3rd Official Soap Batch Ever!

stephasafari · Oct 5, 2012

This was a new batch that I used to test for slowing down trace. Before I was using pomace OO and heard it speeds trace up so I tried EVOO and decided to use a new recipe.

Recipe: 45% EVOO, 30% vegetable shortening, 20% coconut oil & 5% castor oil. FO: Coffee Cake & Spice from New Directions Aromatics. Colorants: cinnamon for darker brown and Honey Beige Mica from Voyageur. Flash bright gold mica on tops.

It smells yummy but it is SO soft and I waited 30 hours to take it out and cut. Could this be from the shortening?

I think it looks sorta purdy. I really want to try a swirl but I panic so much when starting to color that I just end up doing 3/4 one color and 1/4 another. Waaaa! Soap gods grant me the courage!

Cake Baby · Oct 5, 2012

Oh it looks fantastic!! The gold mica on top is just the perfect touch. Well done!

Hazel · Oct 5, 2012

Beautiful! I think it turned out great and I agree the gold mica is an inspired accent. If you wanted an autumn/harvest type, you succeeded with this batch. I also think the fragrance sounds wonderful.

I've always found my batches were initially soft when I used new Crisco in batches. It made it harder to get loaves out of the mold. Adding 2%-3% sodium lactate calculated on the total weight of the oils helps with the hardness. You can deduct the amount of SL you're adding from the water if you're making a large batch. I don't make large batches and generally use less water so I just add the SL in with the water without reducing it.

lsg · Oct 5, 2012

Beautiful soap!

soapcakes · Oct 5, 2012

Ooooh, pretty! Love the sparkly swirl on top!!!

stephasafari · Oct 5, 2012

Thanks all!

Hazel, thank you for the tip! I'll research more about using sodium lactate and if I can find some I'll definitely give it a try. =)

Hazel · Oct 5, 2012

You're welcome! If you use the advanced search, type lactate as your keyword, IrishLass as the author and it will filter the results. I know IrishLass has discussed it quite a bit.