Anyone who has worked with melt and pour soap has most likely seen their soap sweating or glycerin dew. You just might not have known at the time what it was. When you first look at a soap that has been sweating it almost looks like there is a layer of frost on it. But, when you pick it up you notice that it is actually wet. There are literally little droplets of water on it.
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Sweating – What is it?
Melt and pour soap has glycerin in it is, which is a humectant. The glycerin is a byproduct of the soap and more is sometimes added to the soap. (Learn more about humectants here). Simply put a humectant draws moisture from the air to itself.
The water that is drawn from the air to your soap is called ‘sweating’ or ‘glycerin dew’.
You might be wondering, if glycerin sweats why on earth would companies add more to the soaps? The reason is actually pretty interesting. When you wash your hands, a very small amount of the glycerin is left on your hands. The glycerin then grabs the moisture and draws it to the top layer of your skin.
Preventing Soap Sweating / Glycerin Dew
Wrap soap
One of the best ways that I have found in preventing sweating is to simply wrap my melt and pour soap in saran wrap. If you want to wrap your soap so it looks more appealing, shrink wrap is a great alternative.
The cool thing about using shrink wrap it the soap looks professionally wrapped at the end. You just simply put the shrink wrap around your soap and lightly heat it with a heat gun.
Low Sweat Soap
When making different types of soaps, sometimes it is not feasible to wrap your melt and pour soap. For example, often times when people make cold process soap they will top it off with melt and pour embeds. It would not be feasible to wrap these types of soap.
You can purchase melt and pour soap that are specifically designed to sweat very little. Then you can leave them out and not have to worry about sweating.
What about when I cool my soap?
When you are cooling your soap, always do it at room temperature. I have seen people pop their soap in the fridge or the freezer and that is not going to help you at all! In fact, putting the soap in the fridge will actually cause it to sweat more.
Your best bet is to allow it to cool at room temperature. If your work area is humid, you can always run a dehumidifier.
Does sweating affect my soap?
So, I am sure we have all had our soaps sweat and wondered if the soap is still good? This does not affect your soaps ability to wash at all. Technically the soap was doing its job and drawing moisture…. Just it was a little premature.
Sweating may affect the appearance of the soap, instead of the soap being all shiny and smooth, there is a slight texture to the soap. But the soap is completely safe to use still.