Eureka, maybe

[Jersey Girl]

I‘ve never soaped at room temp in fact I almost always soap above 100. I do a lot of swirl designs. Recipe and FO as well as recognizing emulsion and not over using the SB are what I have found key to slowing things down.

 

[dibbles]

So last nights batch didnt come out as bad as i thought. Heres the cut. Got some air bubbles, but not the big holes i expected. The tops came out wonky from trying to smooth it out, so i cut them off. I was going for nice square bars to try out a string pull deco on the sides.

I didnt make the next batch yet, i have some lye cooling. But i am gonna give the lower lye concentration a go again. Also going to soap cooler. These were done at 104. And yes, i will mind my stickblending.

Blending to emulsion is what i have been aiming for, which i think is what i do. Its when i add the fo and mica and give it another couple of bursts is where i think i am finding trouble. I feel like i should video tape myself to see where it goes from nice to “oh crap” lol.

The smell on these is Juicy Couture by Elements and the color is Angry Rose by MM.

I’d be happy with those. FWIW, I soap between 85 and 95 most of the time.

 

[Catscankim]

She is cpop’ing right now. It was better, no plop plop, but still thicker than i hoped for.

And i know everybody thinks the newbie is stickblending too much. It was literally less than 5 seconds. Plus i reduced the settings on the SB. Added the mica and I stirred with the spatula to get the bottoms and sides. It was already getting thick so i whisked a little to losen it up and poured.

FO was added to the oils to reduce the amt of blending i need to do.

Oh and i soaped at 92 degrees

I mean, its better. I cant imagine trying to do a swirl with it though.

 

[dibbles]

So, what was the FO?

 

[Catscankim]

Downpour by Elements. 2 ounces. The mica was Turquoise Teal by Crafters choice. 4tsp mixed with 4T of oils from the batch

 

[Arimara]

You should have some play time though, especially with your recipe. maybe try the lowest setting on the stick blender.

 

[Marsi]

Your soap looks good already
I think your soap is going to be amazing once you have got the batter to your liking!

Looking at your blue soap, it seems to be either ricing or has a lot of little bubbles pulled in by your stick blender
Try "burping" your stick blender to remove bubbles and then blend for only half a second to start

Stir or whisk to get the level of thickness you want
Slowing down will let you see what is going on more clearly

 

[Catscankim]

Your soap looks good already
I think your soap is going to be amazing once you have got the batter to your liking!

Looking at your blue soap, it seems to be either ricing or has a lot of little bubbles pulled in by your stick blender
Try "burping" your stick blender to remove bubbles and then blend for only half a second to start

Stir or whisk to get the level of thickness you want
Slowing down will let you see what is going on more clearly

I think the bubbles are the alcohol i sprayed on top. If you look at the edges of the mold, it has the overspray. I guess we shall see tomorrow. You might be right, but i didnt notice any problems with pouring. My phone picks up on things that arent visible to the naked eye lol

 

[Marsi]

My phone picks up on things that arent visible to the naked eye lol

old cameras are being used for styling photos
trends are funny

Im looking forward to the cut pictures

 

[dibbles]

Downpour by Elements. 2 ounces. The mica was Turquoise Teal by Crafters choice. 4tsp mixed with 4T of oils from the batch

That might have contributed to a faster trace. The notes in the fragrance description say slight acceleration. Rain, ocean, water, ozone FOs often accelerate.

 

[Obsidian]

Have you tried a unscented batch? That would be my next step

 

[Catscankim]

I did two batches yesterday with the exact same recipe (oils). The blue one is at 33% and i have a brown one at 38%. The 33% got pretty thick on me again, but it was easier to handle than my previous attempts. The 38% was super fluid, to the point of having to leave it sit between layers. I even used a known accelerating FO and it still remained fluid.

I guess i will see with the cuts, but the more i look at my rose colored one that i did at 33%, the more i am in love with the texture...and zero ash.

Sooooo....i am going to have to figure it out with the 33%. Soaping cooler and sb less is what i am going to have to work on i think.

Maybe its just that i have been using the wrong concentration for so long that i got used to having so much time with the batter. Like i gotta start over lol.

 

[LilianNoir]

Its when i add the fo and mica and give it another couple of bursts is where i think i am finding trouble.

Don't use the SB to blend in FO and color. That alone (with your higher setting) is contributing. Unless you're using a color that's tricky to blend in (I've seen people recommend SB'ing TD) use a whisk to mix in any additives. I've seen a few soapers on Youtube mention that once they get to emulsion they don't even touch the SB again, and I've found that following the same approach has helped keep my batter fluid.

 

[Catscankim]

These are the cuts from the blue loaf, soaped at 33%

 

[TashaBird]

@Catscankim It took me dozens of batches and some incredible mental gymnastics to reduce my soaping temps to 90 and my SB to about 15 pulses and about 20 stirs. But, then the whole situation transformed and I have a luxurious amount of time!
I also agree with @LilianNoir once I add fragrance and mica I only stir with a spatula or a whisk at the most.

 

[Catscankim]

Well, i am waiting for a very small batch of lye to cool down for a different experiment. Its only 300 grams of soap. Im doing 33% lye concentration, but i dont think i can even sb it. No color or fo. Im not even sure what i should do with it. My sb would beat it up lol.

 

[Obsidian]

Well, i am waiting for a very small batch of lye to cool down for a different experiment. Its only 300 grams of soap. Im doing 33% lye concentration, but i dont think i can even sb it. No color or fo. Im not even sure what i should do with it. My sb would beat it up lol.

Mix it in a tall skinny container so the SB is submerged.

 

[LilianNoir]

These are the cuts from the blue loaf, soaped at 33%

it's pretty!

 

[Krashdragon]

It's a nice color of blue.
Good luck with your soaping. I like to read how people overcome soapy challanges, that'll help when I get a chance to start making soap. For now, I just read. and watch youtube vids.

 

[The Park Bench]

I absolutely love the color! Great job!