
I’m glad that you enjoyed this article. Are there any other Melt & Pour Soap Additives that you would like to know more about?
How to add Shea butter as additive In MNP base while preapring soaps . Email ; d.pravesh@gmail.com
Hello Pravesh, we first melt our solid butters, including Shea Butter, before adding it to our melted Melt & Pour base. We then mix and stir well!
Thank you it help me a lot , can you pls help me with the formulation for acne reducing skin soap , fairness & glowing skin, tan skin, moisturizer soap for dry skin. Thank you in advance
yes please i am considering adding, tumeric powders, alpha arbutin powders, mulberry, rice and many of their likes. basically whitening powders. will that be ok? and will i fet tbe lightening effects?
can additional water (as used to dissolve acid powders) affect the hardness of the finished bar? or should the powder form be added directly to the melted M&P soap base? Thank you.
Hello Al, Any additional ingredient, including water, can affect the hardness of your finished product. Also, adding water to a finished product/soap base can invite mold to form. We suggest trying to incorporate the powder directly into your melted soap base, or mixing with a small amount of oil first.
Want to know if fillers earth too can be added to melt&I pour soap
Thanks
Hello Marttina, We recommend adding about 1 to 2 tablespoons clays, such as Fuller’s Earth, per 1 lb of Melt and Pour base. Here is the link to our blog post ‘Using Additives in Melt and Pour’ to help you further: https://naturalbeautyworkshop.com/my_weblog/2009/06/using-additives-in-melt-pour-soap.html
Great post! I’ve been contemplating making a facial cleansing product. This really helps!
Thanks for stopping by the blog. I’m happy this post was helpful. I bet you’d make a mean facial bar! I can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Thank you for the great information:) My dilemma is how to complement these and other natural colorants with an appropriate EO…any ideas?
What a great post! I was looking forward to make something different with my soap base and found ALL the information I needed and more!
Im so glad you enjoyed the post, Manon! Did you take photos of your experimental soaps? If so, Id love to see them!
Is there a way I could add some Zinc Oxide to the soap – to reduce acne or rosacea?
I will be making bridal shower favors of melt and pour goats milk soap. I plan on layering the uncolored soap with soap tinted with lavender oxide powder colorant. I wanted to add lavender buds but in this article you mentioned that they will change color over time. You also mentioned using the buds as a topping. Could I do this by putting the buds in the mold first and then pouring the soap on top or should I sprinkle them on top after pouring the top layer of color? Thanks in advance.
Lavender buds tend to turn black and bleed a yellow color into MP soaps. When they are embedded inside the soap, they will turn black very quickly. The bleeding usually takes at least a week to develop. When you add the buds as a topping on the soaps, leaving most of the buds exposed to air, they stay pretty a little bit longer, but they too will eventually bleed a yellow tint into the soaps.
If you’d like to add them to your soaps, the best way to do so is to add them last, leaving them mostly exposed to the air. Just keep in mind that they won’t stay pretty for very long.
How to put fresh fruit pulps in melt and pour and what preservative should I use in the soap to avoid it from going rancid
I wouldn’t recommend adding fresh fruit pulp to melt & pour soap. The base probably can’t handle the high amount of moisture and sugar involved. Instead, try adding dried powdered fruit. If you’d like to add fresh fruit to soap, it would work better in Cold Processed Soap. You can learn more about Cold Processed Soap Making here: http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com/library/coldprocess.asp
i added oats to the liquid soap base. it all settled down. what should i do for that? i dont know what suspension soap bases are as they are unavailable in india. 🙂
Wait till your base reaches a certain temp around 120( the consistency should be thicker than when you started) and mix in your oats then!
Hi Mahima. Unfortunately, without a suspension base there isn’t much you can do to stop solid ingredients from either floating or settling. If you are making a liquid soap than you’ll need to shake it before use.
If you wait a bit until the melted soap cools down to 120 degrees or so, it should be thick enough to suspend. Another trick is to pour the soap in small layers – but don’t forget to spritz with alcohol right before pouring the layer. Smaller layers don’t allow your additives to sink very far!
Is there a way to add neem to melt and pour for soap for my dogs? And how much per pound?
Even the finest of oatmeal will settle somewhat. I make a thinner bar, cure, flip over, then add another layer. Cure that, and Viola! Oatmeal “powder” is best. (FYI, used turmeric in one batch, it’s color is lovely, but will stain white cloths, so I stick with raw honey for color and benefits in a clear M&P base)
I was going to ask about raw honey! Does it alter the texture of the melt and pour soap at all? If you use a lighter colored raw honey how much does it alter the color?
Hi Ivy. You can absolutely add Neem to Melt and Pour Soap to make your own dog shampoo. Try adding 1 tablespoon of either Neem Powder or Neem Oil to every pound of Melt & Pour Base you use. You might also enjoy this recipe we posted on making dog shampoo bars: https://naturalbeautyworkshop.com/my_weblog/2012/10/solid-shampoo-bar-for-dogs.html
Great advice, Jenn!
So informative! I just started making soaps from melt and pour bases and there is still so much to learn. What does the alcohol do for the soap? Also, how do i get the soap to have designs on the top? For instance, i see many designs on soaps that give the appearance as of the soap is broken apart (I think it is really created by using the top of a cake mixer to fluff the top) can this look be created with melt and pour soaps?
Hi Yolanda, Spritzing alcohol on Melt & Pour can help adhere separate layers, as well as remove surface air bubbles. As for decorating soaps, the ideas, styles and creativity are endless! We encourage you to have fun trying different techniques. You may even come up with your own!
Hi, So i have been experimenting adding zinc dioxide to melt and pour soap bases and have found that it sinks to the bottom of the mold. Can you reccommend a process to prevent this? I have tried to use less and less zinc but it still sinks. Is there an additive that would suspend the zinc? Open to any suggestions 🙂
Hello Holly, it’s common frustration for additives to sink to the bottom in some amount. You may want to try our Suspension Melt & Pour base.
Hello,
I would like to add clay and oat milk powder to my soap. I see you indicate that it’s 1-2 TBs for 1 pound of soap. Does that mean 1-2 Tbs of all powders combined or can I add 2 tbs if each powder?
Thanks!
Hello Katherine, We recommend a total of 1 -2 tablespoons. We hope that’s helpful!
Hi there! I may be late into this but I have some questions you might be able to help me with regarding soap making using a melt and pour base. First, can I use papaya or pineapple powder? Do I have to dissolve it first in water or alcohol before adding to the melted soap base? How much should powder should I put per pound of base soap?
Second, I’m very much interested in making shampoo bars. What melt and pour soap base is appropriate for this project? And what can differentiate it from a body or face soap? Will adding silk amino peptide and silk protein be beneficial as a shampoo bar? I will appreciate your response very much. Thanks and warm regards!
Hello! As a general rule of thumb, additives are included at about 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons per pound of soap base. We suggest you start testing at the lower end, as using too much of an additive can decrease your lather. From Nature With Love, the owner and operator of this blog, does not carry Papaya or Pineapple Powder, so we cannot advise on whether it is water or oil soluble.
With regards to shampoo bars, From Nature With Love offers a variety of nourishing melt and pour bases to choose from. Any one of these bases would make a fine foundation for your shampoo bar. Silk makes a lovely additive to a shampoo formulation. We used Superfine Silk Powder in our Dead Sea Mud Shampoo Bars.
Hi I’ve bought hemp melt and pour soap base I’d like to things like agrimony leaves dried , arnica dried flowers,calendula dried flowers and essential oils is this possible and how much would I use ?
Hello Jackie! We recommend a maximum of 2% of essential oil per pound of soap. This would be approximately .4 oz for 1 pound of soap base. As for botanicals, most leaves and flowers will turn brown in soap, with the exception of dried calendula petals which retain their beautiful color. Botanicals can also get moldy after time.
Very helpful….can I add hibiscus powder to my melt and pour ? Or will it develop mould ?
Hi… I made tomato potato melt n pour layered soap. Wen I demoulded it, both d layers got separated. Reasons??Help??
Wat I did?
1. I didn’t mix d veg powders in distilled water.
2. I mixed 2tsp in 100gms soap base
Hello Sonu, Using distilled water shouldn’t affect the layers adhering to one another. A few tips that may help the layers adhere are: (1) wait until the bottom layer has firmed enough to hold the weight of the second layer (2) spritz alcohol on top of the first layer before pouring the second layer (3) have the second layer be a little hotter when pouring on the second layer. We hope this helps!
Hi,
May I know maximum total amount of all additives percentage that can go in soap base?
Hello, The general rule of thumb is 1 to 2 tablespoons, though it really will be a personal preference. Too many additives can affect the lather and hardness of your final product. The amount can vary depending on the type of additive; herbs versus oils or powders, etc. Have fun testing!