First Soap Advice

[Parfumerie]

So everything went smoothly except for so many tiny bubbles, I tipped and tapped the blender yet still got them. I searched the internet and found this
YouTube video:


where a woman explains the need to drill holes into the top of the bell on stick blenders with slots like mine saying air still gets trapped underneath, oh well there will be more batches in the near future I've got a source for a bunch of free tallow ill be getting into soon

 

[Primrose]

Havent watched the video but my stick blender looks exactly like that and I don't have any problems.

You can tap your mould down on the counter after pouring too to help remove bubbles.

 

[Parfumerie]

As I'm reading more about it, I may have been too vigorous with the blender or I need a new one due to the bell size/shape also the one I have is maybe too strong it was creating vortices and suctioning to the bottom even on lowest of 3 settings, I did bang the mold but it didn't help much.

 

[Lin19687]

Check the BLADE.
I have 2 blenders, I switched out for my Extra when I was going 2 batches. I got bubbles, no matter how much I tilted and banged.
Turns out it is the attachment, most likely the blade got slightly bent and that is what the issue it.

I now just wipe off the attachment between batches

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Re: the stick blender...

I suspect you didn't have enough liquid in the bowl to submerge the SB enough to stop it pulling new air down into the bell. Or if you did, you let vortexes form like mini tornados to pull air down.

You have to use enough liquid (or a bowl small enough) to cover the top of the bell by about half an inch to have a chance. Even with that, though, I usually have to use a spoon to disrupt the flow pattern while the SB is running. Or use short pulses to stop the vortexes from forming in the first place.

Also, never EVER drill holes in the top of the bell. That's a recipe for a soap-batter fountain.

 

[Parfumerie]

I will check that blade for any deformities when I get home later. I'm thinking it's due to what brewer George is talking about though, the liquid was just about 1/2" or so above the bell, I was ready to get out some time snips and trim the bottom off ) but I'm going to make a larger batch today or tomorrow and try to go slower, it wasn't tracing right away like I see in a lot of videos so I blended more than I probably should have too and when I stopped for a minute to see if it would separate it went from slight trace to a thick pudding really quick

 

[Lin19687]

Also instead of a larger batch, just find a smaller and taller mixing bowl. If it is a tiny batch, use a tall plastic cup. The kind that come with some SB'ers

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

^^^ this. The best soaping containers are those that give you a deeper rather than wider batter, but still with some room from the top of the batter to the top of the container. I have some stainless steel jugs which would give me that with a tiny batch. But you can mix in plastic just as well, and I think that plastic containers are easier to get in various shapes

 

[amal]

If it were me, I'd do 50% palm, 30% olive, 20% coconut, but that's a personal preference for keeping olive below 1/3 of a balanced bar and limiting coconut to a fifth. There's nothing wrong with it as written.

I'd skip the layers your first time. Pick one and do that. Layers require a much thicker trace to be stable and you're going to be too anxious your first time to wait for it. Alternatively, if you MUST do the layers do them side-by-side by separating your mold with a piece of cardboard cut to size placed down the middle. Secure it in place and pour both sides, then remove after the tamping down. But I would definitely not try horizontal layers the first time.

sorry for disturbance but why its preferable to reduce the amount of olive oil to 1/3 the recipe????????

 

[snappyllama]

sorry for disturbance but why its preferable to reduce the amount of olive oil to 1/3 the recipe????????

I'll jump in with my opinion. A lot of folks don't like heavy olive oil recipes since they can feel slimy (all that Oleic acid). When I go above 30% with olive oil, I tack on an additional month of cure time for each 10% increase (roughly) to help keep the stringy/sliminess at bay. The only time I do that is on a vegetarian, palm-free recipe with a lot of butters to up the stearic.

It's a personal preference thing though.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

I'll jump in with my opinion. A lot of folks don't like heavy olive oil recipes since they can feel slimy (all that Oleic acid). When I go above 30% with olive oil, I tack on an additional month of cure time for each 10% increase (roughly) to help keep the stringy/sliminess at bay. The only time I do that is on a vegetarian, palm-free recipe with a lot of butters to up the stearic.

It's a personal preference thing though.

Agreed.

 

[Parfumerie]

Hello so I un-molded and cut my soap today and a few concerns, it's still zappy which I've read is normal and can take longer if you don't gel. There was a fairly thick layer of soda ash on top that was crumbly and the sides were a little crumbly which I trimmed and the soap was still very soft and kind of looks like it's in the gel phase, I put it in the fridge for 2 days which is set to as cold as can go without freezing anything. Any ideas why it turned out like that (it was in a sunny place could that have caused drying maybe, also my lye was not clumpy and got very warm) and will it improve or do I need to do something to it

Exact recipe was:
Water 438g
Lye 194g
Oils 1,325g

 

[msunnerstood]

So I think I'm gonna do hot process later today to force the gel and shorter curing stage, can you do it in a crockpot without the lid, a friend gave me one but didnt have one and if I don't have to buy a new one that would be great

If you dont have a lid I recommend saran or other plastic wrap. HP loses moisture as it cooks and can get dried out without a lid.

 

[Parfumerie]

If you dont have a lid I recommend saran or other plastic wrap. HP loses moisture as it cooks and can get dried out without a lid.

I did originally plan to do hp but ended up going cold process

I suppose ill just have to wait and see what happens as long as the lye all saponifies it'll at least be a nice soap to use, I washed my hands with it after cutting and it was creamy and bubbly and made my skin feel soft even if it did slightly chemical burn.

I've got like 10lbs of rendered tallow that I need to clean and then get started on my next one! probably this weekend

So anyone who might be following; my soap finished saponifying and is firming up nicely although I don't think it'll become a hard bar (but who knows), I'm ok if it doesn't it's already very nice soap aside from aesthetics and can't wait to see how it develops as it cures, I was doing a little digging to find a reason for the thick soda ash and crumbling and I read somewhere that the rapid cooling of the soap was the reason for it so I guess next batch I'm gonna try gelling

 

[steffamarie]

I've made three batches so far of CP and was wondering if people have had much experience using cocoa powder as a colorant? I'd like to make a soap with coffee grounds for exfoliation and maybe sub coffee for the water in the lye solution. I like the idea of a dark brown color and maybe branding it as a mocha soap. Is it worth the hassle to use cocoa powder? I feel like it would dry out the soap and be difficult/clumpy to blend in. Maybe I'd just be better off using some dark brown oxide and a mocha FO...

 

[lenarenee]

I've made three batches so far of CP and was wondering if people have had much experience using cocoa powder as a colorant? I'd like to make a soap with coffee grounds for exfoliation and maybe sub coffee for the water in the lye solution. I like the idea of a dark brown color and maybe branding it as a mocha soap. Is it worth the hassle to use cocoa powder? I feel like it would dry out the soap and be difficult/clumpy to blend in. Maybe I'd just be better off using some dark brown oxide and a mocha FO...

On this forum I've seen many people who use cocoa as a brown colorant and are happy with it. I did once - but only to make a very light brown, which it did.

 

[steffamarie]

On this forum I've seen many people who use cocoa as a brown colorant and are happy with it. I did once - but only to make a very light brown, which it did.

I'll have to try it out!! Did you disperse it in some of your oils?

 

[lenarenee]

I'll have to try it out!! Did you disperse it in some of your oils?

I did; in fact I let it sit for several minutes to make sure it soaked up some oils, then stick blended again to assure it was thoroughly mixed.

 

[steffamarie]

I did; in fact I let it sit for several minutes to make sure it soaked up some oils, then stick blended again to assure it was thoroughly mixed.

Beautiful. Thank you!!! I'll probably try that sometime this week. I've got some used coffee grounds spread out to dry at the moment.

 

[Alfa_Lazcares]

I've made three batches so far of CP and was wondering if people have had much experience using cocoa powder as a colorant? I'd like to make a soap with coffee grounds for exfoliation and maybe sub coffee for the water in the lye solution. I like the idea of a dark brown color and maybe branding it as a mocha soap. Is it worth the hassle to use cocoa powder? I feel like it would dry out the soap and be difficult/clumpy to blend in. Maybe I'd just be better off using some dark brown oxide and a mocha FO...

I did a few weeks ago. I separated the batter in to two batches and one i colored with cocoa powder. I just put the powder in the batter (on a very thin trace) and stick blended it. After it was mostly blended i gave it a mix with a spatula to make sure i had no chocolate clumps and proceded to mold (made a basic swirl). I had no issues with it. Here is a photo of the soap the next day after i cut it: