Which Soap Base Is Best For Your Project?

How do you know which soap base is best for your project? Use this guide to know which melt and pour soap base is best to make different types of soap.

Soap making has been an increasingly popular craft and hobby in recent years. And have to hand it to all the incredible soap makers out there, like Rebecca Dillon, founder of Soap Deli News; I think she could make any and every type of soap! But, for those of us who aren’t as talented, soap making has become available to us by the production of melt and pour soap bases.

In the past, soap could only be created with cold process soap making that required special equipment, safety goggles, weeks for curing, and working with lye. Nowadays, we have access to a wide variety of ready-to-use soap bases that don’t require any of those things.

In fact, the name says it all – melt and pour soap bases are designed to simply “melt” and “pour” to create soap with ease!

They take all the complicated steps out of soap making, so we can enjoy only the fun steps, like adding essential oils, colors, or herbs. But, how do you know which soap base is best to use to make your soap idea?

Use this guide to find the right soap base for all your soap making ideas! Learn the best melt and pour soap base for massage soap, dry skin soap, colorful soap, and more.

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Which soap base is best to make layered soap, dry skin soap, hand soap or dish soap bars? Use our easy to guide to know what’s the best soap base to use for each type of soap!

So, which soap base is best?

Like many things in life, we often think there is one logical answer to every question. But, an Amazon search for melt and pour soap will return with more than 100 options. With so many choices of soap bases, the answer truly depends upon what type of soap you want to make!

Because they’re all easy to work with and a great way to make soap without any hassles of caustic lye, that part of the soapmaking process has already been done for you, it makes it difficult to decide.

And each type of melt and pour soap holds qualities unique to its makeup. Over the years, I’ve come to learn which is best for different needs, like soap for dry skin. Or others that make the best canvas for creating colorful or layered soaps.

That’s why I’ve put together this quick guide to discovering the best soap base for homemade soap by type. Scroll down to the type of soap you want to make, and you’ll find a list of the best soap bases. I have also included links to each melt and pour base and tutorials on how to make each soap type.

And if you’re ready to dive deep into the subject, check out our printable soap base guides in the Simple Living Library! And if this is your first time making soap, you may find my beginner soap making guide helpful.

Related To: Soap Making Supplies

Which soap base should I use? Learn what’s the best melt and pour soap base for massage soap, clear soap, layered soap, and more.

How do you know which melt-and-pour soap base is best for your project?

There are quite a wide variety of bases, each with unique ingredients. With so many different options, it can be a little overwhelming. So, here’s the most straightforward answer you’ll find to knowing which soap base you should pick for your project.

Best Soap Base for Colorful Soap

Adding color to soap can be a lot of fun. A glycerin melt and pour soap base easily creates bright, colorful soap with a unique transparency. It’s popularly used to make ocean-themed soaps with blue colors.

If you’re after a pastel hue, use a cocoa butter, goat milk, or shea butter soap base.

This lemon lavender homemade soap recipe is all things spring: fresh, colorful, cheerful, and fragrant!

This lemon lavender homemade soap recipe starts with a creamy cocoa butter base to create the most irresistible shade of purple that highlights lavender’s delicate buds and lemon’s happy yellow.

And yes, it smells as incredible as it sounds with a coupling of sweet herbaceous lavender essential oil that balances tart lemon citrus essential oil.

Best Soap Bases For Dry Skin

Dry skin is no fun at all. To make soap for dry skin, there are two options that are equally appealing.

Many shea butter melt and pour soap bases contain about 5% shea butter which is quite nourishing for dry skin. And it also contains vitamins E, A (one of the most important vitamins for skin), and F for an intense moisturizing base.
The second ideal option is an oatmeal melt and pour soap base. It’s an effective skin soother for itchy, irritated, dry skin. The cellulose and fiber from the oats act as a gentle cleanser and exfoliator. And oatmeal soaps’ anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties are superior in improving eczema and restoring dry skin.

Neither time consuming, nor hard to replicate, this blue cornflower oatmeal soap is packed with vitamins and minerals for the skin.

You’ll love how soft and replenished your skin feels after gently exfoliating and soothing dryness and irritation sudsing up with this blue cornflower oatmeal soap recipe. It’s a treat for those with a dry skin type and anyone who craves soft, supple skin.

Best Soap Base For Dish Soap Bars

If you’re looking for an alternative to liquid dish soap, you may be surprised to know that you can make solid dish soap. This white coconut soap base is designed to have no super fat – meaning it won’t leave any residue on dishes. When it comes to soap making, it’s the most cleansing base of all!

If you’ve tried liquid dish soap DIYs but felt like something was missing then this DIY dish soap bar recipe is the answer you’ve been looking for!

Try it for yourself with my solid dish soap bar recipe, and don’t miss my tips on how to wash dishes more sustainably.

Best Soap Base For Sensitive Skin

Goat’s milk contains a great source of many vitamins and nutrients to nourish the skin, including vitamin A and B vitamins riboflavin, niacin, B6, and B12.

You can soak up these with a goat milk melt and pour soap base because there is nothing more gentle than goat milk soap. It’s very moisturizing and contains anti-inflammatory properties, which are great for sensitive skin.

I’ve made this honey and goat milk soap recipe several times. It’s not only quick to make but it is also quite nourishing for skin.

This honey and goat milk soap recipe boast many benefits for the skin. I turn to it in the cold, dry months to keep my skin feeling soft and hydrated. Adding a little vitamin E oil and vanilla extract creates a rich sweet lather that makes me go back to this melt and pour soap recipe again and again.

Best Soap Bases For Clear Soap

Clear soap is definitely a DIY to try. This organic clear glycerin soap base creates a transparent soap bar, allowing you to see clearly what’s showcased in the soap.

You can also opt for an aloe vera melt and pour soap made with real aloe for an incredibly soothing soap with a silky texture. Like glycerin soap, it is a clear soap base that takes well to color. See how it beautifully suspends dried jasmine flowers in my favorite aloe vera soap recipe I’ve made thus far.

How to make clear soap with pressed flowers.

You can make these handmade clear soaps for beautiful gifts at any time of the year. Preserving pressed flowers from a trip or adventuring, a special occasion such as a wedding or graduation, or simply documenting the wildflowers around your home is a unique and satisfying process.

Best Soap Base For Massage Soap Bars

What are massage soap bars? Massage soap bars are essentially soap with dual benefits to cleanse and massage.

You see, massage soap bars benefit the body by targeting areas of tension with direct pressure from large round beads that stick out from the bar. These beads are formed with the use of a silicone massage bar mold. When you rub a massage bar across the body, they create a massaging sensation.

In order to make a good massage bar, you want to choose a soap base with added butter instead of adding extra butter or oil yourself. Because if you add too much to a soap base, it can become sticky and much too soft.

How to make massage soap bars for an in-shower massage! You’ll thank me later.

To make massage soap bars, I choose a shea butter melt and pour soap base for those reasons. It creates a creamy, smooth soap with a rich lather and a high amount of vitamins and nutrients. Not to mention, it’s easy to work with.

Best Soap Base To Make Layered Soap

The secret to great layered soap is using the same melt and pour soap brand. For example, if you want two or more different layers or solid soap shapes inside a clear soap, make sure you purchase soap from the same brand. Otherwise, you may be dealing with layers that cure at different rates causing the layers to separate.

This pomegranate pink clay soap recipe made with melt and pour soap is everything a luxurious handmade soap should be! Make a clay soap bar of fruity, sweet French perfection today.

I used only a shea butter soap base to make this pomegranate pink clay layered soap. It captures the juiciness of pomegranate in a unique melody of moisturizing shea butter and rejuvenating French pink clay. I hand-poured it into distinct layers of varying shades of pink and topped it with vibrant pomegranate flower petals.