Decided to put things together and share my progress in a single thread that I can continue to add replies to.
I have my eighth CP soap in the mold right now, happily soaking up some residual warmth so I can get some marvelous greens. But for now, here are my first few adventures.
Batch #1 - 100% CO 20% SF with Local Saltwater
The good: First soap! The colors are nice other than the partial gel and I managed to get some semblance of a design despite getting spooked by medium-thick trace (it comes SO much faster than I ever expected)
The bad: Partial gel! But that's okay~
The ugly: Soap on a rope positioning... could use some work
Lesson Learned: This is absolutely not as intimidating of a process as I thought it was
Batch #2 - 5 Oil Blend with Chamomile Tea
The good: The swirls are so lovely and I adore the greens.
The bad: I chowdered the edges of this one up because I jumped the gun peeking at this one a little too early. I ended up having to stick it in the freezer to demold it at 48 hours.
The ugly: The gold is rather meh. I'd maybe just go for another green instead.
Lesson Learned: Lower the water amount in SoapCalc. Add a little salt to harden bars quickly (and added Sodium Lactate to my NS cart)
Batch #3 - 5 Oil Blend with Hibiscus and Moringa Tea
The good: I mean. LOOK AT IT. She speaks for herself.
The bad: Yeah, sure, maybe there's stearic spots but they look like stars
It's intentional...
The ugly: Not quite a proper ugly, but the Hibiscus and Moringa Tea turned from beautiful ruby red to RADIOACTIVE GREEN when I added the lye to it. Really, really bizarre. And really, really fun.
Lesson Learned: Heat up hard oils a little more or just accept the stearic spots as they are (it's homemade! it adds to the charm...). 1 tsp PPO of white is a lie.
Batch #4 - 5 Oil Blend with Mango Hard Seltzer (Not White Claw, but similar to White Claw)
The good: The vision was there and everyone could guess what the design was meant to be. It was a fun first attempt at a gradient.
The bad: Absolutely nothing! This was my first batch where I really felt like I didn't stick blend too long.
The ugly: Okay, maybe doing a three color gradient as my first attempt wasn't the brightest idea. Go big or go home, I guess.
Lesson Learned: When your brother leaves behind an alcoholic beverage that absolutely no one in your household is going to drink, make soap out of it. Easy.
Batch #5 - CO/OO/Castor, high SF with Lime Hard Seltzer
The good: ......................... the top?
The bad: This soap was a bit of a clown fiesta from start to finish, and that's okay. I had it too good for too long LOL
The ugly: Other than the obvious, the white batter I had accelerated very quickly, so while the rest of my colors flowed smoothly, that one was a gunky mess.
Lesson Learned: When nice people tell you to use a single bar mold for high CO/Salt soaps, maybe listen to them.
Batch #6 - OO/CO/Castor with Distilled Water
The good: I shredded half of Batch #5, recycling some of it in this batch using the Ciaglia method. The swirl is infinitely better than the previous batch, and the colors are really fun with the green tinge to all of them. I like the freckles caused by the scraps, too.
The bad: I should've reduced my batter amount to account for the scraps, as I had quite a bit of overflow. It'll all get used in the end, so it's no big deal, really.
The ugly: Unmolded a little too soon, so the bars got a little smooshy on the edges. What can I say, I was excited.
Lesson Learned: A failed batch (that isn't like. horrifyingly unusable) is just an opportunity for something better~
Batch #7 - 6 Oil Blend with Strawberry Guava Hard Seltzer
The good: This batch went smoothly. It was my first time using Kokum Butter, so that was fun. I grabbed it on sale from WSP just to play around with.
The bad: Stearic spots again, curses. But I'm not gonna be bothered by it, especially since I used two butters for the first time and just need to get a little hotter for the new butter.
The ugly: Buehler. Buehler. Buehler. Where did my third color go. They looked so different in the pitchers, but alas
Lesson Learned: Reading up on the Colorant On The Milk Carton, the supplier says it fades in CP, so I'll save it for my MP soaps.
Tomorrow is my 4 week date for my first batch, so I'm very excited to see how the first cure check goes.
I have my eighth CP soap in the mold right now, happily soaking up some residual warmth so I can get some marvelous greens. But for now, here are my first few adventures.
Batch #1 - 100% CO 20% SF with Local Saltwater
The good: First soap! The colors are nice other than the partial gel and I managed to get some semblance of a design despite getting spooked by medium-thick trace (it comes SO much faster than I ever expected)
The bad: Partial gel! But that's okay~
The ugly: Soap on a rope positioning... could use some work
Lesson Learned: This is absolutely not as intimidating of a process as I thought it was
Batch #2 - 5 Oil Blend with Chamomile Tea
The good: The swirls are so lovely and I adore the greens.
The bad: I chowdered the edges of this one up because I jumped the gun peeking at this one a little too early. I ended up having to stick it in the freezer to demold it at 48 hours.
The ugly: The gold is rather meh. I'd maybe just go for another green instead.
Lesson Learned: Lower the water amount in SoapCalc. Add a little salt to harden bars quickly (and added Sodium Lactate to my NS cart)
Batch #3 - 5 Oil Blend with Hibiscus and Moringa Tea
The good: I mean. LOOK AT IT. She speaks for herself.
The bad: Yeah, sure, maybe there's stearic spots but they look like stars
It's intentional... The ugly: Not quite a proper ugly, but the Hibiscus and Moringa Tea turned from beautiful ruby red to RADIOACTIVE GREEN when I added the lye to it. Really, really bizarre. And really, really fun.
Lesson Learned: Heat up hard oils a little more or just accept the stearic spots as they are (it's homemade! it adds to the charm...). 1 tsp PPO of white is a lie.
Batch #4 - 5 Oil Blend with Mango Hard Seltzer (Not White Claw, but similar to White Claw)
The good: The vision was there and everyone could guess what the design was meant to be. It was a fun first attempt at a gradient.
The bad: Absolutely nothing! This was my first batch where I really felt like I didn't stick blend too long.
The ugly: Okay, maybe doing a three color gradient as my first attempt wasn't the brightest idea. Go big or go home, I guess.
Lesson Learned: When your brother leaves behind an alcoholic beverage that absolutely no one in your household is going to drink, make soap out of it. Easy.
Batch #5 - CO/OO/Castor, high SF with Lime Hard Seltzer
The good: ......................... the top?
The bad: This soap was a bit of a clown fiesta from start to finish, and that's okay. I had it too good for too long LOL
The ugly: Other than the obvious, the white batter I had accelerated very quickly, so while the rest of my colors flowed smoothly, that one was a gunky mess.
Lesson Learned: When nice people tell you to use a single bar mold for high CO/Salt soaps, maybe listen to them.
Batch #6 - OO/CO/Castor with Distilled Water
The good: I shredded half of Batch #5, recycling some of it in this batch using the Ciaglia method. The swirl is infinitely better than the previous batch, and the colors are really fun with the green tinge to all of them. I like the freckles caused by the scraps, too.
The bad: I should've reduced my batter amount to account for the scraps, as I had quite a bit of overflow. It'll all get used in the end, so it's no big deal, really.
The ugly: Unmolded a little too soon, so the bars got a little smooshy on the edges. What can I say, I was excited.
Lesson Learned: A failed batch (that isn't like. horrifyingly unusable) is just an opportunity for something better~
Batch #7 - 6 Oil Blend with Strawberry Guava Hard Seltzer
The good: This batch went smoothly. It was my first time using Kokum Butter, so that was fun. I grabbed it on sale from WSP just to play around with.
The bad: Stearic spots again, curses. But I'm not gonna be bothered by it, especially since I used two butters for the first time and just need to get a little hotter for the new butter.
The ugly: Buehler. Buehler. Buehler. Where did my third color go. They looked so different in the pitchers, but alas
Lesson Learned: Reading up on the Colorant On The Milk Carton, the supplier says it fades in CP, so I'll save it for my MP soaps.
Tomorrow is my 4 week date for my first batch, so I'm very excited to see how the first cure check goes.
and I didn't have a strainer for my lye (didn't want to use the one in the kitchen and ruin it for future food use...) Most of it ended up in the uncolored soap batter, so I think that's why there's that weirdness happening in the uncolored soap.
It's just an oopsie bonus exfoliant instead. Totally intentional. 
) all these pretty bars I keep showing them.
It's not a big deal to me ultimately since I know it's largely a product of my climate, but this one was a bit scuzzy. At least it will wash off 
I did a test of my second batch today and I don't like it as much (it's still fine and my hands felt nice afterwards but the 100% CO felt much nicer) however, there was a lot of water in that batch so maybe I'll have better results during my next cure check. 
but with batter just shy of peanut butter, I have no issues with that.
That was your daily wisdom from me, Confused-cius.
