alcohol in sfic melt and pour soap?

[girlchemist123]

I was wondering if SFIC uses alcohol in their melt and pour soap bases? I had a clear glycerin m&p soap base and when I melted it down it smelled like alcohol. It isn't on the SDS or ingredient list, but I'm not sure how labeling works with soap in regards to regular cosmetics. I also emailed them last week but never got a response.

 

[Carly B]

I know the odor your talking about, but according to what I found online, it's not alcohol.

SFIC Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base is all-natural and contains no sulfates, surfactants, or alcohols. It is made using food grade oils (plant derived) that are farmed by sustainable growers.

 

[Arimara]

I know the odor your talking about, but according to what I found online, it's not alcohol.

SFIC Clear Melt and Pour Soap Base is all-natural and contains no sulfates, surfactants, or alcohols. It is made using food grade oils (plant derived) that are farmed by sustainable growers.

I just looked it up. There are alcohols (Sobitol and Polypropylene Glycol) in there just not what you and OP may be thinking. That in no way is my explanation for the smell.

 

[Carly B]

I just looked it up. There are alcohols (Sobitol and Polypropylene Glycol) in there just not what you and OP may be thinking. That in no way is my explanation for the smell.

My response is not personal opinion, but lifted from the Googles (a 3rd party site, not SFIC). My guess is the smell is from the propylene glycol.

 

[Arimara]

My response is not personal opinion, but lifted from the Googles (a 3rd party site, not SFIC). My guess is the smell is from the propylene glycol.

Could be but I doubt it. I don't recall using it but I also assume my melt & pour has it and I do not smell alcohol when I melt it down. I'm leaning more on something else or it being one of those batches. OP could also have a nose that would pick that up whereas some of us would not. In any case, when someone mentions alcohol, I generally assume they mean ethanol or isopropol though ethanol is more likely to be used for crafting. Not many people keep in mind that there different kinds of alcohols that have different properties as well.

 

[Carly B]

Could be but I doubt it. I don't recall using it but I also assume my melt & pour has it and I do not smell alcohol when I melt it down. I'm leaning more on something else or it being one of those batches. OP could also have a nose that would pick that up whereas some of us would not. In any case, when someone mentions alcohol, I generally assume they mean ethanol or isopropol though ethanol is more likely to be used for crafting. Not many people keep in mind that there different kinds of alcohols that have different properties as well.

I find it so interesting that you don't pick up the alcohol scent. I do very little M&P now that I've started CP soaping, but I still remember the smell. It wasn't just in SFIC, either. I smelled it in almost, if not all, of the M&P bases I used. It wasn't in the finished product, but you could sure smell it when you opened or unwrapped a new base.

 

[Arimara]

Everyone's nose is different. I smell lard in lard soaps even after a long cure. I also smell cocoa butter in soaps if the unscented kind is used. I have this soap base and i don't recall an alcohol smell.

 

[girlchemist123]

It is ethanol that I am smelling. I wouldn't suspect propylene glycol would cause that kind of scent as the raw material itself has no scent. I'm wondering if they use ethanol as a processing aid during manufacture but maybe enough of it burns off that they don't need to include it on the label?

 

[ResolvableOwl]

If propylene glycol would smell, nobody would use it for fog machine and vaping fluids. Ethanol is a common ingredient into clear soaps, and is included in most M&P soap base recipes. Industrial production might or might not avoid it, and might or might not recover all of it after saponification.
My guess is that there are a few percent of ethanol left from the production process. Since it is harmless and serves no purpose in the final product, they might not take labeling that seriously. But a fine nose might detect it and might be unhappy about it.