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Maybe you've already come across interesting videos or photos of jelly soap, or maybe it's just the first time you've heard of it, it doesn't matter - you can make it at home too. Jelly soap will bring joy to the face of not only children, but also adults, you can use it as a gift. We bring you two recipes on how to make jelly soap in the comfort of your own home.
Below you will find a list of ingredients for two basic jelly soaps. Of course, we will also go into a comparison of the two soaps. First, however, it is important to note that in order for a soap to foam, it must contain a tenside that will provide cleansing and foaming effects. Secondly, we need a gel-forming ingredient, in our case we chose carrageenan - a vegetable thickener that is great for making solid jellies and is also vegan.
We bring you some tips and tricks, including storage advice, to make sure you can successfully make and enjoy your product for as long as possible.The mixture solidifies very quickly once removed from the water bath, so don't hesitate to add essential oil. Due to the higher temperature, some of the oil will evaporate and some thermal degradation may occur, but when the temperature drops below 40°C the mixture is too stiff to incorporate other substances.For this reason, no preservative has been used in the product, even though there are relatively high amounts of tensides and carrageenan in the jelly soap. At the same time, at a higher temperature, when it is still possible to add substances to the mixture, the preservative would degrade and would not provide protection for the product. It is therefore also a good idea to use up the product as quickly as possible.At the same time, it is a good idea to store the soap away from water after use (watch out for residual water in the soap dish). If you want to store the soap, it is not recommended to do so for a long time as the soap will start to dry out without use. So prepare smaller batches of soap so that you always have fresh product on hand.In the case of making soap with decyl glucoside, the previous advice also applies. Again, add the decyl glucoside and lactic acid as soon as the soap is removed from the water bath, otherwise the mixture will solidify and it will not be possible to add the substances. Although the higher temperature will cause inaccuracies in the pH determination, this should not significantly affect the final pH of the product - the aim is to go from an alkaline pH(8 or more) to neutral (pH 7) or slightly acidic (up to pH 4.5).
Here is a comparison of the properties of the two soaps, so you can choose the one that suits you best.At first glance, the soaps already differ in their working process, since in the first case we use powdered and in the second liquid tenside. These tensides also have different pH, decyl glucoside is strongly alkaline, so pH adjustment is necessary. You can also adjust the pH of the soap with SCS, but since SCS has a lower pH than decyl glucoside, it is not as necessary. In use, the soap containing decyl glucoside provided a little more lather, but if your soap got too stiff, such soap can only handle one more warm up for additional dissolving. In other respects, however, it was comparable to the jelly soap with SCS.So the main criteria for you will probably be availability of ingredients, if you have SCS on hand, choose this soap. If you prefer to work with glucosides, a jelly soap containing decyl glucoside is the one for you.
Below, we'll go over the individual ingredients and their importance to the recipe. You'll also find out more about their possible substitutions so you can tailor your jelly soap recipe.
The basis for dissolving tensides or forming jelly is demineralised water. Thanks to this water in combination with carrageenan, you get a solid gel or jelly. You can also substitute demineralised water with floral hydrolates if you wish. In addition, floral hydrolates can add a delicate fragrance to the product, which can replace the use of essential oils.
Glycerin is an important ingredient in both recipes. It is an alcohol, in this case of plant origin, which has a wide use in the cosmetic industry as a skin moisturizer. In our case, glycerine helps to speed up the dissolution of the carrageenan, as it provides the powdered form of carrageenan with a better environment for hydration than if the carrageenan were added directly to the water - it would form lumps. The same is true of using mica powder, due to the glycerine it disperses more quickly and colours the product evenly.Therefore, do not omit glycerine from the product or fundamentally change its representation in the recipe, as you may end up with a different strength of jelly soap.
The thickening and gelling agent in this recipe is carrageenan. Thanks to this plant-derived substance, we get a beautifully firm jelly. Carrageenan dissolves in water when heated to about 70 °C, so it is necessary to heat the products with its presence, otherwise your soap will not set.Carrageenan can be substituted for animal gelatine, but be aware that you may get a differently stiff jelly at the same dosage. Also, it will probably be necessary to try batches with different proportions of gelatine before you get the desired stiffness.Of course, if you want a less firm jelly, you can reduce the carrageenan content by about 0,5 to 1 %. Otherwise, if you want a firmer jelly, increase the carrageenan content by the same amount.
SCS or sodium coco sulfate is a tenside that is widely used in various types of cosmetics requiring foaming and cleansing effects. SCS is sold in the form of white spheres, and so it does not become intensely airborne and irritate the respiratory tract when handled as SCI wont. If you are avoiding the use of sulfates in cosmetics, try our second recipe for a jelly soap containing decyl glucoside. Otherwise, SCS is a convenient form of tenside that is easy to dispense and dissolves quickly in water.
An alternative to using SCS is decyl glucoside. This is a liquid tenside with a higher pH, therefore pH adjustment of the final product is necessary. Decyl glucoside has similar properties to coco glucoside, however we have not tested this option, so we cannot guarantee that the final soap will solidify when using coco glucoside.Decyl glucoside provides an intense and rich lather that is more pronounced than when using SCS. If you have decyl glucoside on hand, try the jelly soap variant using it as well.
Mica powders are most commonly used to colour your products and can be used in a wide range of products. Mica powders are usually combined with glycerine to disperse them evenly when water is added. Mica powders can also be added at the end to a still liquid product, but there is a risk of not to mix thoroughly and lumps remain in the product. You can choose the intensity of the colouring of the product yourself, you can dose the mica powders until you reach the desired shade. At the same time, you have a wide range of colours to choose from, so you can create a product exactly to your liking.
Essential oils have been used to obtain a pleasant fragrance for the finished soaps, these concentrated aromatic extracts from plants will permeate your products with a variety of scents. Their advantage and disadvantage at the same time is that they are more intensely released when hot. Therefore, when you add them to a hot mix, you will lose some of these oils; on the other hand, when you shower and come into contact with warm water, they will be more intensely released from the soap, so you'll enjoy them even more.Of course, you can make an unscented version of the soap without these substances. Or you can reach for fragrance oils, these are synthetically prepared fragrances. On the other hand, they offer you an even wider range of scents than essential oils.
Lactic acid has been used to adjust the pH in this case. Lactic acid has the advantage that it is already sold as a solution, thus eliminating the dissolving and preparation of the solution, as in the case of citric acid. At the same time, lactic acid is relatively concentrated, so you won't need as much of it as with citric acid.It is therefore also advisable to proceed slowly when adjusting the pH, adding the acid drop by drop, stirring thoroughly, checking the pH and then adding more acid if necessary. To check the pH value you can use, for example, pH paper.
IPA, or isopropyl alcohol, is a versatile agent for removing bubbles from soaps prepared either from soap masses or from jellies. It also helps to prevent soap dust from forming in the case of conventional fat and hydroxide soaps. It is easiest to have IPA spray on hand, but if you don't currently have IPA, you don't need to use this substance. However, count on the fact that your soap will have bubbles on its surface.
As mentioned, you can experiment with homemade recipes to achieve the desired properties. However, many factors such as humidity, temperature, quality of ingredients and storage can affect the final result. Before using any raw material to make a cosmetic product, familiarize yourself with its properties, recommended dosage, storage conditions or safe handling. Any raw material may have the potential to cause an allergic reaction in sensitive individuals, so before using a product, we recommend that you find out if you suffer from an allergy to any of the raw materials or the overall product, e.g. by a skin test. If you have very sensitive or very acne-prone skin, or other skin and health problems, we recommend that you consult a medical professional before applying a new product to your skin, whether it is a homemade cosmetic product, a pure raw material or a commercially available product.
Jelly soap is a fun and interesting way to liven up an evening ritual or make a necessary hygiene routine more enjoyable for children. Have you ever tried something like this?Thank you to Ivana Jakalova for the great tutorial on how to make jelly soap.
If you have any questions and ideas on how to make your jelly soap even better, be sure to email us at marketing@handymade.skUntil we see you again for another tutorial or article, have a nice and creative day.
Until the saponification, my friends.
