There’s a lot more to soap than simply a means of cleansing the skin. With the right base ingredients, soap can go from an ordinary and rather mundane personal care product to a stimulating self-care essential.

A high-quality soap base typically includes vegetable glycerin, moisturizing plant-based oils, purified water, and powerful active ingredients such as shea butter and cocoa butter, for a product that is not only effective at cleaning the skin but moisturizing it and strengthening it as well.

Unlike the typical mass-market antibacterial and moisturizing soaps you are likely to find in most stores, a top-quality base will yield a far more enriching kind of soap. One that not only produces a creamier and more satisfying lather, but that actually imparts more benefits to the skin in general. The aromas of these soaps are often richer as well, due to the presence of natural essential oils rather than weak synthetic fragrances.

If you are just getting into soap-making and are curious about learning how to make soap yourself, this easy-to-follow guide will get you started. We will also include our picks for some of our most popular products that you will want to consider using in order to get the best results from your recipes.

What is a Melt and Pour Soap Base?

Melt and pour soap bases allow you to easily create spa-quality soaps right in your own home. They come in convenient blocks primarily made from various natural moisturizing substances such as plant butters, olive oil, coconut oil, and sodium hydroxide, which is a saponifying agent.

These blocks of ingredients are simply heated, which turns them into a liquid that can then be transferred to a variety of molds. In this liquid state, you can also customize the soap to your liking by adding a variety of different supporting ingredients. These can include additional moisturizing plant oils, essential oils, natural colorants, and preservatives.

Depending on the base you select, this will have a strong impact on the final product, its aroma as well as the effects that it imparts when used. Certain ingredients are better suited for moisturizing whereas others work better for toning the skin, or for soothing irritation. What’s great about using melt and pour soap bases is that you can literally tailor the product to come out just how you like it, based on the effects you want. However, to get the best results, you will want to carefully select your base so that you don’t need to try and alter its primary properties all that much through supporting ingredients.

The Qualities to Look For in Soap Bases

Glycerin soap bases offer an incredible variety of qualities to choose from, depending on your preferences. Here at Make Your Own Buzz, we are proud to offer a wide selection of such bases with which to create your own beneficial natural soaps. Here are just a few examples and the beneficial qualities they carry:

●Oatmeal: Great for soothing the skin and reducing irritation. Also works as a mild exfoliant.

●Cocoa Butter: Naturally moisturizing and helps make skin soft.

●Goat’s Milk: Cleanses and provides a creamy lather that doesn’t strip the body of its natural oils.

●Aloe Vera: Great for dry skin, soothes irritation, and has natural antibacterial properties.

Depending on the specific kind of soap you are trying to create, you can start off with a base that has the qualities you desire and go from there. This not only makes soap-making easy but practical as well. Rather than sticking with the same old products you find in stores, you can better tailor the soap you use to match your needs.

Other Soap-Making Ingredients to Consider

When crafting beneficial soaps and other personal care products, starting with a solid foundation is important. Yet, so are the supporting elements of your recipe!

Here at Make Your Own Buzz, we feature a wide variety of high-quality ingredients that make soap-making a breeze. From potent essential oils to various plant butters, surfactants, emollients, colorants, and more. We even carry an assortment of different soap molds and other tools you can use to make sure each of your creations comes out right.

With the right ingredients, you can customize the soaps you create to come out exactly how you want them, possessing certain beneficial qualities that match your skin type or specific health needs. For instance, if you are specifically looking for a soap that will help you tackle dry skin, you could try an aloe vera melt and pour soap base or one that uses shea butter. To help clarify your skin, a honey melt and pour base might help. In our ingredients shop, you will find all of these helpful ingredients and more readily available.

For more information on crafting high-quality soaps, please refer to our blog where you will find great soap-making guides. We also have a robust recipe section to help you start formulating as easily as possible!