A Few Good Soaps

[Jenn Lee]

I've been making soap for a little over a year now. So I thought I would post some of my creations. Still learning A LOT, so while the soaps usually work well, they don't always look as pretty as I imagine they will. Technique, technique, technique! Love the SoapMakingForum! As soon as I'm done moving to Wyoming (yay!!), I'm planning on becoming a paid member. I'm also going from a super humid climate (Houston) to a very dry climate. Very curious as to how I will need to change my soaping style, assuming I will.


Verbena soap (in the pot swirl, with yellow Brazilian and rose clays) in the mold & cut.

This one is an Irish Coffee Bar (Bourbon, Coffee, and Vanilla with coffee grounds and Cocoa powder as colorant). It smells fantastic. The cocoa powder as colorant part is much lighter after saponification. My first ever spin swirl.

And a Sea Salt on a Rope bar. I got the mold from BrambleBerry and I have, to this day, never been able to remove a soap without the corners coming off. Very disappointing. I thought for sure leaving the salt bars in for a couple of days would be the trick - not so! 2nd picture of the 1 that came out with 3 corners intact. Still, they smell amazing.

Dog tax!! This is Donkey (the Donkey of DonkeyPaw Soapworks). She was very sad because I told her I didn't want to play with her and her Jolly Ball in the house.

 

[shunt2011]

Very nice soapies and cut dog!

 

[MGM]

Beautiful! And wow, did that cocoa ever get lighter....I had to keep scrolling back to make sure it was the same bar.

 

[Callie]

I love the swirls on the top of your soaps. I will have to try that soon

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

gorgeous.

 

[Cellador]

I love your soaps!
On the salt bars, how much salt do you use? I had the same problem, until someone here mentioned using less salt....and it worked like a charm in getting the bars out of the mold with clean corners.

 

[dibbles]

Nice soapies

 

[Ethanperine@gmail]

Love all the swirls

 

[Dawni]

Your soap tops are gorgeous!

I live in a very humid place too, I expect you'll have an easier curing time, not having to dealing with excessively sweaty soap and all that lol

 

[lsg]

Love the swirls.

 

[Jenn Lee]

Beautiful! And wow, did that cocoa ever get lighter....I had to keep scrolling back to make sure it was the same bar.

It's not the same bar. I haven't taken pictures of the cut Irish Coffee bars yet.

 

[Jenn Lee]

Your soap tops are gorgeous!

I live in a very humid place too, I expect you'll have an easier curing time, not having to dealing with excessively sweaty soap and all that lol

That is definitely something I'm looking forward too! I currently live in a very "breathable" old house in Houston where the humidity is usually > 50%, sometimes up to 75% inside regardless of A/C. The salt bars on the rope sweat like crazy after I dug them out of the mold. It has certainly seemed like curing in such humidity wasn't great for my bars - lots of sweating, retaining moisture longer, although, surprisingly, haven't had the dreaded DOS yet.

 

[Jenn Lee]

I love your soaps!
On the salt bars, how much salt do you use? I had the same problem, until someone here mentioned using less salt....and it worked like a charm in getting the bars out of the mold with clean corners.

I've made recipes where I added salt to match the oz of oils used (100%), but this one I only added around 50% salt to oil ratio. It was less than I usually put into my salt bars.

 

[dixiedragon]

beautiful swirls!

AND poor, sad Donkey!

I like to get a bit of mineral oil on my finger and run it in each corner. Helps a lot!

 

[Jenn Lee]

beautiful swirls!

AND poor, sad Donkey!

I like to get a bit of mineral oil on my finger and run it in each corner. Helps a lot!

Thank you and I've not heard of the mineral oil trick before, I'll give it a try! Thanks

 

[Jenn Lee]

Donkey is addicted to that ball. If we are in the house, she usually has it close to her and offers it to me several times a day to play. She may be sad in the picture, but she's also spoiled! She's one of those dogs that, at 5 years old, has just learned that relaxing is not the end of the world. She's always looking for something to do. I think she's really going to like Wyoming when we get there - plan on lots of hikes!

 

[szaza]

Those are some really pretty soaps! I love your swirls and your tops!
And donkey is gorgeous! I wish I had a dog like that to play with

 

[TwoHandssoaps]

Your soaps are beautiful!!...good job