Teach Soap

I'm fairly new to soap making, I love doing it... last time around I just used saran wrap as they were for personal use.

But I've decided to make a bunch as gifts, and I ordered some shrink wrap bags from wholesalesuppliesplus.com and I'm having a really hard time with them!!

My soap comes out looking beautiful straight out of the mold... and then after shrink wrapping, they end up looking all bubbly. I don't care so much about the sides or anything, and the back usually looks okay (I think due to it being a little concave, the shrink wrap isn't flush against the back like it is on the front) but the front ALWAYS looks bubbly or has wrinkles in it. I've tried to shrink the sides first, as I've seen suggested, then the back, then the front.. and it doesn't help any.

Are there any tips and tricks to getting a smooth shrink wrap on the front of the soap? Does it have anything to do with how the soap sticks to the plastic as it's being pushed to the bottom of the bag? (Wondering if the wax paper trick solves this problem or is simply a means to getting the soap in the bag easier?)

Here are some photos of the fronts vs backs.


back


front


back


front


What am I doing wrong?!

I'm no expert on shrink wrap, but from the photos it looks like the bubbles and wrinkles are from air trapped under the wrap. Is there any way you could push as much air as possible out from under the wrap before you shrink it? Just an idea...

Oh, and welcome to the forum!!

_________________
Olivia :)

Have you tried one more light pass of heat over the front? Just be careful because it's easy to over heat and make a hole. The order I usually do is sides, top (front), then the back but I have also had many frustrating moments with shrink wrap. It can take some practice tries to get the result you want.

You mentioned that the soap is concave on the front, it may be that the shrink wrap can't sit flush against the surface so you end up with little air bubbles. Maybe if that's the case dress it up with ribbon tied around it and a little label so the eye is drawn to the decor rather than the air bubbles.

I've never had any luck with shrink wrap. Shrinking plastic wrap with heat gun yes. For me, that works wonders, but the actual shrink wrap. No, not at all. So I just use the shrink wrap to wrap my m&p soap, but tape the ends and put a great label. I don't have to worry about bubbles and my test bars from 6 mos ago still look and smell great.

Hope this helps.

I know wholesalesuppliesplus sells shrink wrap bags for you to use in the future! I'm purchasing some for my business on a fellow soapmakers recommendation. Hope that'll help next time!

_________________
The Black Currant- Shipping within the US!

My shop: The Black Currant on Etsy!
My blog: http://www.theblackcurrantshop.wordpress.com
Also on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & YouTube!