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Looks pretty good for a first try.
First Soap done yay!
- Thread starter Johnez
- Start date
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Tracy von Elling
Well-Known Member
That is SO interesting. I have only been making soap for 2 years and usually look at the ranges on soap calc but never looked at the INS before. I'm so glad I know what it means.
Tracy von Elling
Well-Known Member
Congrats! It looks so good. I remember how excited I was about my first batch although I still get excited when I wake up the day after making a batch and realize that I have soap to cut!
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
When you have been at this game as long as I have, your first glance at that recipe and the obvious switch of %'s would be glaring, I say, absolutely GLARING! As in jumps right off the page at you! I was 60 when I made my first batch of soap back in 2003. I'm now 78. I've been at it a while.
This is a total noob question, but what is the reason for trying to prevent water loss? I suspect it has to do with fluidity and ease of molding maybe there's more. The reason I'm especially curious is that HP soaps (from my short time reading here) have a tendency to warp. With wood, losing water causes warping and all sorts of issues, wonder if this is similar to soap during the cure. I'm probably reaching past my skill level here though.
Trinbago27
Well-Known Member
Congrats!!
Isn't it fun? I started January 1 of this year and I can't stop making soap!
Zing in this post had to make me stop poking around the soap
HP is my favorite too...
I can't say from experience what would happen if you let lots of water cook out. HP isn't something I do a lot, but I have some FOs that like to misbehave in CP so I think I'm going to start making more HP batches so I can use those. But I suspect you're going to lose some water during cooking no matter what you do, especially if you have to take the cling film off to stir it, or only use the lid without cling film. So it's best to make sure you add enough water to compensate when you first blend everything together. As far as improving fluidity goes, there are other tricks for that where you don't have to make sure there's still a lot of water in the batter. Some people add a little warmed up Greek yogurt, or add sodium lactate.
If your bars are warping, I would try using less water until you determine what your minimum is and stick with that.
You’re 78? Funny, you don’t sound a day over 22.View attachment 56082
When you have been at this game as long as I have, your first glance at that recipe and the obvious switch of %'s would be glaring, I say, absolutely GLARING! As in jumps right off the page at you! I was 60 when I made my first batch of soap back in 2003. I'm now 78. I've been at it a while.
View attachment 56083
Congratulations on your first soap baby @Johnez !
Are you wedded to the idea of EOs? I was adamant that was all I wanted to use in the beginning , but eventually switched to FOs blended with EOs to satisfy both my need for 'natural' and my need for cost efficiency. if you get hooked - which it sounds like you are - you'll be looking at cost efficiency soon enough.
I wonder what the fam will be getting for Christmas presents this year???
Are you wedded to the idea of EOs? I was adamant that was all I wanted to use in the beginning , but eventually switched to FOs blended with EOs to satisfy both my need for 'natural' and my need for cost efficiency. if you get hooked - which it sounds like you are - you'll be looking at cost efficiency soon enough.
I wonder what the fam will be getting for Christmas presents this year???
Catscankim
Well-Known Member
That's right near me LOL. I go there all the time. I have gotten lavender oil from there, and I love their bins to make my own trail mix.
Congratulations on your first soap baby @Johnez !
Are you wedded to the idea of EOs? I was adamant that was all I wanted to use in the beginning , but eventually switched to FOs blended with EOs to satisfy both my need for 'natural' and my need for cost efficiency. if you get hooked - which it sounds like you are - you'll be looking at cost efficiency soon enough.
I wonder what the fam will be getting for Christmas presents this year???
Thanks KiwiMoose! I kinda am into EOs for now, that might change in the future of course. Part of it is the challenge aspect in using EOs to create something, part of it is the fear of the unknown since I don't fully know what affects what yet in the saponification and FOs seem to be more complicated.
As for Christmas, my mom is one of those who LOVES patchouli so I can't wait to make that soap. :+) Figuring out the rest of the family is gonna be a little tougher.
Trinbago27
Well-Known Member
Maybe it's the quality of the EO I got, but I found that they do not hold up after saponification...I have a couple batches right now that have absolutely no scent remaining. And yes, it is expensive to use to end up with no scent.
Many EOs fade, famously citrus EOs are some of the worst offenders but this applies to most top notes. There are long lasting EOs out there-lavender, tea tree, lemongrass, patchouli come to mind. From my reading the best route is to go for a blend (mixing top notes with mid and/or base notes) or to find an ingredient that helps the fragrance stick. Vetiver appears to help in that area. Also, timing your EO inclusion to the end of the process where the temp is cooler appears to help with hot process soaps. If you do a search of "long lasting EOs" or "EO fade" on the forum you'll find some EOs that tend to last a while.Maybe it's the quality of the EO I got, but I found that they do not hold up after saponification...I have a couple batches right now that have absolutely no scent remaining. And yes, it is expensive to use to end up with no scent.
Some people have had good results using clay to help the scent stick longer. I have clay, but I haven't tried it this way yet. I should start experimenting though because I have a few FOs that do not stick through to the end of cure.
Trinbago27
Well-Known Member
Thanks! I wll check out that link. I actually was using Lemongrass...HOWEVER, I think the quslity of the EO may be the issue. I got it on Amazon four 1oz bottles for 9.99...I did use the lemongrass in lotion and it is lovely!
Actually any high water soap cut thin is likely to warp during cure. It doesn't matter if it is HP or CP; it's more about the shape of the soap or thinness, to be precise. I suspect that's one reason why some suggest turning soaps periodically during the cure (besides the obvious to allow for even air flow around all surfaces.) One way to prevent excessive warping in high water soaps is to cut them into chunkier sized shapes, such as cubes rather than thin rectangles that seem to be so common with your average multi-bar soap cutters. I don't get warping with cube cuts or even with fatter rectangles (like 2" x 3" x 5"), even when making a high water soap.
The primary reason to prevent the inevitable higher speed water loss during the HP process, is to preserve the pourability of the batter.
I don't think he said he is getting warping, just that he has read about it.
What does happen if HP soap cooks, especially if high heat or a longer than necessary time) without a method to re-collect the water evaporation (a tight lid or plastic wrap, for example) via condensation dripping back down into the batter, is that the soap dries out and becomes more waxy-ish as it thickens. It becomes harder to scrape out of the cooking vessel and put into the mold. It can also burn. That usually happens from excessive heat & over-cooking. Things like falling asleep (or going off to answer a phone call, or any number of other distractions) during the cook can contribute to over-cooking.
But HP doesn't have to take a long time to go through the stages (not always visible as they can be quick or look a little differently than you expect).
Johnez, if you want to know what to watch for with HP, my biggest caution is to not wander off and leave your soap unattended. HP soap can volcano in a heartbeat and end up all over the counter-top, stove-top, oven, or where ever it is you are doing your HP. The clean-up is really quite a mess. That's my best tip of what NOT to do. If you stick around and pay attention & react accordingly, you can get prevent an overflow of the volcano by stirring it down and lowering/removing the heat. Immediate stirring down that inhibits the volcano; removing from/turning off the heat can prevent another volcano. IME if your HP soap volcanoes, it's ready to place in the mold (after a good stir-down to facilitate a smoother consistency).
But it doesn't even have to volcano. Just watch for it to start moving in the vessel. If the soap is actively moving, you're close to done. Stir it to consistency & remove the heat source.
Another things to watch for with HP, is air bubbles in the soap. Several sort of forceful tap-downs once in the mold will help remove some, but often not all air bubbles, but not so forceful that hot batter comes plopping out of the mold while you're banging it on the counter.
Air bubbles don't make bad soap, but some people just don't want the holes in their soap that are caused by trapped air bubbles.I suppose there are many other things to watch for that I could mention, but not knowing what you don't know, I will leave it at that.
Actually any high water soap cut thin is likely to warp during cure. It doesn't matter if it is HP or CP; it's more about the shape of the soap or thinness, to be precise. I suspect that's one reason why some suggest turning soaps periodically during the cure (besides the obvious to allow for even air flow around all surfaces.) One way to prevent excessive warping in high water soaps is to cut them into chunkier sized shapes, such as cubes rather than thin rectangles that seem to be so common with your average multi-bar soap cutters. I don't get warping with cube cuts or even with fatter rectangles (like 2" x 3" x 5"), even when making a high water soap.
The primary reason to prevent the inevitable higher speed water loss during the HP process, is to preserve the pourability of the batter.
I don't think he said he is getting warping, just that he has read about it.
What does happen if HP soap cooks, especially if high heat or a longer than necessary time) without a method to re-collect the water evaporation (a tight lid or plastic wrap, for example) via condensation dripping back down into the batter, is that the soap dries out and becomes more waxy-ish as it thickens. It becomes harder to scrape out of the cooking vessel and put into the mold. It can also burn. That usually happens from excessive heat & over-cooking. Things like falling asleep (or going off to answer a phone call, or any number of other distractions) during the cook can contribute to over-cooking.
But HP doesn't have to take a long time to go through the stages (not always visible as they can be quick or look a little differently than you expect).
Johnez, if you want to know what to watch for with HP, my biggest caution is to not wander off and leave your soap unattended. HP soap can volcano in a heartbeat and end up all over the counter-top, stove-top, oven, or where ever it is you are doing your HP. The clean-up is really quite a mess. That's my best tip of what NOT to do. If you stick around and pay attention & react accordingly, you can get prevent an overflow of the volcano by stirring it down and lowering/removing the heat. Immediate stirring down that inhibits the volcano; removing from/turning off the heat can prevent another volcano. IME if your HP soap volcanoes, it's ready to place in the mold (after a good stir-down to facilitate a smoother consistency).
But it doesn't even have to volcano. Just watch for it to start moving in the vessel. If the soap is actively moving, you're close to done. Stir it to consistency & remove the heat source.
Another things to watch for with HP, is air bubbles in the soap. Several sort of forceful tap-downs once in the mold will help remove some, but often not all air bubbles, but not so forceful that hot batter comes plopping out of the mold while you're banging it on the counter.
I suppose there are many other things to watch for that I could mention, but not knowing what you don't know, I will leave it at that.
Thanks earlene, that is quite a detailed post and I've learned quite a bit. I've made exactly one batch and have scoured this forum for info for the past few weeks so I'd say complete beginner so far. Probably more soapin' is necessary to keep all the tidbits of info in my head. I've experienced the volcano....even tho I did read much about it. It happened so quick and I was literally right next to the crock cleaning my stick blender as it went over. Thankfully it was a small amount that was lost. I understand losing too much risks the lye/oil combo being out of whack and a lye heavy soap. That is good to know about vocano-ing being a sign the soap near ready for the mold as the recipe I went off of had a specific time to wait but honestly I like "signs" better as one person's crock may be cooking hotter than another's. I guess it would be similar to sauteing onions until they're translucent rather than a specific time frame-the recipe writer might have some fancy pan and a gas burner, but my electric stove with Faberware pan is likely to cook at a different rate. Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge.
Absolutely! My Dad always gave directions in visual signs & landmarks, interspersed with the old name for roads. So when my brother moved to a new house in any town, it was like this 'when you get into town, you'll see a large yellow building (by whatever name) on your left - you're headed in the right direction; keep going past the turn off to the airport, and past the Hardware store on the right hand side. When you pass the xx grocery store, turn right at the xx Bank, keep going past the Animal Hospital,' etc. The highways were there original names (often named after a General or Admiral) not the US Interstate number. Stuff like that. He was big on the visual signs & landmarks for giving directions. Visual descriptors are something I identify with. Yet he made his living in the printed word.
Lucky you! My Dad always gave directions like "go east on Breakwater road, then turn north onto Rt 7, then go east on Smalltown road, etc. I never knew where I was! I love living in Florida - there's only one major road near us - Interstate 95 which goes north and south - it's always so easy to figure out where you are.
Batch size will greatly influence your cook time, as well. So if you make a small test batch, it will be done pretty quickly.
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