1st four batches ever!!

[countymounty22]

First batch was just a basic recipe with some lemon grass EO add in

Second batch is the basic recipe with Lavender and Chamomile Tea and Lemon grass and Tea Tree EO.

The third is a new recipe. It is a bay rum batch with multiple EO's and bay leaves.

The fourth batch is my crazy creation. It gets its coloring from tobacco juice. Thats right. I had some laying around since I quit chewing and thought it would make a great soap. I was right. Some Bay Rum FO and some Cinnamon Orange Clover EO. I am super excited.

Another note, I was wondering if anybody could tell me what the lines are from in the tobacco soap. It also happened in my first batch. The recipe is as follows:

21.4oz Olive Oil
2.6oz Coconut Oil
2.6oz Castor Oil
2.6oz Sweet Almond Oil
2.6oz Grape Seed Oil
4.3oz Lye
11.4oz Water

I have never ran this through soapcalc just because I got the recipe from one of our city guys and I have seen his soap. The only thing is that he does HP and all of my soaps are CP.

 

[countymounty22]

Sorry they did not post as I added them. The first two batches are the tobacco and bay rum soaps and the second two are the Lemongrass and Lavender and Chamomile soaps.

 

[Hazel]

Your soap looks very nice. I'm sorry but I can't see lines in the tobacco soap. Did you gel the batch? I can make a guess and suggest partial gel but I really don't know. Also, the recipe looks fine other than a low SF. You'll have to let us know what you think of it.

 

[heyjude]

Congratulations! Now, the tough part comes -waiting for the cure.

 

[ucmj22]

Those look great! Love the scent combos. What is tobacco juice? As a former user of chewing tobacco, the image in my head isn't a good one. How did you use the bay leaves?

 

[countymounty22]

Hazel- You will have to excuse me. I have heard the term "gelling" but I am not really familiar with what it actually is. The lines I was talking about is the contrast of brown and white. They do go away as it cures though. Also, when using the lemongrass and the lavender tea soap, I can take off a layer that looks like vaseline. It lathers up fine and I have hard water. Is this indicative of CP soap or is there something I can do so it doesn't happen?

Heyjude-I couldn't help myself and used my pocket knife to scrape off a piece of the tobacco juice soap and it is awesome.

Ucm-I took leaf tobacco and soaked it in water then I just squeezed all the juice out of it. I forgot to use distilled water so I only used 6oz. out of 11.4oz's of water. Crazy I know, but it smells awesome and lathers up great. I used some my father-in-law gave me a long time ago called Tequilla Sunrise. I also threw in some bay rum FO and Cinnamon Orange Clover EO. I crushed the bay leaves as best as I could then put them in a blending bottle I use to make my protein drinks. That didn't work very well either. I am hoping the stems won't be scratchy. Speaking of that, if you haven't tried tea in your soap you should. It has a light scrubbing effect. I just poured it in straight from the bags.

 

[ucmj22]

Speaking of that, if you haven't tried tea in your soap you should. It has a light scrubbing effect. I just poured it in straight from the bags.

I did make a couple of batches this weekend. A black tea and Lemongrass (with tea grounds), and Coffee (with coffee grounds)

 

[SueSoap]

How very creative! Love the way they look.

 

[Hazel]

I thought the brown and white in the soap was swirls. You mean you didn't intend it to have two different colors in it? I thought it looks great.

Gelling is when the soap gets hot because of the saponification process (chemical reaction of oils & lye creates heat) and looks kind of translucent and gel-like. A comparison often used to describe the appearance is it looks and has a texture very similar to Vaseline. Once the saponification is complete, the batch will cool back down and harden. Here's a link to a discussion about gelling/not gelling which may better explain it. http://soapmakingforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31429 I know there are more topics concerning gelling that you can search for if you want.

The lemongrass/lavender tea soap's top looks like Vaseline? Do you mean it's soft like Vaseline or it's more translucent like Vaseline? Because if it's soft, then that's not a good thing. However, if it's hard yet a little translucent looking like Vaseline, this could be a result of gelling and the combination of oils. I've had a few batches which had a translucent/glossy sheen to them but I really liked the look.

@ ucmj22

Nice looking soap! I especially like the black tea and lemongrass.

 

[countymounty22]

Nice looking tea ucm. I have not tried the coffee grounds before. I am going to have to get a wavy cutter. Especially since deer season is coming around and I am currently using my butcher knife to cut soap.