Washing THE Soap

[DeeDee]

I've seen this a couple of times about washing soap. Please do not ask where I have seen it. I've been all over the net for months reading about soap making in one way or the other and I forget where I find things, lol.

But what does it mean "wash the soap"? I get the impression its something to shine or smooth maybe? I've also seen "polish" the soap with pantyhose.

Do you really need to clean the soap? Is it for CP soaps or do M&P soapers do this too?

Thanks!

 

[IrishLass]

I do CP and I clean or polish my soaps off only when they get ash. It's not necessary or anything- it's just an aesthetic thing with me.

For tough or deep ash, I run the offending bars under water and scrub the ash off with a 3-M green scrubby until it is gone, and for light ash I spritz them with alcohol and rub it off with clean panty hose.

I don't often get ash, so most of my soaps are just left 'as is'.

IrishLass

 

[Guest]

I give some of my cured soap a run under the tap , if the soap was softer than usual when I cut and there are finger prints . Wash and set on draining rack until they dry.
I don't get a lot of ash , if I do get some , I embrace it
Kitn

 

[DeeDee]

Ah, I see, ok, makes sense to me now. So its a CP thing with ash. I am just starting out with CP, does ash happen often and what do you do to avoid so you don't have to wash it or is it unavoidable?

 

[Guest]

To try to avoid the ash as soon as you have it in the mold . Give it a spritz of alcohol and cover the top of the mold with saran wrap. It doesn't always work but you learn over time , not to worry about ash if it happens, it is purely cosmetic , it doesn't affect the soap.


Kitn

 

[xyxoxy]

I "wash" mine not so much beacause of ash but mostly because I prefer to smoothe down the sharp edges I get from cutting. It's an aesthetic thing. But if there is a bit of ashiness this also take care of that.

I use a bucket of water and a dish washing sponge... usually the soft side but sometimes the scrubby side if the bar is too hard.

 

[carebear]

I don't wash mine any more but when I did it wasn't about ash - I just liked the smooth shiny look over the whole bar.