2nd batch of soap

[Luv2Soap]

Today I decided to try a 2nd batch of CP soap using Susie's recipe with 1 change:

55% Lard
20% Olive Oil
20% Coconut Oil
5% Castor Oil

Instead of doing 100% distilled water, I made the choice to replace 1/4 of the water with almond milk. My goal is to make a more creamy and lush bar.

I also used the color samples that I got from Nature's garden. I let my 9 year old son pick the colors I used and he chose gold mica and turquoise mica. Good choices I took approx 1/2-1 oz of oil for each color and used 1t. of mica per oil.

I noticed that when I added the almond milk that the soap came to light trace quickly. So, I divided my batch and mixed the colors. Boy...it accelerated FAST!

I ended up plopping the batter into my 5oz molds (3 of them) - alternating colors - batter, turquoise and gold. Then I took a toothpick and swirled them a little. I put the soap into a cereal box and wrapped it in a towel.

I'll leave it overnight and check it out in the morning, but I am hoping that the almond milk didn't screw up the batch. I'll post pictures tomorrow once I unmold it.

 

[lenarenee]

That's a really nice recipe. I can't wait to see the gold and turquoise - it sounds like a great combination!

 

[shunt2011]

Can't wait to see the colors. The recipe should make a great soap for you.

 

[Luv2Soap]

I'll have to cut into a bar to see the colors once it hardens up. Not the most impressive looking bar on the surface, but hoping it's awesome inside!

 

[Seawolfe]

I'm sure it will be fine, the sugars in the almond milk just accelerated it a bit I bet. Can't wait to see.

 

[Luv2Soap]

I'm sure it will be fine, the sugars in the almond milk just accelerated it a bit I bet. Can't wait to see.

Wow, didn't even think about the sugars in the almond milk! Hope that will help with the bubbling of this soap!

Here are the pictures - I unmolded this and it was still pretty soft, but workable. So, I unmolded them and then cut them into halves so my 9 year old could see the different colors that he chose. Truth be told, it was me who was more interested to see what the insides looked like - he was a convenient excuse for me to cut them in half...

Here they are right out of the mold before cutting in half

Here a few pictures of the insides - not too bad !

I need to buy a clay tool in order to clean them up around the edges. I also need a soap cutting tool that doesn't leave knife groove marks when I cut. But, all in all, I'm pretty satisfied with the turnout considering how fast this batch went to full trace and how I plopped it into the molds. Next time I'll use something larger than a toothpick (all I had at the time) to make the swirls.

 

[Susie]

You may just want to let them sit a bit longer to get a little harder before cutting.

 

[Luv2Soap]

You may just want to let them sit a bit longer to get a little harder before cutting.

Yeah...not gonna lie, I was impatient to see what the colors looked like. It's my first time putting a color into my soap Next time I'll know better. I will say that cutting into the soap to see what it looked like made me feel like a kid opening presents on Christmas morning! That feeling is addictive.

By the way...thank you Susie for being so generous with this recipe!

 

[Seawolfe]

Those are sweet! Give them a quick wash when they are done curing and all those little imperfections will smooth right over. I just use a sharp knife to clean up my edges.

LOL its MUCH harder to be too late with the unmolding and cutting than too early

 

[Cactuslily]

Beautiful! Looks like a hanger swirl! You can also just use a vegetable peeler to bevel edges on log soap. I just got a planer, which I like but I hate wasting soap, so I have been keeping all my scraps to use as soap balls or confetti for another time.

 

[Luv2Soap]

Interesting update from my test subject (hubby). Impatient me put a little bar into the shower to see how it lathered (btw - it's much more bubbly than the original recipe). Last night he came out of the shower and told me how much he liked the new soap -vs- the first version I made. He said it just felt better on his skin and bubbled better.

I used Silk's version of unsweetened Almond Milk in my soap. Even though it's unsweetened, there is sugar in there. So, it looks like adding the milk and putting in some sugar helped to make a better soap. I know I'm only 1 week into this soap so I can't make a final determination. I can't wait until we are about 4-6 weeks in! Speaking of which, my 1st soap is 4 weeks old tomorrow.

 

[Cactuslily]

Happy 1 month anniversary to you...and your first soap!