Experimenting week ... new pics!

[SleepingDragonfly]

Hey everyone

I'm experimenting this week and want to share my results with you all

This is my first beer soap. I'm not keen. The smell factor involved was too much for me. I added an FO that is a powdery floral smell that I didn't like with the idea to counter-act the beer smell. But the beer smell has gone and I'm left with a powdery floral with a slight woody/earthy undertone. It's OK .... but I still dont like it. lol. It has a lot a air bubbles in it. Was that my fault or does a beer soap do that?

First successful Milk soap! This is Honey and Almond Milk. I'm really pleased with it. The first time I did a milk soap I added the caustic soda to room temp milk .... eeeewww, lol

First Castile Soap! Really like the consistency of the soap batter. I took it out of the mold this morning and found it is still very soft as you can see. I will leave it untill firm enough to cut. Just gotta observe it over the next few months. Love the colour .. looks like butter

Now awaiting my fragrance order for the next experiment I've been inspired by a lolly-pop, haha

 

[Hazel]

I think your soap is beautiful. I love the swirls. I was looking at it and thinking "how did she do this?"

I have had air bubbles in batches where I was slow about getting the soap into the mold. Really thick trace and I didn't slam the mold down hard enough to eliminate trapped air. I know for sure one beer batch didn't have air bubbles and the others might have had a few. So I don't think it's caused by the beer.

I agree beer soap smells awful but the stink always fades after a few days. Maybe your FO will mellow a bit and you might like it better. I've had this occur with some batches. I thought the FO smelled great OOB but I didn't like it in the soap. After curing, the fragrance seemed to alter and then I liked it. Then again, there have been a couple which I still dislike after several months.

 

[SleepingDragonfly]

Yes I poured at a thick trace. I probably should have slammed the mold a bit more than I did ... I will remember next time

That specific swirl is the only one out of the whole test batch. I was quite surprised by it too. I poured the middle layer in a hap-hazard kinda way. The top layer just glopped on-top. I then used an L shaped implement to do vertical zig-zags. It has inspired me; I'm tryna plan in my head how to create a swirled flower within and running the length of a soap loaf.

Just another idea to put on list, heh

Thank you for your comment. It's great to have feedback

 

[Hazel]

You're certainly welcome. I like giving feedback but sometimes I miss posts. I get distracted by other threads and either I don't see a post or I forget that I meant to go look at it. Brain drain. :roll:

I find it hard to slam a mold onto the counter. I'm always nervous that I'll slam it too hard and raw soap will fly up into my face. I don't mind air pockets or bubbles but that's just me.

Yes, I noticed your nicely textured top and it made me think of froth on beer. You did an excellent job with your "glopping".

I'll have to remember the L shaped implement for zig zagging. That's a good idea. Have you looked at agriffin's blog? I think she did a tutorial on making flowers in soap. Althoug, it might not have been a loaf. Here's the link to the blog in case you haven't seen it. http://www.lovinsoap.com/

 

[Dragonkaz]

I think your soap looks fantastic! I also think the air pockets look great, they're a reminder of how amazing homemade soap can look.

I made beer soap and use the beer frozen and there's no beer smell, only a smell of the FO. I usually use a beer FO, so that using the beer for the liquid has label appeal.

 

[raysofcolorado]

Those all look great! I made beer soap for the first time the other day, it has a very creamy lather but I am hoping the smell will calm down a little. It is quite harsh. I will try freezing the beer next time.

 

[SleepingDragonfly]

yes, definitely going to be freezing the beer next time .... I'm wondering if you can do this with any alcoholic liquid? ....hmmmm ..

 

[Midnight Rowan]

I haven't experimented with this, but I would think it would depend on the alcohol % in it... at a certain %, alcohol will not freeze (whiskey, bourbon, etc).

 

[Hazel]

A long time ago, someone experimented with whiskey and I don't think she was too happy with it. But I don't remember for sure. I'm feeling too lazy to search for it.

I've used wine and vodka. Wine soap is great! Very bubbly but the tannin in the wine caused some discoloration but not too bad. I didn't add a lot of vodka to the one batch I used it in (salt bar) and I'm glad I was cautious. It moved...oh yes...it moved. It will work as long as you know it going to happen and don't want any fancy swirls. I can't say the vodka really added anything since it was a small amount of my liquid and salt bars bubble really well without any extra additives. :wink:

 

[green soap]

Sleepingdragonfly your soaps are awesome. I love the first one, maybe by now the beer scent has gone away for you. I like te double swirl layer effect.

I have not tried beer soaping yet, will do when the occasion presents itself. One of the few FO I have tried is called 'lime margarita'. I bought it from CG. I really like it, and I don't like that many FOs. Besides the unmistakable lime scent, there is a subtle but very there, alcohol scent. It really smells like a lime margarita. I wonder how they do that.

 

[SleepingDragonfly]

Lime Margarita? ...... mmmmm ... sounds good to me

Well, after doing the beer soap, which still smells nasty(changed to a smokey floral), I've had the idea of doing a champagne soap. It's an idea I really like the sound of and thinking perhaps adding a puréed fruit as-well. Like Pear Champagne soap

I want to try salt bars. I'm confused as to why salt is used when sugar is more beneficial to the skin? I'm guessing the quantity of sugar required may seize the soap batter? Something else to experiment with, heh

Oh, my castile soap was hard enough to cut the next day. But the other day I noticed that the soap has developed an ash on the sides which were in contact with the mold. I've seen pictures of castile soap with the same thing ... so is it ok to assume its normal?

I have received my FO order. Now waiting for a pigments order. I bought; Lemongrass & Lime and a Raspberry. I'm planning to use both in the next soap. Smells awesome from the bottles. Hopefully the lime will stay in the soap

 

[kharmon320]

I've only done one beer soap and it took a long time for the initial stinkiness to fade (at least one month). However, a lot of beer soaps that I've smelled from others have a licorice note which I'm guessing is the beer scent after it morphs. I plan to do it again, but use a FO that works with the scent better (like BB's pumpkin lager, etc.)

I love the swirls in your beer soap.