Batch 3 - rosy floral

BobbiOh · Oct 13, 2024

I'm getting my mojo back and taking my time. I did my tried and true basic batch (castor, coconut, olive and shea) and I tried of blend of flower-y EO's with a blend of metallic brick red and hot pink mica. I like how the EO blend smells but, I think it needs to be stronger. I've been trying the ice method with the lye, but keep ending up with a few solid chunks of lye that I have to hit with a stick blender to get dissolve, so I think I'll go with more water mixed with the ice. I'll wait until it cures to decide on if the color needs tweaking.

Overall, I'm happy with myself getting back in hang of things. I had two strokes four yeas ago (thanks to COVID) and riding horses has helped me immensely to heal and be comfortable doing things that I used to take for granted. And the soap is presentable!!

BobbiOh · Oct 14, 2024

I cut it this morning at 18 hours because I couldn't wait. It could have used the full 24 hours, but it still cut well.

My takeaways from this batch:

It needs to be redder, not darker - it looks like square bologna.

I forced it to go through gel, but I think the scent and color would benefit from not going through gel phase.

I used: Orange, Lavender, Rose and Cedarwood Atlas. The Cedarwood gave it nice woodsy note, but I think it needs a little bit of a base note, like Patchouli or black pepper. The orange needs to be a drier note, so maybe grapefruit. And stronger.

My excitement is really returning because I couldn't wait to cut into this soap, even though it has flaws.

dibbles · Oct 14, 2024

@BobbiOh it’s fun to see you so excited to be making soap again. I think your bars look lovely as they are, but have fun tweaking the color to get exactly what you want. Wishing the best for you as you continue to recover from Covid. So many have long roads to travel to regain what was lost.