Teach Soap

I bought my mp base at a local supply store - they say it is SFIC, and the ingredients and wording were a perfect match.

I started out with the goat's milk, and love it. Then I bought a sample size (2lb) of the clear. YUCK!!!!! I took it out of the package and it is sticky and gross. I would never make soap from this....

So I ordered from ebay, what is called "extra hard" mp base - 1lb each of the gm and clear. It is an all natural base (not the detergent ones).

It arrived 2 days ago - been too busy to make soap yet, but I did unwrap it and sit it on the shelf to see how it felt out in the air. So far - no stickiness, no sweating, but boy, it is hard - they weren't kidding!!

So I plan to do some experimenting after work today - a blend maybe 2 parts regular and 1 part extra hard.

The gm bars I have made so far are lovely - but I am anticipating a hot sweaty summer selling season, so I thought perhaps a seasonal blend to harden up the bars a bit might be a good idea.

Anybody else make a seasonal blend like that??

If it's humid where you are regular clear will sweat. The extra hard has less glycerin, so it tends to sweat less.

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

Oddly, I am in Calgary, AB - known for it's extreme dryness all year long. And this clear base was sealed in plastic - still gross - not slick or wet, just sticky.

Besides making the soap look weird, is sweating detrimental to the soap in anyway?
I forced some soap scraps to sweat so I could see what it felt like- I actually think the little sweat bubbles look neat, though they are oily. I should have checked them for lather before I threw them out

Also, if soap does start to sweat, can it be remelted and poured? Or is the soap ruined and will always sweat?

Oh- and does the hardness of the soap affect how it lathers?

Kat- I hope your experiments work out well for you! You'll have to come back and let us know what you did and what the results were

_________________
Tamra
New to soaping, long time crafter and artisan, avid learner of new things!

Sweating is not detrimental. It's some of the glycerin coming on the surface. That's what's making it sticky. It's more an aesthetic issue. The soap can be remelted if need be. The hardness should not effect the lather. That's more of an ingredient(s) issue.

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

Excellent news! I've had a couple of ideas in my head that would incorporate the look of sweat on the soap ^_^

_________________
Tamra
New to soaping, long time crafter and artisan, avid learner of new things!

Preliminary experiment results:

1st batch - the extra hard clear base on it's own - added nothing but honey. I'm looking for a translucent amber color. Looks ok - bar seems nice and hard but gets fingerprints easily.

2nd batch - 50/50 blend of extra hard base and SFIC goat's milk base, plus grapefruit oil (current fav scent)

3rd batch - 2/1 blend of goat's milk and extra hard, grapefruit EO

So far I can't see a diff between batches 2 & 3. They are sitting out, unwrapped, it's raining all day - waiting to see if they remain hard and continue to not sweat.