# Cold process transparent soap



## sabon (May 3, 2012)

A friend of mine gifted me a few soaps. The company claims that it is a cold process soap, but to my astonishment the soaps are very clear with a few peel embeds. I am curious to know if cold process soap could produce transparent soaps. As far as I know,  transparent soaps involve hot process or are with melt and pour bases, but the guys at the customer care positively told that it was a CP soap. Does anyone know the method of making CP transparent soap? Please share.


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## fiddletree (May 3, 2012)

There is a method of making transparent CP, but I've never tried it. I think it involves using alcohol to make it transparent.  There's a section on it in 'The Soapmaker's Companion'.


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## falldowngobump (May 3, 2012)

There is a transparent soap method outlined in Susan Cavitch's book The Soapmakers Companion.  It involves using a sugar syrup, glycerin, and ethanol (Everclear).  I've never tried it, it seems a little complicated and I'm not too keen on using ethanol around an open flame. (translation---I'm chicken)


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## sabon (May 3, 2012)

falldowngobump said:
			
		

> There is a transparent soap method outlined in Susan Cavitch's book The Soapmakers Companion.  It involves using a sugar syrup, glycerin, and ethanol (Everclear).  I've never tried it, it seems a little complicated and I'm not too keen on using ethanol around an open flame. (translation---I'm chicken)



I guess if it involves cooking then it is Hot Process and not Cold Process.


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## Kansas Farm Girl (May 3, 2012)

Here is a link to the subject on Kathy Miller's site:
http://millersoap.com/glycerinsoap.html

I have read this over several times, but so far have not tried it.


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## new12soap (May 3, 2012)

I have made transparent soap, but I am not sure how you could do it by cold process. Maybe I just haven't come across it, but if you are interested in making it, the link to miller soap is an excellent resource, and I would also recommend Catherine Failor's book Making Transparent Soap. You can probably check out a copy from the library. It does seem complicated, but it is really not hard at all.

falldowngobump, nothing "chicken" about not mixing ethanol with open flame, I call that SMART.   I don't have gas appliances, if I did I think I would make transparent soap outside! I use a crockpot, no flame anywhere.


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## sabon (May 3, 2012)

falldowngobump, nothing "chicken" about not mixing ethanol with open flame, I call that SMART.   I don't have gas appliances, if I did I think I would make transparent soap outside! I use a crockpot, no flame anywhere.[/quote]


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## KD (May 3, 2012)

I have made the transparent soap from the Soapmaker's Companion.  It's most definitely not CP, and I don't find it to be great soap either.  It warps, sweats, and it leaves a bathtub ring.


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## Fragola (May 4, 2012)

With the above methods, cooking isn't necessary, but heating is.

Which means that you can do CP and rebatch it later to make it clear.


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## sabon (May 4, 2012)

Thankyou all for the replies. So I understand that one cannot  prepare transparent soap by cold process alone. If soap is done the CP way it could be rebatched and made transparent by applying heat. In other words transparent soaps are either hot processed or else heat processed soaps.


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