How to Wrap a Bar of Soap

I thought it odd the first few times I received emails from customers about how to wrap a bar of soap. I thought, doesn't everyone know how to wrap soap? As I considered my customer base, I realized I have a great number of customers new to soap making. Many have no idea that melt and pour soap needs to be wrapped or what wraps are recommended.

Melt and pour soap must be wrapped to prevent it from sweating. Left unwrapped, little moisture droplets called 'glycerine dew' will appear on the surface of finished soaps. These are perfectly harmless, but not so pleasing to the eye. Melt and pour soap base contains glycerine. By nature, glycerine draws moisture from the air which creates unsightly little water beads on the surface of unwrapped soap. The only way to prevent this from happening is to wrap the soap.

Some soapers prefer to use shrink bags or shrink wrap. My personal favorite for wrapping melt and pour soap is basic stretch wrap (I prefer the Saran brand, red box, I swear by it). The following video takes you through the process of wrapping a basic square soap. I'll cover how to wrap circles, ovals, and odd shaped soaps in a future post. Once you master the technique, you can wrap a number of bars in no time flat. The secret is to not pull too hard on the stretch wrap and the have the stretch wrap cut to fit your bar. You don't want a bunch of extra wrap on the backside of your soap.