Layers separating?

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
G

Guest

I tried my first m&p layered soap 2 days ago. Botched up one part where I poured too soon, but other than that, it looked ok. I cut it up last night, and it didn't separate. But if i tried to pull it apart, it would although it doesn't come apart easily. And when I used a small thin piece to wash my hands, the layers came apart. Does this mean I failed? I'm guessing it shouldn't separate while being used rite? What else I can do to stop it? I spritzed alot of alcohol onto the soap before pouring it.
 
You must mist the 1st, dry layer heavily with rubbing alcohol & pour the second layer very quickly before the alcohol evaporates. The alcohol bonds the layers together.
 
The layers will not seperate for any reason if you use alcohol between the layers.
 
Thanks Tabitha! Will need to try doing more layers till I get it to not seperate then... :)
 
melt and pour alcohol alternative

does it have to be alcohol to sprizt between layers or is there an alternative i could use.
 
I've only seen rubbing alcohol recommended. You could try experimenting with something else to see what might work. Perhaps witch hazel?
 
No you wanna stick with rubbing alcohol, best results with a 90% or higher solution.

Years ago I was playing with a method where I would pour the layers a little on the hot side and massage the layer I set it on with my fingers until it became supple and soft like warm butter. It would bond great, but was time consuming and messy :roll:
 
Tabitha said:
You must mist the 1st, dry layer heavily with rubbing alcohol & pour the second layer very quickly before the alcohol evaporates. The alcohol bonds the layers together.

That explains my Mushroom cloud in my first...ahem...layered soap. :lol:

Thanks Tabitha! Now I know to let the layers DRY!
 
Btw. If your mold is heat proof, sometimes you can save separating layers by putting them in the oven for a while to let them get soft enough to melt together enough to bond, without the colors running together. I only had to do it once and it worked very well, except at the very edges the soap got a bit more melted together than I would have wished.
 
Will the alcohol bond layers that are already cooled? If I have two pieces that were molded separately, but made to fit together, will the alcohol still bond them strongly enough?
 

Latest posts

Back
Top