Problem with my first attempt at M&P embeds in CP soap

[Feelin' Soapy]

It was a nuisance making CP embeds and waiting until the next day to unmold and use them, so I thought I hit on the perfect solution trying M&P for the embeds. Made my first batch with the cutest little kitties in them (from a column mold). The soaps look good, but the kitties are wet. I used Nurture's Low Sweat Clear M&P and the soaps have been curing for 2 weeks now on a rack with good air flow. Will the embeds ever stop sweating? Will they damage the surrounding CP soap? I use stick-on labels and don't want to wrap them. Will the embeds sweat right through the paper?
I've been excited thinking up all these ideas for holiday soaps with embeds, but now not sure I want to do them anymore.
Sign me, Disappointed in the PNW

 

[ScentimentallyYours]

It sounds to me like typical glycerin MP sweat, drawing humidity from the air. That has been happening even to my regular CP soaps this summer. I have not had an issue with Brambleberry’s low sweat MP embeds in the past, but I don’t know how they would’ve performed the last 3 months. I finally had to break down and set up a dehumidifier.

Maybe someone else has a suggestion on how to stop MP sweat? I wonder if they are also drawing moisture from the CP soap? Perhaps they will behave better when cured?

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

The soaps have been curing for about 2 weeks now, but we're having the first damp weather this week after a hot dry summer, so that's probably contributing to the sweating. This particular batch is part of a wholesale order, so I'm especially nervous for it to be just right. I need to label and deliver them in about 2 weeks

 

[ScentimentallyYours]

If you can get them in a dry situation, so the soap stop sweating and then shrink wrap them or use another way to keep the moisture out, the soap should be fine.

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

If you can get them in a dry situation, so the soap stop sweating and then shrink wrap them or use another way to keep the moisture out, the soap should be fine.

I don't want to shrink wrap. I'd give up on M&P embeds if that's the only way to avoid sweaty soap.
There's no controllable "dry situation" -- I'm in the Pacific Northwest! Rain happens

 

[Savage Daughter]

It was a nuisance making CP embeds and waiting until the next day to unmold and use them, so I thought I hit on the perfect solution trying M&P for the embeds. Made my first batch with the cutest little kitties in them (from a column mold). The soaps look good, but the kitties are wet. I used Nurture's Low Sweat Clear M&P and the soaps have been curing for 2 weeks now on a rack with good air flow. Will the embeds ever stop sweating? Will they damage the surrounding CP soap? I use stick-on labels and don't want to wrap them. Will the embeds sweat right through the paper?
I've been excited thinking up all these ideas for holiday soaps with embeds, but now not sure I want to do them anymore.
Sign me, Disappointed in the PNW

Thanks for sharing this! I have been considering trying to make some melt & pour from scratch because I don't like the ingredients in typical melt & pour bases, and then trying them as embeds or toppers, just for the he-double-hockey-sticks of it

Buuuttt....this problem you're having, me being concerned about the sweating issue, is what has stopped me from going ahead with this. I've seen some nice soaps with this type of look, but that sweating thing put me off completely before I even got started.

 

[ScentimentallyYours]

There's no controllable "dry situation" -- I'm in the Pacific Northwest! Rain happens

Yesterday they announced on the news that Boston has had the second highest rainfall recorded since 1955, and it is the only one out of the top 10 that did not have tropical storm systems like hurricanes marching through here. That explains my soap being wet all the time this summer for the first time ever.

I understand not wanting to shrink wrap. Figuring out the best universal way to package our soaps is a perpetual problem.

 

[Cindy D.]

I made this melt and pour and used it in my soap challenge soap this month. The windows have been open and it's been humid, I haven't seen any sweat on mine at all. It smells super sweet, from the glycerin and it has 95%alcohol in it. Mrs soap and clay day 314... July 18, 2022 video

the spots In it are air bubbles.

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

@Cindy D. Interesting that you didn't get any sweating. I wonder if the formula of your M&P from the Nurture M&P I used made the difference?
Also, I used my embed only hours after making it. When I do it again, I'll cure them for at least a few days.

 

[Cindy D.]

I used mine right after making it with no issue. My grandson made soap from the same recipe and I've made a lapis soap following "from grace to you" recipe and I was worried about it attracting moisture, but it didn't either.
It isn't hard to make, but take good notes and follow them. I thought I'd screwed it up, the oil and lye just stayed powdery mostly, it just barely clung together after heated/cooked. After adding the warm solvents in order, it turned out just fine.

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

Update: So the good news is that it's now week 3 and the M&P embeds are no longer sweating! Whew!

 

[Piranga]

I don't want to shrink wrap. I'd give up on M&P embeds if that's the only way to avoid sweaty soap.
There's no controllable "dry situation" -- I'm in the Pacific Northwest! Rain happens

That's not rain, it's liquid sunshine! I was born in PNW, farmed in the redwoods, miss the region more than I can say . . .

 

[akseattle]

Update: So the good news is that it's now week 3 and the M&P embeds are no longer sweating! Whew!

@Feelin' Soapy , have you continued to put M&P embeds in CP soap?
I only make M&P soap ( just a hobby, for fun). I'd like to try CP because it's a little more natural and I really hate having to wrap my soap to keep it from sweating. But, I love using embeds. They are so easy to make with M&P, it's hard to imagine making them CP. But, I'm really concerned about the sweating. I have one bar that I made in March, that I've sit there on purpose, just to see if it will every stop sweating. I can't actually tell if its still sweating, but it looks pretty funky. I've also read that M&P and CP shrink at different rates and that you should make M&P embeds far in advance. I'm not sure how far in advance. Something else I read said "use your embeds in CP soap when they are as fresh as possible, still moist." A little opposite. So, I'm wondering if you are still using M&P embeds in CP soap and how that went or is going?

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

@Feelin' Soapy , have you continued to put M&P embeds in CP soap?
I only make M&P soap ( just a hobby, for fun). I'd like to try CP because it's a little more natural and I really hate having to wrap my soap to keep it from sweating. But, I love using embeds. They are so easy to make with M&P, it's hard to imagine making them CP. But, I'm really concerned about the sweating. I have one bar that I made in March, that I've sit there on purpose, just to see if it will every stop sweating. I can't actually tell if its still sweating, but it looks pretty funky. I've also read that M&P and CP shrink at different rates and that you should make M&P embeds far in advance. I'm not sure how far in advance. Something else I read said "use your embeds in CP soap when they are as fresh as possible, still moist." A little opposite. So, I'm wondering if you are still using M&P embeds in CP soap and how that went or is going?

The M&P embeds did stop sweating but I'm still not as pleased with them as my CP embeds. They do shrink at a different rate and so don't feel completely smooth across the cut bar after a while. I also found that if I gelled the soap as I usually do, the margins of the M&P embeds kinda melted and darkened.
I used clear M&P, and it feels very different than my CP soap, like something embedded in my soap (lol). Not sure if white M&P would feel so different since I've never used it. I've got some older soaps with CP embeds and they just look and feel like a design in the soap rather than something embedded within it.
I'm planning to stick with CP embeds, but I won't do them very often because they are a bit of a nuisance. They need to be made, wait a day to unmold, and then use them. M&P is much more convenient, but I wasn't totally pleased with them. Maybe I'd like them better using white M&P?

 

[akseattle]

@Feelin' Soapy , thanks for the response. I'm glad to hear that the M&P stopped sweating.
The M&P bar that I kept that I've watching does have a thin layer of clear M&P on top which I poured over my embed. I wanted the soap to have a smooth top, rather than the embed sticking out. I should check that bar to see if its's only the clear layer that is sweating. That would make me pretty happy
Even though I tell my giftees to PLEASE use the soap, wash with it! Often I'm finding they like to keep it for show- like a decoration in the bathroom. I worry that once unwrapped, the soaps will be sweaty and funky.
Now, based on your experience, I'm concerned that if I use M&P embeds in CP, that they'll lose their texture and feel weird after time. I haven't made CP soap yet, but it doesn't seem like you can make little tiny batches - like to make a few small embeds for use at a later date.

 

[AliOop]

I'm planning to stick with CP embeds, but I won't do them very often because they are a bit of a nuisance. They need to be made, wait a day to unmold, and then use them.

If you use a higher lye concentration (less water), they will firm up faster so you can unmold them sooner. Freezing before unmolding helps them pop out more cleanly, too. If you want to save them for later use, then after unmolding, immediately wrap them very well in cling-wrap. They should remain fairly pliable, like soap dough, until you want to unwrap them and use them.

 

[artemis]

I haven't made CP soap yet, but it doesn't seem like you can make little tiny batches - like to make a few small embeds for use at a later date.

You can make whatever size batch you want. I typically soap small 16 oz batches all the time.

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

If you use a higher lye concentration (less water), they will firm up faster so you can unmold them sooner. Freezing before unmolding helps them pop out more cleanly, too. If you want to save them for later use, then after unmolding, immediately wrap them very well in cling-wrap. They should remain fairly pliable, like soap dough, until you want to unwrap them and use them.

Good idea -- I should have thought about freezing to unmold easier.
I usually soap at about 37-38% lye concentration. Would you go higher?
I've wrapped them before and it does keep them soft for later use -- to a point. I recently unwrapped some I'd made about a year ago and forgotten about. They were like concrete (lol)!

 

[AliOop]

Good idea -- I should have thought about freezing to unmold easier.
I usually soap at about 37-38% lye concentration. Would you go higher?
I've wrapped them before and it does keep them soft for later use -- to a point. I recently unwrapped some I'd made about a year ago and forgotten about. They were like concrete (lol)!

The water issue is a dilemma.... if you use less water, they firm up faster in the mold. But then they also firm up faster when wrapped and stored, as well. Another option is make soap dough, and only take it out and press it into the molds shortly before you want to use it.

 

[akseattle]

You can make whatever size batch you want. I typically soap small 16 oz batches all the time.

@artemis , it's good to hear that small batches can work well. I can't imagine making a batch bigger than 16 oz. If for no other reason than, what on earth would I do with all that soap if I mess it up?