Translucent and Opaque soap - how is it done?

[DWinMadison]

Ok gang. Start the nail biting. Your guess is as good as mine.

 

[cmzaha]

One of the biggest problems is cutting the soap if you layer the m&p. You cannot cut m&p with a wire cutter, so large amounts of m&p mixed in cp will not cut with wire.

 

[Stephd31]

View attachment 38936 Ok gang. Start the nail biting. Your guess is as good as mine.

Oh my goodness that looks amazing! I cannot wait until it's unmolded!

One of the biggest problems is cutting the soap if you layer the m&p. You cannot cut m&p with a wire cutter, so large amounts of m&p mixed in cp will not cut with wire.

I was wondering about that too. I do have a baked blade but it never gets any use.

 

[DWinMadison]

One of the biggest problems is cutting the soap if you layer the m&p. You cannot cut m&p with a wire cutter, so large amounts of m&p mixed in cp will not cut with wire.

No M&P in this soap...all from scratch. But I am second-guessing my decision to put it in the freezer.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

isn't it technically MP? I was thinking it was too--but what do I know?? how long till you can cut? I cant stand this waiting around stuff

 

[DWinMadison]

isn't it technically MP? I was thinking it was too--but what do I know?? how long till you can cut? I cant stand this waiting around stuff

Isn’t M&P the stuff you buy that’s already soap? This started off like all CP as oils and lye in my soap pot.

 

[Stephd31]

No M&P in this soap...all from scratch. But I am second-guessing my decision to put it in the freezer.

What's it doing?

 

[cmzaha]

Isn’t M&P the stuff you buy that’s already soap? This started off like all CP as oils and lye in my soap pot.

Yours would also me m&p, just be careful if you use a wire cutter. I make a couple of transparent soaps from scratch and they will break my cutter wires. Most Melt and Pour bases available today are a soap base to start with, the only true synthetic m&p I know of is the crystal clear m&p's.

 

[DWinMadison]

View attachment 38936 Ok gang. Start the nail biting. Your guess is as good as mine.

Broke 3 cutter wires, but It was because they were frozen. I’m hoping they will clear up a bit more. This was cold process!

 

[dibbles]

Very nice!! Sorry about your poor wires.

 

[DWinMadison]

Very nice!! Sorry about your poor wires.

I use fishing wire in my cutter, so it’s no big deal.

Yours would also me m&p, just be careful if you use a wire cutter. I make a couple of transparent soaps from scratch and they will break my cutter wires. Most Melt and Pour bases available today are a soap base to start with, the only true synthetic m&p I know of is the crystal clear m&p's.

I did read somewhere that you can melt and remold it a couple of times before it gets too cloudy, but this is pretty cloudy from the get-go unless it clears up as it continues to cure. At this point I’d call it opaque but certainly not translucent.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I love it Daryl--good job. post pics as it cures esp if it clears more. cant wait to see the bubbles from it too!!

 

[BubblesnBears]

I’ve made it a few times (or attempted to make it a few times), more as an experiment to satisfy my curiosity than anything else. I’m not sure I’d do it as a regular thing; nice lather, but not as nice as my regular CP, they sweated badly and dissolved very quickly. Also hard to cut nicely.

Thin slice, and slightly thicker slice.

 

[DWinMadison]

I’ve made it a few times (or attempted to make it a few times), more as an experiment to satisfy my curiosity than anything else. I’m not sure I’d do it as a regular thing; nice lather, but not as nice as my regular CP, they sweated badly and dissolved very quickly. Also hard to cut nicely.

Thin slice, and slightly thicker slice. View attachment 38940View attachment 38941

The slices I posted were 1” thick. I believe the cloudiness is coming from using mica which I dispersed in glycerine as the colorant, I didn’t have any liquid color. Thought about using food coloring but feared it might be skin staining. I added a bit of sodium lactate as well, but I don’t think it was enough to affect the clarity. Also, not sure the freezing was necessary and may have affected the outcome, but it looked like just-mixed Jell-O when I poured it, so I turned chicken. I’ll definitely try it again sometime soon.

 

[Stephd31]

I love it, I think it's gorgeous! While you can't see through it completely it really has a great color and transparent effect.

 

[DWinMadison]

I love it, I think it's gorgeous! While you can't see through it completely it really has a great color and transparent effect.

Thanks. You are very kind. I am very pleased with the hue. The fragrance is spearmint and rosemary, and I believe it’s reflective of those.

Note for those who may want to try this: One of the challenges with this type of soap is counteracting the yellow cast of many oils. That’s why I chose grape seed. Blues tend to turn green, but this one ended fairly true to the color I added. I’ll be interested to see how it bubbles.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I’ve made it a few times (or attempted to make it a few times), more as an experiment to satisfy my curiosity than anything else. I’m not sure I’d do it as a regular thing; nice lather, but not as nice as my regular CP, they sweated badly and dissolved very quickly. Also hard to cut nicely.

Thin slice, and slightly thicker slice. View attachment 38940View attachment 38941

very nice--the thin one is almost like glass. thanks for your input on the lather, sweating etc

 

[DWinMadison]

This is very helpful, thank you! If you have any pictures after today, please do show and tell! I need to get brave and go ahead with the everclear I've been collecting for making translucent soap. I'd really love to make a full loaf of regular cold process soap and then have a layer of translucent soap on the top. Fingers crossed the layers don't separate.

Soap is transparent up to 1/8” but as stated earlier, I think it’s the mica that made it cloudy.

The lather is incredible for day 2...more creamy than bubbly. Rinses clean and not drying at ALL! (Note: I’m not as fat as my hand looks...the camera adds 10 lbs!) I understand why people like these types of soap...it’s not so much about the transparency as it is the quality of lather.

I love the idea of mixing regular cp and translucent soap.

 

[atiz]

Wow, this looks great. The soaps look like frosted glass, I love that.
And that lather! So glad it turned out well, now we will have to try it at some point

 

[DWinMadison]

Wow, this looks great. The soaps look like frosted glass, I love that.
And that lather! So glad it turned out well, now we will have to try it at some point

Thanks very much, and yes, it reminds me of an old fashioned Coke bottle or depression glass. I wish we had “smell-a-vision.”