Teach Soap

This is my first M&P question

After watching Soap Queen TV's episode of Embedding Soap in Soap,
I have a story to share and a question.

My story: At this time, my favorite soap come from Primal Elements - the Ariel scent.
I love this so much I ended up buying a loaf of the Ariel soap from them. The problem
I've been experiencing with the soap is, as you can see in the photo below, the top loaf
has purple ribbons in it. I've cut bars both thin and thick. After a few uses, the bars fall
apart with the ribbons coming loose. I ended up wasting so much soap.



I did a little searching on YouTube and came across this video of Primal Elements making
one of their loaves with Embedded Soap. One thing I've noticed in the Soap Queen episode
that I don't see in Primal Elements (PE) is that PE does NOT spray their Embedded Soap parts
with Alcohol. So this got me to wondering, is the absence of rubbing alcohol the reason why
their soap tends to seperate during use? I don't know if it's common for embedded soap to
seperate so easily after a couple uses. Here's their video:

I ended up contacting them to see if they can make me 2 loaves with out the purple ribbon
and explained to them WHY. I'm thrilled that they have accomodated my request.

Thanks in advance for your thoughs on the Alcohol use.
Joey

_________________
Joey

The alcohol spritz does help keep the embeds (or layers) together better. I'm sure you paid through the nose for the whole loaf. You can make your own for much less.

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Just curious what is the crystal chunks the lady keeps adding ? if they are ordinary clear with maybe a little glitter added (can't see closely what they are so just guessing) and they are added so freely without any spritzing with alcohol its a wonder the soaps don't just fall to pieces as soon as they are used.Since JoeyA bought the one with just a couple of ribbons maybe she should thank her lucky stars she didn't get the one with all the crystal pieces in them.

_________________
Pauline
http://www.facebook.com/SudsandKissesSoaps
Founding member & admin of Melt & Pour Soap Crafters.

The chunks are clear mp with glitter or mica added.

When I do chunks in mine, I don't add alcohol a lot of the times, because usually the main soap holds the chunks in. But when I do one big embed that goes from front to back, I use alcohol.

A lot of it matters on what base you're using, how warm the soap is and how hard (and or cold) the embeds are. So really alcohol does not always have to be used, but it most definitely helps.

_________________
Please visit my blog

Thanks for the replies:

@soapbuddy - from what I've been reading, it seems that alcohol is a key factor for soap making,
especially when it comes to embedded soap/objects. So it was a surprise to me to see an
established soap company skipping that process....I did pay more for the loaves then if I was to
make them myself, absolutely. Problem being that the Ariel scent (Patchouli, Sandalwood, Musk,
& Moss) is such an amazing fragrance. I don't care for strong men's cologne, so this one is a
very gender neutral scent. Citrius is also another of my fravorites for night time showers. Very
clean. I wish I could get their frangrance so I can make my own loaves, but it's something I would
never ask about. I'm set for awhile with 2 loaves, along with all of the other soaps I buy.

@pops1 - I thought the same things with the cubes. If I can't keep the couple swirls from seperating,
how are all of those cubes going to stay intact!?! LOL

@WinterMoon - I looked on their website and it does appear that there is glitter in the cubes.
Thank you for sharing your experience. Great information about embeds that I didn't read about yet.

I am loving this forum. Can't wait to get home tonight and continue searching through topics, over
a cup of tea. Thanks again for having me

_________________
Joey

_________________

~bytheSEAsoap~ Mella bythesea, bythesea, bythebeautiful sea

海の皂

Welcome to Joey! Soaping is catchy so be careful!!

_________________

~bytheSEAsoap~ Mella bythesea, bythesea, bythebeautiful sea

海の皂

_________________
Please visit my blog

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! JoeyA,

I can tell .... It's already too late for you!

You have all the symptoms! You are hooked!

Welcome!
einnoc

_________________
"Soap is to the body what laughter is to the soul!"