Stephenson Melt And Pour Soap Base Clear SLS FREE - 1Kg

Product Information

Simple food colours can easily be used, as can liquid soap colours and other water-soluble liquid colour bases. Obviously the depth of a particular colour is dependent upon how much is used. Don't be tempted to over-colour your soaps, especially if using clear soap bases, as the transparency of the finished soap will be affected if too much colour is used, plus, coloured lather in use is off-putting. Fragrance can be added either using essential oils or simple fragrance oils, which are available in a huge range of tempting fragrances these days. Again, strength of fragrance is dependent upon the amount added. For a meaningful fragrance, around 20ml fragrance per Kilo of soap (2%) is sufficient, so a few drops per single bar is fine. As a guide, a maximum of 3% fragrance addition is generally advised. Irridescent powders or glitters may float or sink to the bottom of a mould depending on their make-up, so a suspending base may be helpful if you want to avoid this. Also, glitters and sheens can become lost if too much is added, so be sparing for best results.

The addition of extra ingredients is more leisurely using this method, as continuous low heat is available to keep the mixture from forming a skin. Again, be careful not to introduce bubbles if at all possible. Fragrance should be the last addition, as heat will cause some evaporation. Again, work on around 20ml of fragrance or essential oil per Kilo for a meaningful fragrance.

Because the skin's pH is naturally slightly acidic (around 5.5), cleansing ingredients with an alkaline pH can disrupt the skin barrier and lead to irritation. That's why it's best to avoid sulfate-containing soap, especially if you have sensitive skin or eczema. "Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is a harsh detergent that is very effective, but can be very drying," explains Zeichner. "In fact, it’s used in clinical trials as the positive control to elicit irritation in the skin in comparison to other products." Uh, yikes. So if you see sodium laureth and/or lauryl sulfate on an ingredients list, it's probs best to avoid. Consider your skin sensitivity 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.

Step 4– Weigh out the stearic acid + about 10 extra grams. Melt using a double boiler on the stove. 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. NOTE: If you’re making a batch of high-solvent content, add half, blend until clear and then add the rest. (Do this for batch 5 & 6.) If you add all the solvents up front, it takes awhile to come together. Use little quantities of colorant if you really want to keep your soap highly transparent. More than 1/16 of a teaspoon, depending on the colorant, and the soap becomes opaque. The best way is to add very little colorant at a time until you are satisfied with the color and soap transparency.

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. So, I got experimenting! I was inspired by a post in our soapmaking group, Saponification Nation, by Harriet Pretzsch. She generously shared her procedure for making a cold process transparent soap. You can find it on her blog here. You’ll have to translate it or join our FB group and search her name…you’ll find it translated. 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… 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. Alcohol– You can use either isopropyl or ethyl (ethanol) alcohol. Ethanol seems to create a more clear soap. Each type of alcohol comes in different strengths. You want to find the purest/highest strength that you can so that you’ll end up with less water in your soap.

Tip... To avoid 'bleeding' of colours into each-other, use a 'pigments' rather than dyes. Pigments have a larger particle size and are generally not water soluble, so will not bleed their colour. Alternatively, choose a specific colouring system like Zenicolour 5, made for the purpose. Let’s take a look at how to make glycerin and then explore my favorite, recipe for how to make a glycerin soap base. How Glycerin is Made First and foremost, if you’re looking to make clear soap, it’s essential to start with a high-quality clear melt and pour soap base. This is the foundation of your recipe, so it’s crucial to choose the right one. When shopping for a soap base, look for a product specifically labeled as clear. This ensures that your soap will have a translucent appearance, giving it that beautiful transparent quality. Avoid bases that have a yellowish or cloudy tint, as this can affect the clarity of your final product.Transparent soap making can be a bit daunting to try. I hope this tutorial clearly explains the steps that I used and that it inspires you to give it a try!