# Latest Batch - Again...no swirl



## Hazel (Jan 24, 2011)

I had such high hopes for this one. It looked sooo nice in the mold.





But when I cut it, I just got streaks of color again. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.  :cry: 





I think I'm going to have to give up on swirling. It's just not working for me. At least the soap smells great. It's a blend of Blood Orange and Bergamot/Grapefruit.

Sorry the pics are so big.


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## KD (Jan 24, 2011)

*trouble swirling*

Don't be too discouraged.  I think you have too heavy a trace.  Have you tried doing your swirl in the pot at a light trace?


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## soapbuddy (Jan 24, 2011)

It looks like you tried to swirl at a heavy trace. Try a very light trace next time. I bet it still smells good.


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## PrairieCraft (Jan 24, 2011)

It looks lovely in the mold.  I like the colors, reminds me of cotton candy.


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## Microdot (Jan 25, 2011)

It is very pretty, I LOVE the texture on the top!


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## Lynnz (Jan 25, 2011)

Beautiful texturing and love your choice of colours..........was this an in the pot swirl Hazel? How thick was your batch when you poured your secondary colours in? I would be happy to help you all I can just pm me if you have any questions :0)


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## Bubbles Galore (Jan 25, 2011)

Please don't be discouraged Hazel. You'll get it.  :wink: 

Try an ITP swirl. Pour from a height and put some at 12 o'clock, 6 o'clock, 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock and in the middle. Take a chopstick and swirl it clockwise once or twice. Pour into mould.


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## Jezzy (Jan 25, 2011)

I would say the trace was to heavy too.


I do what Carebear once told me to do and it works all of the time. ITP. Pour into pot in 3 places like a triangle. Then pour. Don't stir! 

I pour at a light pancake like trace and it always looks great!

Thanks again Carebear!

Here is the thread http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=169668&sid=772139604e6a80f7dc2f51b7dbf5b96b


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## Dragonkaz (Jan 25, 2011)

Even if it's not the effect you wanted, it still looks fantastic and the smell sounds divine.

I had a yuck result with the soap I made last weekend ... but the smell was divine.  I took a couple of bars to work and was amazed by the number of people who thought they looked great.  So we never know what others may!


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## agriffin (Jan 25, 2011)

And you might need to try out a different recipe?  One high in olive will give you alot more time to swirl.  Also a fragrance that you know will not speed up trace.  Don't give up!!


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## Hazel (Jan 25, 2011)

Thanks everyone! Yes, it was too heavy of a trace. This is the second time I've tried this recipe and it gets to a pudding like consistency very quickly. It's 40% OO which I thought would be enough to slow the trace but noooo.  :roll:  The first time I made this recipe, I blamed it on the Forbidden Fruit FO. Now I know it's the recipe and me.   

It does smell really good and the most important thing is that my sister likes it since I made it for her (mostly for her :wink: ). I did like the textured top.

It was ITM swirl but I'll try ITP next time. I'm just too slow about getting the soap into the mold. I stop when I see light trace but by the time I get it to the mold...glub! It's pudding time!


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## timbudtwo (Jan 29, 2011)

I was going to say the same thing everyone else did, too heavy a trace. When I do swirls (and there is really no sure fire way to be consistent with them) I do in the pot swirls at a really light trace. Just throw in your color (premixed) and give it ONE stir with a spoon and pour.

However, you have ventured into a more advanced technique of texturing, or whipping, the tops of your soap! Next time your soap hits a heavy trace like that let it sit for a couple minutes after you pour and then take a variety of utensils and make some peaks and valleys.

I am jealous of your slab mold. I have lots of molds and not a single slab, haha. But your soap looks great. Never give up on any technique until you master it and decide you hate it!

Edit: To add on to what agriffin said, soap colder too. I mean, not even warm to the touch. It takes FOREVER to trace even with a stick blender but you have so much more working time. You can only do this if your oils are liquid though .


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## Hazel (Jan 29, 2011)

I like the batches I've done ITP but they're thicker/wider looking swirls of color. I've been wanting to achieve a finer looking swirl with multiple colors like I've seen posted by other people. I'm going to try again with a Bastile recipe which should give me more time to play.

However, I really like the recipe for this current batch. I can't get over the creamy look of it. I had made almost the same recipe (slight change in percentages of oils) 4 weeks ago and tried a sliver of that batch a few days ago. I really like the feel and consistency of the lather. Now I know I'll have to either leave this recipe uncolored or do ITP swirl, embeds or layers.

I was thinking of how far I've come in the past year. I've gone from a simple 3 oil unscented & uncolored recipe with distilled water to 4-5 oil recipes using FOs, EOs, colorants and various liquids and additives. I have to thank the people on this forum for all the help and inspiration especially honor435 and agriffin for getting me started. None of my family or friends will have to buy soap for a long, long time.    I had intended for this batch to be the last one until we have used up most of the soap I've made. But then I found a bottle of wine which had left sitting out overnight.  :roll: Yeah, really...how hard would it have been to put the bottle back in the frig? So, I simmered the wine and will make a batch of wine soap.

timbudtwo -

I love the slab mold! It was discontinued by WSP and I'm kicking myself I didn't buy more! I wasn't sure it I'd like it so I only bought one. By the time I went to buy another, they had sold out.  :cry:  The new ones are going to be double the price so I won't be buying another again (unless they offer a really good sale  :wink:  ).


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## Fyrja (Jan 30, 2011)

I like it.  It makes me think of orange and lime sherbert for some reason.  Well that and the fact that I"m on a diet and have been fantasizing about food all day.  It's pretty though!


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## Hazel (Jan 30, 2011)

My sister made the same comment. She thought it looked like sherbert, too. I just turned the bars a little while ago and I couldn't stop sniffing them. I'm really happy with the scent. I hope it doesn't fade.


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## NancyRogers (Jan 30, 2011)

I think it's pretty!  I love the soft colors.  Bet it does smell great.


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## Hazel (Jan 30, 2011)

Thanks Nancy! 

Yep! Smells great. The Blood Orange FO was from NG and I only had 1 oz which is why I added a little of the Bergamot/Grapefruit. I'm fairly sure the FO will hold up but I'm not positive about the B/G since it's an EO. Only time will tell. 

I made another batch today. I thought the Bastile recipe would give me more time to play. Silly me. I used the wine for the liquid.  :roll:  Now I know that next time I'll need to boil the wine as opposed to simmering it. I didn't get enough of the alcohol evaporated and it accelerated like a greyhound after a rabbit.    At least it didn't seize so I did a ITP swirl and I got it into the mold.


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## Fyrja (Jan 31, 2011)

I'd really like to see the wine pics when the soap is ready.  I've got a few bottles that I need to do something with.  This diet I'm on prohibits alcohol, so I'd rather use them in soap then let them sit around get corked.


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## ToniD (Jan 31, 2011)

Hazel,   the texture on the top is lovely!    I think it is really hard to texture and swirl in the same recipe, but I am sure you will get it.

BTW, you come up with great sayings for the signature line (I think that is what it is called)


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## dubnica (Jan 31, 2011)

Hazel said:
			
		

> I had such high hopes for this one. It looked sooo nice in the mold.
> 
> I think I'm going to have to give up on swirling. It's just not working for me. At least the soap smells great. It's a blend of Blood Orange and Bergamot/Grapefruit.
> 
> Sorry the pics are so big.



I feel your pain Hazel.  Sometimes I think I will give up swirling and just do solids from now on...but then... I love swirls so I will just keep trying.


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## Hazel (Jan 31, 2011)

Fyrja - 

It's official. The wine soap is fugly. I could have handled the funky brown color. But when I covered the mold with a towel it squished the textured top down. I looked at it tonight and almost cried. I was sooo proud of the pretty wavy pattern across the top. If you're going to use wine - use white. Then you can play with colorants. 

Since you asked nicely, I will post a pic later but I'm not sure how good it will look. I'm afraid this is going to be another example of something that resembles a deposit from the south end of a dog.  :cry: 

ToniD -

Thanks for the compliment. I like the texture, too. I'm glad you enjoyed the signature line. I can't take credit for them. Either they're sent to me or I find them online. I decide to use the line if it makes me laugh out loud.

dubnica -  

I'm the same way. I just love the swirled soaps which is partly why I keep trying. The other reason is I'm just stubborn. I understand what people have been telling me on how to do it. I just keep zipping past the emulsified/light trace stage straight into the pudding stage.


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