Single Pour in Blocks
This is the basic technique you'll use to expand your repertoire. It doesn't get any simpler than this. But that doesn't mean it has to be boring!
These recipes are formulated using one pound of soap as the basic unit. You can, of course, make more, but one-pound batches are a good place to start. You can slice them into bars or cut them into shapes you'll use in other projects.
For single pours, you need to find a block mold that will hold the amount of soap you're working with. Your best bet is plastic storage ware. It needs to be heat resistant, flexible, and of a dimension that will make it easy to cut bars into the size you want.
Longer, deeper molds can be used as “loaf” molds. Square, shallow molds create a squared shape that you can cut into bars as you'd cut brownies. If you are pouring soap to be used as strips, chunks, or other pieces to be embedded in another pour, you need to be sure the mass you create will provide you with the shapes and sizes you need.
To check the volume of a mold, fill it with water. Then pour the water into a measuring cup to see how much there is. Adjust your recipe to fit your mold, or use another mold.
Single pour pouring
Single pour spritzing
Single Pour Variations
For each of the recipes that follow, use the same basic steps as for the Basic 3-Ingredient Block Soap recipe on page 192.
Mango Frappe
1 pound opaque white melt and pour soap cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon mango fragrance oil 3 to 6 drops colorant
1 pound casting soap
1 teaspoon lavender essential oil
2 tablespoons rolled oats, gently pulsed in a coffee grinder, but not powdered
1 tablespoon dried lavender flowers
A Bit of the Sea
1 pound casting soap cut into small pieces
Pinch sea blue mica
Pinch sea green mica
1 teaspoon ocean fragrance oil
1 pound casting soap cut into small pieces
4 drops blue food coloring
1 teaspoon spa fragrance oil
Coarse sea salt, or regular coarse salt
Nori shreds or flakes
Place the soap in the top of a double boiler and place water in the bottom. Heat the water and melt the soap. Add the food coloring and fragrance oil.
Pour it into the mold, and immediately sprinkle the salt evenly over the surface of the soap. (It will sink, forming a layer at the bottom of the mold.)
When the soap has cooled a little, sprinkle the nori flakes on top in an even layer. Let cool and slice into chunks for a great home-spa salt scrub!
1 pound clear soap base
2 to 5 drops colorant
1 teaspoon fragrance oil or essential oil
Rubbing alcohol
Cut the casting soap into approximately 1 inch cubes. Place soap in the top of the double boiler or a 4-cup heatproof glass measuring cup. Add 2 drops of colorant, and see if you like the way it looks. Add more if you want. If you're using fragrance oil, add it now. If you're using essential oil, wait until the soap is ready to pour.
Place water in the bottom of the double boiler. Put on the top pan. Heat the water until it boils. Cover the pan with the lid. Remove from the heat. Let sit undisturbed for 30 minutes. Check the soap. After it's melted, stir the soap gently with the rubber scraper. (Avoid too much stirring action so you won't get bubbles.) If you're using essential oil, add it now.
Pour the melted soap into the mold, taking care to pour from a short distance so you don't make bubbles or splash. You will get some bubbles, and you can get rid of them with a spritz of alcohol. (Be sure not to spray the alcohol near the heated burner or open flame.)
Let the soap cool and harden for about 1 hour. (It could take more or less time depending on the temperature of the room.) If you're in a hurry, you can place the mold in the freezer to speed up the cooling and solidifying, just make sure you don't forget that it's in there. Completely freezing the soap can cause it to “sweat” after it returns to room temperature.
