ZENISOAPBASE Melt & Pour, White, 1 kg

ZENISOAPBASE White soap base is a white glycerine soap base for melting and pouring (melt and pour), designed for making soaps without lye solution and without waiting for saponification. You melt the base, add fragrance and dye, pour it into a mould, and the soap is ready once it cools. The soap base itself, that is, saponified fatty acid salts combined with glycerine, sorbitol and foaming surfactants, is already included, so it also suits makers with no experience of the cold process.

The white, opaque base is the foundation for richly coloured soaps, pastel shades and soaps with layers or patterns, where a clear base does not give the coverage you need. It is used for hand, body and face soaps and is supplied in a 1 kg pack.

Key properties

• Lye-free production – the base is already saponified, so you only melt it, add fragrance and pour. There is no need to weigh sodium hydroxide or to use protective equipment for working with lye solution.
• White, opaque colour – titanium dioxide gives the base a full white shade, on which pigments and cosmetic dyes show their true colour.
• Foam and cleansing effect – besides soap salts, it contains Sodium Laureth Sulfate and Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, which support foam formation.
• Glycerine and sorbitol – moisturising ingredients that bind water in the finished soap.
• Free from ingredients of animal origin – the base contains no materials of animal origin, silicones, formaldehyde or formaldehyde donors, alcohol or parabens. It has not been tested on animals and is not classified as hazardous under CLP.
• Free from fragrance allergens – the base itself is not fragranced; allergens enter the soap only through the added fragrance.

Processing

Cut the base into smaller cubes and melt it in a water bath or in a microwave in short intervals, stirring occasionally. The recommended processing temperature is 65–75 °C. Overheated base thickens and a skin may form on the surface, so heat it only until the last pieces have melted.

Fragrance, dye and any active ingredients are added to the melted base while it cools, just before pouring. Stir the mixture slowly so that no bubbles are whipped in, and pour it into a silicone or plastic mould. Bubbles on the surface can be removed with a spray of alcohol. The soap sets at room temperature and is removed from the mould only once it has fully hardened.

The base is water-soluble and tolerates alkaline pH and anionic surfactants. With acidic ingredients, for example some fruit extracts, first check how the base behaves on a small sample.

Suitable for products such as

• Coloured soaps – pastel and rich shades, marbled and layered soaps, where the white base makes the colour clearly visible.
• Soaps with added oils and butters – a small amount of vegetable oil or butter can be worked into the melted base. With a higher proportion, the foam weakens and the soap softens.
• Scrub soaps – with added poppy seeds, coffee, sugar or salt. The base keeps them evenly distributed if it is poured when already slightly thickened.
• Soaps in moulds with fine relief – the thin melted base fills even small details of the mould.
• Figurines and gift sets – the opaque white colour makes it possible to build multicoloured shapes from several layers.

The base is intended only for rinse-off products and is not used in leave-on cosmetics.

Good to know

The white base mutes colours. Transparent cosmetic dyes give a pastel result in it; for rich shades you need a higher proportion of dye or pigments. If you want transparent parts in the same soap, combine it with a clear soap base and pour the layers one after another, once the previous one has slightly set.

When layering, it helps to spray the previous layer with alcohol and pour the next one at a lower temperature. The layers then bond better and do not separate during use.

Added oils, butters and water-based ingredients change the hardness and foaming of the resulting soap. If you plan to enrich the base significantly, make a small batch first and see how the soap behaves a few days after production. Base that has been melted several times tends to be firmer and harder to pour, so add leftovers to fresh base only in a smaller proportion.

Frequently asked questions