# SMF March Challenge- Whipped Soap



## galaxyMLP (Mar 1, 2016)

Welcome to March's soap challenge! I'm going to start with the rules. Hopefully some changes in the way voting goes will help this months challenge go smoothly. 

General Rules:
1. The only members eligible to vote are those with their names on the sign up list - regardless of whether or not you have submitted an entry.

2. We will not have a list of who has voted this time. Instead, this months voting will be password locked. Passwords will be PM'ed to registered participants ONLY. So please check your PM's when the voting begins. 

3. No posting your entry photos until the entry thread is made. Non entry photos are very welcome!

4. You are allowed to change your entry photo up until the entry thread closes. So if you decide after you post your entry you want another try, and you like the second better, you can change it up until the deadline. 


SMF Challenge General Rules
· To enter you must have a minimum of 50 posts and been a member for a month (sorry but no exceptions on this)
· Please add your name to the sign up list if you wish to participate (however, you don’t have to enter a soap at the end if you don’t feel happy with what you have produced)
· The challenge thread should be used to upload pictures of any of your challenge attempts (but, not your challenge entry) where you can ask for advice and discuss the technique with other members.
· Constructive criticism is welcomed, but please try to keep your comments polite.
· Competition entries must be uploaded to the separate entry thread before the closing date. The thread will open on 3/12/16 (Please follow the challenge specific rules as to what you need to enter)
· After the closing date 03/26/16 the winning entry will be chosen using survey monkey and the winner announced on 3/31/16. There is no prize attached to this challenge.
· If you fail to make the challenge deadline, you are still welcome to upload your soap onto the thread, but your entry will not be eligible for voting. We still love to see anything you have produced.
· Even though there is no prize, this is still a competition. If your entry is deemed not to fulfill the general rules or the rules specific to the challenge in any way, then you will be given the opportunity to amend your entry. If this is not possible then your entry will not be included in the voting.
· Newbie, Saponista, Lionproncess00, Sonya-m and GalaxyMLP reserve the right to have the final say on whether a soap is eligible for voting. 


This months challenge:
Whipped soap is made by whipping your selected fats and oils prior to adding the lye. You should use a recipe that is greater than 50% hard oils (these are solid at room temperature). However, I have heard of success at as low as 30%. You may also be able to make a blend of fats that is solid at room temperature by adding stearic acid, beeswax or the like to give you a consistency similar to body butter when cooled. You can use any blend of fats/oils in any amounts. I even tried this with a 80/20% coconut oil/OO salt bar; it didn't float (from the salt) though it worked very well. If you choose to use palm oil please understand that it must be "tempered" before use. You may also use "homogenized palm" or palm shortening if you have it at your disposal to circumvent the tempering. Whipping a soap gives it the unique ability to float. That will be the goal of this challenge. 


There are 2 rules for this challenge:

1. You must have some whipped soap present.
2. Your soap must float.

Pictures I need in the entry thread:
I need to see a picture of your soap floating in water in the challenge entry thread. You don't have to show me a full size piece of soap floating; it can be an end piece or a part of a bar. However, it must be representative of your soap. That means if you used a mix of soap types (whipped and non-whipped) your floating soap picture must contain both parts. If you used multiple fragrances/colors, all should be present in the floating soap picture. The reason is because even the tiniest bits of whipped soap float. Its due to density and the ability for the soap to float will not change with a bigger (or smaller) bar.

I also need to see a picture of your soap out of the water (it makes it easier to see and appreciate.)



Challenge tips
· I recommend using 75% of the oils/fats you normally do for a given mold. You will have some left over with proper whipping however, it should be minimal and may let you pipe some fun designs on top. My mold uses 32 oz of oil. I used a recipe with 24 oz for my whipped soap instead.
· For best results, use room temperature lye. 
· After molding, put your mold into the fridge (best) or freezer overnight. Take it out and let it sit for a day or two before unmolding/cutting.
· Try using REALLY misbehaving FOs. I used one (the coconut) that usually separates into a unusable batter, then thickens when it finally comes together, and is a heater. I did get some visible graininess but it stayed together. I've also used whipped soap for fragrances that accelerate like mad and the soap stays fluid (like a med-thick trace). I've never had a fragrance that didn't work well in whipped soap. 
· You can use any mold and any technique. You are not limited by molds, colors, pour, anything. 
· You can pour non-whipped soap with your whipped soap, the soap as a whole must float at the end. 
· You can use hot process for this challenge (yes, its possible). You will need to whip your soap after the cook. I do this by discounting my water up front and then adding milk (I find milk works best, but you can use water or any liquid) to bring it to "full water". I have pictures of my HP soap below. I tried it in late 2014 when I was salvaging what I thought was a lost HP batch. One of the nicest HP soaps I've made. It also allows you to pipe the HP soap. Pop this one into the freezer right after you finish it otherwise it will deflate. I purposefully recreated it a few months later.

The video is a full length 13 minute tutorial. Don't worry, I mute/speed up the blending parts! I had to put the camera in a cabinet and tape it there. I ran out of memory as I was pouring the lye (of course). I stopped, cleared some memory, put the camera back, and kept going. I wish my camera had better resolution but, it is what it is. I explain everything as I'm doing it in the video so I hope it helps. The battery also died as I was piping the last bit of soap. I didn't think it detracted from the tutorial itself so I did not record myself making another soap for this challenge. 

I really love whipped soap and after this month's challenge, I hope you do too!

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6deD-IeKhvs[/ame]

Picture 1 is of the CP whipped soap in the tutorial.
Pictures 2 & 3 are of HP whipped soap. It is a castile soap and would not be able to be whipped by CP.


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 1, 2016)

March Soap Challenge Entry List

1.
2.
3.


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## Saipan (Mar 1, 2016)

Ok, I'm new here, and new to whipped soap, and I know I'm not eligible to be in the contest yet, but I have a question.

Does the entire bar float in the pictures you posted?


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## FlybyStardancer (Mar 1, 2016)

Whoo! First!

And as far as using naughty FOs... I tried that last year, with NG's Pretty Kitty. It still accelerated super-quickly and separated on me.

1. FlybyStardancer
2.
3.


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## Sonya-m (Mar 1, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!! 
3.


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 1, 2016)

Saipan said:


> Ok, I'm new here, and new to whipped soap, and I know I'm not eligible to be in the contest yet, but I have a question.
> 
> Does the entire bar float in the pictures you posted?




You ask and you shall receive: 




Stardancer, that's really unfortunate to hear! I want to keep trying naughty FOs with it until I find my own failure with it. I'm sure I'll get there one day.


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## Saipan (Mar 1, 2016)

galaxyMLP, I feel I need to build a pyramid in your honor, that is awesome.


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 1, 2016)

No need to do that! You can do it too! I was very scared the first time I tried whipped soap but it's honestly really rewarding. I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone interprets it!


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## Arimara (Mar 1, 2016)

I don't know if I should try this. It's certainly interesting and I do have plenty of hard oils.


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## amd (Mar 1, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!! 
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.


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## Saipan (Mar 1, 2016)

I'm going to try it, even though I can't enter the contest.


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## Sonya-m (Mar 1, 2016)

Saipan said:


> I'm going to try it, even though I can't enter the contest.




If you have 50 posts by the closing date of the 26th you could enter. You joined on the 18th Feb so time wise you'll be fine, you just need to wait till after the 18th and 50 posts to add your name to the sign up list. You could get started with your entry now.


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## lenarenee (Mar 1, 2016)

Wow Galaxy - you've done a lot of experimenting with whipped soaps!

So the soap floats; is there any other reason to make whipped soap? (spoken from a household that only showers, never bathes)


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## traderbren (Mar 1, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!! 
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!


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## dibbles (Mar 1, 2016)

Quick question. Do I need to start scouting thrift shops for a mixer, or is it OK to use my kitchen one? I've always kept soaping tools separate.


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## Misschief (Mar 1, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!! 
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 1, 2016)

lenarenee said:


> Wow Galaxy - you've done a lot of experimenting with whipped soaps!
> 
> So the soap floats; is there any other reason to make whipped soap? (spoken from a household that only showers, never bathes)




I think it bubbles better personally. Especially the Castile soaps I made. The soap also dries out faster in the shower once it's cured. On the other hand, it melts faster if you leave it in water since it's porous! 

And the fact that you can work with ornery (IL's word!) FOs and have a higher chance of success.



dibbles said:


> Quick question. Do I need to start scouting thrift shops for a mixer, or is it OK to use my kitchen one? I've always kept soaping tools separate.



I bought a $6 mixer at Walmart (that's what I'm using) that is dedicated to soaping. I also found a bag of 3 sets of mixing attachments at goodwill about 6 months later that I keep on rotation. I don't even have one that I use for food... I really should though! 

This is the one I have and I've made all my whipped soap with it: 
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Rival-510595-Hand-Mixer-White/47487511





Saipan said:


> I'm going to try it, even though I can't enter the contest.




Like Sonya says, it looks like you can enter after the 18th as long as you have 50 posts by then! 



Arimara said:


> I don't know if I should try this. It's certainly interesting and I do have plenty of hard oils.




You should go for it! Is there a reason you don't want to?


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## MySoapyHeart (Mar 1, 2016)

Won`t enter this one, but wow what a cool challenge, looking forward to seing everyones spin on it.


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## LisaAnne (Mar 1, 2016)

I've tried to enter, anyone that knows how could you please.  Thanks!


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## snappyllama (Mar 1, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!! 
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.


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## LisaAnne (Mar 1, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!! 
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.
7.  Lisa Anne


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## dibbles (Mar 1, 2016)

galaxyMLP;582435


I bought a $6 mixer at Walmart (that's what I'm using) that is dedicated to soaping. I also found a bag of 3 sets of mixing attachments at goodwill about 6 months later that I keep on rotation. I don't even have one that I use for food... I really should though! 
[/QUOTE said:
			
		

> Cool beans - thanks! I'll check into that.


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## newbie (Mar 1, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!! 
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.
7. Lisa Anne
8. Newbie- "So excited to use a PITA FO!" said no soaper ever. Until now!!!!


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## Wildcraft_Garden (Mar 1, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer<br />
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!! <br />
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.<br />
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!<br />
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!<br />
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.<br />
7. Lisa Anne<br />
8. Newbie- "So excited to use a PITA FO!" said no soaper ever. Until now!!!!
9. Wildcraft Garden - ooh I'm excited to try this out!


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## Arimara (Mar 1, 2016)

I haven't been feeling too well for a little bit.


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## TeresaT (Mar 1, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer<br />
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!! <br />
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.<br />
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!<br />
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!<br />
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.<br />
7. Lisa Anne<br />
8. Newbie- "So excited to use a PITA FO!" said no soaper ever. Until now!!!!
9. Wildcraft Garden - ooh I'm excited to try this out!
10.  TeresaT -  I've been wanting to try to make whipped soap but didn't know how.  I'm out of 100% lard soap and need to make more.  I can use clove EO again. This is perfect!


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## Steve85569 (Mar 1, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer<br />
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!! <br />
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.<br />
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!<br />
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!<br />
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.<br />
7. Lisa Anne<br />
8. Newbie- "So excited to use a PITA FO!" said no soaper ever. Until now!!!!
9. Wildcraft Garden - ooh I'm excited to try this out!
10.  TeresaT -  I've been wanting to try to make whipped soap but didn't  know how.  I'm out of 100% lard soap and need to make more.  I can use  clove EO again. This is perfect!
11. Steve85569 - I wasn't going to and then somebody said castille  - and 'whip it good':twisted:


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## Steve85569 (Mar 1, 2016)

Arimara said:


> I haven't been feeling too well for a little bit.



Sign up anyway. Even if you don't "whip up" a batch you can still vote!
Besides - misery loves company.


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## Judiraz (Mar 1, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer<br />
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!! <br />
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.<br />
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!<br />
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!<br />
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.<br />
7. Lisa Anne<br />
8. Newbie- "So excited to use a PITA FO!" said no soaper ever. Until now!!!!
9. Wildcraft Garden - ooh I'm excited to try this out!
10. TeresaT - I've been wanting to try to make whipped soap but didn't know how. I'm out of 100% lard soap and need to make more. I can use clove EO again. This is perfect!
11. Steve85569 - I wasn't going to and then somebody said castille - and 'whip it good'
12. Judiraz- Ready to whip myself into a frenzy!


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## CaraBou (Mar 1, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer<br />
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!! <br />
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.<br />
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!<br />
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!<br />
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.<br />
7. Lisa Anne<br />
8. Newbie- "So excited to use a PITA FO!" said no soaper ever. Until now!!!!
9. Wildcraft Garden - ooh I'm excited to try this out!
10. TeresaT - I've been wanting to try to make whipped soap but didn't know how. I'm out of 100% lard soap and need to make more. I can use clove EO again. This is perfect!
11. Steve85569 - I wasn't going to and then somebody said castille - and 'whip it good'
12. Judiraz- Ready to whip myself into a frenzy!
13. CaraBou - Grapefruit Lily! (and Ginger Pear and Moroccan Fig... to save the inevitable failures)


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## Arimara (Mar 1, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer<br />
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!! <br />
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.<br />
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!<br />
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!<br />
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.<br />
7. Lisa Anne<br />
8. Newbie- "So excited to use a PITA FO!" said no soaper ever. Until now!!!!
9. Wildcraft Garden - ooh I'm excited to try this out!
10. TeresaT - I've been wanting to try to make whipped soap but didn't know how. I'm out of 100% lard soap and need to make more. I can use clove EO again. This is perfect!
11. Steve85569 - I wasn't going to and then somebody said castille - and 'whip it good'
12. Judiraz- Ready to whip myself into a frenzy!
13. CaraBou - Grapefruit Lily! (and Ginger Pear and Moroccan Fig... to save the inevitable failures)
14. Arimara- Scary... :-?


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## newbie (Mar 2, 2016)

OKay, I tried this with a superfast floral and has loads of time. I forgot to decrease my oils so had extra batter. I added my floral only to the batter used for that so the left over was unscented. It was still in excellent shape so I tried BB's Marrakesh which is extremely difficult to soap at times. I was trying something new and using a spoon to get it into the mold and I have to say, the batter got very very stiff, almost crusty so I had to move to scrape the bowl and get it all out. Even though it moved, I still had time to try out my idea so I am super super happy to have a way to make soap with some of these FO's.

Thank you mentioning the old BB Ginger Pear, Carabou. I have just a bit left but it's such a bear that I haven't bothered with it for a long time. Looks like I will be whipping soap for the next few weeks. I have all these lovely scents to try out with this. And yes, we are on the same wavelength. I bought my bottle of Moroccan Fig up from the basement as well! 

Galaxy, is it generally set in 24 hours and cut-able? I banged my mold on the counter a few times to try to get the batter all the way down and into the corners. Does that ruin its ability to float?


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## kumudini (Mar 2, 2016)

Kitchenaid stand mixer owners, one word of caution, you can't use it to whip up soap if you only have a stupid aluminum flat beater. I almost tried the one time I tried whipped soap about a year ago, caught myself just in time, avoiding a disaster. I know you folks are much more smarter and more ' present', but still I thought I would put this out there.
 I'm not decided yet about entering the challenge but another trial is definitely happening, may be pretty soon.


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## amd (Mar 2, 2016)

Steve85569 said:


> 11. Steve85569 - I wasn't going to and then somebody said castille  - and 'whip it good':twisted:



Thank you Steve! If someone didn't say "whip it good" I was going to question the general good humor of this forum! Since the challenge came out, the song has been an ear worm


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 2, 2016)

newbie said:


> Galaxy, is it generally set in 24 hours and cut-able? I banged my mold on the counter a few times to try to get the batter all the way down and into the corners. Does that ruin its ability to float?




Really glad your testing is going well!

Setting will depend on your recipe. Mine was still quite soft but I cut at ~18 hours. I suggest putting it in the fridge for ~8 hours and them moving it to room temp until it's been 24 hours total. 

My soap is a week old now and it's still relatively soft, although zap free. I may have made a boo boo somewhere in measuring there of course. It's possible. I've never had my whipped soap stay this soft. It's usually hard after 2 days maximum. 

Tamping down the mold will not ruin the whipping. The bubbles are so fine when whipped that they won't come out at all. You can see in my video that I bang my mold on the counter. It's really the only way to get it into the corners easily.

Edit: I take it back. My soap is not still soft. It just has a slight residue that my soaps only have when they are still soft so I figured they were. I just pressed them and it felt like they were ok!


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## Serene (Mar 2, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer<br />
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!! <br />
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.<br />
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!<br />
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!<br />
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.<br />
7. Lisa Anne<br />
8. Newbie- "So excited to use a PITA FO!" said no soaper ever. Until now!!!!
9. Wildcraft Garden - ooh I'm excited to try this out!
10. TeresaT - I've been wanting to try to make whipped soap but didn't  know how. I'm out of 100% lard soap and need to make more. I can use  clove EO again. This is perfect!
11. Steve85569 - I wasn't going to and then somebody said castille - and 'whip it good'
12. Judiraz- Ready to whip myself into a frenzy!
13. CaraBou - Grapefruit Lily! (and Ginger Pear and Moroccan Fig... to save the inevitable failures)
14. Arimara- Scary... 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




15. Serene-  for the kitties.


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## songwind (Mar 2, 2016)

The way things have been going I don't think I'm going to sign up this month, but it looks pretty fun. I'll try to play along.

ETA: Also, if you're doing colorants could you just put them in with the hard oils?


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## FlybyStardancer (Mar 2, 2016)

If you want a solid-colored soap, there's no reason you can't put the colorants in, though I'd imagine it'd work better to disperse them in the liquid oils and add them then.


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## newbie (Mar 2, 2016)

i just cut my soap from last night and see lots of small chunks of coconut oil in there. The stuff I get is very very hard and I have to use a knife to get it into usable pieces. My blender just chopped it up but didn't whip it. For my next go, I have melted it with some soft oils and will let it solidfy so that it's much softer and will actually whip. I am guessing my soap from last night will be lye heavy.

FYI, if you use a coconut oil that is very hard.


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## Saponista (Mar 2, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!!
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.
7. Lisa Anne
8. Newbie- "So excited to use a PITA FO!" said no soaper ever. Until now!!!!
9. Wildcraft Garden - ooh I'm excited to try this out!
10. TeresaT - I've been wanting to try to make whipped soap but didn't know how. I'm out of 100% lard soap and need to make more. I can use clove EO again. This is perfect!
11. Steve85569 - I wasn't going to and then somebody said castille - and 'whip it good'
12. Judiraz- Ready to whip myself into a frenzy!
13. CaraBou - Grapefruit Lily! (and Ginger Pear and Moroccan Fig... to save the inevitable failures)
14. Arimara- Scary... 
15. Serene- for the kitties.
16. Saponista - Do I dare try my nemesis FO Sugar Plum? There's no way I will be using it for anything else soap related so maybe I will risk it.....


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## TeresaT (Mar 2, 2016)

songwind said:


> if you're doing colorants could you just put them in with the hard oils?


 

I watched Soaping 101 regarding whipped soap after I watched Galaxy's video. The 101 lady just added her powdered colorants to the whipped soap batter and whipped it in. I was really surprised. But, as I watched, I surmised that you really can't over-whip the batter. You would just be putting more air into it and making a bigger batch out of your oils. Well, that's my theory and I'm sticking to it. (Until the chemists tell me I'm wrong. )


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## Rowan (Mar 2, 2016)

Serene said:


> 1. FlybyStardancer<br />
> 2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!! <br />
> 3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.<br />
> 4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!<br />
> ...


16. Rowan - very scary, but I loove being scared...:grin:


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 2, 2016)

newbie said:


> i just cut my soap from last night and see lots of small chunks of coconut oil in there. The stuff I get is very very hard and I have to use a knife to get it into usable pieces. My blender just chopped it up but didn't whip it. For my next go, I have melted it with some soft oils and will let it solidfy so that it's much softer and will actually whip. I am guessing my soap from last night will be lye heavy.
> 
> FYI, if you use a coconut oil that is very hard.



I'm really sorry to hear that.  This is going to be one of those things that is very temperature and oil (even supplier) dependent. 



TeresaT said:


> I watched Soaping 101 regarding whipped soap after I watched Galaxy's video. The 101 lady just added her powdered colorants to the whipped soap batter and whipped it in. I was really surprised. But, as I watched, I surmised that you really can't over-whip the batter. You would just be putting more air into it and making a bigger batch out of your oils. Well, that's my theory and I'm sticking to it. (Until the chemists tell me I'm wrong. )



Thats really neat! But, it makes total sense! Most powdered colorants are soluble in oil so it would make whipping it into the fat easy.

Its true that you can't over-whip the soap. However, there is a threshold that the fats/soap mix will reach and it wont get any bigger at that point. You just wont see it changing at that point anymore. 

************************************************************************************

I tried to make whipped soap again today. This time with palm oil instead of lard (I've made my whipped soap with lard before but, I havent really tried it CP style all veggie). It was my typical recipe that is 40% palm, 10% Shea, and 5% coconut for the hard oils and 37% OO/8% castor for the liquid oils. This was basically at the threshhold of being able to be whipped. I could not get this soap to whip up properly even with waiting for it to thicken after adding the lye. I should have known when I pulled the cooled "hard oils" mix and at 68 degrees it was still semi-liquid. I would need to up the palm, coconut, or shea in this recipe for it to work better. I did get some whipping out of it but I can bet it was not enough to make it float. 

Next time I would do:
60% Palm
15% shea
10% coconut
5% castor
10% Olive

Edit: Oh, and next time I wouldnt melt all the oils together like I did. I would just melt and temper the palm. Not the shea and coconut with it. 

For those of you who are curious what my actual recipe in the video was:
78% lard
10% olive
5% Coconut
7% Castor

I know that recipe above works very well. I've also had success doing 60/40 lard/ olive so I know that lard recipes will work as low as 60%.


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## penelopejane (Mar 2, 2016)

Galaxy, 

Is there a link to a reliable person on how to make whipped olive oil soap?


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## penelopejane (Mar 2, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!!
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.
7. Lisa Anne
8. Newbie- "So excited to use a PITA FO!" said no soaper ever. Until now!!!!
9. Wildcraft Garden - ooh I'm excited to try this out!
10. TeresaT - I've been wanting to try to make whipped soap but didn't know how. I'm out of 100% lard soap and need to make more. I can use clove EO again. This is perfect!
11. Steve85569 - I wasn't going to and then somebody said castille - and 'whip it good'
12. Judiraz- Ready to whip myself into a frenzy!
13. CaraBou - Grapefruit Lily! (and Ginger Pear and Moroccan Fig... to save the inevitable failures)
14. Arimara- Scary... 
15. Serene- for the kitties.
16. Saponista - Do I dare try my nemesis FO Sugar Plum? There's no way I will be using it for anything else soap related so maybe I will risk it.....
17. Rowan - very scary, but I loove being scared...
18. Penelope Jane - When something is goin' wrong you must whip it.


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## lionprincess00 (Mar 2, 2016)

I just filmed April's challenge. If it cuts nice, I'll be free to sign up this month! Never had an interest in whipped soap before, but you're video has definitely peaked my interest!!! I hope I will be able to sign up and play along!


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## FlybyStardancer (Mar 2, 2016)

newbie said:


> i just cut my soap from last night and see lots of small chunks of coconut oil in there. The stuff I get is very very hard and I have to use a knife to get it into usable pieces. My blender just chopped it up but didn't whip it. For my next go, I have melted it with some soft oils and will let it solidfy so that it's much softer and will actually whip. I am guessing my soap from last night will be lye heavy.
> 
> FYI, if you use a coconut oil that is very hard.



I had that happen the first time I made whipped soap, so the next time I melted all of the hard oils together and chilled them to get them solidified again. It worked really well! No lumps at all.


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## snappyllama (Mar 2, 2016)

I think I'm going to go for the melt everything together and chill method. My solid oils are all *very* solid right now, and I'm worried about getting CO unwhipped chunks. The house is pretty chilly until spring finally arrives (stupid lying gophers falsely prognosticating while I'm watching snow fall).


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 2, 2016)

penelopejane said:


> Galaxy,
> 
> 
> 
> Is there a link to a reliable person on how to make whipped olive oil soap?




Not that I'm aware of. I've never even seen it done before I did it myself. Let me go ahead an do a video of myself tomorrow doing it from start to finish. I need more of that soap anyway!


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## newbie (Mar 2, 2016)

I tried with the CO plus castor melted and poured over my tallow. IT still got too hard in the bottom of the bowl and I was finding chunks so I melted the whole thing together (tons of tiny bubble emerged as it was melting which I found kind of fascinating since you can't see bubbles in any way in the fats) and am cooling it as well. I will melt together all my hard oils and let them cool for all my other attempts.


----------



## LisaAnne (Mar 2, 2016)

I realize that  might  be a crazy  idea, but I'm going to try some heavy whipping cream for some of the liquid. Has anyone tried that?


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## Arimara (Mar 2, 2016)

LisaAnne said:


> I realize that  might  be a crazy  idea, but I'm going to try some heavy whipping cream for some of the liquid. Has anyone tried that?



Wow, that's risky, at least in my head. You'd probably need a lower superfat and all. Maybe it will be luxurious.


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## newbie (Mar 2, 2016)

I'm not sure why it would be risky. Heavy cream, milks, sour cream, yoghurt can all be added as part of liquid for soap. Using it with this method should protect the milk from burning as I've noticed the batter doesn't get hot and you can't gel. I agree about lowering the superfat of the rest of the recipe or calculating the amount of fat in the cream and accounting for it in a lye calculator. I will be really interested to hear what happens. I would add the cream directly to the fats so it gets whipped and then add a stronger concentration of lye separately. I personally would use a 1:1 lye:water solution and add the balance of the liquid as cream to the oils. I wouldn't add the cream to the lye solution.


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## LisaAnne (Mar 2, 2016)

newbie said:


> I'm not sure why it would be risky. Heavy cream, milks, sour cream, yoghurt can all be added as part of liquid for soap. Using it with this method should protect the milk from burning as I've noticed the batter doesn't get hot and you can't gel. I agree about lowering the superfat of the rest of the recipe or calculating the amount of fat in the cream and accounting for it in a lye calculator. I will be really interested to hear what happens. I would add the cream directly to the fats so it gets whipped and then add a stronger concentration of lye separately. I personally would use a 1:1 lye:water solution and add the balance of the liquid as cream to the oils. I wouldn't add the cream to the lye solution.


It's worth a try I think.  could be interesting. Going for super fluffy. Thanks again  for advise, I will use it.


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 2, 2016)

LisaAnne, I think that would be a great idea to try!  I also agree with reducing the SF for that batch since whipping cream is almost all fat. 

You can see in my video that I added the milk/honey in after I added my solid fats, whipped them and added my oils. You don't have to do that. I agree with newbie that you should add it in with the hard fats in this case since you want to whip the cream as well.


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## LisaAnne (Mar 2, 2016)

Yes! Looking forward to this weekends soaping. Fun challenge!


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## LisaAnne (Mar 2, 2016)

I tried the cream and it totally changed the texture. I still like it, kind of a thick creamy pudding. Next I think I will beat it separately. I'm sure it will float. Was very easy to work with. Will definitely try it again, especially if the soap texture feels nice.


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## CaraBou (Mar 3, 2016)

FlybyStardancer said:


> I had that happen the first time I made whipped soap, so the next time I melted all of the hard oils together and chilled them to get them solidified again. It worked really well! No lumps at all.



That's what you do for whipped body butter of hard shea, cocoa butter &/or CO, so that makes sense to me.  Thanks for the tip.

I'm thinking this is a great technique to use for designs that need sculpting.  It's worth a try anyway!


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## newbie (Mar 3, 2016)

I was thinking the same thing after my first batch. This would very well for the technique Claudia used for her winter soap.


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## Arimara (Mar 3, 2016)

newbie said:


> I'm not sure why it would be risky. Heavy cream, milks, sour cream, yoghurt can all be added as part of liquid for soap. Using it with this method should protect the milk from burning as I've noticed the batter doesn't get hot and you can't gel. I agree about lowering the superfat of the rest of the recipe or calculating the amount of fat in the cream and accounting for it in a lye calculator. I will be really interested to hear what happens. I would add the cream directly to the fats so it gets whipped and then add a stronger concentration of lye separately. I personally would use a 1:1 lye:water solution and add the balance of the liquid as cream to the oils. I wouldn't add the cream to the lye solution.



I did say in my head.  Just like some ideas sound absolutely great or dreadful until they are put to action, I won't truly know if this is a good way to go until it is done. I have to see someone do it or at worst, do it my self.

I think folding the cream into the oils may help you, LisaAnne


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## LisaAnne (Mar 3, 2016)

Yeah I think so Arimara. Not sure why I didn't think of that. I see a lot of floating soap making this month. My soap from last night is dense,  smooth looking and floats!


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## amd (Mar 3, 2016)

Shhh....sculpting whipped soap was going to be my trick....  I'm going to use my orchid fo that is a real pita (two attempts made - of nonwhipped - and still can't soap in the mold before it becomes concrete). And just for the extra challenge.... I might throw in some goats milk for the first time ever.


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## penelopejane (Mar 3, 2016)

galaxyMLP said:


> Not that I'm aware of. I've never even seen it done before I did it myself. Let me go ahead an do a video of myself tomorrow doing it from start to finish. I need more of that soap anyway!




That is very kind of you Galaxy 

Thank you very much,


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## TeresaT (Mar 3, 2016)

I got really stoked today when I started.  My lard is whipped.  My lye is ready.  Yet the two shall not meet.  I don't have a hand mixer!  In my infinite wisdom, I tossed it when I bought my Kitchenaid.  So, the lye will go into a plastic pitcher with a lid and the lard will go into a bowl with a lid until I get to the dollar store. My Kitchenaid whisk is aluminum.  Fortunately, I did remember that before the lye.  I was looking for the hand mixer while that puppy was working its magic.  My lard looks so pretty!!


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## dibbles (Mar 3, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!!
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.
7. Lisa Anne
8. Newbie- "So excited to use a PITA FO!" said no soaper ever. Until now!!!!
9. Wildcraft Garden - ooh I'm excited to try this out!
10. TeresaT - I've been wanting to try to make whipped soap but didn't know how. I'm out of 100% lard soap and need to make more. I can use clove EO again. This is perfect!
11. Steve85569 - I wasn't going to and then somebody said castille - and 'whip it good'
12. Judiraz- Ready to whip myself into a frenzy!
13. CaraBou - Grapefruit Lily! (and Ginger Pear and Moroccan Fig... to save the inevitable failures)
14. Arimara- Scary... 
15. Serene- for the kitties.
16. Saponista - Do I dare try my nemesis FO Sugar Plum? There's no way I will be using it for anything else soap related so maybe I will risk it.....
17. Rowan - very scary, but I loove being scared...
18. Penelope Jane - When something is goin' wrong you must whip it. 
19. dibbles - Found cheap mixer, will see what happens


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## LazyUmbrella (Mar 3, 2016)

is it just me or did anyone else have the Benny Hill theme song in their head every time the video sped up


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## LazyUmbrella (Mar 3, 2016)

really awesome video, by the way!


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 3, 2016)

Haha! Thats so funny! I had to look that up becasue I didnt know what it sounded like but its fits perfectly! 

I tried to add royalty free music into my video but lets just say that didnt work very well. I decided to just leave it without!

I'm really glad you liked the video. This is only the second one I've done. But, I started really looking into what I liked/didn't like on soaping videos on youtube and I modeled it after ones I liked. I thought my first video (the one for the september challenge) was too jerky and all over the place. I taped my camera into the kitchen cabinet above my head for this tutorial. 

It worked so surprisingly well that I decided to start filming myself regularly. I've filmed myself doing 5 soaps since then. I also have more time then I used to now for soaping so I thought this might be a good way to showcase me soaping/soaps. 

On the note of filming myself, I wasnt able to make that HP castile whipped soap today as I forgot I had a new market to go to today. I will get to it tomorrow and post the video by saturday though!


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## soapswirl (Mar 3, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!!
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.
7. Lisa Anne
8. Newbie- "So excited to use a PITA FO!" said no soaper ever. Until now!!!!
9. Wildcraft Garden - ooh I'm excited to try this out!
10. TeresaT - I've been wanting to try to make whipped soap but didn't know how. I'm out of 100% lard soap and need to make more. I can use clove EO again. This is perfect!
11. Steve85569 - I wasn't going to and then somebody said castille - and 'whip it good'
12. Judiraz- Ready to whip myself into a frenzy!
13. CaraBou - Grapefruit Lily! (and Ginger Pear and Moroccan Fig... to save the inevitable failures)
14. Arimara- Scary... 
15. Serene- for the kitties.
16. Saponista - Do I dare try my nemesis FO Sugar Plum? There's no way I will be using it for anything else soap related so maybe I will risk it.....
17. Rowan - very scary, but I loove being scared...
18. Penelope Jane - When something is goin' wrong you must whip it. 
19. dibbles - Found cheap mixer, will see what happens
20. Soapswirl - I'm sure I have a few pesky FOs to revisit...


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## Misschief (Mar 3, 2016)

Once my husband wakes up from his nap, I'll be trying a small batch of floating soap. I am totally uninspired right now (as well as being sick) so I figure that making a small batch (8 oz of oils) may get the creative juices going.


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## Misschief (Mar 4, 2016)

Well, that was a learning experience. My small batch is in the mold. I kept it very simple for the trial batch. My recipe was:

50% Lard
15% Coconut oil
10% Avocado oil
10% Mango butter
10% Olive oil
5% Castor

I melted the coconut and mango together, then let them harden back up. After an hour on the counter, they still weren't. So I put them in the fridge while I whipped the lard. I kept checking the CO and mango and they were NOT cooperating at all so I slowly incorporated them into the lard and stuck the whole bowl in the freezer for about 20 minutes. That finally got everything hard enough that I could get nice firm peaks. Then I added the soft oils, a cube of coconut milk, and the lye.

Once poured into individual molds, I put the tray in the fridge for a couple of hours, until I went to bed. This morning, they're almost hard enough to unmold. I unmolded on bar; you can see it's still a bit sticky so I'll leave them alone and try again this evening... if I'm that patient. I'm home sick again today so you can be sure I'll be hovering over them.


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## dixiedragon (Mar 4, 2016)

dibbles said:


> 1. FlybyStardancer
> 2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!!
> 3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.
> 4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!
> ...


 20. Dixiedragon - my 2 previous challenge attempts have been a bust.


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## newbie (Mar 4, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!!
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.
7. Lisa Anne
8. Newbie- "So excited to use a PITA FO!" said no soaper ever. Until now!!!!
9. Wildcraft Garden - ooh I'm excited to try this out!
10. TeresaT - I've been wanting to try to make whipped soap but didn't know how. I'm out of 100% lard soap and need to make more. I can use clove EO again. This is perfect!
11. Steve85569 - I wasn't going to and then somebody said castille - and 'whip it good'
12. Judiraz- Ready to whip myself into a frenzy!
13. CaraBou - Grapefruit Lily! (and Ginger Pear and Moroccan Fig... to save the inevitable failures)
14. Arimara- Scary... 
15. Serene- for the kitties.
16. Saponista - Do I dare try my nemesis FO Sugar Plum? There's no way I will be using it for anything else soap related so maybe I will risk it.....
17. Rowan - very scary, but I loove being scared...
18. Penelope Jane - When something is goin' wrong you must whip it. 
19. dibbles - Found cheap mixer, will see what happens
20. Soapswirl - I'm sure I have a few pesky FOs to revisit...
21. Dixiedragon - my 2 previous challenge attempts have been a bust.


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## Arimara (Mar 4, 2016)

I have to wait til tomorrow to make a practice run. I also have to check some oils and consider a colorant. I'm between debating turmeric and cheapie saffron + a FO with some vanilla.


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## TeresaT (Mar 4, 2016)

Why do we not want this to gel?  I always gel my soaps.  Usually force-gel in the oven, so sticking this in the fridge after I fill the mold will be strange.  I'm using all lard.  Should I make the mold cold before I fill it?  I stopped at the Dollar General on my way to work this morning, so I'm going to feed the dogs and leave them in their kennels while I "get my soap on" tonight.

This is my first batch since I've adopted Max.  The girls never lie in the kitchen while I'm working; however, he is my shadow.  If I'm washing dishes or cooking, he's right there on the floor.  He's definitely going to have to be kenneled when I soap.  Fortunately, all (four) of the dogs are well trained and don't mind being kenneled.


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## Misschief (Mar 4, 2016)

TeresaT said:


> Why do we not want this to gel?



My impression is that all the air you've incorporated by beating would be deflated by the heat. I could be wrong, though.


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## TeresaT (Mar 4, 2016)

Oh.  Shows how much I know.  I thought it would make the bubbles bigger and we'd end up with Swiss cheese or exploding soap.


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## newbie (Mar 4, 2016)

You won't need to chill your mold. The texture of the batter is firm if you whip it  a lot and thick but pourable if you whip it somewhat less. It doesn't heat up but I suppose if you use a heater of an FO, it makes more sense to pop it in the fridge to prevent any heating. I've left mine out without problems but the FO's were not big-time accelerators. Putting in the fridge is good insurance. 

Waiting for Ms. Lenaree to sign up so we can get her all charged up to soap again! She's got two new molds to break in, too.


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## newbie (Mar 4, 2016)

This is like working with big blocks of marshmallow fluff that mated with styrofoam! It's so airy and a little fragile although I suspect in a few days it will be hard as a rock due to the recipe.

Sorry about the dog hair. I have three big shedders and i am always covered in it. I could never sell, obviously.


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## Misschief (Mar 4, 2016)

I had to see if mine would actually float. It does! I showed my husband and he told me it needed a mast and a sail.


----------



## LisaAnne (Mar 4, 2016)

Is there an advantage to use accelerating FOs? If so I gave a rose I would love to try.


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## DeeAnna (Mar 4, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!!
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.
7. Lisa Anne
8. Newbie- "So excited to use a PITA FO!" said no soaper ever. Until now!!!!
9. Wildcraft Garden - ooh I'm excited to try this out!
10. TeresaT - I've been wanting to try to make whipped soap but didn't know how. I'm out of 100% lard soap and need to make more. I can use clove EO again. This is perfect!
11. Steve85569 - I wasn't going to and then somebody said castille - and 'whip it good'
12. Judiraz- Ready to whip myself into a frenzy!
13. CaraBou - Grapefruit Lily! (and Ginger Pear and Moroccan Fig... to save the inevitable failures)
14. Arimara- Scary...
15. Serene- for the kitties.
16. Saponista - Do I dare try my nemesis FO Sugar Plum? There's no way I will be using it for anything else soap related so maybe I will risk it.....
17. Rowan - very scary, but I loove being scared...
18. Penelope Jane - When something is goin' wrong you must whip it.
19. dibbles - Found cheap mixer, will see what happens
20. Soapswirl - I'm sure I have a few pesky FOs to revisit...
21. Dixiedragon - my 2 previous challenge attempts have been a bust. 
22. DeeAnna - Not sure where this challenge will take me, but I'm willing to follow along!


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 4, 2016)

Ok, I've uploaded the hot process whipped soap!

https://youtu.be/Bqd-u8-o8sA


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## KristaY (Mar 4, 2016)

Nice job, Galaxy! The more I watch, the more I'm fascinated by this technique and blown away it can be done HP. Thank you for sharing and hosting this challenge!


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## Arimara (Mar 4, 2016)

Decisions decisions... Both methods look challenging and HP looks a little easier.


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## newbie (Mar 4, 2016)

The advantage in this technique is just that you CAN use accelerating FOs. I'm trying to figure out all the variables but I had two batches where the batter stayed very stiff and pipable and two where I could see it deflating a little and it became creamier and more pourable. I am wondering if the creamier batches got a little warm from the FO and that decreased the bubbles in the oils. It would not have been possible to pipe those. If the FO is a heater, I think that would be a disadvantage if you wanted stiff enough batter to pipe or for your design. Most accelerators heat a bit so that would be my guess as to the disadvantage of using one over a well-behaved FO.

I should add that the creamier bars still float so it's not a deal-breaker.


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## lenarenee (Mar 5, 2016)

Misschief said:


> I had to see if mine would actually float. It does! I showed my husband and he told me it needed a mast and a sail.


 
Ooh! Now make little floapy people to sail on it! And a little floapy dolphin!


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## penelopejane (Mar 5, 2016)

lenarenee said:


> Ooh! Now make little floapy people to sail on it! And a little floapy dolphin!



Ohhhh so this is a boat challenge?


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## lenarenee (Mar 5, 2016)

penelopejane said:


> Ohhhh so this is a boat challenge?


 
Unhappily, I have to admit, I don't see the appeal of whipped soap (except it makes me want bake something)

So, if your soap is going to float...make it useful!  TOYS!!!  (Maybe I could get our 8 yr old to take a bath. She's the girl version of Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes)

Don't make me have to pipe something. Haven't done that in years.
Wait....what am I worried about? I'm not doing the challenge, right?


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## newbie (Mar 5, 2016)

Leeeeeena? Show us what whipped soap should really be about- TOYS! Sign up and soap with us!


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## amd (Mar 5, 2016)

My soap has been whipped and molded and will reside in the fridge until I get home tomorrow afternoon.


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## lionprincess00 (Mar 5, 2016)

1. FlybyStardancer
2. Sonya-m - super excited to try this!!
3. amd - I have no idea what I've gotten myself into But I'm doing it.
4. traderbren - can't wait to whip it good!
5. Misschief - Oh, such fun!
6. Snappyllama - I cannot wait to try my hand at whipping up a batch.
7. Lisa Anne
8. Newbie- "So excited to use a PITA FO!" said no soaper ever. Until now!!!!
9. Wildcraft Garden - ooh I'm excited to try this out!
10. TeresaT - I've been wanting to try to make whipped soap but didn't know how. I'm out of 100% lard soap and need to make more. I can use clove EO again. This is perfect!
11. Steve85569 - I wasn't going to and then somebody said castille - and 'whip it good'
12. Judiraz- Ready to whip myself into a frenzy!
13. CaraBou - Grapefruit Lily! (and Ginger Pear and Moroccan Fig... to save the inevitable failures)
14. Arimara- Scary...
15. Serene- for the kitties.
16. Saponista - Do I dare try my nemesis FO Sugar Plum? There's no way I will be using it for anything else soap related so maybe I will risk it.....
17. Rowan - very scary, but I loove being scared...
18. Penelope Jane - When something is goin' wrong you must whip it.
19. dibbles - Found cheap mixer, will see what happens
20. Soapswirl - I'm sure I have a few pesky FOs to revisit...
21. Dixiedragon - my 2 previous challenge attempts have been a bust.*
22. DeeAnna - Not sure where this challenge will take me, but I'm willing to follow along!
23. Lionprincess- I think I'll be able to play along! Now onto brainstorming roblem:


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## dibbles (Mar 5, 2016)

Just finished my first try - a little 1 lb batch. One advantage to living in the cold northern climate is, unlimited refrigerator space  My little soap loaf and two bars in a cavity mold are sitting on the porch, just chillin'.

ETA: I wanted to see if this technique would allow those elusive citrus EOs to stick. So I used a 50:50 blend of lemon (the one I find to be the most fleeting) and peru balsam. We'll see.


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## TeresaT (Mar 5, 2016)

OK.  I made one two pound batch and two different soaps.  Both are in the fridge chilling.  However, I have no idea if they ever reached trace.  Does whipped soap actually reach trace?  Trust me, I whipped the crud out of that stuff.  I have never not gelled my soap before so this is weird for me.  After almost three hours, I touched the top of the first mold I put in the fridge and it is still really soft--and greasy.  When I washed it off my fingers, I got no suds at all.   I videoed myself doing this process and after watching, I'm estimating I took at least two minutes to incorporate all of the lye into the lard.  Then I mixed it for a few more minutes before dividing it to add the colorants.  I just added the mica to the batter so I mixed longer than I normally would have to fully distribute the colorant throughout.  Sooooo, the point is, if this wasn't a whipped soap to start with, I would have had soap on a stick with all of the mixing I did.  I used 33.333% lye solution (my normal master batched solution).   However, I have no idea if I will actually have soap or two molds full of lye-full lard (lardy lye?).


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## FlybyStardancer (Mar 5, 2016)

No, there isn't really anything so obvious as trace when you're making whipped soap. On the other hand, everything is so cold and thick that it's difficult for it to break!


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## TeresaT (Mar 5, 2016)

FlybyStardancer said:


> No, there isn't really anything so obvious as trace when you're making whipped soap. On the other hand, everything is so cold and thick that it's difficult for it to break!



So just leave it alone and stop worrying about it?  OK.  I'll revisit it tomorrow to see if it's ready to cut.  Thanks for the quick response.


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## FlybyStardancer (Mar 5, 2016)

It should be fine!  Remember, whipped soaps are kept very cold, which means saponification will take longer, and thus it'll be longer for it to be zap-free. So long as there's not any obvious large amounts of weeping and separating, you should be fine.


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## newbie (Mar 5, 2016)

Lenaree got me thinking about making floating soap look like a water thing, so I carved this bar and colored it to look like a whale. It's all superficial though and it will be a plain boring bare once the features come off. Still, it was fun to do!

Um, yeah, it would look better if a blurred it a bit.


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## Arimara (Mar 5, 2016)

I made a batch today via HP and it passed the test. It's unremarkable but I'll edit this post and post a pic soon. I'm just going to have to wait for a change in color if it happens.


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## LisaAnne (Mar 5, 2016)

Um, yeah, it would look better if a blurred it a bit.[/QUOTE]

Love your soap! I looked at pic before I read and thought "that looks like a fish!"


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## dibbles (Mar 5, 2016)

newbie said:


> Lenaree got me thinking about making floating soap look like a water thing, so I carved this bar and colored it to look like a whale. It's all superficial though and it will be a plain boring bare once the features come off. Still, it was fun to do!
> 
> Um, yeah, it would look better if a blurred it a bit.



That's awesome, Newbie!


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## LazyUmbrella (Mar 5, 2016)

just came in here to say what dibbles said about newbie's carving: that. is. AWE. SOME.


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## CaraBou (Mar 5, 2016)

Cool critter! Love the stippled style and the eye that caught mine.


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## Wildcraft_Garden (Mar 5, 2016)

Awesome whale!


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 5, 2016)

Love the whale!


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## newbie (Mar 5, 2016)

Thanks! Unfortunately my guy is one wash away from oblivion, unlike my friend, the model, who is hopefully many many washes away from the same fate.


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## jules92207 (Mar 6, 2016)

newbie said:


> Lenaree got me thinking about making floating soap look like a water thing, so I carved this bar and colored it to look like a whale. It's all superficial though and it will be a plain boring bare once the features come off. Still, it was fun to do!
> 
> Um, yeah, it would look better if a blurred it a bit.



Wow. That is some serious art, girl.


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## CaraBou (Mar 6, 2016)

Yeah, you nailed your model!


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## mintle (Mar 6, 2016)

I made a practice batch yesterday to see if I was even technically able to take part in this challenge. It was quite a fun! I used a well-behaved fragrance because I did not want to make things even more difficult (although I have this beautiful but rude Jasmin FO I might try next time...). I had some problems with smoothing out the lard (the tiny fat chunks were visible despite whipping like crazy) so I left the hard oils in room temperature for a couple of hours to soften them. 

My husband was obviously disappointed I was not working on a cake, but soap again . 

The soap is very, very soft after 18 hours of sitting in the mold. 

My mind is telling me to go big with one crazy landscape idea I have for this challenge, one that combines regular cp with whipped soap. Not sure however if I have time to do it. Thank you for encouraging us to try this technique!


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## Saponista (Mar 6, 2016)

I'm a bit disappointed hearing how soft it is. I was hoping to get a sort of mouldable dough, I wonder how long I would have to wait to achieve that.


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## Misschief (Mar 6, 2016)

Saponista said:


> I'm a bit disappointed hearing how soft it is. I was hoping to get a sort of mouldable dough, I wonder how long I would have to wait to achieve that.



I wonder if it would be harder if you went with the same oils that are in Ivory soap. 



> The Ivory soap bar (classic) contained: sodium tallowate, sodium cocoate or sodium palm kernelate, water, sodium chloride, sodium silicate, magnesium sulfate, and fragrance. The soap bar had a determined pH value: 9.5. (Wikipedia)



Tallow, Coconut oil or palm kernel oil, water, salt, sodium silicate (not sure what that is exactly... a humectant?), epsom salt, and fragrance.  No soft oils at all.


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## TeresaT (Mar 6, 2016)

I'm a genius!  I've just decided what my first production soap will be AND the title.  It will be a cocoa powder colored patch & grass scented individual piles of drops whipped soap called:  "This Sh!t DOES Float".  I'm a genius.  Oh, I said that already.  :twisted:  :clap:   BTW:  good morning and happy Sunday everyone.  The sun is shining and I'm baaaaaaack!


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## dibbles (Mar 6, 2016)

I tried unmolding one of the individual bars from my first batch. It stuck around the bottom, and the soap is still very soft. I don't want to attempt to unmold the soap in the 1 lb mold. It was in the refrigerator overnight. What do I do with it now - let it sit on the counter, back in the fridge? I'm leaving for a week on Tuesday - I hope it comes out before then! On the plus side - it floats. On the minus side - no lather at all. I'm afraid to zap test it yet.


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## Misschief (Mar 6, 2016)

Dibbles, I made my sample batch Friday night and yesterday afternoon, it was still zappy. This morning, it isn't. I used individual bar molds and had to wait a full 24 hours plus before I could unmold. HTH.


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## dibbles (Mar 6, 2016)

Thanks Misschief. Maybe it will be ready to come out tonight. I for sure won't be trying this again before I leave. I hope that I either have time for another try when I get back, or this one is entry worthy.


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## FlybyStardancer (Mar 6, 2016)

Haven't been able to work on a batch of whipped yet (I really needed to get that salt bar made, since I've had the oils measured for so long!)... I keep debating on what FO to use! I know what color design I want to go with, but none of my unused FOs go with the idea behind it...


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## jules92207 (Mar 6, 2016)

TeresaT said:


> I'm a genius!  I've just decided what my first production soap will be AND the title.  It will be a cocoa powder colored patch & grass scented individual piles of drops whipped soap called:  "This Sh!t DOES Float".  I'm a genius.  Oh, I said that already.  :twisted:  :clap:   BTW:  good morning and happy Sunday everyone.  The sun is shining and I'm baaaaaaack!



This is hilarious...


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## TeresaT (Mar 6, 2016)

Jules, the inspirations were the "poop" emoticon and my favorite saying: that "stuff" don't float.   I am going to have to practice making my piles.  I need to buy googily eyes.


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## DeeAnna (Mar 6, 2016)

I want to share what I've been trying so others can give it a whirl if they want to. I have been making whipped soap as a type of rebatch and it seems to work pretty well. I'm still working out the details, but here's the general outline --

Prepare a mold. If you grate 2 regular bars of soap, your mold should have a volume of 3 to 4 bars to contain all or most of the fluffier floating soap.
Grate bar soap into shreds. At the moment, I'm thinking the best type to use is a soap that has a firm waxy texture, not brittle and not soft.
Prepare any decorative additives, such as other shreds to add as confetti or whatever, and any fragrance or colorant.
Pour a cup or two of distilled water into a small pitcher.

Find a wide pot with lower sides -- a stainless steel or porcelain coated skillet or dutch oven will work well. A wide pan means there is a large heated surface on which to melt the soap. Lower sides make it easier for you to stir without getting too stiff or tired.

If you have a heat diffuser to "soften" the heat from your stove burner, use it.
Put the diffuser on the burner and the pot on top of that.
Turn the burner on medium low. 

Put a small handful of shreds into the pot and let them start to melt. 
Add tiny portions of water -- a teaspoon to a tablespoon -- as the soap begins to coat the bottom of the pan. Let the water evaporate before adding more. The idea is to keep the soap from sticking too much to the pan, but not to increase the water content of the soap too much. 
If you see what looks like smoke rising from the pan, it probably is. Add a bit of water to cool things down, stir more frequently, and perhaps reduce your heat slightly.

Stir gently but often to keep the soap moving around the pan and melting slowly and evenly.
Add more handfuls of shreds and continue to melt until all the soap is in the pot. Don't add a lot of shreds at a time -- be patient.
Continue to heat and stir, adding tiny dribs and drabs of water as needed. 

When the soap heats to 140 to 160 deg F (60 to 70 C), it will begin to magically foam and puff up like warm Marshmallow Fluff. Remove a small dollop and put it into water to see if it floats -- it should!
At this point, the soap shreds should be almost all melted. You can use a wire whisk or electric hand mixer to beat more air into the soap and also to smooth out the texture. Do this while the pan is still on the stove. A stick blender will probably not work because the mixture will be very sticky and somewhat stringy -- again, think Marshmallow Fluff.
When the soap reaches 150 to 160 deg F (65 to 70 C), mix in any additives, fragrance, and colorant.

Fill the mold. Pouring this sticky, puffy soap won't work well for me. I more or less threw spoonfuls of the soap into the mold to force the soap into all the corners.
If the soap sags in the middle as it cools, gently press the edges down so the top becomes flat again. I used a small flat piece of wood to press the edges down and it worked really well. The more water is in the molded soap, the more it will sag in the middle, much like a normal rebatch or HP soap.
Let the soap cool thoroughly before removing from the mold. 

You may need to let the unmolded soap dry in the open air for awhile before cutting depending on the water content in the soap. More water = softer = wait longer to cut.
If you have a wire cutter, it may be possible to gently cut the bars and set them aside to dry further. If you must use a knife, you may need to wait longer.

And, yes, it still floats!


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## newbie (Mar 6, 2016)

I've been using 75% tallow, 15% CO and 5% castor and if it's cool, the fats will be pretty stiff when whipped. After the lye water is added, it stays pretty stiff most of the time. Maybe if you whip in the lye water and then put it in the fridge or freezer for a little bit, it would be more moldable, Saponista. I'm not sure about dough but I would bet it would get firm enough to be manipulated some without losing its airiness. Too much heat from your hands might affect the surface airiness though.

I haven't done it but I'm curious about what happens if you use whipped with regular batter. I've been wondering if the heat that regular batter generates when the lye water is added would affect the whipped soap when they are in contact. Does the whipped soap deflate a little or "melt" as it were?

Also wanted to add that my lather has been absolute crap as well if I try it inmthe first several days. I just tried my first one, Made Wednesday or maybe Tuesday and it's just starting to give some fair lather.


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## marlajune (Mar 6, 2016)

*Where can I catch your vids?*



galaxyMLP said:


> Haha! Thats so funny! I had to look that up becasue I didnt know what it sounded like but its fits perfectly!
> 
> I tried to add royalty free music into my video but lets just say that didnt work very well. I decided to just leave it without!
> 
> ...



Where can I see your videos? thanks!


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## DeeAnna (Mar 6, 2016)

Hi, Marlajune -- Say, Galaxy's video is in Post #1 of this thread.


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## Arimara (Mar 6, 2016)

Don't forget post #83.


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## Steve85569 (Mar 6, 2016)

I ran a test batch of 65% lard, 20 CO, 10% apricot and 5% castor. 1 oz of aloe gel to 14 oz of oil. Looked like whipped cream and 14 oz filled a 4 cup measuring cup to the brim. It looks like I won't be able to take a whole bar out of the rimmed mold until 36 hours at least though. These bars usually weigh in at 2.5 ounces and these are coming in right at 1.0.

This is going to be a fun technique and thank you for this challenge. 

After reading some of these posts I may just HAVE TO get out the coco powder!


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## Misschief (Mar 6, 2016)

LOL.. you guys are funny. Thing is, the thought occurred to me, too. I am so uninspired with this challenge. I'm just not sure which direction to take. My first thought went to food related items...you know, whipping cream, frosting.... but I don't like soap that looks like food so I don't want to go there. My next thought was "what floats?" No inspiration there, either. Except for the poop... there's always that.

Now, I'm just not sure which way to go. Plain and simple? Coloured and swirly? Maybe this flu/cold bug is affecting my imagination but I can't think of anything inspiring at all.


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## TeresaT (Mar 6, 2016)

I'VE GOT FLOATY SOAP!!!  And it burns like a mutha!  I finally got around to cleaning up the dishes from yesterday.  They were in a plastic bag in the curing room.  This is the stuff I scraped out of my piping bag.  I've got a bunch of tiny cuts and abrasions from really dry skin and, to quote Elmer Fudd, "I'm on fiiiwwwaaah."    I'm never going to refrigerate soap again! There is no heater in that room and so the soap probably didn't gel.  This is my first winter batch of soap.  Next time, I'll put my plastic bag of dirty dishes in the bathroom.  I keep that room like a sauna.  There's nothing worse than getting out of a hot shower into a cold room.  Anyhoo, here's my floaty egg.


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## DeeAnna (Mar 6, 2016)

Misschief said:


> ...I am so uninspired with this challenge. I'm just not sure which direction to take. ... My next thought was "what floats?"



You could go the other direction and play with the idea of floating soap that looks like an object that usually  doesn't float -- like bricks or stone or ???


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## TeresaT (Mar 6, 2016)

DeeAnna, you're a genius!  Hammers, anvils, Jimmy Hoffa...  The possibilities are endless.


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## Misschief (Mar 6, 2016)

DeeAnna said:


> You could go the other direction and play with the idea of floating soap that looks like an object that usually  doesn't float -- like bricks or stone or ???



Ohhhhh, hadn't thought of that! Hmmm... will have to ponder on that tonight.


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## DeeAnna (Mar 7, 2016)

TeresaT said:


> DeeAnna, you're a genius!  Hammers, anvils, Jimmy Hoffa...  The possibilities are endless.



Teresa -- My coffee cup is empty or I would have sprayed coffee all over my keyboard. You are a HOOT! 

<... wandering off in search of cuppa number 2 ...>


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## amd (Mar 7, 2016)

Well, I returned after the weekend away. My whipped and molded soap was in the fridge for approximately 32 hours. I made a half-hearted attempt to unmold it but it was much to soft and zappy. I left it sitting overnight and was able to get it out of the mold and the freezer paper pulled off to give the whole thing more air exposure. Still too soft and zappy. I lost a few of the end corners as I was pulling it out of the mold, but I think it should be okay as my cutter has end trimming built into the distances between wires. Will see what it's like tonight when I get home. This just seems crazy to me that it's still soft and zappy!

As for the design, after whipping in the lye and realizing the batter was not going to be firm enough to sculpt, I let my daughter select the color. So I have a bright pink orchid soap! She's in love with the fragrance, and this is the first batch I've made with this FO that didn't turn to instant concrete. I was really surprised at the fluidity of the batter even after whipping it. I may try this again with my sister's standing mixer (I have a hand held), and see if the consistent rotation makes a difference to getting a more moldable batter. I couldn't have piped mine if I tried.


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## newbie (Mar 7, 2016)

What percentage of soft oils did you use, AMD? Mine are hard as rocks within about 26 hours; I don't think I could cut them at that point without destroying them but my recipe is 95% hard oils.


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## lenarenee (Mar 7, 2016)

newbie said:


> Lenaree got me thinking about making floating soap look like a water thing, so I carved this bar and colored it to look like a whale. It's all superficial though and it will be a plain boring bare once the features come off. Still, it was fun to do!
> 
> Um, yeah, it would look better if a blurred it a bit.


 
That is amazing work! Colored how? AC and a brush?

So, my contribution to this challenged is fulfilled, right? (I can't find my piping supplies so I have no inspiration left)


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## newbie (Mar 8, 2016)

Mica and qtips and my fingers.

Oh Lena, you really are put off soaping, aren't you?


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## Steve85569 (Mar 8, 2016)

lenarenee said:


> That is amazing work! Colored how? AC and a brush?
> 
> So, my contribution to this challenged is fulfilled, right? (I can't find my piping supplies so I have no inspiration left)




I can tell that you haven't tried a small test batch (yet).
This stuff can be spread like frosting. No piping tools needed.
Hmmmm. Now there's an *Idea* .

This could turn in to something......


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## amd (Mar 8, 2016)

newbie said:


> What percentage of soft oils did you use, AMD? Mine are hard as rocks within about 26 hours; I don't think I could cut them at that point without destroying them but my recipe is 95% hard oils.



I used 30% soft oils. Although looking back at the instructions... I didn't cool my lye so likely it started out a bit warmer than it should have. It was no longer zappy and not "squigy" last night so I cut it into bars. Eternally grateful for my new wire cutter. If I had had to do it by hand I would have binned the whole stinking mess. My daughter thinks my soap looks like pink marshmallow cakes. This was interesting to try but won't be anything I do again.


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 8, 2016)

It turned out that my "failed" batch with 50% hard fats actually does float. It was very soft and not thick at all though so that was definitely interesting. It took 1.5 hours to get to a thick enough trace to allow me to pipe it. I did video myself doing it so I might post this one up. Maybe. 

I made that one into cupcakes. The bottoms are not whipped so the whole cupcake does not float. Leftover bits that I poured into a hear shaped mold do float though.


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## FlybyStardancer (Mar 8, 2016)

Those are cute cupcakes!!


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## lionprincess00 (Mar 8, 2016)

Well I'm excited to try a technique I haven't done in about a year. I hope it works out. I haven't had the chance to try it yet, but I've premeasured and got my fo and colors ready. Hope it works out!


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## lionprincess00 (Mar 8, 2016)

So using an A fo with 40% lye, would it still work, or does this need more water?


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 8, 2016)

I wanted to say, for those people who are having trouble unmolding, I did place mine in the fridge overnight but then I took it out and let it sit at room temp for an additional 24 hours. It was still very soft when cut and I didn't zap test because of that. At the time of posting the tutorial, the soap did not zap (1 week later). This soap may take a little longer to saponifiy however it will harden up and should be ready to use within the traditional curing time. 

I tried the second batch in a silicone mold and after sitting for 4 days, I still could not get them out cleanly. I don't usually use silicone molds so I didn't anticipate that issue. However, I now think it may be best not to use silicone molds (it may have just been mine). Let me explain my thinking behind putting the soap in the fridge at first: 

This soap is dependent on the oils staying cool. If your reaction begins to generate heat and your oils melt, you will loose some "fluffiness". Your soap may still float but it is likely that any texture will deflate and smooth out (think piping, and textured swirls here). If you know your FO is not a heater or your recipe is well behaved, leave the soap out at room temp/in a cool area. I put mine in the fridge because I was worried the coconut FO would heat and I really didn't want my piping to deflate or get partial gel. 

I took my soap out of the fridge because I noticed it really wasn't hardening much. I knew after sitting in the fridge all night it was unlikely to overheat now if I let it sit at room temp. But I was hoping it would harden faster sitting on the counter. If my soap had still been too soft after that, I would have placed it in the freezer overnight to completely harden it so I could remove it from the mold at least. I'd let it thaw before I cut it though. 

Some tricks I would try if your soap is not coming out. 
-let the soap sit at room temp for a day
-freeze the soap if it's stuck in the mold, the allow to thaw before cutting. 

I'm sorry for those of you that are having some difficulties.


ETA:


lionprincess00 said:


> So using an A fo with 40% lye, would it still work, or does this need more water?




40% lye concentration? Yep, that should be just fine. Mine was right around 33% but the second one I did was closer to 40%. I don't think it should be an issue at all. 

I soap my Castile recipes at 45% concentration and never have an issue so I think this should play by similar rules. I master batch my lye at 45% and sometimes I don't add as much extra liquid so my recipes rance from about 45-33% lye concentration.


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## lionprincess00 (Mar 8, 2016)

Thx! Off to soap!
:twisted:


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## lionprincess00 (Mar 8, 2016)

Ok, if i add my fo before lye water, does it increase the chance of acceleration? Sorry, but I'm paranoid. Only time i added fo before lye on an A it became a rock. Literally couldnt smash into mold, and being salt bars it crumbled to oblivion on rebatch and went into the trash.


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 8, 2016)

lionprincess00 said:


> Ok, if i add my fo before lye water, does it increase the chance of acceleration? Sorry, but I'm paranoid. Only time i added fo before lye on an A it became a rock. Literally couldnt smash into mold, and being salt bars it crumbled to oblivion on rebatch and went into the trash.



I originally thought that would be ok but then I thought about it some more. I probably would wait to add it after you've already mixed in the lye.

Keep in mind that you'll have to whip the soap a lot once you add in the lye. If you've already added the lye, you can mix the FO in by hand with a spaltula or spoon. You won't have that luxury if you add your FO before you add the lye.


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## lionprincess00 (Mar 8, 2016)

Done! Thx for the reply, and sorry I'm a mile a minute with questions. Paranoid using salty mariner bb, i added after lye. SB fats and oils, cooled lye with 40% concentration,  sodium citrate and sugar,  sb that after folding it all in at once to incorporate  (like egg whites), added fo, sb, and the batter stiffened like over worked gluten in dough, but it remained pliable and moldable, quite much so. I was so surprised at this entire process, thank you so much for doing this challenge! A great learning experience!!!! It's in the fridge and will sit for however long it needs. Will check daily.
I was able to do multiple layers and although grainy,  I sb the fo into submission which may account for the stiffness. All in all it worked beautifully  (fingers crossed low on air pockets!).
Thx again


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## amd (Mar 8, 2016)

lionprincess00 said:


> Ok, if i add my fo before lye water, does it increase the chance of acceleration? Sorry, but I'm paranoid. Only time i added fo before lye on an A it became a rock. Literally couldnt smash into mold, and being salt bars it crumbled to oblivion on rebatch and went into the trash.


 
The FO that I used for mine I had attempted to make soap with twice before and the batter both times went to gloppy concrete within 5 seconds of adding the FO. When I made the whipped soap, I added the FO to the oils before adding the lye and it didn't accelerate. (That's about the only good thing I can say about this experience is that I finally have a nice looking bar of orchid fragranced soap.) YMMV


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## lionprincess00 (Mar 8, 2016)

Thx amd. My only beef with this method is the mess lol 
I try to be neat (I'm fickle for I hate HATE cleaning ), and mess is unavoidable. Otherwise, so many options!


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## lionprincess00 (Mar 9, 2016)

Sad day. It was in the freezer overnight, put in the fridge to thaw this morning, and removed to cut a few hrs later. It stuck to my silicone mold terribly, and once finally out and cut it proceeded to completely fall apart. I made several layers while it was fairly fluid. It didn't break at the layers, however. The soap piece broke in multiple horizontal places. One bar was cut crooked and overly large, and it held together. If I dont have a chance for round 2, can I enter the lone bar so long as it floats? I suppose I'll rebatch the rest.
Hopefully I'll get a chance for a second try. Maybe I'll use more water and hope it holds together.


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 9, 2016)

You may have wanted to let it sit a few more hours at room temp. It probably wasn't done saponifiying since it went from the freezer, to fridge and only sat out for a few hours. 

You can absolutely enter your lone bar. 

I'm sorry to hear cutting didn't go well for you! 

Eta: did you cut with a knife? Or wire?


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## lionprincess00 (Mar 9, 2016)

Flat dough slicing thing for soap cutting. I just dont know why it fell completely apart. I understand sticking, but to split into multiple pieces. It normally tends to crumble when high stearic is left too long uncut in low water. Probably the culprit now that I think about it. When my stearic is over 9 I tend to run into this, and it was a 10 if I recall.


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## newbie (Mar 9, 2016)

With all the air, the bars are more fragile until they've fully saponified and hardened, I've found. I've had to cut very very carefully. Because the recipe I'm using for this gets super hard, I also can't wait too long of the bars get too hard and can break. There's a definite window of time here to figure out.


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## Arimara (Mar 9, 2016)

newbie said:


> With all the air, the bars are more fragile until they've fully saponified and hardened, I've found. I've had to cut very very carefully. Because the recipe I'm using for this gets super hard, I also can't wait too long of the bars get too hard and can break. There's a definite window of time here to figure out.



I'm guessing that using an individual bar mold may make the cold process easier?


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## DeeAnna (Mar 9, 2016)

Warm those brittle soaps up a bit in the oven before cutting, maybe?


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## lionprincess00 (Mar 9, 2016)

DeeAnna said:


> Warm those brittle soaps up a bit in the oven before cutting, maybe?



Ive done that in the past with splitting cp soaps. Cut one, it splits, heat in oven to soften, and the rest split in spite. I can normally get one to behave in the batch, but the rest fail. 

I decided i will rebatch this one and try #2.


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## DeeAnna (Mar 9, 2016)

Oh, I bet you are frustrated with that! I would be seriously annoyed. :evil:


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## Sonya-m (Mar 10, 2016)

My imagination has completely gone away and I've no idea what design I'm going to attempt. I did have one in mind but I think it means doing the soap in 3 separate batches and waiting for each to set before doing the next. Do you foresee any issues doing this??


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## FlybyStardancer (Mar 10, 2016)

Okay, I was up way too late tonight, but I got my oils measured out, hard oils melted together and stuck in the fridge to re-solidify, and lye water mixed and also stuck in the fridge to get it nice and cold.I'm that much closer to making my first batch tomorrow!

Sonya--I don't see any more issues than you'd get from any other time where you'd be making and pouring separate batches on top of one


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## Saponista (Mar 10, 2016)

I'm currently doing a bit of a macgyver with some sticky tape, drinking straws and a syringe. Hmmmm, I hope this turns out the way it looks in my mind. Sadly that isn't often the case with my crazy ideas....... :crazy:


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## Serene (Mar 10, 2016)

First try was a failure due to lack of coffee.   Do start soaping at 5am without having a cup of coffee first.  sigh....


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## Misschief (Mar 10, 2016)

I'm hoping I'm well enough on the weekend to 1) come up with an idea and 2) try another batch. Right now, I'm one week into the flu/cold bug that's going around and it's no fun at all. I've missed 3.5 days of work in the past week, my ribs feel like they're cracked because I've been sneezing so hard and coughing so deeply and now I've got a headache on top of it all. 

Why yes, I AM feeling sorry for myself; why do you ask?


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## Obsidian (Mar 10, 2016)

I'm not in this challenge but I wanted to share my first and only whipped soap I made a few months back. I can't remember exactly how long I had to leave it in the mold but I'm really glad I used a wooden mold with a liner, made it quite easy to get out. 

Used a wire cutter, you can see a little bit of crumbling along the bottom edges. Could have been the recipe or just because it was whipped. I should try another batch but this time with lard instead of GV shortening.


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## DeeAnna (Mar 10, 2016)

Not sure what the rest of you will think when you see it, but I finally got a result I am pleased about. Third try out of three. I was concerned because I can tell this third soap is more dense than my previous trials, but I made sure to check and yep, it floats! Whew. :shock:

Here are my first two tries. I'm using that rebatch/melting method I explained earlier in this thread. The pale lavender bar on the left is my first attempt to see if my idea would even work. The gray soap is my second try. I wanted to see if the first soap was just beginner's luck. I also had the goal of making the result look a little less bland.


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## Misschief (Mar 10, 2016)

I especially like the look of the gray soap, DeeAnna. There's something very earthy about it, definitely not bland at all. I'll have to make a note of your method and try it sometime.


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## Saponista (Mar 10, 2016)

Sadly it appears that all awkward fragrances don't work with whipped soap. My nemesis sugar plum strikes again..... I really should just throw it out to save myself the pain.


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## songwind (Mar 10, 2016)

I have a question about the freezer step:

What are we doing there? Is it just to make it cool faster so you can cut it? Or is it necessary to keep it from falling like a bad souffle?

Eric


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 10, 2016)

Saponista, I'm sorry that it didn't work out for you!!  that looks like it was no fun. 

Eric,
I never placed my CP soap in the freezer (only the HP soap). 

And for HP yes, it's for the "deflating" reasoning. It helps keep the middle of the soap from sagging. 

For CP I put it in the fridge to stop the soap from going into gel and heating where it can melt and then deflate. However, if you know your FO/recipe doesn't heat a lot and your soaping area is cool, you don't have to place it in the refrigerator.


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## penelopejane (Mar 10, 2016)

Saponista, so sorry your soap didn't work.  I am making a note never to buy sugar plum. It sounds so sweet too!

DeeAnna, I love the grey soap on the left. Would you mind telling me what you used to get the pale grey? I've been using AC but it is nowhere near as subtle as yours. [emoji322][emoji322][emoji322]


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## Saponista (Mar 10, 2016)

Lol it's ok thank you for your concern galaxy and Penelope! I really wasn't that disheartened, I had another go without the sugar plum and actually got soap so it's not a complete disaster. I will hopefully unmould tomorrow and see what I get. Not really sure what to do with my sugar plum crumble though, anyone got any suggestions? It really does have an odd texture....


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## Judiraz (Mar 10, 2016)

I gave it a shot yesterday and everything went wrong! I found a mixer at the Goodwill store for only $1.99. I weighed my hard oils into the bowl and then promptly knocked my scale into the water filled sink....quick trip to the store to get another scale and then back to start whipping. The Goodwill mixer ( with the beaters attached) didn't work, so I had to use my little handheld. The lard was very soft and really didn't get as big and fluffy as I had hoped. Once all was whipped, lyed, colored, and scented I started pouring (plopping) into the molds. Not enough to fill all of them!!!! GRRRR.

Can't wait to unmold.


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## kumudini (Mar 10, 2016)

DeeAnna said:


> Not sure what the rest of you will think when you see it, but I finally got a result I am pleased about. Third try out of three. I was concerned because I can tell this third soap is more dense than my previous trials, but I made sure to check and yep, it floats! Whew. :shock:
> 
> Here are my first two tries. I'm using that rebatch/melting method I explained earlier in this thread. The pale lavender bar on the left is my first attempt to see if my idea would even work. The gray soap is my second try. I wanted to see if the first soap was just beginner's luck. I also had the goal of making the result look a little less bland.



DeeAnna, I knew that this would work. It was an accidental discovery when I rebatched my very first batch (which was a plain Jane with unrefined Shea and cocoa butters in it, couldn't take the 'scent'). I put some food color and essential oils in it after rebatch and to get them mixed well I used a hand mixer and I ended up with a lighter soap that floated. I still have some, they are not as beautiful as yours are.


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## Arimara (Mar 10, 2016)

Misschief said:


> I'm hoping I'm well enough on the weekend to 1) come up with an idea and 2) try another batch. Right now, I'm one week into the flu/cold bug that's going around and it's no fun at all. I've missed 3.5 days of work in the past week, my ribs feel like they're cracked because I've been sneezing so hard and coughing so deeply and now I've got a headache on top of it all.
> 
> Why yes, I AM feeling sorry for myself; why do you ask?



Feel better. I was sick a few weeks ago with a cold and now everyone's getting a stomach bug (save me normally). Hope you can make some soup.


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## DeeAnna (Mar 10, 2016)

penelopejane said:


> ...Would you mind telling me what you used to get the pale grey?



I used black oxide to get that gray. I think maybe also a drop or two of ultramarine blue, but I don't think I really needed to. The soap lightens a little as it sets up, so I wasn't quite sure what it would look like when I cut it. (But isn't that true of soap in general???)



kumudini said:


> DeeAnna, I knew that this would work. It was an accidental discovery when I rebatched my very first batch...



I'm glad I'm not the only one who's tried this. I was seriously expecting the soap to look fairly homely like most rebatch soap does, but it looks more like a CP type soap. I'm curious to see how much it deforms and shrinks after drying for a few weeks.

I think you got a very pretty color in your soap -- who would guess that verdigris green came from plain ol' food coloring! And your soap also has a smoother more consistent look. I like it.


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## FlybyStardancer (Mar 10, 2016)

Just made my first attempt. We'll have to wait and see how it comes out! I have it stuck in my mini fridge for safety, even though I doubt it would heat up enough to deflate (most of my stuff doesn't gel, even with encouragement!).

It has four colors, three of which are supposed to be variants of each other... but they came out way more similar than I intended. Bah. Scented with NG's Lime Cilantro even though the scent has nothing to do with the idea I was going for with the colors. I just wanted to use a scent that I hadn't used before. There wasn't nearly enough of it, though... apparently that FO is really light and there's less of it in a 1 fl. oz. bottle than other FOs. I also managed to crack one of my soaping bowls... The hard oils were just TOO hard straight out of the fridge. So I waited for them to warm up a bit and they seemed on the verge of melting when I beat them, despite the house being well under their melting points. *sigh* And I used the same amount of oils for the mold I used, so it should have been mounded up from the extra volume, but it wasn't. 

Still not going to post pics, because I don't know if I'll have another chance to attempt again!


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## mintle (Mar 11, 2016)

I had to go for a business trip and only after 5 days I had a chance to unmold my first attempt. It went quite well, zap free, managed to cut it with wire cutter more or less neatly but... it has that tacky/waxy feeling to it, quite sticky. Is it normal? It floats and foams, but I am disappointed about the feeling when I hold a bar in my hand.


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 11, 2016)

That tacky feeling is completely normal! It will be that way on the cut sides/edges for about 1-2 weeks and it will subside! This has been my experience.

Btw, I'm loving all the innovation and people trying so many different techniques!


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## TeresaT (Mar 11, 2016)

I'm going to put the finishing touches on my soap tonight.  For once, I am actually pleased with the way my first attempt turned out.  I am, however, going to do another batch this weekend to see if I can do a better job of it.  The colors are slightly off and I'd like to try to improve on that a bit.  I'm really excited about this technique.  I think I'm going to get some winter (snow-type) FOs and sculpt snowman soaps.  I can leave them to cure a few months and use them as Christmas gifts.  I've also got that peppermint EO; I can sculpt candy canes and "paint" the red stripes on them with mica in oil.   I just have to get that perfect texture, not to soft, but not too set up, either.


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## Misschief (Mar 11, 2016)

I have been inspired and I know what I'm going to be doing this weekend. Yay!!


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## Arimara (Mar 11, 2016)

I'd love to try this again with CP but I don't feel like buying lard. Lard soaps feel nice and all but I really think my skin in general doesn't like it as much, especially my face. I'm recovering from a breakout from a lard based unscented soap. 

To be fair- I did use the store bought kind and some brands of bacon can lead to a breakout too.


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## lionprincess00 (Mar 12, 2016)

Well, I had to rebatch the broken soaps. At least they still float, albeit not on the surface but the top when placed in water is at water level.


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## DeeAnna (Mar 12, 2016)

LionPrincess -- You ended up with a happy blend of blue with the lighter accent specks. Nice job of making lemonade out of those lemons!


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## Arimara (Mar 12, 2016)

lionprincess00 said:


> Well, I had to rebatch the broken soaps. At least they still float, albeit not on the surface but the top when placed in water is at water level.



It may not be dark enough but it does hint to a lovely starry night. I like that soap.


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## penelopejane (Mar 13, 2016)

lionprincess00 said:


> Well, I had to rebatch the broken soaps. At least they still float, albeit not on the surface but the top when placed in water is at water level.




This is a good depth of colour. Any darker and it might stain. Very nice soap. I've been deliberately trying to get that result!


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## penelopejane (Mar 13, 2016)

I've just spent the day in hospital with DH - 1 inch gallstone blocking bile duct out tomorrow in an emergency operation. So I won't be whipping up the winner for this challenge, I am sorry to say! Good luck to everyone!


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## DeeAnna (Mar 13, 2016)

And good luck to you and DH. I will be thinking of you both tomorrow and hoping all goes very well in surgery.


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## Misschief (Mar 13, 2016)

And my challenge soap is in the mold. All I will say about it is that my piping skills need practice and that it isn't inspired by food. I'm happy with it, though I was a bit concerned about the scent. I used tallow from my local butcher and it smells very beefy. I hope my FO (Rain from Voyageur) will cover the smell of the beef in time. 

I'm thinking I might just score the soap while it's soft to help with cutting.


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## mintle (Mar 13, 2016)

I will just submit a very plain soap No 1, because batch No 2 just went nuts. Use quick tracing FOs, they said. It will be fun, they said . So I used Jasmine FO and the whole batch solidified on me (incl the portions in the piping bags - they all clogged). My whole house smells like jasmine, a smell of failure! Hehe. Managed to scoop into the mold but it is sooo ugly. I haven't had such a disaster in years (and all that dirty equipment just to get solid chunky mass...).


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## doriettefarm (Mar 13, 2016)

That's a bummer mintle but sounds exactly like what happened last time I tried to use a gardenia FO.  I considered busting out the gardenia again for this challenge but you've sufficiently talked me out of it :lolno:


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## TeresaT (Mar 13, 2016)

When does the official thread open for photos?  I need to add a "finishing touch" to mine and can't seem to haul myself out of this chair to make a 2 oz batch of soap!

ETA:  well, I hauled myself out of the chair.  I should have just stayed there.  The "finishing touch" was a disaster.  Since I've already put my entry in, I'll tell you what happened.  I made "fudge sauce" to drizzle over my entry.  It looked like a bad case of the runs.  REALLY bad case of the runs.  Since I made a loaf of soap, it was no problem getting a clean bar and using that as my entry.  But oh, gosh, the disaster that I caused!!


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## dixiedragon (Mar 13, 2016)

Well, I think attempt #1 was a bust. My recipe is 40% lard and 20% coconut. I am going to try again, with 60% coconut.

What temps are your lye water when you are adding it?


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## newbie (Mar 13, 2016)

Room temp. It shouldn't go in warm or hot because it can melt the oils too much and they won't hold the whip.


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## Misschief (Mar 13, 2016)

> What temps are your lye water when you are adding it?



Cold. I mixed my lye and water yesterday and left it outside (up on a high shelf where neither creatures or children could get to it) in a closed container until I was ready to use it this morning. Our evening temps hover around freezing these days.


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## newbie (Mar 13, 2016)

Entry thread is already open:

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=59019


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 13, 2016)

Thank you newbie for catching all the questions people have been asking! I was a bit busy yesterday/today!


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## Rowan (Mar 13, 2016)

I'm so excited, I might get the chance to make my first batch for the challenge tomorrow. I'm completely stumped for ideas, so hoping inspiration hits while I sleep! (not literally!).


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## newbie (Mar 13, 2016)

Not to worry, Galaxy! I figured if I'm on, it makes sense to answer right away. It's always nice to know people have your back.


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## penelopejane (Mar 15, 2016)

DeeAnna said:


> And good luck to you and DH. I will be thinking of you both tomorrow and hoping all goes very well in surgery.



Thanks DeeAnna. It's 8am tomorrow now. I can use all the luck I can get lately!


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## dixiedragon (Mar 15, 2016)

My second attempt looks pretty good - but it is still too soft to unmold. I'm assuming this is normal? I made it on Sunday evening but it's still gooey.


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## Rowan (Mar 15, 2016)

I had the opposite to you Dixiedragon! I cut my first attempt this morning after just 16 hours and it had started to crumble on the bottom.  It wasn't what I intended but I had to hurry mixing the colours and putting it in the mould, as it started to set up so quickly. I'm assuming it was the fragrance oil or the mango butter?  Last time I used this mango butter in a normal recipe, exactly the same happened! This fragrance oil was slow moving for a different recipe. 

I hope I get time for another attempt but I'm working this weekend :cry:


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## penelopejane (Mar 16, 2016)

penelopejane said:


> Thanks DeeAnna. It's 8am tomorrow now. I can use all the luck I can get lately!



Sorry to hijack the thread but DH survived the operation. His gallbladder was in a pretty bad way and he will be in hospital for 6 days but is getting better now. Thanks for your kind thoughts.

Got to say that the entries so far look really fantastic. Love the green rock soap DeeAnna and the very pretty first pink one with layers and the little chooks and... [emoji2] Well done everyone!


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## Rowan (Mar 16, 2016)

penelopejane said:


> Sorry to hijack the thread but DH survived the operation. His gallbladder was in a pretty bad way and he will be in hospital for 6 days but is getting better now. Thanks for your kind thoughts.
> 
> Got to say that the entries so far look really fantastic. Love the green rock soap DeeAnna and the very pretty first pink one with layers and the little chooks and... �� Well done everyone!



Thanks so much for letting us know.  I'm so glad your husband survived the operation and is feeling better. It's a scary time when your family is so unwell. I hope he has a speedy recovery.


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## FlybyStardancer (Mar 16, 2016)

I'm glad your husband pulled through! Hopefully his recovery will be swift.


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## Saponista (Mar 17, 2016)

Are those mica lines in your entry newbie. I love the effect you achieved, really pretty!


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## newbie (Mar 17, 2016)

Some ITP but there are mica lines of the same color for each color I did. I used Mica as well for the purple lines in the other soap floating in the water. Thanks! Both the mica line soaps took a while to make because of having to do mica lines after each addition of batter. It was EVERYWHERE!


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## dixiedragon (Mar 17, 2016)

newbie said:


> Some ITP but there are mica lines of the same color for each color I did. I used Mica as well for the purple lines in the other soap floating in the water. Thanks! Both the mica line soaps took a while to make because of having to mica lines after each addition of batter. It was EVERYWHERE!


 
I LOVED that soap! It was like a mountain scene from a children's book with watercolor illustrations.


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## Serene (Mar 17, 2016)

*failures*

I cut both of these two soon.  Not that it matters on the second since it looks like it has chickenpox.   Not like I imagined.  Did not even finish cleaning them.. sigh


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## CaraBou (Mar 18, 2016)

Chickenpox?? Not even close!  And I adore that color combo! They're both nice, actually.

I haven't even started on the challenge.  Most of my little free time has been following Iditarod news, videos, standings, etc (another passion of mine, but this one is crammed into just 2 weeks of the year so gets focused attention).  But it's winding down now and the weekend is coming.  I have NO idea on design.  But oh the rocks!  And the mountains! I'm sure there are other great possibilities but they haven't occurred to me yet.  Well, regardless I am _really _looking forward to whipping soap and using at least one of the enticing vixens that I've kept closed in the closet!


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## Saponista (Mar 18, 2016)

I really like that colour scheme serene, it's like a desert landscape.


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## newbie (Mar 18, 2016)

Hey, wait a second!!! I just saw the title of your entry post, Serene! I am thrilled that you blame me for your lovely soap. I really like the color combo of your non-entries (I have to as I made one very similar to that myself and liked the outcome) but I love the combo of your entry. The delicate blue-green with the brown and orange is a knock-out to me!


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## Serene (Mar 18, 2016)

lol I was wondering when you were going to notice the title.  Yes, I blame you for entering these crazy challenges.   

I was just not happy with what kept coming out of the mold but decided to stop at 4 batches.  It did not help that I am always jumping the gun, and taking it out of the mold too soon.  

The one failure that really got to me was when I was using activated charcoal and the tea strainer opened up .   I tried to clean it up but I was so mad that I just took hand fulls of the stuff and dumped it in the mold without a care.   Here is a pic after "washing" the soap to get all the Charcoal around it.  See the lovely craters?    I am  still cleaning activated charcoal from every surface around where I was soaping.


Sere


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## amd (Mar 18, 2016)

Serene said:


> I am still cleaning activated charcoal from every surface around where I was soaping.
> 
> 
> Sere


 
Suddenly my struggles with this challenge seem insignificant... and I thought two mica lines were a mess to clean up after!


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## CaraBou (Mar 18, 2016)

Ok, first soap in the mold and now I know the mess you guys are talking about.  But I love the creamy texture!  Makes me want to bake (which I never do). The other cool thing is I used a fragrance that I don't know the name or nature of because the label print washed out long ago from getting another FO on it.  I've been reluctant to use it without knowing how it might affect my soap but this challenge was perfect (now watch, it will completely discolor my soap brown).  

I did not have a clear design in mind (well I kinda did but had to abandon it for logistical reasons as usual).  So my expectations are very low.  Wouldn't it be nice if that expectation would suppress my drive to unmold this thing???


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## LisaAnne (Mar 18, 2016)

Well I have to share my embarrassing failure. I had such high hopes. What started out as simple ended in a huge mess. (yes I can laugh at myself). I was going to do a water scene, that grew to add water lillies, then I find an elvis statue, made a mold and added elvis. Had plans to pour the floating water part, add the lillies, elvis with a brick border and grass at his feet. Then I was going to spend the rest of the week tweaking, making vines flowers, a bird and rocks. Tonight I burned up two hand mixers and I am throwing in the towel on this project. But, I learned to make a silicone mold, soapy clay and had I finished the project I would have learned to pipe soap because I was going to pipe mortar between the blocks. So not a total failure


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## LisaAnne (Mar 18, 2016)

But I will enter a soap.


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 18, 2016)

I loving all of the creativity here (and of course the entry thread as well)!  

Carabou, I'm glad that fragrance worked out for you. I know how that is, it's frustrating because you don't want to throw it away but then again, you don't really want to chance loosing a batch! I'm hoping it won't change color for you!


And LisaAnne, that looks like it was a huge undertaking! What you have looks great though! I'm sorry to hear you burned through 2 mixers on it.  

Serene, I haven't worked with AC before but that almost makes me not want to try. On the other hand, I really actually like the texture that the "craters" give to the soap! 

Penelopejane, (I'm a little late to this) I'm very glad to hear your DH has come out of surgery and is on the road to recovery! 

Thank you everyone who is participating.


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## LisaAnne (Mar 18, 2016)

galaxyMLP, it's been fun. I've enjoyed these challenges.


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## DeeAnna (Mar 19, 2016)

Oh, my -- and I thought I was pushing my limits by figuring out how to make floating rocks! LisaAnne -- if you ever get Elvis and the lily pond figured out, I definitely want to see it! Wow!!!


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## dibbles (Mar 19, 2016)

Posted my entry. I was hoping to have another try at it, but I don't realistically think I will. Love the creativity I'm seeing in the entries so far - great job everyone!


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## newbie (Mar 19, 2016)

I may have you beat on the mess, Serene. After I did my entry soap, I was brushing my hair before bed and noticing that my brush was all green. I was a little perplexed. Then after I did my purple mica line one, my son came home and laughed because I had purple mica lines in my face, my hairbrush turned purple when I brushed my hair that night and when I dusted my pictures in the kitchen, I got purple "dust", not to mention the purple sparkles all over the counter.

LisaAnne, I was staring at your first picture wondering why/how you made a liver out of transparent soap.  I see it was your mold, but it made me laugh.


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## Rowan (Mar 19, 2016)

I'm amazed at the creativity in the entries! Such beautiful soaps. Lisa Anne, there's some amazing ideas there, it must have taken you ages! Looking forward to seeing your final entry. My one attempt so far is pretty boring but I probably don't have time to do another as I caught a bug from the kids. I am thoroughly enjoying looking at everyone's entries though


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## LisaAnne (Mar 19, 2016)

My final  entry just might be a floating liver. Elvis got chucked. Was fun while it lasted. When the second mixer smoked he got tossed  in the lye and batter. I think  I've watched too many cake wars on food channel.


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## CaraBou (Mar 19, 2016)

Lisa are you sure you wanna give up on that quite yet? It looks like it's half there!  And besides, Elvis deserves it.  Come back!


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## FlybyStardancer (Mar 20, 2016)

Made my second attempt tonight. We'll see if the individual molds I used play nice... they didn't for the salt bars I made earlier this month. And while I'm not 100% happy with how things went, I still think it went better than my last attempt. lol I don't have the will for a third attempt. Next time I make soap, it will be with a different technique!


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## snappyllama (Mar 20, 2016)

Well, I have to say... I am not in love with whipped soap. The texture just bothers me. It's fluffy. Weirdly fluffy. That just seems strange. Perhaps I over whipped it??  Maybe it will cure out stiffer?? One thing, it floats! So there's a modicum of success.

I guess it didn't help that my design is just sad.  Don't you just hate when the lovely intention in your head turns into a mess in reality?

I will say, piping with it was nice. I ended up making a few cupcakes with my overage. Maybe I'll enter those instead of my loaf. They look slightly better. One bonus of whipping soap, I got a very vibrant white without adding any TD. 

It was a fun challenge though, and I'm really happy I tried it. Whipped soap has been on my bucket list, and this challenge finally compelled me to get off my keister and do it.  Thanks for that!


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## snappyllama (Mar 20, 2016)

FlybyStardancer said:


> I don't have the will for a third attempt. Next time I make soap, it will be with a different technique!



I hear you, sister...


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## CaraBou (Mar 20, 2016)

snappyllama said:


> The texture just bothers me. It's fluffy. Weirdly fluffy. That just seems strange. Perhaps I over whipped it??



I _love _the soft fluffiness. I kept whipping to get it higher. I have found it a challenge to work with colors since it behaves so differently than normal cp. It certainly gives more pastels.  

I made batch 2 today, and went with the idea of suspending crumbles from batch #1.  I'm not optimistic it will look good but I still had fun with it.  I wanted to have a little non-whipped batter to add streaks of color, and thought maybe I could heat some whipped soap to get it. But alas, I was not patient or ingenious enough so it stayed cream soap and I ended up folding it in. I don't think that will look very good but now I know.

I used the rest of the "mystery FO" in this batch (no discoloration in batch 1- yay!), along with Moroccan Fig.  Smells really good.  I should be able to cut after work tomorrow.

Last note to make: creamed soap _screams _for sculpted tops.  Normally I don't do those, but I just couldn't resist with either of these batches.  But unfortunately I have no experience making a nice textured top, so I'm afraid my attempts were rather lame. Shoulda done some youtubing first.


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## snappyllama (Mar 20, 2016)

Maybe it will grow on me. It _was _fun to pipe with.


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## penelopejane (Mar 21, 2016)

snappyllama said:


> I guess it didn't help that my design is just sad.  Don't you just hate when the lovely intention in your head turns into a mess in reality?



Yes I do. Unfortunately it happens with disappointing regularity.


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## LisaAnne (Mar 21, 2016)

penelopejane said:


> Yes I do. Unfortunately it happens with disappointing regularity.



All the time, but every once in a while when it works out... It's great.


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## LisaAnne (Mar 21, 2016)

CaraBou said:


> Lisa are you sure you wanna give up on that quite yet? It looks like it's half there!  And besides, Elvis deserves it.  Come back!


Caribou you have convinced me to bring back elvis.


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## Sonya-m (Mar 21, 2016)

Do you guys think if I make my soap tomorrow I will have time to unmould and cut by Saturday?


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## Rowan (Mar 21, 2016)

Sonya-m said:


> Do you guys think if I make my soap tomorrow I will have time to unmould and cut by Saturday?



I think it depends on your recipe and FO. Mine was ready to unmould and cut in 16 hours and still crumbled on the edges! Even if yours takes longer to set up, it should give you enough time. It's definitely worth giving it a go. Good luck.


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## maya (Mar 21, 2016)

I did it! I think of this as Nizzy's soap but took the challenge serious. I used vanilla oleoresin as the scent (OMG. YUM.) it darkened a little bit when I added it, but I am ever hopeful it will remain lighter, although I am fine with darker soap, too. I did 75% of y usual weight for my mold, it didn't seem as fluffy but I think it will still float. This is for fun, and not part of the contest (which I think is closed, anyway.) love.


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## marlajune (Mar 21, 2016)

galaxyMLP said:


> I loving all of the creativity here (and of course the entry thread as well)!
> 
> Carabou, I'm glad that fragrance worked out for you. I know how that is, it's frustrating because you don't want to throw it away but then again, you don't really want to chance loosing a batch! I'm hoping it won't change color for you!
> 
> ...



How does one find the entry thread to see what is being made?


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## dibbles (Mar 22, 2016)

marlajune said:


> How does one find the entry thread to see what is being made?



It's a few threads down from this one - SMF March Challenge Entry Thread Whipped Soap

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=59019


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## CaraBou (Mar 22, 2016)

LisaAnne said:


> Caribou you have convinced me to bring back elvis.



Wohoo!  Elvis lives!  And he will FLOAT!!!

My batch #2 was worse than my first.  No contender from me.  I'm out of gas (and natural light) though so it'll be awhile yet before I can post my pics.


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## LisaAnne (Mar 22, 2016)

CaraBou said:


> Wohoo!  Elvis lives!  And he will FLOAT!!!
> 
> My batch #2 was worse than my first.  No contender from me.  I'm out of gas (and natural light) though so it'll be awhile yet before I can post my pics.



I have to laugh when I work on him, not sure how it will go!  

Your in Alaska? Been twice, love it up there!


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## Wildcraft_Garden (Mar 22, 2016)

I'm not going to get a chance to enter this month.  My sister went into labour early, so I was away for two weeks to snuggle my new nephew... I mean help her out. ☺


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 22, 2016)

Thank you for posting the link dibbles!


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## songwind (Mar 22, 2016)

LisaAnne said:


> I have to laugh when I work on him, not sure how it will go!
> 
> Your in Alaska? Been twice, love it up there!



Will he be Fat Elvis or Young Elvis?


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## lionprincess00 (Mar 22, 2016)

I managed to get another try in. It's still very zappy from yesterday since I didn't cpop and actually used 33% lye concentration. Hopefully I can unmold it tomorrow and cut and get it entered if it ends up being decent.


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## LisaAnne (Mar 22, 2016)

songwind said:


> Will he be Fat Elvis or Young Elvis?



Omg! Poor elvis, I took his legs off and his head fell off. So it is torso elvis. 

Although my favorite elvis is leather elvis when he was seated on stage. I remember when he died, ladies went wild. Wore black armbands and such.


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## Steve85569 (Mar 22, 2016)

Here's my first attempt. Not the "entry".
I will post an entry in a few.
Real interesting technique...


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## Sonya-m (Mar 22, 2016)

Argh!! Oil disaster! My hard oils were too soft as the house is warm so put them in the fridge for a short time before whipping them. I thought they were chilled enough but after adding the liquid oil it's very runny and not at all whipped looking!!

I know the soft oils are in there now but do you think if I refrigerate overnight then whip I will get a better consistency? Or is this batch a lost cause?


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## Saponista (Mar 22, 2016)

I melted all my oils together, cooled them overnight then whipped them. It was fine. I think you'll be ok.


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## Rowan (Mar 22, 2016)

I melted my solid oils together and then cooled them in the freezer (taking them out twice to stir). It only took 30 minutes before they were ready to whip. I think it will work fine too.


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## Misschief (Mar 22, 2016)

Sonya-m said:


> Argh!! Oil disaster! My hard oils were too soft as the house is warm so put them in the fridge for a short time before whipping them. I thought they were chilled enough but after adding the liquid oil it's very runny and not at all whipped looking!!
> 
> I know the soft oils are in there now but do you think if I refrigerate overnight then whip I will get a better consistency? Or is this batch a lost cause?



I had the same issue and put it outside until it firmed up enough to whip it again (sub zero temperatures outside, why take up fridge space). It doesn't make any difference to the finished soap that I could tell.


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## CaraBou (Mar 23, 2016)

LisaAnne said:


> Your in Alaska? Been twice, love it up there!



Not any more.  We moved last year.  I try not to think about it -- I loved living there!

Poor Elvis - it's a little hard to shake a pelvis without any legs! And what will the girls think without a head?? :Kitten Love:


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## lionprincess00 (Mar 23, 2016)

I just cut my soaps after appx 36 hours. It was so sticky and tacky yesterday, I decided to wait. I used higher water with the hopes it would not break (33% lye), and I used 55% lard (I believe) with the hopes the lower stearic would help with my plague of breaking.
It didn't. 
My soaps fell completely apart on cutting. I managed to get one bar that held together and will be entering it. So sad because it is a lovely soap. Onto the next challenge I suppose:cry:


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## Sonya-m (Mar 23, 2016)

Misschief said:


> I had the same issue and put it outside until it firmed up enough to whip it again (sub zero temperatures outside, why take up fridge space). It doesn't make any difference to the finished soap that I could tell.




I did think about putting it in the garage but went with the fridge instead. It worked fine and whipped nicely

But...

The pain in the a** FO I used is still a pain in the a**!!

I had plans for a design but the FO clearly had other plans!! It has been squished, squashed and pushed into the mould - it's not gonna be pretty!!


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## Sonya-m (Mar 23, 2016)

lionprincess00 said:


> So sad because it is a lovely soap. Onto the next challenge I suppose:cry:




It truly is a beautiful soap!!!


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## Sonya-m (Mar 23, 2016)

Just been to the fridge and there are little puddles of liquid on top of my soap - I'm wondering if I didn't combine my oils and lye water well enough and it's starting to separate? Oh dear


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 23, 2016)

Oh no! What's the temp of the soap in the fridge? Is it warming up?


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## Sonya-m (Mar 23, 2016)

galaxyMLP said:


> Oh no! What's the temp of the soap in the fridge? Is it warming up?




I've just used a little infrared thermometer and it's telling me the surface temp is 77f


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## Saponista (Mar 23, 2016)

Could moisture from inside the fridge have condensed on top?


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## Sonya-m (Mar 23, 2016)

Saponista said:


> Could moisture from inside the fridge have condensed on top?




Possibly I guess - not zap testing it this early though


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 23, 2016)

I would give it time. 77 F is still pretty cool, I thought maybe the soap was overheating. 

Try taking it out of the fridge in a few hours if the temperature of the soap doesnt go up from the 77 F in the fridge. Keeping it at room temp without insulation will help it harden up a bit faster and might help the seepage re-absorb as long as the soap is not overheating.


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## Sonya-m (Mar 23, 2016)

Thanks Galaxy. Even though I can't declare this one a success it's definitely a technique I'm going to try again


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## Judiraz (Mar 23, 2016)

*Red Sky at Morning......*

Every so often a soap "speaks" to you. Lion princess's soap reminds me of a grey sky and a grey, stormy sea. Great job!


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## Sonya-m (Mar 25, 2016)

I've just had to rebatch mine cos it was a crumbling mess when I cut it. It was a miracle I managed to get pics!! I did grate some up and keep it to add as confetti so it may still float in its new form


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## FlybyStardancer (Mar 25, 2016)

And here's pictures of the first batch that didn't cut well. It's scented with NG's Cilantro lime. Bottommost layer is colored with a mix of AC and ultramarine blue. Middle is an ITP swirl of Nuture's Klein blue mica and the same, but mixed with TD. Top has TD added.


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## Saponista (Mar 25, 2016)

I like the wavy textured white tops on those flyby


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## FlybyStardancer (Mar 25, 2016)

Thanks! I  used a comb with the large triangular teeth (like in this picture) and dragged it across the top in waves.  I was going for an ocean-y feel to the soap (scent notwithstanding)


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## Sonya-m (Mar 26, 2016)

Well it still floats in its rebatched state


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## snappyllama (Mar 26, 2016)

Sonya-m said:


> Well it still floats in its rebatched state



That's good to know! I'm thinking of rebatching my bars... I just hate the way they look.

Did you re-whip during rebatching?


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## Sonya-m (Mar 26, 2016)

snappyllama said:


> That's good to know! I'm thinking of rebatching my bars... I just hate the way they look.
> 
> 
> 
> Did you re-whip during rebatching?




No, I just kept maybe 2 grated up bars to add as confetti before plopping into the mould


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 26, 2016)

We've got about 1 hour left for entries! Anyone who signed up can enter! 

I'm heading to bed as I've had a jam packed day of moving apartments but I'll open up the voting survey tomorrow evening. It will be password locked so I'll pm all entrants (only) the password. Thank you for being patient with me. 

I'm really impressed with everyone!


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 28, 2016)

I'm having a few technical moving related difficulties with Internet so I'll have to get the survey up tomorrow when they install internet in my new place! Thank you to everyone for understanding.


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 28, 2016)

Got it up and going! This survey requires a password. I will PM the password to all those signed up within the hour. If you do not receive one within the hour, PM me and I will get it to you. I will post again when I have finished PMing everyone. 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RV775BK

Edit: that went faster than I expected! All participants have been messaged! If you know you signed up but did not receive a PM from me, please let me know!


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## Arimara (Mar 28, 2016)

I haven't had a chance to soap at all. I'm hawking a puppy from my ex's cousins and I've been prepping for that. My aunts came to visit and I'm studying my batches now to see which recipes I scrap or not. I won't able to make another whipped soap but, I'm happy I at least succeeded in the HP method, which I'm of a mind would be easier for me. I'm also happy to finally find a sweet scent that is up my alley.


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## LisaAnne (Mar 28, 2016)

LisaAnne voted (if this is where I sign in) hard to pick, so many great ones.


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## Rowan (Mar 28, 2016)

I voted. Awesome entries everyone. I wish I could vote for you all!


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## penelopejane (Mar 28, 2016)

I voted.  Congratulations to everyone who entered.  Excellent job!


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## amd (Mar 28, 2016)

That was hard! My votes are in.


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## snappyllama (Mar 28, 2016)

That was a tough one. My third/fourth choices needed a DH opinion to make that final call and pick the third.


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## Misschief (Mar 28, 2016)

Voted!


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## dibbles (Mar 28, 2016)

Once again, voting was hard. Great job everyone.

Big thanks to Galaxy for this challenge. I only had time for one attempt, but I now have learned another new technique. If I ever have the urge to try to pipe soap, this will come in handy.


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## Saponista (Mar 29, 2016)

I have voted. I had in my head who I thought I was going to vote for, then I looked at all the pictures again and realised this was a really really tough one. Well done everyone, some fantastic soaping by all!!


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## Sonya-m (Mar 29, 2016)

Voted


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## lionprincess00 (Mar 29, 2016)

Voted!


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## Serene (Mar 29, 2016)

Voted.  Awesome job, everyone.


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## MySoapyHeart (Mar 29, 2016)

*Wonderful soaps came into the light!

The talents of soapers - so wonderfully bright!

We all love these soaps, 

and all have our hopes,

that next effort will take us to new hights!*


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## Steve85569 (Mar 29, 2016)

Voted!
Thanks for this month's challenge! I learned a new technique and discovered some more that I didn't know. I *think* this method can be used in combination with others to make some really interesting soaps but time and having a rather large surplus of soap prevented me from more experiments.
I wonder how high I would need to drop some unwhipped batter from  into a base of pure white whipped to get a drop swirl going?:twisted:

Steve


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## Arimara (Mar 29, 2016)

I voted but they all win in my book. This was a tricky challenge but since I like it, I might utilize this technique more in the future. Thank you galaxy for this challenge.


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## dixiedragon (Mar 29, 2016)

So, seeing all of these folks with their soaps in cardboard flats - am I the only person who goes to Costco, buys 2 things (literally 2 things yesterday) and comes out with 20 or more cardboard flats?


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## Serene (Mar 29, 2016)

You and me both, Dixiedragon.


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## kchaystack (Mar 29, 2016)

I have to buy prescription cat food by the case.  So I have access to all the cardboard flats I could ever need.


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## FlybyStardancer (Mar 29, 2016)

Voted! That was so hard! All the soaps ended up awesome!


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## kumudini (Mar 29, 2016)

Not exactly the cardboard flats but I've recently started using the tomato boxes from Costco to hold my soaps. If I stand my soaps on the long side, they are only 2.25" wide, just enough to comfortably fit in the box and let me stack them up. I might've been buying more tomatoes lately though.


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 31, 2016)

This is the last day to get in votes! We've got 23 people signed up and 21 have voted. One person let me know they wouldn't be voting so that leaves one person to vote (you don't have to of course.). Just thought I'd give an update. I'll announce the winners at 9 pm CST. 

I'm sorry this challenge ran a little later than I expected. Moving out of my apartment and into a new one took more time than I thought!


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## Wildcraft_Garden (Mar 31, 2016)

Aha  I was the last one, sorry! The message didn't show up on my app and I thought only those who were able to participate got to vote. Voted!


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## galaxyMLP (Mar 31, 2016)

Placing was posted in the challenge entry thread!  I like to keep it together like that in case someone wants to know later on looking through the thread.


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## CaraBou (Mar 31, 2016)

I like that idea of posting the winners over there.  Not sure where I'm supposed to speak up, but I'll say here congrats to newbie, DeeAnna and Misschief and of course all the others who gave it a go!


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## Steve85569 (Mar 31, 2016)

CaraBou said:


> I like that idea of posting the winners over there.  Not sure where I'm supposed to speak up, but I'll say here congrats to newbie, DeeAnna and Misschief and of course all the others who gave it a go!


+1!
As usual this was a fun challenge and there were lots of awesome entries. Made voting difficult - as usual. This is an interesting method and has got my brain gears turning.

" Suddenly a thought crossed my mind..."

Those that know me usually break out in laughter right about then.


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## LisaAnne (Mar 31, 2016)

Congratulations to the winners! It was a very fun and interesting challenge. Lots of pretty floating soap.


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## dibbles (Apr 1, 2016)

Congratulations to Newbie, DeeAnna and Misschief - I really loved all your soaps, and am glad to see I was not alone. Again, thank you Galaxy for hosting the challenge!


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## DeeAnna (Apr 1, 2016)

I'm tickled my soap rocks placed in this challenge -- thank you all! 

I promise you that I won't hog the lime light in challenges to come. There are a lot of talented soapers in these challenges who have much bolder, more creative ideas than I do. I'm beginning to think, for example, that Elvis may truly rise again. 

I'm glad I got brave enough to be involved in these challenges. I'm learning so much about technique, color, and design -- I suppose I can't call myself swirl-challenged anymore, hey? -- but I feel I'm still very much a newbie with even more yet to learn. What I also appreciate is the community that these challenges build. It's one thing to ask or answer a factual question on the other regular threads, and it's another to share thoughts and ideas, sympathize over the not-so-goods, and celebrate the successes on these challenge threads.

Thanks to our lovely, thorough, and talented challenge hosts for all your hard work in setting up and making videos for these challenges and for your patience in answering our many questions -- you da best!


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