HOW TO MAKE MELT-AND-POUR SOAP BASE

To make white melt-and-pour soap base, add a little titanium dioxide to the melted soap
base.
Prepare your ingredients in the following groups.
PHASE 1 LYE
67.5 g cold tap water 67.5 g sodium hydroxide
PHASE 2 BASE INGREDIENTS
422.5 g mono propylene glycol 162.5 g glycerine
443.5 g sorbitol solution (70 per cent)
675 g sodium C14/C16 olefin sulphonate
PHASE 3 FATTY ACIDS
295 g stearic acid 137.5 g myristic acid
PHASE 4 FINAL PHASE
22.5 g myristic acid 59 g triethanolamine
METHOD
Phase 1 Making sure you pay careful attention to the lye safety guidelines (pages 9 and
10), weigh the
water and place it in a heatproof jug. Weigh the sodium hydroxide and carefully tip it into
the water. Stir
the lye well until all the grainy pieces have dissolved. Set aside.
Phase 2 Weigh all the Phase 2 ingredients and place them in a large saucepan. You
will be making
nearly 2.5 kg of soap base so the saucepan must be large enough to accommodate at
least 3 litres. Heat,
stirring constantly, until a temperature of 60C (140F) is reached. A sugar thermometer
would be perfect
for checking this.
Phase 3 When the temperature has reached 60C (140F) add the Phase 3 ingredients
and stir well.
Increase to 74C (165F).
Phase 4 Once the temperature has reached 74C (165F), slowly add the lye solution
and stir gently for
two to three minutes (do not stir too vigorously or you will create a froth). Leave on the
hob over a low to
medium heat for up to 20 minutes, stirring every four or five minutes until the soap
mixture has turned
completely transparent.
Place a lid on the saucepan and leave on a low to medium heat for one hour without
stirring. You should
aim to have the soap mixture at a constant 74C (165F).

After one hour, add the final batch of ingredients and stir until melted. Remove the
saucepan from the heat
and cool slightly. When the mixture has cooled to 65C (149F), pour into moulds and
leave to set.
When the soap base has cooled and hardened, remove it from the moulds and treat as
you would the
regular melt-and-pour soap base.