Embracing the Brown

[TheGecko]

Pardon me for not letting go of this bone, but when you are talking "ounces" I assume you are talking fluid ounces? How does one measure out 24.6 fluid ounces of water? The measuring cup I use to cook with would be very imprecise I would think.

No worries. The answer is Yes and no. Water is the only thing (that I know of) in which volume and weight are the same; so 32 oz by volume will weigh 32 oz on the scale. Plus I winged it a bit.

Since it was the first time I was making this stuff and even though I had faith in @Todd Ziegler, I didn't want to make up a huge batch of the stuff in case I didn't like the results and therefore, I could sell the rest of the Metabisulfate. So I decided to just make an 8 oz batch and used a bottle that held 12 fl oz. Simple math...8 oz x 0.769 = 6.152 or 6.15 oz. 8 oz - 6.15 oz = 1.85 oz. Double-check the math...8 oz x 0.231 = 1.848 or 1.85 oz. So...6.15 oz Distilled Water and 1.85 oz BY WEIGHT put into the bottle and shook up.

Or you could rely on @TheGecko's experiences and indeed replace the thiosulfate with just water.

Except that I didn't use Thiosufate, I use Metabisulfate.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Sorry the wrapped on was an accident and cannot find how to delete it.

Find the "Report" button -- lower left corner of your post. Click on that. Request that the post be deleted and the reason. Admin/Mods will see it and delete it... usually within 24 hours.

 

[AliOop]

Gecko spoke for herself so I have deleted my prior post.

 

[John Harris]

Ok, here's what I got based on Gecko's percentages:

I want to make 28 fluid ounces of the stuff. That is 828 grams.

828 x 0.77 = 637.60 grams of water.
828 x 0.23 = 190.45 grams of metabisulfate.

The recipe says to use 9.05 fl. ounces of FO which is 268 grams. Since it is a 1:1 application, I would use 268 grams of the metabisulfate solution.

I realize that I am measuring/converting everything as if it were water. Is that ok?

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I realize that I am measuring/converting everything as if it were water. Is that ok?

As long as it's water net weight, i.e., grams, you're good to go.

The recipe says to use 9.05 fl. ounces of FO which is 268 grams.

Be sure to weigh the FO to make sure it is indeed 268 grams.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

I realize that I am measuring/converting everything as if it were water. Is that ok?

Strictly speaking, you aren't, and that's the reason why you're right.

I'm not sure if an attempt to explain why, is worth the effort (because it will likely confuse you even more – better listen to @Zany_in_CO than me). I'll try anyway:

I want to make 28 fluid ounces of the stuff. That is 828 grams.

No. You won't know the weight of 28 fl oz of your stuff, unless you look up its density (your bisulfite isn't there, though). But it doesn't matter. Your 28 fl oz will weigh more than 828 g, but the only effect of this “error” is that you will have something of the JCS left when you're through your FO bottle. This would likely be the case anyway, because your 28 fl oz of FO probably weigh less than 828 g. But this “use the numbers of water” intuition isn't entirely off, because all densities (except lye) in soapmaking are ±20% around those of water, hence you make at worst a volume-to-mass conversion error of ±20%.

 

[John Harris]

@ResolvableOwl Well! I'm glad we got THAT cleared up! LOL!

 

[TheGecko]

The recipe says to use 9.05 fl. ounces of FO which is 268 grams. Since it is a 1:1 application, I would use 268 grams of the metabisulfate solution.

I realize that I am measuring/converting everything as if it were water. Is that ok?

Don’t over think it too much, but I do recommend that you weigh the FO. And while I have confidence is ZVCS, it’s always a good idea to make a test batch.

 

[DianaMoon]

This inspired me to make a brown soap.

1. Molasses
2. Coffee instead of water
3. Cacao powder
4. Vanilla essence (just a few last drops of an old bottle)

Oil mix: avocado, cocoa butter, coconut, castor. Not sure what that white stuff is. I think it may be dust. It's not on the other bars. I don't know what color the lather is.

It's curing so I don't know whether the soap is good. I do know I love the color.

 

[Obsidian]

I avoid discoloring FO now. No matter how much I like the smell, I find I never reach for brown soap in the shower and no one asks for more when its gifted.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I avoid discoloring FO now. No matter how much I like the smell, I find I never reach for brown soap in the shower and no one asks for more when its gifted.

I’m with you on that one, but discovered over the holidays that my coffee soap with discoloring FO was a hit with teenagers and 20-somethings.

 

[TheGecko]

I avoid discoloring FO now. No matter how much I like the smell, I find I never reach for brown soap in the shower and no one asks for more when its gifted.

I think it really depends on the scent and how you 'embrace' it. I do a Chocolate Espresso that is very popular...three-quarters of the soap is a rich brown (I add cocoa and brown oxide) and has a 'whip cream' topping with a sprinkle of cocoa on it. And I did fairly well with adding some lighter swirls to Woodland Chestnut and Bourbon Chai Toddy, but a natural Snickerdoodle, Pumpkin Pie and Autumn Harvest ended up in the donation box even though they smelled wonderful.

 

[Spice]

I think it really depends on the scent and how you 'embrace' it. I do a Chocolate Espresso that is very popular...three-quarters of the soap is a rich brown (I add cocoa and brown oxide) and has a 'whip cream' topping with a sprinkle of cocoa on it. And I did fairly well with adding some lighter swirls to Woodland Chestnut and Bourbon Chai Toddy, but a natural Snickerdoodle, Pumpkin Pie and Autumn Harvest ended up in the donation box even though they smelled wonderful.

What does brown oxide do? Cocoa is brown?

 

[TheGecko]

What does brown oxide do? Cocoa is brown?

The oxide evens out the discoloration, the cocoa deepens it and gives it label appeal.

 

[Saponificarian]

On the original homemade vanilla stabilizer thread, another Canadian member @Saponificarian suggested this source. Perhaps she can chime in with a Canadian source if she's found one? In the meantime, check Voyageur and Windy Point, as well as sites that sell aquarium, wine, and photography supplies. Apparently this stuff has many uses.

I know I got Metabisulphate but just can’t remember from where anymore. Must have been from Amazon US.