Are there beads of liquid on your melt and pour soap, or do the bars look powdery? Are they slippery and wet to the touch? This is a common reaction referred to as “sweating” or “glycerin dew.”
In this example, the glycerin dew is concentrated around the outside of the bars.
Melt and pour soap has extra glycerin added during the manufacturing process. It makes the soap easy to work with and also acts as a humectant. When you wash with melt and pour soap, a thin layer of glycerin is left behind. That draws moisture from the air onto your skin. Learn more about what the bases are made with in this Sunday Night Spotlight.
As melt and pour soap sits on the counter, glycerin draws moisture onto the bars and forms glycerin dew. It’s more common in humid climates.
Glycerin dew has formed around the corners of this bar.
The good news is that it’s easy to prevent with the following tips.
- The Like Cold Process (LCP) Clear and LCP White bases have less glycerin, which means there’s little to no sweating. They’re a good option for extremely humid climates. We also recommend the LCP bases if you’re embedding melt and pour in cold process soap because they don’t morph or sweat as the bars cure.
- Let the soap harden and cool at room temperature. If it’s placed in the fridge or freezer for long periods of time it’s more likely to sweat.
- Wrap the bars tightly with plastic wrap and use a heat gun to shrink it on tightly. This Soap Queen TV video shows you how.
- Run a fan over the soap once it’s out of the mold. This is a good option for moderately humid climates but likely won’t work for extremely humid climates.
- Buy a dehumidifier and use it in your soaping space. It’s a good investment because it creates a dry environment for other products like cold process soap and bath bombs.
- You can also place the wrapped bars in an airtight container with rice or silica packets. Learn more in How to Store Handmade Bath Products.
Rose Quartz Melt and Pour Soap
This post was updated in March 2018.
