Appalling MP problems--only mine?

[grumpy_owl]

Hi, all. I have been making and selling M&P soap for a year and some now and I'm seeing issues in my soaps that I am not seeing addressed in this forum or any other. Am I losing my mind?

1) Plastic wrap sealed with a heat gun gets gnarly and wrinkled over time. So bad I have to remelt, unless it has fancy layers or an embed, in which case I'm SOL.

2) Non-Bleeding Cherry from BB might not bleed but it sure as shootin' fades. Fades quickly and badly into nothingness. Again I have to remelt or scrap for personal use. Is there a good strong non-fading hot pink I can use alone or to mix with other colors that will not fade?

3) I know citrus scents have a hard time sticking in CP soap but I can't get any citrus scent to stick in my M&P, not BB's Tangerine, Meyer Lemon, Lemon, Lime, Pink Grapefruit or Grapefruit. The only one that has ever stuck is NG's Grapefruit because, I guess, their scents are super-concentrated. Is it impossible to get a good citrus scent in M&P?

Thanks in advance for your advice, soapers.

 

[Sheila Pullar]

Hi I agree with you I never get response to my issues. However I use shrink wrap bags with my heat gun on a lot of my soaps, it seems to work fine for me. About fading! yes I find that a problem. I done a summer fete here in England, it was a hot day and all my soaps turned pale, that was with water base colours. I was advised to use mica powder to stop the fading. I have used crayons too. The essential oil I like is Melissa it hold the scent well, I have bought loads of E0 and FO and they just disappear. People always pick your soaps up and smell them, so they have got to smell good.

 

[lsg]

You can use rose clay for a muted pink or rose color. A little clay will also help to anchor scent, but you will have an opaque soap using clays. Micas don't seem to fade as much as the liquid colors. I too use the shrink bags. I first seal them and then use a heat gun or hair dryer to shrink the bags around the soap.

 

[froggybean37]

For the citrus scents sticking - check what temp you're adding them to your MP at. MP can get really hot in the microwave, and if you add your FO or EO too soon it can disappear pretty quick. As for the wrapping, I buy really stretchy saran wrap (industrial/food service grade - works much better for me than the brand name stuff, I had to try a couple different kinds before settling on this one), and just wrap my soap stretching as I go so I get a nice, taut, wrinkle-free look without having to use the heat gun.
Hope that helps!

 

[lisamaliga]

Have you tried adding a drop or 2 of litsea cubeba EO [may chang] to your citrus soaps? This lemony smelling EO does a nice job of anchoring scents.

 

[designerfrog]

I have noticed the same thing when shrink wrapping melt and pour. I have since started using a different shrink wrap that is smell-through and it seems to be doing better. As for a citrus scent, I love Nature's Garden's Bergamot. I made a "mechanic's" soap for my fiance with white pumice and Kaolin clay and the scent is still going strong. I haven't been making soaps very long so this is about all I have to offer but thought I would like to join in some conversations here after reading for a few weeks. :mrgreen:

 

[grumpy_owl]

Welcome to the forums, designerfrog! And thank for the advice on the bergamot. About to place another order ...

 

[Aline]

I have found that the microwave-safe saran wrap (Premium) is the only one that works for me.