Hello fron Eastern Canada!

[Stacy]

Hi everyone, I've been lurking here for a while soaking up tips and information as I researched my very first batch of soap. I'm looking to eventually get into a craft show type set up (thinking more along the lines of years set up, not months, don't worry) and I've already learned so much from everyone here.

It never ceases to amaze me how generous everyone is with their time and experience.

My first test batch came off as a mild success. I learned a lot from it. I went with a simple Bastille formula.

75% Olive Oil
20% Coconut
5% Castor

I'm waiting on titanium dioxide, hence the yellow tint rather than white. I also think I may have pulled it out of the mold a little early (it was a silicone mold and I'm dealing with a lot of humidity at the moment so I wasn't sure it WAS going to dry if I left it in there for a third day). I also discovered that the stick blender I was using wasn't quite up to the job so my trace got a little thick before everything was mixed enough to go into the mold.

Although this recipe was FO and colorant, I have a lot of interest in natural colors and infusions and I've already seen some great threads about that here and I'm excited to try those ideas.

If anyone has any experience with Canadian suppliers, I'd be grateful for any opinions on a couple of questions I had over here: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=47771

Thanks again and I'm looking forward to learning with all of you! :razz:

 

[navigator9]

I think that's more than a mild success, your soap looks beautiful to me! As far as releasing from the silicone mold.....if your soap has gelled, you can unmold the following day. If it has not, you've got to wait, it can take dayyyyys for saponification to finish, which is why I gel all of my soap. It's not really a matter of "drying", it's waiting for the saponification process to be done.

As for the stick blender. I agree. I think stick blenders do a great job of bring soap batter to trace, BUT, and this depends on many factors, like the size of your batch, how much you move the SB, how powerful the SB is, but I don't think it does a great job of really thoroughly mixing all parts of the batter in the pot. For this reason, I blend a little, stir (with the SB), blend a little, stir and when the batter reaches desired trace, I remove the SB, and stir thoroughly with my spatula, scraping the sides and bottom and making sure everything is well incorporated. It only takes a few seconds and I feel it really gets everything well mixed.

You may want to take it easy on yourself and make a few small batches without color or fragrance, just to get the hang of the soapmaking process itself. When you're a beginner, even "plain" soap has its challenges. Keep up the good work!

P.S. My mom was from New Brunswick!

 

[Ellacho]

Hello Stacy! Welcome! Your first soap looks great! Congrats!

 

[Stacy]

Thank you for the warm welcome. My brain hurts already from all the info I'm taking in while wandering around here!