Step 10– After two hours, test your soap for clarity. You can do this by pouring a bit of soap mixture onto a cold glass cup. When you first remove the press and seal, you’ll notice lots of foam. I simply sprayed with alcohol and it went away. Melt & Pour soap can be whipped into a smooth mousse-like substance whilst still quite hot, using an electric hand-whisk, then used as a convincing 'icing' on soap cakes or other toiletries like bath bombs. Simply spoon the whipped soap over the area to be covered and spread if required. Make sure to do this before it starts to set-up. The 'iced' surface can easily be decorated before it forms a skin, with glitter or flower petals etc.. Once you have your clear soap base ready, the next step is to personalize it with colors, fragrances, and additives. You can incorporate natural colorants such as clays or spices like turmeric or paprika. Beware, the color of some of these natural ingredients will fade with time.

By now most of you know I’m a soap maker. I have a small business that makes more than 400 bars a month and it’s still growing. I sell a lot of soap at the tailgate markets in the summer and I always have people asking for a glycerin soap base. It’s still a common myth that glycerin soap is milder and better for you. That can be true in some cases, but when you hand-craft a good cold process bar of soap, it contains just about as much glycerin. You can add also exfoliating ingredients, like poppy seeds, or ground coffee, but I really want to keep this soap simple, and show you how good a soap can look without overdoing with addictives or techniques. Find Where To Buy Handmade Clear Soap Step 14– Once you declare it done, it is time to scent, color and mold. I didn’t add scent because I was going to use this as embeds for cold process soap. I did add a bit of blue mica to turn it green (the natural color of this soap is yellow).

Removing Soaps From The Mould

Superfat –Because superfat (unsaponified oils) can cloud transparent soap, go with a 0% superfat. We do add glycerin, and that acts as a superfat in your soap. Solvents

Step 2– Weigh the lye and distilled water into two separate containers. Add the lye to the water while stirring to create a solution. Be sure to mix in a well-ventilated area. Be sure to wear safety goggles and gloves. Solvents are what make the magic happen. They dissolve the soap crystals that normally form when combining sodium hydroxide with fatty acids (base oils). Solvents include alcohol, liquid glycerin and sugar. You can use one, or for best results, try a combination. Step 16– After 24 hours un-mold. You can un-mold it as soon as it hardens, which is usually less than 24 hours. All transparent soap recipes that I’ve come across use a combo of solvents, including glycerin, sugar water and alcohol. I don’t know enough about why each is used. This will require some further research on my part. My solvents ended up being equal to my oil amount. I used 500 grams of oils and 500 grams of solvents.Step 7: Mix for about 2-4 minutes. Stop mixing and see if a skin forms. If a skin forms, pour in your sugar solution. Results: Decent lather. More clear than batch #1 and 2. Because of the high stearic, this one was a bit draggy to use and tightening to the skin. It will probably improve. But I wouldn’t make this one again…

Step 9– Let the soap cook for 2 hours. During this time the solvents will work on dissolving the soap crystals that form, creating a clear soap. No need to stir. Warning! You do use alcohol in this process so be aware of open flames or anything that might ignite the fumes. I went so far as to blow out the gas starters on my stove since I was making this in my kitchen. I opened the patio door so that I had fresh air at all times. Make sure you have a fire extinguisher on hand (a bit dramatic, but you should have one in your kitchen anyways). Step 3– You don’t have to let it cool down. Pour the lye solution into your melted oils/glycerin and blend to trace. Use your transparent soap as-is or use for embeds! Here is what mine looks like. Not perfect, but I love it! Swiss Roll' loafs are also easy to achieve. Find a suitable loaf mould and measure the length. Pour a sheet of coloured soap and cut it to the same width as the mould is long. Let the sheet set for a while and whilst still soft, roll it up loosely (or lay 2 or more different coloured sheets on top of one another and roll together). Place the roll into the loaf mould and carefully pour the clear soap base into the mould, slowly, allowing it to flow between all the gaps in the roll. Let set and slice for best effect.When creating a transparent soap recipe, choose at least 75% hard oils (coconut oil, palm oil, tallow, lard, stearic acid). All of the solvents added can soften a recipe that contains lots of soft oils. Include castor oil in your recipe. Castor oil is a bit of solvent so works well in transparent soap. alcohol may be hard to find. Don’t use rubbing alcohol, you will never get rid of the smell! I use a 75% Everclear which is available in most areas. If not, ask at your local liquor store. They can recommend what may work. Keep it clear and unscented. Whatever you are doing, the most important thing to remember is not to overheat your soap base. You need only heat it until it melts and no further (exceptions to this rule are the Natural or Organic bases which should be heated to 75degC to avoid 'blooming' in the finished soaps). Cutting the soap base into small chunks will help this, especially if using a microwave, although small chunks will melt far easier with any method used, so it's worth the time in doing this. In the shower or bath, wet your hands and rub your soap in them to create a lather. Wash your hands first, then repeat the process and apply soap to your whole body using the soap directly and your hands. You may also wash your face with it. Rinse hands and body abundantly. Also wash your soap from lather before placing it in your soap dish or bag saver.