Talk to me about bases

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CRBerns

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I am new to soap making and have only had a couple experiences with MP. For those I followed a recipe I found in a book and bought base from hobby lobby and Michael's.

Looking at my options now what base suppliers should I look into?

Can I make a shea butter base from a clear base or do I need to buy it?

Thanks!
 
You are better off buying the kind of base you want. Too many or too much additives just doesn't make the soap nice.

Hobby store soap is garbage which you might have noticed.
Stephasons is a popular base, you can get it at brambleberry.com
There is a bunch of different kinds and even some samplers so you can try different ones before buying a large amount.
 
I have added shea butter to M&P bases. Before I switched to CP, I made M&P for years. I like the SFIC bases, a lot of suppliers sell that. I have tried a lot of the M&P varieties--plain, goatmilk, shea, oatmeal, hemp, etc. In my experience, I found very little difference between them, and if I didn't add butters or oils
when I was making it, all of them were too drying on my skin.
 
I also don't care for mp due to it drying out my skin but I have found one I really like. Its the ultra clear from essentials by Catalina.

I didn't mention it due to it being a bit pricey and it only comes in 20lb blocks minimum but its worth it for a good mp.
 
When I was doing M&P, I liked the SFIC bases best. I also used and liked the base from Essentials by Catalina. I really didn't add anything other than fragrance or essential oils. I've never tried Stephensons, so I can't comment on that. I did not like the base from WSP, but I have seen others mentioning that they do like it. So the formula may have changed since I used it, or it may just be my personal taste. I found it to be softer than the others, and more likely to get mushy.
 
I have only used the SFIC bases and have been very pleased with them. One soap I make, I do add a little melted shea butter, about 1%. My customers like the moisturizing effect. But most of the time I just add color and EOs. One soap I make, I paint with micas. Sure, it washes off, but still is a gorgeous soap. I make a lot of children's soaps with MP. There are a lot of fun molds out there. For the children's soaps, I usually use the goat milk base and no fragrance.
I just started CP soap making about 10 months ago; love that, too, but MP has its pluses as well.
 
I love the SFIC bases also, and now that WSP carries them you can avoid steep shipping.

I have added shea butter, clays, evening primrose oil, vitamin e and retinol serum to MP. you just have to be careful with amounts. I never use more than 1tbs pp of any butter, the oils and vitamin e is much less.

My friends loved my "old lady soap" that had the retinol and clay I think I also added some jojoba beads to that too.

You can add honey up to 1tsp pp, oatmeal, poppy seeds. There are a lot of great options.
 
I've only done MP once and, while I agree that SFIC has traditionally been the closest to all natural soap, I used Elements Bath & Body MP bases, both clear and white, low sweat. I liked what I saw listed in the ingredients for each base. Comes with good directions. I really liked the soap.

HAPPY SOAPING!
 
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