HOW TO MAKE MELT-AND-POUR SOAP BASETo 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 – LYE67.5 g cold tap water • 67.5 g sodium hydroxidePHASE 2 – BASE INGREDIENTS422.5 g mono propylene glycol • 162.5 g glycerine443.5 g sorbitol solution (70 per cent)675 g sodium C14/C16 olefin sulphonatePHASE 3 – FATTY ACIDS295 g stearic acid • 137.5 g myristic acidPHASE 4 – FINAL PHASE22.5 g myristic acid • 59 g triethanolamine METHODPhase 1 – Making sure you pay careful attention to the lye safety guidelines (pages 9 and 10), weigh thewater and place it in a heatproof jug. Weigh the sodium hydroxide and carefully tip it into the water. Stirthe 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 makingnearly 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 60°C (140°F) is reached. A sugar thermometer would be perfectfor checking this.Phase 3 – When the temperature has reached 60°C (140°F) add the Phase 3 ingredients and stir well.Increase to 74°C (165°F).Phase 4 – Once the temperature has reached 74°C (165°F), slowly add the lye solution and stir gently fortwo to three minutes (do not stir too vigorously or you will create a froth). Leave on the hob over a low tomedium heat for up to 20 minutes, stirring every four or five minutes until the soap mixture has turnedcompletely transparent.Place a lid on the saucepan and leave on a low to medium heat for one hour without stirring. You shouldaim to have the soap mixture at a constant 74°C (165°F).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 65°C (149°F), 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 theregular melt-and-pour soap base.