Going to make soap for the first time EVORRRRRrrrrrrr

[cheesenoodle]

Ok, that was an intense soap session.
5pm-8 including cleanup.
Any input would be greatly appreciated - there are some things that didn't
seem to happen as conventionally compared to other batches.

For the 4th batch of soap ever I decided to try Neem Oil.
Had some laying around, about a year old, stored well.

Before doing this I read about Neem soap a little:

http://www.discoverneem.com/neem-soap.html
"The neem oil content in neem soap varies. (Some manufacturers may use
mainly cheap ingredients and just add some token neem oil. So don't buy
just any soap that says "neem" somewhere on the label...

To get the maximum benefit look for "maximum strength". 20% neem oil
content is good. 30%-40% is about as high as you can go."

"Neem oil has insecticidal properties, is antibacterial and antifungal,
soothing and moisturising... Neem oil soap is a real treat for the skin, even
for healthy skin. But skin problems are where it shines.

Here are just some skin conditions where people have used neem soaps for
centuries and with great results. Follow the links to find out more.

Acne, scabies, psoriasis, ringworm, preventing infections and ulcers, skin
problems in pets, ..."

Also:
http://www.colebrothers.com/soap/oils.html
"Extracted from the bark of the Neem Oil Tree. This oil has the ability to treat a variety of skin disorders such as dandruff. Use as a base oil up to 40%. "


So I warmed the Neem up in its bottle, with warm water and shook it like crazy,
probably a total of 15 minutes shaking over an hour.
It was all nice and mixed, very little chunks, if any.

Had a set amount of Palm & Coconut oil to use up, and wanted to keep
Olive oil to a minimum, while putting Neem oil to the max.

To cover up the smell is Patchouli Essential Oil. Oh yes.
After spilling 1/8cup of neem oil on the bed, it was time to rock.
Brought it up to 100deg or so.
Read somewhere that >95F is bad for neem.
Who knows if that's true or not.

Recipe:

It took about 20mins to get to trace, stirring a lot with the stick blender:
It wasn't this dark, probably closer to butterscotch pudding.

After 1 hour of cooking at 100-120F, this is what it looked like:

Weird, ok. The top 3/4" was thick and waxy, almost solid.
The inside was 120F at this point.
I wasn't sure what to do, previous olive/coco/palm oil batches
have self-gelled on their own, from the outside edges in.
This time was different. Broke through to see this inside.
Was this "gel?" Probably. But it'd been an hour of cooking,
and I didn't have the time to let it go for another hour.


So I stirred, wondering if this was a failure because of 33% neem being used:

Stirred more:

And stirred more:

After 45min stirring my hand was tiring. This stuff was getting thick!
Put 3/8cup coffee grinds in. Then started putting Patchouli in.
Had a 0.5oz bottle of Patchouli and used about 1/3 of it.
(This was 5.1g of Patchouli Oil - a whopping 21.23% of base oil weight!)

In the end after an hour of stirring and mashing to incorporate the
waxy and non-waxy (gel..?) portions, it looked like this:

Mold:

After the next few days and weeks we'll see what happens,
hopefully by then my room and entire body will stop reeking of patchouli oil...haha.

 

[cheesenoodle]

Ok, going to make soap for the....6th....time...EVORRRRRR:

Check out the Sage Leaf w. Tea Tree Oil Soap:

Recipe:

I am gifting it so cut it after only 12 hours of mold and put a fan on it for
another 3 or so. They're pretty decent. Nice and green, who knows if
that'll change. The sage leaves turned grey-metalish and look awesome on
top, I used fresh ones, from the garden just for looks and coolness factor.
This meant that around the edges of the leaves for a few hours were wetter
than the surrounding parts, but they now look dried and are similar colors.

The inside of the soap is mixed up with powdered dry sage leaves frozen
from last year. The Tea Tree scent is pretty strong right now but probably
because I have my head over a whole batch.

 

[cheesenoodle]

A little more than a month ago I came here knowing nothing about the
wonders of soap making. Since them 6 batches of soap were born into the
WORLD!

Now they are all ready for their destination of giftdom, soon.
Thanks for all of the help!

 

[kellistarr]

There is something about a new soaper, your enthusiasm is contagious! You are on a roll with your soap bars and because you are new doing it, your soaps look unique and super handcrafted. And, you're not afraid to try anything, just like an innocent toddler.

That last one, the sage one looks interesting, I'd like to see those greyish leaves in the flesh. The way the Neem soap cooked up in the crock, I'm still puzzled about that one. Wonder what would have happened if you'd never stirred it, what would it have done on its own. Anyways, keep soapin". It's interesting and you appear to be having so much fun!

 

[cheesenoodle]

There is something about a new soaper, your enthusiasm is contagious! You are on a roll with your soap bars and because you are new doing it, your soaps look unique and super handcrafted. And, you're not afraid to try anything, just like an innocent toddler.

That last one, the sage one looks interesting, I'd like to see those greyish leaves in the flesh. The way the Neem soap cooked up in the crock, I'm still puzzled about that one. Wonder what would have happened if you'd never stirred it, what would it have done on its own. Anyways, keep soapin". It's interesting and you appear to be having so much fun!

Haha, I like your description. My girlfriend brought all this soaping up and I
sort of dove into it so she deserves a thank you too, she's amazing

I want to keep of a record of each batch to see how to improve it. I like the
idea of posting it all so that someone in the future can take a look to see
how something came out, or the problems with each batch, etc. I want to
update each batch as it goes along from beginning to use. That way
someone new will have an easier time and will be able to see pictures and
the progression of each batch. There are so many recipes out there but not
enough pictures to go with them!


I'm going to update each batch's posting after using/drying each soap but,


Looking back, there are things hings I learned after each of these:

____________________________________________________________

Peppermint Oatmeal Soap w/almond oil
-Doubled the oatmeal and it came out well

-Apparently soap warps over time, do a water discount or something

-3% of base oils peppermint EO ends up being pretty strong, could definitly
half it next time for a less potent smell, although it's good
____________________________________________________________

Orange Soap w/almond oil
-Could have used a little more orange EO but the faint smell is cool

-I like the creamy look of this

-Warpage, again
____________________________________________________________

Coffee Scrub Soap w/ tea tree oil
-Way too much coffee, next time half it and grind much finer,
it's really scratchy and is only good for tough hands, or feet

-Coffee grounds take an appearance while mixing a batch,
but then you use the soap and the appearance basically doubles once
you use a layer or two of that soap, which until then covers up half of the
visible coffee grains!
____________________________________________________________

Neem oil soap w/ patchouli EO
-This stuff smells way too strong of neem

-Internet recommendations said 10-20% neem but I took it to the max
reccomended amount of 30-40%, which was way too much.

-Is down in the basement, probably until bone dry, or for all eternity

-Gelling/cooking was weird, probably because of such a huge neem %

-Less neem should be used, and therefore less patchouli will be needed

-Knew this when making it and didn't listen to my gut, doh
____________________________________________________________

Sage Leaf tea tree soap
-Use less tea tree oil, maybe half it for a slightly stronger scent than that of
the coffee scrub soap came out to me. 1.something% of base oils was
a lot of tea tree oil, apparently.

-Powdered dry sage leaves are cool, that worked out well in the coffee grinder

-Whole sage leaves look cool, use dried ones next time though,
otherwise the leaves get a ring of moisture around them and they can
get kinda messy if your hands spread soap bits all over them, but they dry
out soon and look really cool/grey-metal colored
____________________________________________________________