Valentine Soap Projects- Part I

It's time to get ready for Valentine's day.

Here I have a super easy project: Heart shaped M&P soaps. You can prepare the soaps in different colors and fragrances and pack them as in beautiful transparent boxes

or transparent acrylic hearts

or prepare in advance to be applied in other projects: embed in bigger soaps, insert in bath bombs and bath cakes etc.

I have prepared these heart soaps without fragrance because we're going to apply them in other projects. If you're going to apply them as standalone soaps however, you may want to add fragrance as the soap is melted and is ready to pour. In that case apply 2,5-3,0% of your favorite fragrance oil. You can literally apply any possible colorant and glitters and prepare the soap transparent or opaque. The choices are countless and it all depends to your final project design and packaging.

I prepared two kinds of hearts: one by pouring into heart shaped silicone molds and one by pouring a thin layer of soap into a regular mold and then cutting hearts with a small heart shaped cookie cutter. The silicone mold yields thicker hearts with a rounded surface and a flat one, the cookie cutter yields thinner hearts with flat surfaces at both sides.

Before we start I want to recommend you to read our older posts: hygienic manufacturing practice in cosmetic lab and introduction to Basic equipments and utensils for a cosmetic lab. 

I'm not going to mention the exact amount of soap and other ingredients you need for this project. It depends on your specific application, cookie cutter and other parameters. As a general guide:

For our Silicone mold  (15 hearts) you need about 100 gr of M&P soap. SkinChakra® offers only one base at the moment which is a surfactant free, natural and fatty acid based transparent soap. With this single base you can prepare countless variations, adding Titanium dioxide to create an opaque base and adding other additives such as vitamins, plant oils, panthenol, butters to adjust the soap to your individual applications and concepts.

Let's say you prepare 500 gr soap base. The base is transparent. You can add a few drops of Titanium dioxide (10,0% ispersed in glycerin) to prepare an opaque soap. If you don't apply any other color, you'll have a white soap at the end. To this soap or to the original transparent soap you can add any D&C colorant (dispersed in glycerin), micas or even water soluble food colors (in that case the color is not very stable).

For 500 gr base you'll need:

500 gr natural M&P base

0,1% (0,5 gr) Tocopherol

0,3% (1,5 gr) Panthenol

a few drops of Titanium dioxide dispersed in glycerin (optional if you want to have a white or opaque soap)

a few drops of any other colorant of your choice (optional)

2,5-3,0% (12,5-15,0 gr) of any fragrance or essential oil of your choice

glass beakers to melt the soap

spatulas and glass rods

disposable pipettes

a bottle of spray alcohol (to get rid of the air bubbles)

a microwave to melt the soap

heart shaped soap or chocolate molds (preferrably silicone molds)

heart shaped cookie cutters 

Here we go:

One: we provide you with the soap in small cubes, however if you have big pieces of soap cut them in small cubes for a faster melting and a better thermal circulation during melting. Weight the soap in a glass beaker or any other microwave suitable jar and melt the soap in 30 second bursts in the microwave. Stir the soap gently between bursts for a homogeneous heat transfer.

Two: For the white or opaque soap add a few drops of Titanium dioxide dispersed in glycerin and stir gently. Avoid creating air bubbles during stirring.

Three: Add panthenol and vitamin E to the melted soap and stir gently. 

Four: add your color if you're going to have a colored soap and stir gently. You may add the color to a transparent base (without titanium dioxide or add it to an opaque base (with titanium dioxide).

Five: Gently pour the soap into your mold. Spray immediately with alcohol to get rid of the air bubbles. Let the soap harden at room temperature. It takes about 15 minutes to half an hour depending on the soap mold and the ambient temperature. 

Six: to cut shapes with a cookie cutter, pour the soap into any suitable mold. I prefer silicone molds. You may apply rectangular or even round forms. Pour a thin layer of soap and spray with alcohol. 

Seven: Here you need to check the soap every few minutes. Take the soap out of mold as it is hard enough to get out without deforming but not yet quite hard. It is a matter of experience and you'll master the job after your third or fourth batch. As you see we have poured a very thin layer, only enough to cover the mold bottom into a round mold.

Cut heart shapes out of the soap. Try to cut the shapes as close to each other s possible. Do not discard the residue. We'll need it for the confetti  soap in the proceeding projects.

And voila, your soaps are ready to be packed or to be applied in other projects.

If you're going to apply them as standalone soaps and have applied fragrance, shrink wrap the soaps and pack them as you wish. If not, then pack them in a closed container such as a click box and store them for the upcoming tutorials. Be aware that the M&P soap, due to high glycerin content is very susceptible to moisture and temperature changes. If the humidity in your area is high, wrap them in shrink wraps even if you're going to apply them soon in other projects. 

Purchase all ingredients and supplies you need from SkinChakra® online shop. 

BeHappy and have fun