Finally got all my ingredients :)

[gigisiguenza]

I was looking for my tea diffuser (it disappeared during the big closet reorg of a week ago lol) and came across a silicone mold I bought way back for something and totally forgot about! It makes 24 small, almost tester sized daisies. I got it on sale for cheap, thinking I could use it to make samples or testing. I just checked the volume on each cavity and it's a tiny hair over 20g in each cavity, which (x24) comes out at nearly perfectly 16oz.

So I think I'm gonna use it for the first batch. Do you think it's a good idea? Or should I use a single cavity mold?

Here's a pic of the mold

 

[navigator9]

All good advice above. Respect, not fear, is a good way of putting it. As you continue to soap, you will develop a routine and eventually get comfortable with the whole process. I remember the night before my first batch, lying in bed going over the steps in my head. You'd think I was an astronaut preparing for a moon shot, for crying out loud! LOL For your very first batch, I'm all for keeping it as simple as possible. The fancy stuff isn't going anywhere, it'll be there waiting for you.

I'm with shunt....I soap at room temp, so I try to remember to mix my lye the night before I soap. I use a stainless steel saucepan, and once the lye cools, I put the lid on. I do it that way, so that there's no condensation to worry about dripping off the lid once I remove it. I leave it on the back of the stove overnight. I have no children to worry about touching it, and my cats don't go near the stove, but those are considerations if there are children or pets involved. Your mold looks fine to use, but realize that with smaller individual molds like that, it's not going to gel on it's own, so it will take days before it's all saponified. You can keep testing it for zap, and remove it when there's no zap left. You could CPOP, but for your first batch, I'd just let it sit til it's done. Have fun, and let us know how it goes!!!

 

[Seawolfe]

One pound is a really small first batch - any tiny mistake gets magnified. Find another mold that holds about a pound and then you can use both in a two pound batch.

PS I've seen soaps from a mold like that and they are adorable

I was looking for my tea diffuser (it disappeared during the big closet reorg of a week ago lol) and came across a silicone mold I bought way back for something and totally forgot about! It makes 24 small, almost tester sized daisies. I got it on sale for cheap, thinking I could use it to make samples or testing. I just checked the volume on each cavity and it's a tiny hair over 20g in each cavity, which (x24) comes out at nearly perfectly 16oz.

So I think I'm gonna use it for the first batch. Do you think it's a good idea? Or should I use a single cavity mold?

Here's a pic of the moldView attachment 15353

 

[not_ally]

I thought I was the only one who did that I am super clumsy, too. And really respectful of lye/batter.

 

[navigator9]

One pound is a really small first batch - any tiny mistake gets magnified. Find another mold that holds about a pound and then you can use both in a two pound batch.

PS I've seen soaps from a mold like that and they are adorable

I missed that about the size of the batch, Seawolfe is right, that's awfully small. You can always use a milk carton for a mold. That's what my first batch was made in, can you tell? You just tear it away when it's done.

 

[not_ally]

Plus, maybe it is just me, but there is nothing like the feeling/experience of cutting into a loaf of soap. It is just really rewarding, and for your initial soaps I think it would be more fun ...

 

[OliveOil2]

One more thing about so many tiny individual molds, is that it is going to take a few minutes to fill them all, and the soap batter can get pretty thick by the time you get to the last row. They are small, and for me I would have to use a smaller pour cup, so that I didn't spill. It looks like it could make some fun inbeds with extra batter, but I would wait till you had done a couple of batches first.

 

[Obsidian]

I recently got that mold and love it for samples or extra batter but I wouldn't want a whole batch of them, too small to be practical in the shower. I like the idea of using a milk carton, I'd probably get a couple of the tall skinnier cartons since my hands are on the small side.

 

[Jstar]

Have to agree on the mold..Id use something a bit larger and make a loaf and save the tiny individual ones for when you get more experience.

I frequently use my tester molds when I dont need alot of soap, and they are half pounders so I would think a 1 lb first batch of soap would be fine.

My first one was a huge amount, and I had soap running everywhere..not a pretty sight

 

[kumudini]

I agree with everyone on the mold. 20 grams is way too small. I would get more ash than actual soap in such a mold.
the batch size is OK, if you have a good scale that measures in grams and measure everything in grams, for decimal points in the recipe, I would round up for oils and down for lye.
A thermometer is quite handy too in soap making.