How to make floating soap

[Ugeauxgirl]

I accidentally made floating soap so I wanted to share how I did it in case you want to do it on purpose .

I botched a loaf of soap (separated in the mold) and rebatched it. It would not get smooth so I pulled out my hand mixer. I have done this before with other rebatches and it worked well. This batch wouldn't get smooth so I blended it with the mixer in the crock pot for a long time. Result= floating soap!

 

[ResolvableOwl]

With the SMF challenge archives not yet locked away again, let's see what the wisdom of the ancients have to say to the topic of Whipped Soap .

I've heard people say that HP soap would swim … can't confirm, it rather sounds like an unfortunate chain of circumstances that some do; mine don't.

Good save! And another new technique is born . Now it's upon you to come up with a fancy name for it!

 

[Ugeauxgirl]

Thank you for the thread- interesting reading!

 

[AliOop]

Oh yes, I have some floating rebatched soap, as well, but they aren't nearly as pretty as yours. Love that stamp and the color!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Great save! Well done! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Ugeauxgirl]

Oh yes, I have some floating rebatched soap, as well, but they aren't nearly as pretty as yours. Love that stamp and the color!

Thank you! I can honestly say it was a complete accident. The original soap was mostly white with red and orange and I was a little worried what the blend would look like. I like it though.

 

[earlene]

A little history on Proctor & Gamble's floating Ivory soap: In 1863, chemist James Gamble wrote in a company notebook, "I made floating soap today. I think we'll make all of our stock that way." In 1879 the first Ivory soap that floats was market.

P&G has been selling floating Ivory soap for over a hundred years and used to claim it was discovered accidentally. However, back in the early part of our current century, the book about the company's history showed it was not accidental but on purpose. Introducing air into the production method was how it was done.

Two links on the story (For the CBS link, if you use an ad blocker, you may want to open a browser window with ad blocker disabled)"
Ivory Soap Comes Clean On Floating - CBS News
How Floating Soap Was Invented (This one doesn't care about an ad blocker)

 

[Rsapienza]

Soaping 101 has a YouTube video on how to make FLOAP SOAP. I think that’s what she calls it. I made it once. It was fun.

 

[linne1gi]

I accidentally made floating soap so I wanted to share how I did it in case you want to do it on purpose .

I botched a loaf of soap (separated in the mold) and rebatched it. It would not get smooth so I pulled out my hand mixer. I have done this before with other rebatches and it worked well. This batch wouldn't get smooth so I blended it with the mixer in the crock pot for a long time. Result= floating soap!View attachment 62293

I’ve made floating soap like that many times. Mostly because when I had started soap making I made so many mistakes so I rebatched a lot. Using a mixer is a way to get the soap more uniform. Not as pretty as yours.

 

[DeeAnna]

If you want to make floating soap with a rebatch method, you don't have to use a mixer unless you want to. The soap will puff up on its own when it gets warm enough -- about 140-150 F / 60 to 65 C .

 

[linne1gi]

If you want to make floating soap with a rebatch method, you don't have to use a mixer unless you want to. The soap will puff up on its own when it gets warm enough -- about 140-150 F / 60 to 65 C .

I have rebatched dozens of times, my soap doesn't float unless I whip it.

 

[jcandleattic]

've heard people say that HP soap would swim … can't confirm, it rather sounds like an unfortunate chain of circumstances that some do; mine don't.

it's going to depend on how much air is incorporated into the soap. The longer you whip/stir, the more air gets in there, hence, why it floats.
HP soaps tend to get a lot of air in them when they are being stirred, that's why some float and some don't.

ntroducing air into the production method was how it was done.

Yep, this is how most all floating soaps are made. With air incorporated into the process of making the soap.

 

[DeeAnna]

I have rebatched dozens of times, my soap doesn't float unless I whip it.

Mine doesn't always either, but it is not all that hard to get the soap to become light enough to float without having to whip it. I've seen this even with HP soap as it cooks -- the "turning" or "rolling" effect people see when doing a crockpot HP method is at least partly caused by this tendency for soap to get puffy.

I don't make any claims to having invented this idea -- just passing the concept on.

The key thing if you want a rebatch soap to puff is to minimize the amount of water-based liquid you add to the soap when melting it. If you keep the soap as "dry" as is reasonable, the melted soap will expand and get puffy when the temp reaches 140-150 F.

The soap in the photo was made this way. I honestly didn't whip the soap -- the puff is all from the soap expanding on its own.

You can even add bits or shreds of regular soap for a decorative "confetti" look -- as I did to get a faux stone appearance -- and still get a soap that floats.

 

[linne1gi]

Mine doesn't always either, but it is not all that hard to get the soap to become light enough to float without having to whip it. I've seen this even with HP soap as it cooks -- the "turning" or "rolling" effect people see when doing a crockpot HP method is at least partly caused by this tendency for soap to get puffy.

I don't make any claims to having invented this idea -- just passing the concept on.

The key thing if you want a rebatch soap to puff is to minimize the amount of water-based liquid you add to the soap when melting it. If you keep the soap as "dry" as is reasonable, the melted soap will expand and get puffy when the temp reaches 140-150 F.

The soap in the photo was made this way. I honestly didn't whip the soap -- the puff is all from the soap expanding on its own.

You can even add bits or shreds of regular soap for a decorative "confetti" look -- as I did to get a faux stone appearance -- and still get a soap that floats.

Nice looking rebatch. I mostly make CP, but I have dabbled in HP and even with that I have never had the soap float. But I'm reasonably sure it never got that hot. I'm not a fan of volcanoes and strive to avoid that by making LTHP. Have you heard of the Ciaglia method? It's a relatively new way to incorporate left over soap pieces into a new soap, without an actual confetti appearance. I learned it on the soapmakingchallenge, and it's really neat.

 

[DeeAnna]

140 to 150 F isn't all that hot for HP, to be honest. But the other point I'm trying to emphasize is that it's not just the temp -- you also have to control the moisture content to get the soap to puff up and become light enough to float. Maybe I'm just not explaining myself very well.

 

[linne1gi]

And I water discount even my HP soap, so....

 

[earlene]

All salted-out soap I have made, also floats, but that's not a recommendation I would make if your only goal were to make floating soap. It is a time-intensive process, as well as resource-intensive.

 

[gsc]

Would floating soap react like commercial ivory soap when put in the microwave?

 

[MomInWA]

Ivory soap floats because it has a lot of air bubbles whipped in it.