Decisions, decisions. What type of soap making molds should you buy? Should you create your own soap making molds? You want your soaps to look great, but you don’t want to empty your bank account into soap making molds.
Okay, we feel your pain. We’ve faced those same decisions and our research into the whole soap mold conundrum might just help.
Super cheap molds around the house
You can use practically anything as a soap mold as long as it holds up to the temperature of the heated soap. Tin cans, microwave safe dishes, candy and Jell-O molds are all possibilities. With some containers used as soap making molds, removing the soap can be a bit of a trick. In fact, it can be a big bit of a trick. So what do you do? You line the mold, that’s what, but that is an art unto itself.
Soap making molds are lined with wax paper, freezer paper, saran wrap, fun foam, silicon gel (not recommended since heated silicon produces formaldehyde. Bad juju!), cardboard and 1 mil painter’s plastic. If you’re adept at measuring and cutting paper to the right size, you have our heartfelt congratulations. For those of you that are measure and cut challenged, like me, the soap mold lining process can be a nightmare. If the corners of your mold are crinkly, so will your soap. That makes for an ugly and/or wasteful end result.
Cheap plastic soap making molds
We discovered that not all soap making molds are created equal. The really cheap plastic soap making molds tend to be brittle and will not hold up over time. However, if you’ve never made soap before and are trying the craft on to see if it’s a good fit, buying a cheap mold might be a good place to start. Be sure to line the mold or you may end up cracking it to get the soap to come out.
More spendy silicon soap making molds
These molds cost more and hold up well. They are flexible and thus have the added benefit in making it easier to remove the soap from the mold. That alone makes these molds worth the money. However, because of the cost, I think it’s a good idea to try using different types of soap making molds so you can play with different types of liners. Who knows, you might be the only soap maker who never has a problem with sticking.
Hint, hint, wink, wink! You can also buy silicon in bulk and make your own molds. We haven’t done this yet, but we will and when we do, we’ll tell you all about it.
Wood soap making molds
These are hinged boxes to make soap removal easy. They’re great for making block soap that you cut yourself. You should line most wooden soap molds on all surfaces exposed to the soap unless you’ve purchased a no-liner mold. These wood liners are treated on the sides to prevent sticking, so all you have to do is line the bottom. They’re pretty slick.
No-line soap making molds
No-line soap making molds can be made of wood like the one mentioned above, plastic and Plexiglas. They are designed for block or loaf soap. Oh, and I forgot to mention, they’re quite expensive.
Making soap is loads of fun. You get to create something beautiful, exotic, fragrant, and or therapeutic. You are limited only by your imagination. So, get yourself a cool soap making mold and create a perfectly wonderful soap.
Now go have fun and relax.
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