Adding Sulfur to soap

[nicole5891]

Hello, I'm trying to make soap that will treat acne- I'm hoping to make various soaps with a 2% concentration of salicylic acid, glycolic acid, and sulfur.
I dissolved the salicylic acid in propanediol to make a 10% solution and then added the appropriate amount to soap in liquid phase to get a 2% solution. The glycolic acid is already in liquid form, so I shouldn't have any trouble with that.
But, the sulfur has been difficult. I was hoping that the sulfur would dissolve in propanediol, but no such luck. I read online that sulfur can dissolve in toluene and carbon sulfide, but of course, neither of those are options. Has anyone made sulfur soap before, and if so, how did you incorporate it into the soap? Any suggestions would appreciated!

 

[paillo]

Honestly, I've been thinking about trying something similar after the holiday rush is over. I don't know how the sulpher and acids would survive the lye monster though. I'd maybe HP and add them after the cook. I do glycolic and lactic acid peels regularly, and they really help my skin.

 

[DeeAnna]

Sulfur powder can be added to CP soap at 1% or less, based on the oil weight. Stick blend the powder into the oils, just as you would any other powdered additive (clay, oatmeal, etc.) Higher % in CP soap can easily results in failure of the soap -- it turns brown and mushy.

If you want a higher % of sulfur in the soap, you will have to look at blending sulfur powder into HP soap after the cook -- not an easy task. You may see failure in HP soap at higher percentages of S as well, so it is wise to test your recipe and method well.

 

[nicole5891]

Thanks for the tips- I'll try it and see how it works!

 

[Eve]

Adding acids won't do a thing, it will just react with the lye and make the soap seem like you used a lower % of lye. (don't know about the sulphur and what it would do).

 

[DeeAnna]

I can't speak to the other ingredients that Nicole lists, but I can speak to the issue of adding powdered sulfur to a CP soap. The sulfur powder reacts with water to make sulfuric acid, and the acid reacts with the NaOH.

The conversion of S to H2SO4 is slowed in a soap batter, however, because the sulfur is in particulate (powder) form. If the dose is relatively small (1% or less, as I mentioned before), only a small amount of S powder can form H2SO4 during the relatively short time of saponification. I wouldn't use a high superfat in this type of recipe, however.