Soap that is cleansing, hard and moisturizing usually consists of both hard and soft oils. Soft oils are liquid at room temperature, while hard oils are solid. In order to use hard oils for soap and other recipes, they need to be melted to a liquid state. Heat resistant plastic pouches (in both large and small sizes) make this process easy.
Common soap making oils that require melting before use are coconut oil and palm oil. Packaged in Heat Resistant Plastic Pouches, these bags come in a large size that holds seven pounds and a small size that holds one pound. Many soapers place the bags into the microwave to melt the oils inside. This process is easy! First, make sure the cap of the bag is secure. Place the entire bag into the microwave and heat using one minute bursts until the entire container is melted. Be careful when removing the bag, as it may be hot. Then, pour the amount of oil that you need. The quality of the oils are not affected by the heat, so don’t worry if you need to melt down the oils several times. If you don’t have a microwave, you can also boil these pouches! While easy to do, there are a few things to keep in mind while boiling the Heat Resistant Pouches.
First, fill up a pot of water large enough to accommodate the bag of oils so the sides don’t touch the pot. Place a Double Boiler Maker at the bottom of the pot and center using a spatula. Using a Double Boiler Maker prevents the bag from coming into direct contact with the bottom of the pan, which can become extremely hot. While the bags can withstand high heat, the bottom of the pan can melt the plastic. The Double Boiler Maker keeps the bag from coming in contact with the bottom of the pan, so it won’t melt.
Turn the heat to high and allow the water to reach a low boil. Place the bag (large or small) onto the Double Boiler Maker, and let the heat do the work. To be on the safe side, keep an eye on the oils while in the boiling water. If the bag of oil begins to touch the side of the pot, reposition the bag to avoid any contact with the hot pot. Before you know it the oils will be melted!
Tip: When melting palm oil, it’s important to melt the entire container and mix it up well. Palm oil is composed of various fatty acids, one of which is stearic acid. The stearic tends to sink and solidify first as the liquid oil cools. This means the stearic acid is unevenly distributed throughout the palm oil container.
In the photo below, the majority of the palm oil is thoroughly melted and clear. But, there is a large amount of oil that is still solid. If you were to use the palm oil below, your soap would probably be softer than you had planned. Simply pop the oils back into the microwave, or melt in a pot of boiling water until all the oil has been melted and shake up the bag well to make extra sure the oil is completely mixed together.
The Heat Resistant Pouches are also used to package the quick mixes sold by Bramble Berry, which include the Basic Quick Mix, Swirl Recipe Quick Mix and the Lots of Lather Quick Mix. These mixes eliminate the need to purchase individual oils. Because these mixes do contain palm oil, make sure you melt down the entire bag before use!
How do you melt down your hard oils and butters for projects? In the Soap Lab, we have plenty of large microwaves, but having the boiling option is great!
I just received my 7lb bag of coconut oil -76 from brambleberry and I am wondering if I need to completely melt the entire bag each time I use it, or if I can melt it partially and then pour what I need. I see that you have a note about palm oil needing to be completely melted because of the dispersion of oils in it. Just wondering if coconut oil is the same.
Hi Kristina!
First of all, thank you so much for your order! We appreciate it.
You can absolutely melt this partially and pour just what you need. I actually like to portion out all my oils into a bowl and melt them all together at once. You can also reheat the oil in this bag multiple times. We do that all the time in the Soap Lab. 🙂
If you do portion out the coconut oil without melting it, make sure to get it all melted with the rest of the oils. If the coconut oil starts to solidify before the lye is added, it can leave little bits of unsaponified oil in the soap. It’s still fine to use, it just can leave little specks in the soap. Having your oils fully melted before soaping helps make speck-free bars!
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
How do I go about melting the 35 lb bucket I have on order?
Hi Lisa!
I must have missed this comment! So sorry about the wait.
To melt the 35 pound buckets, you can wrap your bucket with an electric blanket. You can also place it in a really hot bath to get everything melted.
After it’s melted, some of our customers like to place it in smaller containers so it’s easier to work with in the future. These plastic pouches work great for that. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Plastic Pouches….I thought what a great ideal. I put my supplies away in my soap making cabinet. The next morning I went to the cabinet to collect supplies for making soap and noticed that the bag of coconut oil’s seams had come apart, all the oil had drained out. What a mess to clean and expense. I now keep the Pouches in plastic bins.
Hi Debbie!
Oh no, I’m so sorry about that! In our tests, we’ve found that the bags are very sturdy.
They can start to come apart if they come in contact with a hot pot. If this didn’t happen for you, you may have a defective bag. I’m so sorry about that!
Do you have an order number? I’d love to take a look at that for you. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hello!
When melting in the microwave do you recommend the bags be placed in a container? Do you need to remove the cap? I’m a true novice…gathering info and madly researching before I make even my first batch of CP! I am so impressed with all of the great info shared here and on the Bramble Berry site! Thanks so much for all of it! I have determined that my supply needs will come from BB! Plus, I’m a WA gal so I love the idea of keeping it “local”!
Hi Bobbie!
To microwave these bags, just pop them into the microwave. We typically leave the top on to keep any oils from leaking out. Just be careful when you open the bag because the cap will be hot.
Also, thank you for your kind words! If you ever make it to Bellingham, we have a retail store called Otion where you can pick up all your soaping supplies. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Otion: http://www.otionsoap.com/
These bags are SO handy! Really great design.
Hi Sarah!
I’m so glad you like them! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
A crockpot works great for melting oils in these bags. I would like to know the best way to clean the bags when empty to be reused again.
Hi Paula!
Dish soap and hot water work great for cleaning these bags.
I would recommend letting the bags soak in hot soapy water. Then, fill them up with the water, pop the cap on, shake vigorously and empty. You may want to do this a couple times to make sure there is no oil left behind. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Are you supposed to use all the oils once you have melted them, or is it okay to melt and only use some, let it harden then remelt again later?
Hi Bridget!
With these oils you can use what you need, let them harden and remelt again later. Super convenient!
In the soap lab we constantly melt and remelt these oils and the bags do just fine. They’re very sturdy. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry