Glycerine soap vs traditional soaps at The Granville Island Soap Gallery

Hey all!
I was asked as I often am about what the difference is between regular soap like a traditionally made soap and glycerin soaps is.
Well, as best as I can explain it and with the help of stealing some text from Wikipedia...
Traditional soaps are a chemical reaction between an acid (oil) and a base or caustic material (lye) whereby the materials combine to create something completely different and without any of the original (well mostly) materials left over. The reaction is called Saponification and soap is created.
When we make soap one of the byproducts is glycerine and.....

Glycerin soaps are soaps that contain glycerin, a component of fat or oil. The soap is recognizably different from other soaps because it is translucent. The clarity of the soap is due to the particular alignment of the soap molecules in this type of soap, which can be induced through the addition of alcohol and sugar. This is usually done for homemade glycerin soaps which are not remeltable.
The process for making glycerin soaps was well known as of 1857 in the Western world. In modern industrial soap-making, the glycerin is then usually separated from the soap to be resold and used in a wide variety of areas such as for personal care products, pharmaceuticals, chemical intermediates, and food processing.....mostly food processing.
Glycerin soap is made by melting and continuously heating soap that has been partially dissolved in a high percentage alcohol solution until the mixture reaches a clear, jelly-like consistency. The alcohol is added to a slow cooked hot-processed soap and then simmered with a sugar solution until the soap is clear or translucent, and then the simmered soap is chilled in a freezer. With home- and hand-made soaps that still contain glycerin left over from saponification the grating, melting and cooking can proceed without the addition of anything into the mixture, though sugar or more glycerin is sometimes added. Glycerin soap can also be produced without remelting soap through directly cooking raw home-made soap.
Modern clear glycerin soaps bases are produced by combining various glycerol and polyols with soap and other surfactants in a manner similar to traditional glycerin soap making methods. These modern clear soaps have the benefit of being easily re-meltable and are often sold in bulk to customers for melt-and-pour soap crafting.

For my store I have made up for me a pure vegan glycerine soap to my standards and formula. This soap is a very gentle, purely cleansing products that holds the essential oils cleanly and clearly......a super nice product.

Intermediate soap class!

Our Intermediate soap class is upcoming tomorrow on Saturday.
We are looking forward to the class as we are doing up some fun "cake" style soaps with gorgeous decorating techniques.
Check back with us if you miss this one by calling the store at 604-669-3649 to see when the next one is happening.

Born this way

Recently I was chatting a few customers who were very interested in the designs of our soaps and they commented on the artistic nature of our items. The conversation turned very flattering to me as they asked "how did you cone up with all these cool designs?"
to which I replied "to quote Lady Gaga I guess I was just born this way"
I couldn't help but have some fun quoting one of my favourite artists as it is a compliment that I can't take any credit for really... I like what I make and use all the products. I try to have a sense of humour about the designs and styles and that is something that yes, I research, but more to the fact I guess we really ate born with whatever sense of whimsy and humour we have. Blame my groovy parents... They're a bit wacky too.
Come on by the store to see what new and exciting things we have upcoming. These days we are working towards all our wedding and bridal favours for the upcoming season. The new and hot trend is takeaway soaps for your guests instead of the stale almonds or cake... Although... Mmmmmmm caaaaaaake!!! I like that too!
See.... Just born that way.

Soap Granville Island

Soap making classes are now being registered for our upcoming dates which happen on Saturdays. We have alot of fun making some great soaps so call the store at 604-669-3649 to see what spaces are available and come join us for a laugh and learn to make sone cool stuff.