# How to get rid of "pockmarks" on CP Soaps



## Tienne (Jan 2, 2014)

When you cut CP soap, you sometimes get those little raised bubble-looking pockmarks on the soaps, especially if the soap is coloured with TD or cut with a wirecutter. You may also get frayed crumby edges. They're both pretty unsightly to say the least, so here's a simple way to fix it, using just a piece of fluff-free cotton cloth.

After you've cut your soap, let it dry for _at least_ a few hours until that wet new-cut feeling is gone. Do NOT try this on wet soap or you'll leave drag marks. The soap has to be dry. 

All you have to do it roll up a piece of soft cloth into a loosely rolled sausage shape and then ever so carefully, wipe down the soap with it. That's all there is to it! You can also clean up your edges really nicely using the cloth. Just wrap the cloth (a few layers thick) around you finger and smooth down the edges *carefully*, like you otherwise would do with your finger. The cloth will press down any frays and at the same time lift any excess crumbs away nicely, leaving you with a nice clean-cut looking soap. 

This method can also help lift off little pieces of wayward glitter, that you may have gotten onto the surface of your soaps. If it doesn't come off when you wipe down one way, try wiping down in the other direction and more often that not, the glitter will be lifted off without leaving any marks. (Don't press too hard or you'll just stick the glitter down even more!) If you look at the "before" pic below, you can see at the bottom middle part of the soap, I accidentally left a big fat glitter fingerprint on the soap! Ugh! No worries, though! As you can see on the "after" pics, the glitter is gone without having damaged the soap at all. 

The only thing you need to remember is to use a soft cloth that doesn't fluff or leave little fibers all over the place. I use a scrap of an old worn t-shirt and it works brilliantly.

I know all this isn't really rocket science, but I still hope this cotton cloth method can help others to get rid of some of those disappointing little flaws on their soaps that we all know and love so well (  ) and be left with nothing but beautifully smooth soaps. 

Here are a few before and after pics to show you how effective this method is;


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## yadonm (Jan 2, 2014)

Thanks Tienne.  Beautiful soap BTW.


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## judymoody (Jan 2, 2014)

Thanks for the tip!  I'll give it a try next time.


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## roseb (Jan 2, 2014)

Thanks for the tip!  I have been "bathing" my soap and this method is so much easier!


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## Trinity (Jan 2, 2014)

Wow Tienne that is awesome. Thanks for the tip and your soaps are beautiful ........love the colors


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## lpstephy85 (Jan 2, 2014)

Awesome tip and even more awesome soap!


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## neeners (Jan 2, 2014)

Thanks Tienne.  and just to clarify, the cloth is dry?


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## girlishcharm2004 (Jan 2, 2014)

I can't wait to try it!  I love the look of pristine edges on soap instead of the beveled edge.  I've beveled the edges to hide the roughness when cut with a wire cutter.  Now, I have something new to try!  Thanks again!


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## Tienne (Jan 2, 2014)

neeners said:


> Thanks Tienne.  and just to clarify, the cloth is dry?


Yes! It's bone dry. 

Thanks everyone, for your kind comments about the soap. :smile:


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## CaraBou (Jan 4, 2014)

I can barely comment on the great tip because I'm flabbergasted by the soap! That is _stunning_!


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Jan 4, 2014)

Great tip and great soap!


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## QueenBeeSoap (Jan 4, 2014)

Great advice!  Thanks so much for sharing.  I'll have to try this to clean up my next batch of soap.  Have you tried the cotton cloth method for removing ash, and do you think it would work without having to wet the cotton?  Beautiful soap, by the way!


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## osso (Jan 4, 2014)

Nice tip, thanks!


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## Tienne (Jan 5, 2014)

QueenBeeSoap said:


> Great advice!  Thanks so much for sharing.  I'll have to try this to clean up my next batch of soap.  Have you tried the cotton cloth method for removing ash, and do you think it would work without having to wet the cotton?  Beautiful soap, by the way!



I just did a test on a slither of a top I had cut off a soap (to make the groupie soaps) and it works fine. The soaps below are from October 9th so they are hard. The top held up pretty well to being buffed, but I'd be very careful doing it on newer, softer soaps. I can imagine you'd lose some details or smudge the pattern if the soaps were too soft. Getting in all the nooks and crannies is a bit fiddly too. 

Buffing the edges actually works on older soaps, too. (Seven said she had tried on week old soaps and it still worked fine.) I buff my soaps on the same day I get them out of the mold, but patience is not my greatest virtue, so I always want my soaps cleaned up and I want it NOW... but if you have the patience to wait, I think buffing them and cleaning the edges could wait until the soaps were dryer and less vulnerable. It might even be a lot easier to do after the soaps have hardened up some. I wouldn't let the frays dry out too much though, because I don't know  how well they can be stuck back down if the soap isn't just a little  moist. If anyone has any older soaps and can give some feedback on how it works for them, that would be great.  

I tried polishing some older soaps (the edges were beveled beforehand on those) and there are pros and cons to doing that. The surface came up really nice and shiny, but it also made little imperfections and dents show up as well, so there's a trade off there to keep in mind. 

Here's  a pic showing the results of my ashy top buffing experiment. This was also done with a bone dry cloth;


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## seven (Jan 7, 2014)

roseb said:


> Thanks for the tip!  I have been "bathing" my soap and this method is so much easier!



me too! no more dipping into cold water for me now.


I've tried this method on a week old soap. The soap was already quite hard so it didn't need 'baby' handling. i kept wanting to post before and after pics, but it has been raining lately i can't get outside.

as for the white specks caused by the wire cutter, i've tried with my hanger swirl eucalyptus soap (2 weeks old i think) and it was hard to polish. i think it'll be more effective when the soap is still fresh, at least 2-3 days old.

this is a great method all around. my soaps are now smooth to the touch.

Thank you (again) Tienne


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## Tienne (Jan 7, 2014)

Aww you're so very welcome, Seven. Anytime.


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## MoonBath (Jan 7, 2014)

Tienne said:


> "I'm so sick of looking at pictures of soap!" Said no soapmaker ever.



:clap:


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## angelsthreeinc (Jan 7, 2014)

Thanks Tienne! Wow I will try this because my soaps want to slip out of my hands when I use the bath method !


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## kazmi (Jan 7, 2014)

Thank you!!!   BTW beautiful soap


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## elmtree (Jan 7, 2014)

What is this 'bathing' I'm hearing about?


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## angelsthreeinc (Jan 7, 2014)

The act of dipping the soap in a shallow dish with cold water then letting your soaps to continue to cure so that they have a slight sheen to them .


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## seven (Jan 8, 2014)

elmtree said:


> What is this 'bathing' I'm hearing about?




It's when you dip new soaps to cold water. It supposed to give you a polished look, but it's a PITA procedure. Like a poster said earlier, the soap is slippery, it kept wanting to slide out of yer hand. I am saying goodbye to this method for good. The cotton is much more effective.


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## renata (Jan 9, 2014)

That is a great tip, I have to try it! And that soap is amazing, really


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