Transparent non-MP bar soap

[dragonmaker]

Back in March I made some soap aiming for a crystal clear bar of soap that would not be soft, yellow, nor sweaty when left in our humid environment without wrapping. It’s been 7 months letting it cure on my drying racks. Can y’all tell what I embedded inside this one?

 

[Marsi]

nice!

(is a goat with the number 8 on its rump?)

 

[dragonmaker]

not a goat nor an 8, though now I want to find a tiny goat mold. I think the 8 is 2 air bubbles touching.

 

[AliOop]

I was going to guess dragon, but only because of your username. The image is too small on my phone to tell, sorry.

 

[dragonmaker]

That’s actually not a bad guess! It’s not the best camera, and the soap isn’t perfectly clear either. The embed is a tiny soap model of a brachiosaurus skull.

 

[AliOop]

Well, my second guess was some kind of skull, so there you go. What a fun project!

 

[artemis]

Looks like broccoli to my tired eyes.

 

[dragonmaker]

It’s amazing what no context, a little blur, and some fatigue can do to perception!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

It looks like ginger root to me...

Have you tried using the soap yet?

 

[dragonmaker]

Ginger root! I can actually see that a bit.

I tried using a rectangle no-embed bar from the same batch. It’s not bad! It’s not the best soap I’ve ever used, but it’s definitely not the worse either. It has some bubbles, gets my hands clean, and isn’t super drying. The lather is pretty thin, but it isn’t slimy like I feared either. The bar is not rubbery, it’s actually hard as a rock (it makes a lovely wood block noise when knocked together instead of a dull thunk… my husband is a musician). For a novelty or decorative bar, I’m actually pretty happy with it. I don’t think I’ll make it my every day bar of soap, but I do think it’s worth continuing to experiment with it.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

it makes a lovely wood block noise when knocked together instead of a dull thunk

I made transparent soaps for 4 years early on. I'm impressed! Well done! Keep up the good work!

 

[dragonmaker]

@Zany_in_CO Was your transparent soap gentle on skin? Mine seems more drying the longer I use it, although that could be from the cooler weather. Do you mind sharing your recipe?
My recipe is:
OILS/Fatty Acids
60% stearic acid (360g)
20% castor oil (120g) (yes, 20% is high for normal soap, but ricinoleic acid is supposed to help with transparency)
20% coconut oil (120g)

33% Lye solution with 0% SF:
177g distilled water
88g NaOH

Melt oils/fatty acids in crockpot, add lye solution, mix and stickblend until it looks like Vaseline (gel phase), then add solvents:

Solvents:
(60% of batch weight) medical grade denatured ethanol 95 proof (519g)
(30% of batch weight) glycerin (260g)
(10% of batch weight) sugar solution 1:1 distilled water:sugar (87g)

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Do you mind sharing your recipe?

Of course not. The problem is I no longer have access to my notes and my memory is taking leave of the planet lately.

The process is the hard part. It's a bit tricky so you just have to keep trying. I wish I could be more help. Transparent soaps are challenging but the result is most gratifying. And, no, I didn't find transparents to be drying. On the contrary, they were very kind to my skin... like a sugar scrub, if you've ever tried that.

What I can tell you is that recipe you have doesn't look anything like what I made so I really can't give input. If I remember correctly, and this is REALLY going back in time (2007), Kathy Miller's site had some good info on making transparent soap. Scroll down to "Kristy of Lovely Lathers". Her recipes and process are close to what I was doing at that time.