Having been a soap maker learned from my grandmother, I actually enjoy the process. Melt and pour is usually glycerin, this is a by-product of soap. Lye is still used.
Lye can be tricky, but use common sense. Read all about it. Its very hard to get a high quality lye. The best results are achieved (IMHO) through 98 to 100 % purity.
When I am doing any type of herbal soap or using essential oils, I do what is called re-batching. So I make the soap, let it sit for a couple of days or up to a week (I constantly check the ph level), grind it up, and re-melt it, then stir and cool it down to about 80 - 75 or lower, depending on the essential oil. If you are above the flash point, the scent is there but the quality of the E.O. are basically lost. Or, this is in my opinion, the belief I cater to. So when making soap, the lye brings the oils to extremely high temps. Why bother with an essential oil?
Then you place in mold, and apply constant pressure for three more days. Constantly upping the pressure to basically squeeze all the air out. This makes a much firmer bar when doing a "re-batch"
It took years to figure this out! But the final product is well worth it.
Wanderingherb