remove glycerine from soap bar

[alemo]

Hi
I bought a soap bar and the manufacturer has added extra glycerine. How can I remove it?
(I know glycerine is reputed to be "good" for your skin but other sources claims the opposite and that's why I want to test the soap without glycerine to see if I notice any difference on my skin)

 

[Primrose]

Most commercial soaps have had the glycerin removed. Some will add it for label appeal. If you want a soap without glycerin why not just buy a normal commercial soap? I have to admit being a bit confused. One of the reasons handmade soap is so good for the skin is because we don't remove the glycerin, which is a natural byproduct of the saponification process.

 

[alemo]

Yes it's part of the saponification process and that's fine in my opinion. But adding more glycerine I think that's the problem because the more glycerine on the skin, the more it sucks water out of the skin cells. Maybe I am wrong. Don't know if what is written here is true but have a look: https://www.goldenphae.com/blog/68-7-myths-about-glycerin-in-skin-care

 

[DeeAnna]

"...it's part of the saponification process and that's fine in my opinion. But adding more glycerine I think that's the problem..."

How do you know the total glycerin in the commercial soap is any higher than glycerin in a hand crafted soap? If it happens to be about the same % in either case, then why is one a problem and the other is not? Why is "natural" glycerin from saponification any better than glycerin that comes in a bottle?

"...This means that healthy, non-alcoholic women are displaying symptoms they should not have. Where are they getting exposed to all this alcohol? The only other source is their skincare! They absorb so much alcohol in the form of Glycerin through their skin, that their organs cannot handle it...." Source -- see link above.

If you truly believe all the pseudo-science and magical mumbo-jumbo in this article, then NO glycerin is the only acceptable option. But really ... do you honestly believe this stuff?

 

[steffamarie]

"Indeed, urologists in recent years have raised an alarm about many conditions that we have never seen before, such as non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis in non-drinking women."
This person clearly is under the impression that urologists (who treat disorders of the URINARY system) are investigating fatty liver disease - which is basically what this article is calling 'non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis'. Yeah, ok. Strike one (if it is a bit pedantic).

"Strong collagen in your skin is what prevents skin from sagging and developing wrinkles. Collagen is built from lipids."
Collagen is a protein, built from amino acids. Strike two.

"The alcohol we absorb through our skin, and then carried by our blood to all the different organs in the body, poisoning them with unprocessed alcohol."
Here, the author tries to make the point that consuming ethanol in the form of wine, etc. allows it to be processed by the liver (this is correct) but that glycerol absorbed into the bloodstream from topical application is not processed by the liver (this is NOT correct). All blood goes through the liver at some point. It's part of the circulatory system, and the liver is an incredibly advanced filter. Of the small amount that would be absorbed through the body's natural defense barrier (the skin), the liver would filter out/process/degrade/metabolize any that remained. Strike three!

The author may be a chemist by career, but it's clear to me (a nurse) through reading this article that she does not have an understanding of the body's metabolic system. Her authority to write an article detailing how she understands the body's inner workings is slim to none - and I therefore cannot take anything she says as truth without plenty of further investigation. Of course, I'm also not an authority on this subject, but with just a little investigation it's quite clear to me that there's some seriously screwy 'science' going on here. In my opinion, it just serves as a false advertisement for this shop's products. Saying that one molecule is what's causing your XYZ skin problem is an untruth and the author is taking advantage of people's tendency towards not doing their own research in order to promote their own agenda.

 

[melinda48]

"...it's part of the saponification process and that's fine in my opinion. But adding more glycerine I think that's the problem..."

How do you know the total glycerin in the commercial soap is any higher than glycerin in a hand crafted soap? If it happens to be about the same % in either case, then why is one a problem and the other is not? Why is "natural" glycerin from saponification any better than glycerin that comes in a bottle?

"...This means that healthy, non-alcoholic women are displaying symptoms they should not have. Where are they getting exposed to all this alcohol? The only other source is their skincare! They absorb so much alcohol in the form of Glycerin through their skin, that their organs cannot handle it...." Source -- see link above.

If you truly believe all the pseudo-science and magical mumbo-jumbo in this article, then NO glycerin is the only acceptable option. But really ... do you honestly believe this stuff?

It is my understanding that most commercial soap has had the natural glycerin removed (to be added to other products) and then have glycerin added back in. I don’t understand why you would not just be happy with the natural glycerin produced by making soap.Sounds like really bad “science” to me. I would not believe that article for a hot minute. Just because you read it on the internet doesn’t not make it so!

 

[lenarenee]

The link to site you mentioned also sells products. That type of website is often not a good source of trusted, objective science information.

These sentences are perversely wrong - " This means that healthy, non-alcoholic women are displaying symptoms they should not have. Where are they getting exposed to all this alcohol? The only other source is their skincare!"

The ONLY source??? Huge red flag there = really bad science!

Non-alcoholic cirrhosis is = fatty liver disease. One factor in its cause is insulin resistance. Our American population has a very high rate of insulin resistance and diabetes. The time frame mentioned in the article coincides with the same time frame of the rise in sugar consumption and insulin resistance. (correlation does not prove causation - but its always a good place to start an investigation)

Thyroid disease is also another factor in fatty liver disease.

This is the statement that made me reject the whole website: "Just to illustrate how connected everything is, remember that a couple of years ago hand sanitizers had to be sold by prescription only in several European countries. Hand sanitizers are made mostly from Glycerin mixed with Propyl (rubbing) alcohol and teenagers were drinking them and dying. This illustrates the true power of Glycerin."

Either this person is outright lying to make a sale, or they do not have the education they claim. Rubbing alcohol is highly toxic!! Glycerin is even used in preparing pharmaceutical medications!

Yikes - while they don't contain water, their products do contain honey and botanicals - but no preservatives. They also make their own sunscreen - possibly a dangerous product unless they have the equipment to blend it to specifications, and that it's been tested to contain the right number of zinc oxide particles per gram of product.

I wouldn't trust anything this website says. If you'd like to investigate the safety of glycerin - you'll need better sources.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I bought a soap bar and the manufacturer has added extra glycerine. How can I remove it?

Hi Alemo!

I've removed glycerin from soap by using an old-time technique called "salting out." Grate up the soap; drop the gratings into a pot of almost boiling salted water. It takes about 15 minutes before the curds rise to the top. Remove the curds onto a paper towel. What remains is brown water with yuck underneath -- impurities and glycerin!

DeeAnna has a good tutorial here:
https://classicbells.com/soap/saltOutTut.html

The "curds" are pure soap. I put them into a nylon stocking to shape while squeezing all the water out. I do this daily until there's no more water coming out. I hang the stocking on a banana holder to dry (high tech, I know. Haha). I leave it to you to find a good spot to hang it. Maybe the shower? or towel bar?

GOOD LUCK! Please let us know if it works for you.

 

[DeeAnna]

It is my understanding that most commercial soap has had the natural glycerin removed (to be added to other products)...

Yes, this is often true given the way most commercial soap is made.

"...and then have glycerin added back in....

That's not necessarily true. Primrose is correct -- glycerin is not necessarily added back to commercial soap.

"...I don’t understand why you would not just be happy with the natural glycerin produced by making soap...."

I hope you're not directing this comment toward me? I don't think so, but I'm not sure since you replied to my post.

"...Sounds like really bad “science” to me. I would not believe that article for a hot minute. Just because you read it on the internet doesn’t not make it so!..."

You got that right!

 

[reeeen4]

Ahhh I think this person in that article might be refering to manufactured or synthetic Glycerine which is usually produced by various routes from propylene or methyl ethylene which is a petrochemical, is this what your refering to?

Sound like this person in the artivle has just twisted science to suite themselves or whatever their motives might be.

If you were buying a vegetable based glycerine or it was naturally occuring in soaps becuase of the saponification process then it would be safe, not to mention you are washing the soap off your hands along with a lot of the glycerine, so there would not be a lot of glycerine left I would think, not like that glass of wine most people consume a few times a week

Even if you didn't drink alcohol (like myself) they're probably exposed to alcohol in small amounts in many other things in their life like do they eat fermented foods, drink kombucha, eat miso? etc saying that its from glycerine is impossible, you can't just point at that one thing and say it's that unless it was a mass scientific study, do they have evidence of this study performed?