Soap Stamps

[SoapTrey]

So I ordered a cheap acrylic soap stamp off of eBay because I really like the look on some soaps and wanted to try it for myself. I noticed right away that it's not easy to get consistent good looking impressions without cleaning the stamp after each time I stamped a soap, or at least every other time. If I didn't, it seemed to clog up very easy and cleaning those little crevices is a pain and time consuming.

What does everyone think of stamped soaps? Do you have any tips? Is one type of stamp material better than another? Is it easier to use a stamp if it has a handle, (mine doesn't). If I stamp the soap when it's freshly cut and soft, will the impression distort as it cures? Is it better to wait until it's fully cured... but then the soap seems like it would be to hard to get a good impression.

Anyway, I'd like to hear about your experience and personal opinions.

Oh yea... let me edit this and say, I know about the Natural debate and this was just a test stamp so please don't let this thread get derailed. I just want to talk stamps and stamping soap. Thanks!!!

 

[mommycarlson]

Hi SoapTrey,
I do have some acrylic stamps, some of them clog up really easy and I have a very stiff bristled brush that I clean it with, but I have found that the best way to stamp my soap (when I do stamp it) is to lay the soaps on a hard surface, cover them loosely with plastic wrap and then stamp them, hitting the stamp with a rubber mallet a few times. It takes a bit of a knack, and sometimes the soap is a little softer, you can wait a few days but if you wait too long the soap will crack if you try to stamp it. I usually stamp mine right after I cut it.

ETA: That soap is a really pretty color, what did you use?

 

[SoapTrey]

Hi and Thank you mommycarlson! The plastic wrap seems like a good idea. I'll give that a try. This soap really did turn out a nice orange color and it smells awesome. Here's the recipe I used...

Coconut 36.0%
Palm Oil 24.0%
Olive 35.0%
Shea Butter 5.0%

Orange Vibrance Mica 2gr
Orange 10x EO 1.50oz
Sodium Lactate 2tsp

 

[mommycarlson]

I love orange vibrance
You will lose a small amount of detail with the plastic wrap, but I find it to be much better than scrubbing the stamp after every bar of soap

 

[earlene]

I've seen some soapers use plastic wrap between the stamp and the soap. I haven't tried it yet myself, but plan to next time I use a stamp.

I had so many of the same issues as you mentioned, SoapTrey, that I stopped stamping them after a while. Catching the perfect time for stamping was a pain of course, especially when I haven't even settled on a go-to recipe yet. (I have a few I really like, but I keep experimenting.)

To answer your question, I felt like I had better control over the result when I used a stamp without a handle and a small mallet, tapping carefully.

I bought a two-pack of small stiff utility brushes for cleaning the stamps and that works well enough, but as you say, it was annoying having to do that between each bar or two of soap.

 

[lenarenee]

I have never stamped a soap in my life. But I remember reading about using a layer of plastic wrap on the soap when stamping to get a nice clean impression. I bet someone here has done that and can help you.

 

[SunRiseArts]

I use a toothpick to get pieces out of the stamp! Shame on me ... I love the look of stamped soap.

 

[penelopejane]

Hi and Thank you mommycarlson! The plastic wrap seems like a good idea. I'll give that a try. This soap really did turn out a nice orange color and it smells awesome. Here's the recipe I used...

Coconut 36.0%
Palm Oil 24.0%
Olive 35.0%
Shea Butter 5.0%

Orange Vibrance Mica 2gr
Orange 10x EO 1.50oz
Sodium Lactate 2tsp

SoapTrey,
Beautiful soap. Beautiful colour.
2gr of mica in how much total oil weight?
Did you weigh 2 gr or did you use a teaspoon measure?

 

[SoapTrey]

Total oil weight was 32oz
I have a micro scale and used it to weigh 2 grams
Also, it's amazing how much color you get from the 10x Orange EO

 

[earlene]

Now you've got me interested in testing the plastic wrap method with a stamp. I'll do that today just to see if I can make it work. For me, I usually have to make several attempts at something new before I am satisfied with how it turns out. I'll post my results after trying it out.

ETA: Okay, I cut a bar from my whipped rebatch test soap and tested both a handle-attached stamp and a rubber stamp (sold to use as an inlay type stamp) using plastic wrap as a layer to do the stamp. It sure does keep the stamp clean very nicely! I may start stamping my soaps again!

The only problem I had was that the soap is so moist and new that determining how much pressure to apply was an issue. Not enough and the impression barely shows; too much and the soap starts to loose shape and even crack, depending on the pressure. But that's a practice issue.

Then, like you, SoapTrey, my first stamp I purchased says includes the word 'Natural' in it and I'm not so sure I really want to use that so much anymore. Perhaps for some of my recipes it would be okay, but not for all, so maybe I need to have a special one made just for me. Then my friends and family would know it's truly mine. Oh, well. We shall see.

In the meantime, thanks for bringing this up. You gave me the impetus I needed to revisit the messy stamping issue.

 

[mommycarlson]

Now you've got me interested in testing the plastic wrap method with a stamp. I'll do that today just to see if I can make it work. For me, I usually have to make several attempts at something new before I am satisfied with how it turns out. I'll post my results after trying it out.

ETA: Okay, I cut a bar from my whipped rebatch test soap and tested both a handle-attached stamp and a rubber stamp (sold to use as an inlay type stamp) using plastic wrap as a layer to do the stamp. It sure does keep the stamp clean very nicely! I may start stamping my soaps again!

The only problem I had was that the soap is so moist and new that determining how much pressure to apply was an issue. Not enough and the impression barely shows; too much and the soap starts to loose shape and even crack, depending on the pressure. But that's a practice issue.

Then, like you, SoapTrey, my first stamp I purchased says includes the word 'Natural' in it and I'm not so sure I really want to use that so much anymore. Perhaps for some of my recipes it would be okay, but not for all, so maybe I need to have a special one made just for me. Then my friends and family would know it's truly mine. Oh, well. We shall see.

In the meantime, thanks for bringing this up. You gave me the impetus I needed to revisit the messy stamping issue.

earlene, it's definitely an issue trying to figure out how much pressure, sometimes I stamp it and it needs just a few more little pops with the hammer, so I gently re-fit it into the impression and that works just fine. And sometimes I stamp it and say "oops, don't know my own strength" LOL

 

[dillsandwitch]

I use an electric toothbrush to clean out the little hard to get to areas in my soap stamps. I also spray a couple of sprays of alcohol onto the soaps before stamping as it seems to create a cleaner imprint. I have found with the alcohol it doesn't matter if you wrap the stamp in plastic or not but then again my stamp doesnt really have a lot of fine details or letters so that may vary for other stamps.

 

[Soapmaker123]

Regular rubber ink-stamps will work to impress soap bars. (Don't use ink, of course.)

A good source for these is

https://www.rubberstampchamp.com/

 

[Lin19687]

What about using a WARMED stamp so that it kind of melts in to the soap ?

Would that not work well ?

I thought about doing this but I will mainly be doing Salt bars and a crunkle cut so I don't think it would work well.

 

[shunt2011]

Rubber stamps do not work well on soap. I've got a couple and they are very difficult to get a good impression. They are sitting in a box. Stamping salt bars is very difficult. Would need to do so while they are still warmish. They are hard as a brick otherwise. Might be more difficult on crinkle cuts to get a clean impression.

 

[amd]

I purchased a soap stamp from Lazercutz (I think was the name). A few things that I learned:
Brushing the soap with glycerine or cornstarch can help release the stamp, especially if it has finer details you don't want to lose by using plastic wrap.
a rubber mallet really is a wonderful thing, especially if you don't have a lot of arm strength or (in my case) chronic pain issues.
Rubber ink stamps work best to make a mica stamp - mix mica with isopropyl alcohol, dip the stamp in, and press quickly onto soap just like you would on paper. You lose a lot of details, so it works better with letters or very simple stamps. It does make a very cool look on soap and is a bit less tricky to find the perfect time to stamp.

I felt like I had more to say on this... but my brain has a case of the Wednesdays...

 

[SunRiseArts]

Kind of all stamps on soap perform like that. Is more about the consistency of the soap.

If they are cheap, they just might not last long. JMHO.

 

[IrishLass]

Rubber stamps do not work well on soap. I've got a couple and they are very difficult to get a good impression. They are sitting in a box. Stamping salt bars is very difficult. Would need to do so while they are still warmish. They are hard as a brick otherwise. Might be more difficult on crinkle cuts to get a clean impression.

I've found that it greatly depends on the rubber stamp. With a few exceptions, I mostly use rubber stamps to stamp my soaps (the same kind used for scrapbooking), and while some proved themselves to be completely useless and a waste of my money, there are others that I have that actually work fantastic. The trick is in finding those that are not 'too busy', i.e., the ones that don't have a lot of tiny/small, intricate details going on in the design. Here are a few examples of the ones that work great for me:



I stamp my soaps when they are about the same consistency as a block of cheddar cheese (firm, but still with a little 'give' to them). I also like to dip them in shimmery mica first, as you can see.


IrishLass

 

[Zany_in_CO]

When I researched soap stamps some time ago, I learned that resin stamps do the best job. I have yet to purchase/try one, but if you google resin soap stamps you'll get an idea of how nice & clean the impression is.

 

[SunRiseArts]

wow IrishLass those soaps are stunning! I tried the rubber stamp thing once, and it did not work for me.