Conundrum - swirl with accelerating FO/EOs

[KiwiMoose]

It always comes down to this. I can have it smelling nice (as in how I want it) but looking relatively plain, or I can have a pretty swirl that smells like citrus/lemongrass.

Dare I risk a complicated swirl with this mix:
Patchouli, Ylang Ylang, Palmarosa, Neroli, Bergamot, May Chang?

I'm hoping the latter three will offset the acceleration of the first three. Only one way to find out I guess.

 

[Obsidian]

I would plan a simple one or two color itp swirl with a white base.
If it does accelerate, you have minimal colors to fiddle with and if worse comes to worse, you have a simple plop and glop.

 

[Millie]

Ooh I don't think you'll have any time at all. Sounds like a gorgeous blend though!! Pretty dusting of mica on top?

 

[deb8907]

Simple single color soaps are lovely too. Especially if they smell wonderful!

 

[dibbles]

You could do layers - divide the batter in 3 or 4 parts and only add the EO right before you are ready to mix and pour.

 

[Dawni]

I'm thinking a plain or solid colored bottom (majority) that's scented and have a top that's unscented but with pretty swirls... How many colors were you planning?

Or an ITP could work.. Worst case scenario you'll have an "abstract" pattern.. Although I'm sure, whatever you decide, you'll have very pretty soap

 

[user 29721]

Depends. I had a batch of Patchouli that was behaving great and the one that accelerated like crazy. Test, test and test. From my experience Bergamot, Ylang-Ylang and Neroli never accelerated.

 

[jcandleattic]

What kind of swirl are you contemplating? I can do a spoon swirl with soap that is so thick it's almost crumbling in the pot, and still get nice swirls. I was able to dig up these old photos, and in each of these soaps, the batter was so thick there was no "pour" I had to spoon it into the mold and then swirl after I got it all in. I dont' think they turned out too bad, and this is my go-to swirl when things get too thick.

(Excuse the stearic spots, that also happens when my batter is super thick)

 

[KiwiMoose]

Gee - you lot are no help
I have a swirly pattern in mind that I want to do - and I don't want to do layers or ITPs or nuthin' like that. It has about 5 colours in it - and the white base. I guess I'll just give it a go, and yes, the plop and drop is always the last resort if it all goes to custard!

What kind of swirl are you contemplating? I can do a spoon swirl with soap that is so thick it's almost crumbling in the pot, and still get nice swirls. I was able to dig up these old photos, and in each of these soaps, the batter was so thick there was no "pour" I had to spoon it into the mold and then swirl after I got it all in. I dont' think they turned out too bad, and this is my go-to swirl when things get too thick.

(Excuse the stearic spots, that also happens when my batter is super thick)

View attachment 42152 View attachment 42153

Love the blue and charcoal colours!

I'm planning a pretty - Eve's Garden' type swirl.

 

[jcandleattic]

Love the blue and charcoal colours!
I'm planning a pretty - Eve's Garden' type swirl.

Thank you -

And yeah, umm, probably can't do that swirl if the batter gets too thick. I don't use EO's so can't tell you if your blend will accelerate or not.
IME though, most blends regardless of how they behave individually tend to accelerate.
I have used Ylang Ylang EO before and that's the pic I was actually looking for because when I used that EO, I had an almost instant soap on a stick. But I see others in this thread have had different experiences.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I've used Ylang quite a bit and it does accelerate. But with the citruses in there I'm hoping it will behave long enough to do something with.. Can only but try I guess. The ingredients I use limit me to a fairly thick batter anyway so I guess I'm used to working with it.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I don’t know enough to give you any advice except that I have used a lot of patchouli and never had problems with it accelerating. I used it for some of my early thin layer pour soaps and had lots of time to pour using a recipe with 20% palm and 10% refined shea. It is the one palm recipe I have that is fine on the cool side so maybe the lowish temperature made a difference.

 

[KiwiMoose]

OMG! I am in fragrance heaven!! I just made soap with all the above fragrances! And a few more : )
It smells soooooooooo good. I didn't swirl, I did a confetti layer. It did thicken up but not to an unworkable amount - Im glad I didn't plan an intricate swirl.

Here's the fragrance 'recipe':

Used a 5ml measuring spoon (which is approx. 3-4g depending on the oil)


2 spoons Patchouli EO

2 spoons Neroli Cosmetic Grade Oil

2 spoons Bergamot Cosmetic Grade Oil


Totalling approx. 20g


Then 1 spoon each of

Ho Leaf EO

Ylang Ylang FO

Palmarosa EO

Patchouli FO


Totalling approx. 12g

For 1000g of oils recipe. Can't wait to use this one!!