Melt and Pour Soap and Cosmetic Base Ingredients Defined
What exactly goes into our melt and pour soap and cosmetic bases? The process is deceptively simple: Melt and pour soap and cosmetic bases are created through combining a mixture of ingredients including various fatty acids, glycerin, and a few other ingredients that create a cleansing final product.
Some of these ingredients can be hard to pronounce, but they all serve important purposes and aren't so scary when you know what they do! We’ve put together a glossary of the ingredients in our Stephenson’s melt and pour soap and cosmetic bases to help demystify any unfamiliar terms. If you plan to sell your soap, or bath and body products, this list also provides some talking points for you to share with your customers.
- Aqua
Water, typically used as a carrier for the lye and evaporates out completely by the end of the process.
- Argania Spinosa Kernal (Argan) Oil
An additive used for its moisturizing and skin softening properties.
- Avena Sativa Kernel Flour (Fine Oatmeal Powder)
An additive used for exfoliation and skin soothing properties. Great for sensitive skin.
- Beta Carotene
Used as a natural colorant.
- Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)
An additive used for its moisturizing and skin softening properties.
- Citric Acid
Naturally found in citrus fruits and used to balance the pH level of the soap to prevent it from becoming too harsh and drying.
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Sulfate-free synthetic surfactant that’s mild and increases lather.
- Coconut Acid
Mixture of fatty acids derived from coconut oil, used as a natural surfactant and emulsifier.
- Decyl Glucoside
A natural surfactant that’s gentle and helps create a thick lather. Great for sensitive skin.
- Glycerin
A natural plant-based, moisturizing humectant for soap that draws moisture from the air to your skin to help keep skin hydrated.
- Glyceryl Laurate
An emulsifier that improves the clarity of clear soaps. Derived from glycerin and lauric acid.
- Goat’s Milk
Reconstituted goat milk powder. Contains Vitamin A and alpha hydroxy acids that help remove dead skin cells. Great for all skin types and gentle enough for many skin conditions like eczema.
- Helianthus Anuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil
Additive containing Vitamin E that provides additional moisturizing properties.
- Glyceryl Stearate
Also known as glyceryl monostearate (GMS), this is a waxy substance made from glycerin and stearic acid. Used as a gentle surfactant in cleansers and is made by combining glycerine and stearic acid. It can also be used as an emulsifier in lotions to help provide moisturizing benefits.
- Lauric Acid
Fatty acid derived from coconut oil.
- Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter
Additive used for its skin conditioning properties.
- Myristic Acid
Vegetable derived fatty acid, used to make soaps more opaque.
- Palm Acid
More commonly known as Palm Oil, used for its hardening and cleansing properties.
- Pentasodium Pentetate
A chelating agent that helps pick up free metal ions in water, improving the soap’s lather and preventing them from damaging your skin or soap.
- Propylene Glycol
A synthetic humectant that helps pull moisture to the skin and helps skin absorb nourishing ingredients like glycerin and shea butter.
- Silica
Increases the viscosity of the base (what makes a soap base appear to be thick during the melting process)) to allow for suspending particles in the finished product.
- Sodium Chloride
Salt, used to increase hardness and lather.
- Sodium Citrate
Synonym for Citric Acid, naturally found in citrus fruits, used to balance the pH level of the soap to prevent it from becoming too harsh and drying.
- Sodium Cocoate
Mixture of neutralized fatty acids made from coconut oil.
- Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI)
A gentle, non-irritating, high-foam surfactant derived from coconut oil. Based on fatty acids and isethionic acid, a type of sulfonic acid. SCI is mostly found in synthetic detergent, or syndet, cleansers. It provides a rich, creamy lather and has been shown to prevent dryness, even in sensitive skin.
- Sodium Laurate
Neutralized, plant-derived fatty acid that adds to the lather ability of soap.
- Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)
Milder surfactant than SLS that helps create a nice lather and is better for those with sensitive skin.
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)
Surfactant that helps create big fluffy bubbles in the lather to help with cleansing.
- Sodium Myristate
Neutralized fatty acid that increases lather and makes soap harder.
- Sodium Oleate
Neutralized fatty acid, derived from plants, that helps with cleansing and prevents the bar from becoming too hard.
- Sodium Palmate
Mixture of neutralized fatty acids made from palm oil.
- Sodium Stearate
Neutralized fatty acid, derived from plants, used to make a hard bar of soap.
- Sodium Thiosulfate
Vanilla stabilizer that helps minimize the discoloring and browning caused by fragrances containing vanilla (vanillin).
- Sorbitol
A humectant that adds moisturizing benefits to the soap and helps draw moisture from the air to your skin to help keep skin hydrated.
- Stearic Acid
Fatty acid derived from vegetable oils, used to make a harder bar of soap.
- Sucrose
Helps increase the viscosity of the base.
- Tetrasodium Etidronate
A chelating agent that helps pick up free metal ions in water, improving the soap’s lather and preventing them from damaging your skin or soap.
- Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed
Also known as cocoa butter, an additive used for its skin softening properties.
- Titanium Dioxide
Natural ingredient that makes the soap base white.
- Tetrasodium Iminodisucinate
A chelating agent that helps pick up free metal ions in water, improving the soap’s lather and preventing them from damaging your skin or soap.
- Trisodium Sulfosuccinate
A chelating agent that helps pick up free metal ions in water, improving the soap’s lather and preventing them from damaging your skin or soap.