Dawni
Well-Known Member
If you've watched some videos, they usually pour at light trace for al the inside swirls, and wait a bit before doing the tops so they're a bit thicker.
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By Bath Alchemy
That glacier soap is one of my favorites.
This kind of swirling looks different to me compared to what you usually see. At least at the outside of the swirls or impressions, there are no sharp edges and yet there is a lot of relief. I haven’t watched a ton of videos, but I can’t recall one where they get this effect. It’s like very soft whipped cream I make at home.
Dawni
Well-Known Member
I wonder if she washes the tops with hot water.... I've seen it done somewhere else and I kinda got the feeling that aside from getting rid of ash, it softens up the tops a bit? Or instead of just running water over them, actually rubbing them with a soft cloth?
It shouldn't be very thick trace though, so the soap could still settle and maybe lessen the chances of sharp edges and curves?
Maybe start a thread and we'll have the experts chiming in hehe, I can barely make clean tops when I make CP soap lol
penelopejane
Well-Known Member
Dawni’s right it’s just a matter of waiting for the perfect time and experimenting with different implements to get the exact swirl you want.
The one on the right looks like a large spoon turn over. Only done once. Minimalist. Maybe steamed when it has cured.
The one on the left is black dots joined with thick implement like a chopstick at a time when the batter is thick enough to hold the swirls upright.
Beautiful soap. The swirls do depend on the tool you use, at thick "pudding " trace..a spatula gives you the wide, soft top swirls.
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This person's soap seems about the trace with which you'd get that soft effect when texturing the top. It's not what she wants, but the results look about like the examples above. You can get a feel for how thick (or not) the batter is.
And a couple pics for bonus browsing. Purple soap by....Elaine???
And a couple pics for bonus browsing. Purple soap by....Elaine???
Thanks @newbie! It didn’t occur to me to use a really slow recipe, because I was thinking only of the trace. I was going to try getting a soft looking swirl tonight with a faster recipe* that I made before I saw you post, but it was too far along by the time I was able to work on the top. I certainly have recipes that are as slow as her Castile. I also love her simple trick of dipping, lifting and dragging the batter.
* than the slow recipe I normally use
). Will take a picture and post soon. I think it would be a lot of work to soften up the swirls that way, but I think it will give it a try the next time I don’t like the color or texture of the top of the soap. Thanks for the ideas!
* than the slow recipe I normally use
I was aiming for perfect pudding, had it and then it was gone. I will try a slower recipe the next time. Thanks for the tip!
I’ve washed soap to change the look of it. I made some individual soaps with indigo that came out too dark and the outsides looked kind of a gray green. I washed them until they had the color and sheen of smooth slate and liked them enough that I would make them again (we do love our rock soap
). Will take a picture and post soon. I think it would be a lot of work to soften up the swirls that way, but I think it will give it a try the next time I don’t like the color or texture of the top of the soap. Thanks for the ideas!thanks for the tips PJ! I love the contrast of the B&W in those big soft swirls. I think I’ve also seen tops that look something like that on soaps made by Jo Hauslauer, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a video of her making soap.
In the first photo, the swirl on top is some leftover soap drizzled on top and then swirled with a tool, like a chop stick. The second one, I think is the end of the pour when the soap has thickened up and no longer as thin as at the start, so it mounds up on top as it is poured.
In the first one, I believe the soap batter was still pretty thin. But in the second one, it was getting thicker.
IMO, the soap recipe makes a real difference in how thick the batter becomes and the consistency it has when it pours. Some oils tend to create more fluffy batter, while others a heavier batter when thick. Also how mixed matters as well. For example, I learned at the piping workshop I took last month, that if I over-mix the batter for piping, it starts to loosen up and loose it's fluffy consistency. I had not realized that before the instructor pointed out to me that that was what was happening.
I’m totally intrigued now
What oils are better for a fluffy batter?
Dawni
Well-Known Member
I just took another look and compared with some tops of another soaper....
1. These probably didn't gel? They have that "softer" look compared to gelled tops I've seen.
2. She uses only natural colorants, which tend to look "softer" than micas and oxides, regardless of how your tops look IMO.
1. These probably didn't gel? They have that "softer" look compared to gelled tops I've seen.
2. She uses only natural colorants, which tend to look "softer" than micas and oxides, regardless of how your tops look IMO.
@earlene and @Dawni i think you put me on a good track! Now I have two different makers producing soft, billowy tops using “natural” ingredients, in vegan, non-palm recipes that seem very similar.
The base oils in the Mood Soaps I checked are as follows: OO, [water], CO, [sodium hydroxide], Shea butter, RBO, castor oil. Given where the water is in the list, the soaps have lots of OO, right?
The soaps below are by Sweet Nola. Base oils for most of the soaps, as follows: OO, CO, sunflower, Shea butter, RBO, castor oil, which is very similar to the Mood Soap. There are variations, e.g. for a hemp oil soap: OO, CO, HS oil, Shea butter, avocado oil, castor oil. Ingredients in the soaps are given as “saponified oils of” and the water is not included in the list. The beer soap offered has the beer listed after the CO.
The base oils in the Mood Soaps I checked are as follows: OO, [water], CO, [sodium hydroxide], Shea butter, RBO, castor oil. Given where the water is in the list, the soaps have lots of OO, right?
The soaps below are by Sweet Nola. Base oils for most of the soaps, as follows: OO, CO, sunflower, Shea butter, RBO, castor oil, which is very similar to the Mood Soap. There are variations, e.g. for a hemp oil soap: OO, CO, HS oil, Shea butter, avocado oil, castor oil. Ingredients in the soaps are given as “saponified oils of” and the water is not included in the list. The beer soap offered has the beer listed after the CO.
Dawni
Well-Known Member
I can't say about her ingredients list.... But I do know that you'll need less water for olive oil soap than you would for coconut oil soap.
Soap pics for a Monday morning!
And one more
Is there some way to make the pics smaller?
Dawni
Well-Known Member
I take screenshots from my phone and crop those lol. Easier n faster for me.
Otherwise if you're on the PC, might be easier cropping if you right click and choose edit. There's also those free sites that can do that for ya, including compressing into a smaller file.
Otherwise if you're on the PC, might be easier cropping if you right click and choose edit. There's also those free sites that can do that for ya, including compressing into a smaller file.
A
amd
Sigh. Mooka Made This makes fantastic soaps. I have several in my collection that are a joy to look at, and the ones that I have used were fantastic soap. They're going on 2+ years now and still smell fantastic.
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