First soaps from a rank beginner

[Suisan2]

I was introduced to soaping almost by chance. I signed up for a soapmaking workshop at my church on a whim and LOVED it.

My first soap was an Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, and Palm Oil colored with a tiny bit of paprika at trace. (We did cold process and had our choice of essential oils -- I chose Rosewood with maybe a third as much Ginger.)

It's been curing exactly a month -- I get a good lather from it and I like the way this blend has mellowed. The tops came out a little funky, but I actually like it.

The rest of the photos of that batch are here: http://s1148.photobucket.com/albums/o57 ... pr%202012/

I need to let it sit a bit longer -- it's hard but doesn't feel as hard as I'd like.

After much dithering, I chose to purchase a cold process kit. Yesterday I made up my first batch at home all by my little lonesome. I unmolded it today. It's quite firm, but very oily. This recipe had a LOT more essential oil in it than my "mentor" from the workshop recommended. At first the scent was really overpowering, but either it's fading or I'm getting used to it. 2:2:1:1 of Orange Oil (5x):Lavender:Ylang Ylangink Grapefruit.

I've got it resting upside down -- as soon as I lifted the saran off this morning, even though it was stone cold, I got a blush of ash on it. This is my attempt to ignore the ash by pretending it's not there. Also, maybe the oils will migrate to the other side of the bar? Ahem.

I used parchment instead of freezer paper and it wrinkled when the soap shrunk. Again, perhaps I'm perverse, but I sort of like the regular crinkles on the surface.

Rest of the ylang ylnag photos are here: http://s1148.photobucket.com/albums/o57 ... ay%202012/

I clearly have a long way to go, but I'm pleased with what I've got so far!

 

[Hazel]

Very nice! I like the bit of color the paprika added and the crinkly look on your other batch. Did you know there are wavy cutters available? Those would leave a crinkle cut on your bars that would complement the crinkly tops and sides. Look through the photo gallery and you will see examples of what I'm talking about. I was amused by your comment about attempting to ignore the ash. Don't worry about it. It will wash off. :wink: Your citrus EOs sound wonderful and I hope they don't fade. I haven't had good luck with getting them to stick in CP.

Welcome to the addiction!!!

 

[semplice]

Those are great looking first batches!

 

[Suisan2]

Oo. A crinkle cut on that citrus, lavender ylang ylang would be a neat idea!

If I end up using this blend again, I think I'm going to replace some of the orange with litsea. Right now (and the fragrance has already moved since yesterday) I can't get to the lavender at all, the orange is lessened, and the ylang ylang isn't as overpowering as it was. I think I could lose some of the orange to litsea without there being a problem.

And, in terms of addiction, I've already got ideas for four more, and I want to do a series with olive oil and castor oil with increasing amounts of beeswax and/or salt. But to figure out the combo that I'd like for that one, I think I'm doomed to make TONS of castille soap! (And then it needs to cure. gulp.)

For the time being, I want to play around with cardamom and tea or coffee grounds and floral/citrus as a "Barn Chore" soap. But then there's the....

 

[Hazel]

People have commented that litsea has helped to anchor citrus scents. There was some discussions about anchoring citrus in CP. I don't know if you've seen the threads. There are more discussions if you feel you need more info.

http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewto ... ing+citrus

http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewto ... ing+citrus

http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewto ... ing+citrus

Here's a pic of a wavy cutter just to make sure we're both thinking of the same thing. I'm sure you could find it for less somewhere.

http://www.amazon.com/Dezine-Black-Hand ... 745&sr=8-1

 

[Mouse]

Beautiful, beautiful first soaps! And I love your EO blend, I bet it's divine!
There's nothing more satisfying than making a gorgeous block of soap...soon you will lie awake at night, wih your head reeling from all the possibilities for scent, color, texture, lather......!
Welcome, and thank you for sharing your soap with us

 

[judymoody]

I like the crinkly look; I may just have to try to reproduce it!

 

[Genny]

Litsea is a good one to pair with citrus eo's. It gives them a little boost so you don't have to use as much of the citrus.

Your lavender, ylang ylang, orange & grapefruit blend sounds interesting.

I've done lavender, ylang ylang & lime, which smells incredible and I'm not a big fan of lavender.

 

[saltydog]

love the texture of your soaps!

 

[Suisan2]

Thanks!

 

[Suisan2]

I made a 100% olive oil soap, using canned coconut milk as 1/2 the liquid. Added cocoa powder to half the batch to see if I could make a swirl.

I was worried that it would develop ash, so I left it covered for a day. Went to cut it last night -- YIKES, was it hard. No zap and I ran the recipe through soapcalc twice. I'm pleased with it (Although I should have used a smaller mold -- Apparently I'm terrified of having too much soap for the molds!).

Each bar cut cleanly with a sharp knife, but right at the end of the cut, the slice broke off. Darn. More pictures here I'm going to let this one cure for a long time to see what it does.

Because that one went so hard, I decided not to wait to cut my ylang ylang citrus soap. (I had wanted to use a crinkle cutter.) Once I had it cut (sooooo easy to cut!), I decided to use a lemon zester to carve the tops. Killed two birds with one stone: Mimicked the wrinkles on the side and I got rid of some ash!

My Ash. Sniffle.

I want to keep experimenting withe the 100% olive oil, but I may also try an OO, Shea butter, CO blend. We'll see.

 

[judymoody]

The zester is a great idea! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Hestey]

You call THAR ash? I had a batch with almost 1cm of ash on top! Now that, my dear, is ash!

Nice looking soaps by the way, good job =D

 

[Suisan2]

Thank you!

 

[Godiva]

Wonderful!