Looking for suggestions ;-)

[CiNoRi]

Hi everyone! I am new to soap making and i was looking to start simple with basic melt and pour soaps. From what I have read online so far, it seems to me that this is the soap making where i don't have to worry with the harsh stuff like lye...(PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong).

Since I am just starting to play I was hoping to get some supplies locally to try then... then possibly order online for larger amounts/ probable better selections. I am in the Cary, NC area, I am probably going to check out our local Michael's and AC Moore today. I have a feeling they won't have much so if you know of any other places to try, I'd love to hear!

Does anyone have any favorite online retailers? I found a few possible places but I'd much rather buy from someone recommended!

Lastly...the best information...Can anyone recommend specific books? Websites? Or good Recipes?

To give you an idea one of the recipes i found, and i was looking to start with (but I'm sure I'll probably have to order supplies) consists of an olive oil base, french green clay, and scented oils. I like the idea of simple mix and pour suggestions to get me going till i have a better understanding of what soap making is all about!

Thanks everyone for listening and hope to hear back soon!

 

[Guest]

Michael's is a good bet. My local Michael's carries a modest assortment of M&P supplies including molds, base, colorants, scents. I think I saw M&P kits there but I could be mistaken. Presuming your store is comparable you could be using your own M&P creation before dinner time!

I think you'll have to order that clay online. I just ordered some clay from Mountain Rose Herbs but haven't received it yet. They had my order shipped about 1 day after placing and nicely provided a tracking number. Check this link for MRH clays.

As far as books, visit your local public library and find the section 668.1 for the soaper books. Even better, raid two or more of your local library branches if you have more than one branch near you. I'm primary interested in CP soaps so I don't have any M&P book suggestions for you, other than to suggest you save your money and visit your library. Read a few and you can figure out for yourself which you like. That's what I did with my CP books.

As far as the Internet, just surf "melt and pour soap" and you should find lots of sites. Oh, and welcome to the forum!

Greg

 

[CiNoRi]

Re:

Awesome! Thanks for the info! Yeah the library is on my list of "to do's" today.
I can't wait to get started!

I will give that website a try too, looks like they have a nice selection.

Thanks again!!

 

[Guest]

Hello! I'm near Burlington and I haven't had much luck finding soap supplies (aside from hardware) locally. That said, I've never actually looked for MP stuff. I know somebody who gets it from Michaels. I know you can get anything lavender related from Sunshine Lavender farm at a tourist price :wink:

 

[Guest]

You're welcome! I'm sure you'll receive some suggestions from the other members and the staff. But in the mean time you should hit the library and Michael's and maybe that other store. In my CP stuff I had to read up for 1-2 weeks and visit several stores to get all my CP supplies and equipment. You're fortunate that M&P is much more readily accessible to beginners. If you're good at crafts I see no reason why you couldn't have some soap you made yourself before the sun sets, or certainly some time over this long weekend.

It's a quiet rainy day here in Los Angeles and I'm just sitting at my PC surfing recipes for my 6th batch of CP soap, having just started about 3 weeks ago, maybe reading up a week or so before that. I'm trying to figure out what today's batch will be... Got a new mold gotta try it out!

Go ahead and jump into it. Your enthusiasm will be even better after you've done your first batch. Come on back and let us know how it comes out!

 

[kwahlne]

Welcome to the world of soaping, Cinori! I used to live in Raleigh, NC for a couple of years! I shopped at the nice mall in Cary all the time! How's NC these days? I loved it there.

You should definitely be able to find M&P soap supplies at Michael's. I know they have it in the ones near me. However, they can be somewhat pricey. I'm a soaping newbie as well, doing cold process soap. One of my favorite sites, Saveonscents.com, has M&P base much cheaper.

I also noticed another one of my other favorite sites, Camden Grey, sells the clay you mentioned.

I bought 3 wonderful books before I started, but they mostly focus on CP soaping. Good luck, and have fun!

Kristin

 

[digit]

Lastly...the best information...Can anyone recommend specific books? Websites? Or good Recipes?

Welcome to the forum! There are several M&P soapers here that make beautiful soaps. They will probably pop in soon. Meanwhile, here are a few links I have bookmarked for M&P:

http://www.soapteacher.com/Default.aspx
http://www.halderman.net/cgi-bin/showrecipe.pl?mp
http://www.thesoapkitchen.co.uk/melt_an ... _guide.htm
http://www.chasenfratz.com/soaprecipes/index.html

That should keep you busy till the pros come in. I don't usually do M&P, so I can not vouch for any of the links.

Digit

Digit

 

[sunflwrgrl7]

Marie Browning has some good melt and pour books. Plus she is a wiz at packaging ideas.

I get my supplies, especially my soap base, from wholesalesupplies.com and other stuff from random places on the net, including ebay...