What are melt/pour soaps?

[xmacro]

I've never heard of these until I came onto B&B, much less used them; what are they? How do you use them for shaving?

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Soaps that don't contain tallow are usually referred to as "glycerin based" and can be melted and poured into a container, such as a shaving mug or plastic storage container. It's usually done in a microwave.

Tallow can burn and ruin the soap.

 

[xmacro]

Ah, thanks, so it's just a reference to the method of transferring the soap from one dish to another?

 

[mretzloff]

"Melt-and-pour" is the correct term for the "soap" that is incorrectly called "glycerin-based". The reason it has the name "melt-and-pour" is because all it involves is melting a base and pouring it into a mold. After you have melted the base, you can add fragrance, glycerin, colorants, etc. Brambleberry sells a shaving melt-and-pour base here.

Just because a soap does not contain tallow does not mean it is melt-and-pour. And you can most definitely melt a soap with tallow in it.

 

[xmacro]

Thanks for the info