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What is glycerin soap? |
 “Glycerin
soap” or “melt and pour soap” is soap that is
transparent, translucent or clear to various
degrees. Glycerin soap is made from normal soap
that are boiled and mixed with 70% or higher
ethanol alcohol, sugar and glycerin. The soap
then becomes transparent. Glycerin soap is
generally regarded as health soap with great
moisturizing properties. Various formulae exist
for the making of glycerin soap with varying
degrees of translucency and melt and pour
properties depending of the availability of high
percentage ethanol alcohol. 99% ethanol alcohol
should be used but this is not always available
or legal in all countries. It also depends on
the original soap it is made from and the oils
that was used in that soap.
Some people regard glycerin soap as different
from normal soap. When you heat normal soap with
alcohol and glycerin it changes the chemical
composition of the original soap that it is made
from. Some people claim that glycerin soap is
just
normal soap with a higher glycerin and alcohol
content. The higher glycerin content allow for
better moisturizing properties. The alcohol
content left in the soap is very low and it
assists in killing germs and bacteria on your
skin.
The melt and pour properties, transparency and
simplicity of working with glycerin soap allow
it to be used for various artistic soap
products. The moisturising and cleaning effect
of glycerin soap allow it to be used in health
products.
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Where can I buy Glycerin soap products |
Usually when beginners take up melt and pour
soap as a hobby or to make commercial products
it is way better to buy premade melt and pour
soap and then use that to design and make your
own soap products. People doing this must try
various products from different manufacturers.
We have found products that are very easy to use
and can be re-melted a few times that are clear
and soft and very moisturising. We have also
found lots of products that are very difficult
to work with. They are difficult to melt, don’t
melt completely, too hard or set to fast or not
very clear or non foamy. People ending up with
these products usually stop working with melt
and pour soap due to the perceived difficulty as
a result of low quality products. It is best to
shop around until you find products that suit
your needs and are easy to work with. We will
have a melt and pour products page soon.
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Where can I sell my products |
Beginners in glycerin products may work from
home and can experiment on family and friends to
find out which products are more successful or
liked. As you become more experienced do try
tables at fares and shows. This will allow you
to see firsthand how your products are received
by the general public. When choosing fares do
try the bigger ones and sit beforehand and
design you table to look professional and clean.
Combine your products with various other
products such as fragrances or jewellery to
offer a wider choice to your clients in order to
better your chance on success. When going to
fares and shows you must be aware of the
following points:
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Sit close to the entrance or
at least closer to the entrance than
your competition.
Your product is based on smell. Do not sit close to overwhelming food
or smell based products like liver cakes, fish
products, tables that burn incense or strong
herbs and spices.
When in direct sunlight your products will “sweat”. Always have
sufficient shade.
Have open samples that people can touch and smell.
Be prepared for lots of product damage as the transport process easily
damage glycerin products. See the damage
as advertising or learning cost as fares are mostly an
advertising and educational venture.
Be prepared for long, hot or cold days on your feet. Come prepared.
Have flyers, adverts and business cards
available.
Talk to other table holders. Learn from
them.
Talk to the people that walk past. Hear
what they want.
Never idly sit behind your table. Be in
the front and talk to and help the
people that walk past.
Find out where the music or announcement
speakers will be and stay far away from
them. There is nothing worse than not
being able to talk to your customers.
Watch the people that walk by and
remember what they looked at and reacted
to. Also look at the products they liked
at the other tables and learn from this. |
When your products become more successful you
can consider opening a shop to showcase your
products.
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How to fragrance the soap |
Most suppliers sell pre-fragranced melt and pour
soap. The problem with pre-fragranced soap is
that the suppliers also colour the soap with
specific colours going with specific fragrances.
The problem with the colour and fragrance
combination is that sometimes you want a blue
soap that smells like sandalwood but the
suppliers only have white soap that smell like
sandalwood.
Suppliers sell fragranced oils that can be used
in clear glycerin soap. The fragranced oils are
usually mixed with carrier oil and care should
be taken that the fragranced oils that you buy
are not yellow or off white but also clear.
Clear oils are more expensive than the
corresponding yellow or non clear oils.
Essential oils are highly concentrated and toxic
if ingested. The oils are added to the soap at a
rate of 2 drops per 250g of soap. This
concentration is too low to be toxic or damaging
to the skin.
Essential oils are added to the soap after it is
melted and prior to pouring it into moulds. The
oil not only provides a specific fragrance but
also give different healing abilities to the
soap if it is taken into account that most herbs
and spices are prescribed for different skin
conditions. The essential oils are made from the
actual herbs, spices, plants, peels, barks,
seeds, flowers, leaves or vegetables. The
problem is that the process of obtaining the oil
(or fragrance) does not preserve the entire
plant and its ingredients but only the
fragrance. It thus stands to reason that the
essential oil does not necessarily have the same
healing power as the plant itself.
Tip: Some oils change color all by themselves
over time. Tangerine fragranced oil becomes
yellow or green and vanilla fragranced oil turn
brown over time.
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How to color the soap |
Glycerin soap colouring for experimenting does
not need to be anything more than inexpensive
food colouring. The problem with food colouring
is that it is “bleeding colors”. This means that
after a day or so the colour will flow or mix
with the adjacent colors so a blue and yellow
soap will become blue and yellow with green in
between.
The correct colouring to use should be
non-bleeding colouring. Also check the bleeding
properties of all pre-coloured glycerin soap you
buy. Sometimes it is very difficult to find
translucent pre-coloured soaps that are
non-bleeding.
Colors can be split into three groups:
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Oxides and
Ultramarines
Oxides and Ultramarine colors
are usually used in lipstick and some
paints. It is mostly non bleeding
colors. Oxides are oil based natural
colors.
Mica
Mica is usually used in eye shadow
products. These colors are not bleeding
colors. To use mica in soap it must be
mixed with special blending oils. Mica
have a shimmering color. The mica colors
from the soap does not transfer to the
skin when using the soap.
Lab colors
 These
are colors that are created in
laboratories. There are about 150
different lab colors. Lab colors are
mostly bleeding colors. This colors must
be mixed with water prior to use
otherwise it will cause color spots in
the soap.
Luster powder
Luster powder can be bought
from most hobby, chocolate and catering
shops and are great at highlighting
contours inside soap. Luster powder will
not flow or bleed or become faint in UV
light. Most people use luster powder to
dust the outside of a soap before
putting it inside a clear or translucent
outer part. Luster powder can also be
mixed with soap (using a special
process) to obtain various effects.
Glitter
 Glitter
can be mixed into the soap to provide an
inexpensive shining effects. Some
customers do not like glitter as it ends
up on the skin causing them to glitter. Glitter is usually
more effective in kids products.
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To obtain bright colors use a clear base soap
 To obtain muted or pastel colours use a
white base soap.
Tips on colors:
Anything that was alive will turn brown in soap.
Most soap will discolor in UV light. Use UV
color stabilizer to prevent this.
Vanilla color stabilizer can be used to prevent
Vanilla soap from turning brown.
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Glycerin soap seem to improve conditions such as acne, pimples, eczema and
psoriasis although the soap does not cure these conditions it does improve some
of the symptoms.
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External Links |
Glycerin soap :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycerin_soap
Soap :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap |
