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| A good quality base is essential. Until recently
it has been difficult to buy this in the UK in any quantity and because
of the postage costs importing it has been very expensive. FPI
(Sales) Ltd and Amphora
Aromatics now stock the base. When comparing their prices you
should look at whether they have a minimum overall order (Amphora
does) and whether postage is included (with FPI it isn't).
Suppliers in North America include: TKB Trading, Soapberry Lane, and Green Cottage |
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What is it? The precise details of the manufacture are a trade
secret but essentially a regular 'soap' with the glycerine retained
that is usually removed from commercial 'soaps' is further treated
with the addition of propylene glycol, sorbitol and other additives
to make a transparent base. The resulting soap has a low melting point
and can be melted several times before losing quality.
It is possible to make transparent soap at home starting with a cold processed soap made with oils and sodium hydroxide and later adding quantities of high proof alcohol but it is a very tricky and somewhat dangerous process. The soap produced in this way does not have the same melting quality as that bought commercially. |
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| Tip | Cheating: if you cannot get hold of any true glycerine soap base you can cheat by using a transparent bar available in the shops. I used Tesco's Pure Cleansing Bar. The texture is different, harder and more brittle than the real thing, and much more difficult to work with but it will give you an idea of the craft. | ||
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You can add various things to the base for texture and extra interest.
Oils: try adding between a teaspoon (5ml) and a tablespoon (15ml) of almond, wheatgerm, peach or apricot kernel oil to a pound (500g) of base. The lather is slightly diminished and too much oil will make the soap greasy. Jojoba oil, strictly a wax, can be used, and will make the bar slightly harder. Solid butters such as cocoa and shea are very effective but make sure you pour the base when very cool and have mixed in the melted butters well or they will tend to pool and develop beads. |
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Exfoliating materials: oatmeal, cornmeal, ground up loofah, poppy seeds, seed pearl tapioca can all be used to give your soap a slightly scrubby feel. You must allow the soap to become as cool as you can before pouring it or these additions will sink to the bottom of the mould (unless that is the effect you are trying to achieve, of course). | ||
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Flowers and herbs: these tend not to be successful if
used directly. Fresh flowers and herbs will rot and even dried lavender
buds and rose petals will go an unappealing brown colour. Some people
get round this by painting on a little melted paraffin wax on the
finished soap, adding the dried flowers or herbs and painting over
with more wax.
Calendula petals (pictured left) keep their colour but before using them directly you should have a look at the pictures of a disaster with them on the What Went Wrong? page. An alternative is to steep them in a little oil for two weeks, strain them and add the oil to the base if you want their reputed benefits. |
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