An interesting blog post about making your own mp base. Only glycerin is needed.

[lsg]

I wondered about excess sweating also. I will let you know.

 

[MzMolly65]

I use firefox and had to install a translation add-on but when I went back to the site it translated automatically.

OOo .. thanks. I just tried this and it worked. I was hesitant to go download Google chrome because I'm always using Firefox but never even thought to look for an add on. doah!

 

[MzMolly65]

Seven, I just poured the M&P base into individual bar molds. Everything went well, can't wait until it hardens to try remelting, coloring and scenting it. Thanks again.

ooo how exciting. I can't soap right now so I'm living vicariously through everyone else's adventures.

 

[soapcakes]

Thanks so much for sharing my blog post! Zacil, who shared her MP recipe with me, said that she does notice it sweats, but not as much as store-bought MP. I haven't noticed any sweating yet, but I probably live in a drier climate, and I haven't yet tried it on top of CP, which is where I usually notice my MP embeds sweating.

On the original link to the Russian blog, it looks like she is saying you can use the glycerin from anywhere from 25% to 100%, so next time I am going to try to reduce the glycerin and see if that makes any difference. Also, the original recipe was 50% coconut oil and 50% castor oil, so it looks like you can try different oils too. Can't wait to see your pictures!

 

[Tienne]

btw, i am very curious about the color. will it stay clear once it set? what about sweating issue with that much glycerin? i know for a fact that this one, however much i wanna try it, won't work for me coz the climate i live in.. oh bugger

On the translated page, I read that the slight cloudiness was due to the 3% superfat and if you were comfortable with it, you could go lower. It also said, that you can vary the amount of glycerine right down to 25% of the batch size. (So anywhere in between 25-100% should work.)

(I use Firefox and an addon called "Translate This!". It places a little button on the status bar (or wherever you choose to drag it to) and when you're on a page you want translated, you just click it and voila! A new tab opens with the page translated. All links you click on within that page are also automatically translated.)

ETA: Just re-read and it says the higher the glycerine amount the more transparent the soap will be and the easier it will melt.

 

[Tienne]

Doh! We posted the same thing at the same time, Soapcakes, but you beat me to it by a fraction of a hair!

 

[soapcakes]

Lol, so close, and I'm glad we agreed with one another! ;-)

 

[lpstephy85]

Must find time between candle making, laundry, and homework to try this tomorrow!!

 

[seven]

On the translated page, I read that the slight cloudiness was due to the 3% superfat and if you were comfortable with it, you could go lower. It also said, that you can vary the amount of glycerine right down to 25% of the batch size. (So anywhere in between 25-100% should work.)

(I use Firefox and an addon called "Translate This!". It places a little button on the status bar (or wherever you choose to drag it to) and when you're on a page you want translated, you just click it and voila! A new tab opens with the page translated. All links you click on within that page are also automatically translated.)

ETA: Just re-read and it says the higher the glycerine amount the more transparent the soap will be and the easier it will melt.

ah, that makes sense... the SF! of course. i used to make my mp base with 0% SF, and still it needs the correct proportion of solvents, otherwise i might still have a clarity issue.

 

[MzMolly65]

Does anyone think the cloudiness might be caused by the CO?? Would a different oil leave the final product less cloudy?

 

[seven]

Does anyone think the cloudiness might be caused by the CO?? Would a different oil leave the final product less cloudy?

i don't think so. CO is used widely for mp bases, coz it doesn't impart any color to the end product. i think it mostly has something to do with SF. mp soaps are usually made with 0% SF as far as i know, coz we want it as clear as we can.

 

[lpstephy85]

Seven, I just poured the M&P base into individual bar molds. Everything went well, can't wait until it hardens to try remelting, coloring and scenting it. Thanks again.

Hi, just wondering how yours turned out

 

[lsg]

It turned out OK, it is cloudy, but that's doesn't bother me. I haven't tried melting it yet. Next time, I am going to try adding some sorbitol to see if that makes a clearer soap.

 

[kaliquen]

Would love some pics!!!!

 

[Alaska beauty]

I did original K Dunn recipe same as Russian lady. It was very clear and very easy to melt. http://www.alaskasangelsfarm.com/92/. I did fun soap with photo in it and some herbs. Photo looking good in a year, herbs ending to be a big mess- they color soap around it.

 

[Alaska beauty]

 

[kaliquen]

I made this last night and it's not getting hard. I tested some today and it does melt just fine, but after it cools it's still somewhat malleable. I used my own recipe:
olive oil pomace 20%
rice bran 20%
canola 20%
shea butter 15%
hydrogenated soybean 15%
coconut 10%

2% superfat and slight water discount.

Could it require some cure time to harden? I know it's a pretty soft recipe, but so was the original using something like 50% castor.

 

[Alaska beauty]

Your recipe is to soft from beginning and I guess this soap not bubbles at all. For this soap you need more butters like palm or babasu and castor for leaser, another way they are not bubbly, soft and sweaty. If you not going for clear look keep coconut at 10-15%. At least 10% of castor. Glycerin "eating" a lot of hardness and bubbles from your recipe. I like love cleaning and high conditioning in your soap.

 

[kaliquen]

I actually did get some bubbles! I wasn't too concerned with the properties because I was going to use it for embeds only and wanted to use up some oils. Do you think it will harden eventually?

ETA: I don't use palm or animal fats (I'm a vegetarian) so my bars are usually on the softer side anyway.

 

[seven]

Do you think it will harden eventually?

ETA: I don't use palm or animal fats (I'm a vegetarian) so my bars are usually on the softer side anyway.

you can try leave it out in the open so water can evaporate, but you'll risk sweating, and a dry/crumbly soap at the end.

would you use stearic acid? if so, you can add that to your recipe for hardness to replace shea. shea is expensive, and if it's only for embeds and such, i will save the shea for another recipe

you can also try cocoa butter if you don't want to use stearic acid.