When I go about creating something and I find out that there is an easy way and a hard way, odds are I'm going to take the easy route. It's not because I'm lazy or something but it's because time is hard to come by and so if there's a quicker route, count me in. Take me and my love for making soaps. I love to have homemade soap but waiting on it to cure is torture. As soon as it's dry I want to use it, plain and simple. Fortunately with melt and pour soap making, I can. No more having to wait three weeks on it to cure and no more walking by my beautiful bars of soap wishing I could use just one.

The melt and pour soap making method is one that is now loved by many. It is neither a hot or cold process soap but one that you simply melt, mold and use. It's great. If you are one that really tries to stay as organic as possible, there are organic forms of melt and pour soap making that you can try. The process is quite simple.

To being with melt and pour soap making you only need a few things. The base (which can be purchased at any craft store), some colors or fragrances if you want, a pot for on the stove with a glass measuring dish, and a mold. Pretty simple huh? Not having to worry about using lye and burning yourself, no gloves and safety goggles (unless you just like them) and no smelly chemical reaction from the lye. It's great.

Now that you have everything gathered that you will need for melt and pour soap making, take the base and cube it, placing the cubes inside of the glass container. Once all cubed up, place the glass container inside of the pot that is about half full of water. Turn the stove on to begin heating up the water, keeping it just under a boil. When you see that the entire soap base has melted you can remove the glass container from the pot and add any fragrances that you wish. If fragrances aren't something you like then don't worry about it. But I do like fragrances and so I try to add a few drops of my favorite oil equaling about .25 ounce per pound of soap base. If you like more or less then you can play with it as you like but this is just my general rule of thumb.

With your soap now still a liquid and smelling good, you can add the colors. You can use regular food coloring but keep in mind that if you use too much it can stain your skin or towels. Not a good thing. There are many kinds of coloring available for soaps that won't stain anything and are relatively inexpensive. You will only need about and eighth to a quarter teaspoon to add to a pound of base. So a little will go a long way.

Now that you have added everything, your melt and pour soap making process is almost complete. All that's left is the pour. Find a mold of your choice and simply pour the liquid inside. Within a few hours the soap will be hard and ready to use. If you go to remove it from its mold and it won't budge, simply run it under a little bit of water and it should pop right out.

Meryl Bliss has been in the soap making business for over 15 years and is an expert in making soap. To learn more about the soap making method and read some of Meryl's unique and original recipes, click here to visit her website: