# Problems with Sweating.



## lovefish

Hi there,

What are the best steps to take to prevent my melt and pour soap from sweating so much! The guy I bought it from said it can't be avoided! Do you think a shrink wrapper would do a better job than just wrapping it by hand with cling film/wrap? I am also finding my soaps are easily damaged because the cling film is not very thick.

Any help is appreciated!

Many thanks!


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## AlchemyandAshes

In my experience, I have found that wrapping them in any plastic makes them sweat more, especially if done right away. And, if you wrap them in plastic and they sweat, it ruins the wrapping too. :? 
I set my finished M&Ps on a layer of muslin in a cool, dry room to "cure"...of course, they don't need to cure like CP soap does, but I've found letting them "dry out" for a week or so (rotating them once a day) keeps them from sweating. Also, if you add too much fatty oil/butter to your base, sweating will occur (no more than 1 Tbs per pound). Here in FL with the heat and humidity, it is a challenge to keep the M&P from sweating, and this method seems to work. Hope that helps!


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## AlchemyandAshes

I forgot to add that adding 1 tsp of Stearic Acid per pound of M&P will make the bar harder/less prone to "boo- boos"..but only use it in opaque bases to prevent possible clouding


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## lovefish

Thank you very much for your reply. I will take your advice and try to 'cure' the soap from now on to help avoid the problem. I have found another reason for such a degree of sweating is partly because I have been storing the soap in the wrong environment. I had it in a cold garage and then in the car (which was hot!) and apparently the change in temp like this is not good for soap. But sometimes it's hard to avoid these rapid changes in temp. I really appreciate your time!


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## Sanctuary

Hello,
I too had problems with wrapping....but through my process of MP I learned many tricks.  Yes....let your soap kind of cure for a while beofre wrapping.  I have decided to use plastic wrap, and I also invested in a heat gun to seal it.  I used all kinds of wrap of which were major failures.  Even with cigar bands.  You see, after time....all soap will continue to lose it's moisture therefore shrinking in size.  Go to Brambleberry.com.  She has a wonderful video on wrapping soap and great tips on how to use a heat gun when wrapping your soap. It works out really great. Good Luck!

Sanctuary


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## KayleyC

Hi all, Been soaping for over two years now as an MP. Since this is melt and pour, the soap is going to sweat at some point, I find that buying low sweat Glycerin from brambleberry helps in really warm climates, such as hawaii. A dehumidifier may also give you some help along with wrapping your soap after it has hardened and can be removed from its mold. 
Hope that helps.


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## lovefish

Sanctuary, I know what you mean about the soap shrinking. I Have found some soaps I made a few months ago that I had wrapped paper labels around and now they're really loose because the soaps have shrunk. Do they continually shrink? Or is it best to leave them for a period of time once they're wrapped in plastic, and then put the labels on once they've had a period of time to 'shrink'? I looked at the videos you suggested, thanks for that, very informative.

I did try letting my recent batch of soap cure for a few days, but noticed after a few days that moisture (droplets) was beginning to build up on the soap, so they had a damp feeling when I wrapped them. It's so hard to know what to do!!!


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## Genny

Where are you buying your MP from?  Also, what kind of humidity do you have right now?  

Some MP's have really high glycerin content and so they will sweat no matter what.


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## lovefish

Hi Genny,

My soap base is from a place called The Soap Kitchen (in the UK). The base is made by a company called 'Stephenson' and it's called, Melt & Pour Soap Base (Crystal) Eco Palm Free, Clear. 

The ingredients are: Glycerine: Aqua: Sodium Stearate*: Sodium Olivate: Sorbitol: Sodium Cocoate: Decyl Glucoside**: Sodium Chloride: Citric Acid.
*= Derived from Rapeseed Oil, **= Coconut Derived.

Thinking about it sometimes I add a little extra glycerine, for example enough so I can mix in some seaweed or clay into the base, but try to be careful not to use anymore than needed, I wonder if this makes a difference? (I think you made this suggestion to me and it works well).

I am in England and it's not that humid here at the moment, though we've had the occasional hot day, but it would be nothing compared to what you'd have in the states! The hottest day we've had all year was  30.4C (86.7F), but really that was a freak occurrence! Today is 19°C (62.2F), pretty normal-ish really. 

I think some of my problems stem from keeping the soaps in a the garage (we had a stage where it was cold and rainy) and then putting them in a hot car for a few days, after that is when I noticed how many of them were sweating badly. The people who I buy the base from said that this would be part of the problem.  I have also noticed that the ones that have sweated far worse are the citrus ones more than than the other ones (eg. peppermint or eucalyptus).

I recently found a bunch of soaps that haven't sweated at all (made back in May) though they have shrunk!. They were some of the first ones I made and I hadn't used any extra glycerine in them or kept them in extreme temps. So I know the soaps don't always sweat so bad! It's just hard to pin point exactly what has caused it (probably both things...maybe?!) 

Lisa x


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## lisamaliga

You have a high amount of glycerine as it's the first ingredient listed. While I haven't tried that particular base, I have used those from Stephenson and really liked them.

There can be shrinkage in M&P soap, but it usually takes a while--depending upon additives and storage.

Now that you know about keeping the temperature stable, make sure that you store your soaps in an airtight container of some sort. For example, here's a pet food storage container: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/1/85302-iris-usa-airtight-10-pound-pet-food-storage-container.html

For a UK link, here's a smaller version: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0038XSLSY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Hope this helps & Happy Soaping!

Lisa M.


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## lovefish

Hi Lisa M,

Thanks for your links. At the moment I have my soaps in a few cardboard boxes, not very airtight really, but now I know- I will try to get some like you showed me!

Lisa K! (actually I'm a Lisa Marie K)


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## maxxx39

I recently ran into that with some eucalyptus soap I made. It seemed okay then later on it started to sweat.  I am just letting it sit out now to hopefully dry out.


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## lisamaliga

Hi Lisa Marie,
Another thing is to make sure that your base soap is well stored so that doesn't sweat also.
Storing well wrapped soap in cardboard boxes should be OK until you get the storage container. 
I'm glad you mentioned the change of temperatures from hot to cold -- you'll help others learn about that also! 

maxxxx39,
Are you storing them in a high humidity area like a bathroom -- or are they in a pantry or closet?


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## lovefish

So I just made some more soap and let it stand outside the mould for less than 24 hours to cure and already it's all slimy and sticky to wrap. I think there must be something (maybe dampness?) in the air here in England that doesn't agree with curing m & P soap. It does rain a lot so maybe that's part of the problem!

I am storing the finished and wrapped soaps in the living room in a wooden chest  (in cardboard boxes).

Another thing I have learnt, is that once your soaps are sweaty the seem to make the wrapping (plastic wrap) weaker and therefore seem to get more holes (when knocked or dropped) and leakages than when the soaps isn't sweaty.


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## lisamaliga

Hi Lisa Marie,
Isn't humidity and rain fun?! 
OK, here are some tips:

Are you using a double boiler?
Melt it at a lower temperature. In other words, don't use the highest setting to speed up the melting time.

The temptation to speed up the process occurs when you put your just-melted soap into the freezer or fridge. So, make sure your soap cures at room temperature. 

What type of cling film are you using? If a lightweight, inexpensive brand, try using a heavier type.

Due to the high humidity, airtight storage is your best option. 

Hope this helps!

Lisa M.


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## use2b2old

lovefish said:


> Hi there,
> 
> What are the best steps to take to prevent my melt and pour soap from sweating so much! The guy I bought it from said it can't be avoided! Do you think a shrink wrapper would do a better job than just wrapping it by hand with cling film/wrap? I am also finding my soaps are easily damaged because the cling film is not very thick.
> 
> Any help is appreciated!
> 
> Many thanks!


I found that if I let them set out on card stock  for a day or two then shrink wrap them with a proper size of card stock ond the back  the sweating seems to be avoided


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## Happydog4434

I usually leave mine for 24 hours after drying (so about 36 hours from pouring) I place them in Shrink wrap bags and seal them but I don't shrink them until a few days later. I keep mine in a Cool environment. My bags have a hole in them so they can breathe and (touch wood) I haven't experienced shrinkage. I did leave some bars out and a ray of sun hit them and they did get ruined but as long as I keep them from the heat they seem fine


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