Yes, it is a long list, and yes, it is only 2:08 PM here.
OK - So i was so excited about the corrugated plastic mold I made last night AND @dibbles yin yang AND having @Dawni / @Jeboz / @midnightsoaper help me figure out my "Lots of Lather" flail that I decided to make a loaf yin yang with the newly rediscovered recipe. (32%CO/32%PO/31%OO/5%CaO)
I head to my basement and start measuring oils. I grab my pail of coconut oil (into which I had poured the melted remains of another pail yesterday) and start to measure out my 32% CO. Wait, what? this looks really weird - and why is the color odd once I get through a white layer at the top? Oh CRAP - I had poured CO on top of my PO pail.
I CAREFULLY scrape off the white layer, measuring as i go (which, just as I am sitting here, I realize was probably really silly!) I get my required amount, and place the rest of the white stuff in a separate bowl. I then proceed to measure my PO, and I place both together over a water bath to melt.
As it melts it occurs to me - hey - do I REALLY think I had poured 300 grams of CO in the top of that pail? That seems like a lot. Hmmmm, how will that affect the soap? I know! In case I am PO heavy and CO light, I will add another 100 g CO, and reduce OO by like amount. YAY!
While melting occurs, I take my dollar store mylar sheets and cut them into long strips, and curve them around in my mold (see pictures)
For the Yin, or is it Yang, I decide to go with indigo - for the other, plain. I refer to my "Natural Soap Making" book, and peruse pictures of indigo in finished soap that had been added at different stages. I decide I like the color of "added at trace after mixing with a small amount of oil". I measure out my indigo, and when all oils are blended, I take a wee bit and mix it up.
Since I MB my lye, and I am DETERMINED to get lather for days, for the additional liquid I add aloe vera juice. Lovely. All set. I add my lye, pulse to emulsion and v light trace, then add my pre-blended Kaolin clay. Did I forget to mention that? In for a penny, in for a pound, I decided to add 2 T of a 1:1 by weight Kaolin clay : Aloe vera juice to the emulsion. Still lovely.
I separate my emulsion into two portions, and to one add my indigo which is already mixed with a wee bit of my oils. As I pour, I find my indigo had a short romance with the oil, and then decided to remain in single. (Note to self, get a BADGER). Undeterred, I scrape out the container, indigo crystals and all, and blend with half my mix. GORGEOUS blue color (see pics again!)
I have mapped out into which sections i want to pour each color. I decide to pour both colors simultaneously because why not? OH NO! The mylar sheet sections are leaking on one end, and the plain is filling where the blue should go!!!! Panic and pour faster. For some reason now completely unfathomable to me, i pour blue into the south-western quadrant - which started out plain - LOL!
I think Yin Yang has gone the way of the dinosaur, but who knows, I am just gonna go with it. I unclip the mylar sheets and carefully pull them out. AHA - there was a curved edge that I had not accounted for - and that allowed my sections to leak. Note to self. Get completely straight mylar sheets for the future. All the drips on the top are from the soap dripping off the mylar sheets. Note to self - I have no idea how to address this with sheets covering this area - but doggone it, I am going to figure it out I swear!
I most surely have lost my yin yang, but who knows - it might still be fun! I'll take more pictures when i unmold! Oh, and I didn't add any scent. Looked at it before I started writing this, and it has firmed up nicely, so, time will tell!
OK - So i was so excited about the corrugated plastic mold I made last night AND @dibbles yin yang AND having @Dawni / @Jeboz / @midnightsoaper help me figure out my "Lots of Lather" flail that I decided to make a loaf yin yang with the newly rediscovered recipe. (32%CO/32%PO/31%OO/5%CaO)
I head to my basement and start measuring oils. I grab my pail of coconut oil (into which I had poured the melted remains of another pail yesterday) and start to measure out my 32% CO. Wait, what? this looks really weird - and why is the color odd once I get through a white layer at the top? Oh CRAP - I had poured CO on top of my PO pail.
I CAREFULLY scrape off the white layer, measuring as i go (which, just as I am sitting here, I realize was probably really silly!) I get my required amount, and place the rest of the white stuff in a separate bowl. I then proceed to measure my PO, and I place both together over a water bath to melt.
As it melts it occurs to me - hey - do I REALLY think I had poured 300 grams of CO in the top of that pail? That seems like a lot. Hmmmm, how will that affect the soap? I know! In case I am PO heavy and CO light, I will add another 100 g CO, and reduce OO by like amount. YAY!
While melting occurs, I take my dollar store mylar sheets and cut them into long strips, and curve them around in my mold (see pictures)
For the Yin, or is it Yang, I decide to go with indigo - for the other, plain. I refer to my "Natural Soap Making" book, and peruse pictures of indigo in finished soap that had been added at different stages. I decide I like the color of "added at trace after mixing with a small amount of oil". I measure out my indigo, and when all oils are blended, I take a wee bit and mix it up.
Since I MB my lye, and I am DETERMINED to get lather for days, for the additional liquid I add aloe vera juice. Lovely. All set. I add my lye, pulse to emulsion and v light trace, then add my pre-blended Kaolin clay. Did I forget to mention that? In for a penny, in for a pound, I decided to add 2 T of a 1:1 by weight Kaolin clay : Aloe vera juice to the emulsion. Still lovely.
I separate my emulsion into two portions, and to one add my indigo which is already mixed with a wee bit of my oils. As I pour, I find my indigo had a short romance with the oil, and then decided to remain in single. (Note to self, get a BADGER). Undeterred, I scrape out the container, indigo crystals and all, and blend with half my mix. GORGEOUS blue color (see pics again!)
I have mapped out into which sections i want to pour each color. I decide to pour both colors simultaneously because why not? OH NO! The mylar sheet sections are leaking on one end, and the plain is filling where the blue should go!!!! Panic and pour faster. For some reason now completely unfathomable to me, i pour blue into the south-western quadrant - which started out plain - LOL!
I think Yin Yang has gone the way of the dinosaur, but who knows, I am just gonna go with it. I unclip the mylar sheets and carefully pull them out. AHA - there was a curved edge that I had not accounted for - and that allowed my sections to leak. Note to self. Get completely straight mylar sheets for the future. All the drips on the top are from the soap dripping off the mylar sheets. Note to self - I have no idea how to address this with sheets covering this area - but doggone it, I am going to figure it out I swear!
I most surely have lost my yin yang, but who knows - it might still be fun! I'll take more pictures when i unmold! Oh, and I didn't add any scent. Looked at it before I started writing this, and it has firmed up nicely, so, time will tell!
