For decades we have made beautiful hot process soaps with a process we call High-Temperature Hot Process or HTHP for short. HTHP is a method of soap making that applies the fundamental principles of soap science to accelerate the reaction rate of saponification. We apply our knowledge of fatty acids, solvents, additives, thermodynamics and other chemistry concepts to create the soap with the appearance and properties that we desire, in a fast and efficient manner.
The same knowledge, education, and experience gained from reading The Ultimate Guide to Hot Process Soap can be applied to both melt and pour bases and transparent soap. We have already created a simple and natural 10-Minute Beginner's Coconut Oil Melt and Pour Soap base and can use the same process to create our transparent soap. The recipe and video below are the perfect introduction for UG2HP students who wish to begin their journey into transparent soap making. The recipe is formulated to create beautiful, fun, and clear soap using only a few ingredients that are affordable and easily sourced.
After you have successfully completed this introductory recipe, you will have the experience working with HTHP and solvents. You can use this experience, in addition to your UG2HP knowledge, to create and formulate your own beautiful transparent soaps, with the ingredients and additives of your own choosing. You can work with different solvent solutions, unique oil and butter blends, and can create a soap that has the properties and performance you desire.
Haven't got your copy of The Ultimate Guide to Hot Process Soap yet? Visit our Bookstore today! We provide students with the ultimate learning experience and strive to ensure that each and every student gains the education and experience necessary to become informed and successful soap makers. Delve deep into the science of soap, study how to formulate "informed recipes", and learn how to make beautiful, classic low temperature hot process and 10-minute fluid hot process soap.
Interested in learning how to make crystal-clear liquid soap in less than 30-minutes from start to finish? The Ultimate Guide to Liquid Soap will teach you how! If you loved UG2HP, you will love UG2LS! This is a complete course on liquid soap making and teaches students the fundamentals of liquid soap science, liquid soap recipe formulating, cold process liquid soap, hot process liquid soap and our 30-minute liquid soap process.
Follow the video and recipe below to make your very own "Ultimate Clear Soap" in less than ten minutes.
• This recipe can be colored (stained glass soap colorants and lake dyes work beautifully) and fragranced with your favorite smells.
• Grain alcohol is the preferred alcohol which can be purchased at grocery stores and liquor stores with a brand name of Everclear or off-label brand. You can also use 91-99% isopropyl alcohol, high proof vodka or denatured alcohol. Weaker alcohols may not
produce the same level of transparency. If you want the best clarity, grain alcohol is my preference and the remaining alcohol smell will dissipate over time. Grain has a much milder and sweeter smell and works wonderfully!
•Due to the propylene glycol, after your soap has hardened, it also makes and wonderful DIY Melt and Pour base (although the higher solvent concentrations in this specific recipe will require longer hardening MP times than standard store-bought brands).
•We have updated the recipe to reduce the glycerin content and reduce sweating. Glycerin is a solvent and increases the clarity of transparent soap and lowers the melting point. Glycerin is also a humectant that attracts moisture, even moisture in the air. If soap made with added glycerin is not covered, it will form what is called “glycerin dew” or “sweating,” or little beads of moisture on the outside of the soap.
• After you have molded your soap, cover to protect from debris and surface wrinkling, and allow to cool and harden. If you freeze your soap, it will initially sweat due to thawing and condensation. This is normal and will assist in the hardening process. It will significantly subside. To prevent the formation of glycerin dew after soap has completely hardened, be sure to wrap your soap.
• You may mix and match solvents to accommodate for your needs, or leave as is. This is the fun part about formulating and creating your own soap- you can create a soap that fits your needs.
• Often soaps made with a higher concentration of solvents will have a decreased lathering ability; this is one of the reasons why surfactants are a popular option in transparent soaps. This recipe, however, produces a fun, bubbly white lather.
• Many transparent soaps will experience an amber or yellow tint due to the oil selection and/or added sugars. This recipe produces a very clear soap, although it may experience a small amount of yellowing if the coconut oil has a yellow tint or if sugar is added at a higher temperature.
• We use powdered sorbitol and distilled water to make a sorbitol solution made at a 2:1 sorbitol to distilled water ratio (or approximately a 66% solution; 2:1 ratio is two parts sorbitol out of three total parts, or 2/3, or 66.666% sorbitol to 33.333% distilled water). You may also purchase liquid sorbitol which is commonly sold in a 70% solution but is more expensive and has higher shipping costs. To limit the risk of tinting due to sugar oxidation at high temperatires, we highly recommend the use of sorbitol compared to sugar, although either can be used. Sorbitol can be found at baking stores, online cosmetic stores, Amazon, and certain grocery stores in the baking isle. Be sure to add your sorbitol last and at the lowest temperature.
• The recipe must saponify before adding the solvents. Excess or free fats will cause clouding or an oily opaque top residue.
• Although there is a high coconut oil content, propylene glycol, sorbitol, and glycerin help provide a mild and non-drying cleanse. If your goal is to find an ultra-gentle, ultra-luxe, and super-softening recipe, consider reformualting the recipe to contain your choice of fats or using a standard superfatted bar.
• Pouring the recipe into single molds will allow the soap to harden at a much faster rate. We recommend single bar cavity molds, or cutting the soap into single bars rather than allowing to harden as a loaf. Do not unmold, cut, poke, or touch until soap has completely hardened.
• This makes a fun, easy, hard, low-sweat, and bubbly clear soap recipe, and it is designed to be simple, cost-effective, super-fast and introductory. It probably won't be your number one seller, but rather is designed to be an excellent introduction to High Temperature Hot Process soap making and the use of sovlents. Be sure to use your new skills and the knowledge and education gained from The Ultimate Guide to Hot Process Soap to formulate your own unique recipes with your choice of oils, butters and fats.
We have updated the recipe to formulate a low-sweat bar that requires less time to harden and has a full, white, and bubbly lather!
Be sure to grab your copy our our newest book The Ultimate Guide to Liquid Soap!
