Hope to attempt a drop swirl - any advice welcome

[Sonya-m]

So I've settled on the recipe I intend to use for my first swirl attempt.



I've got a FO with positive reviews regarding its use in CP soap - neroli camomile.

I've decided on colours etc

I'm not sure if I should soap warm or cool to give me the best chance of my batter not getting too thick too soon. My previous batches were soaped at around 110-115f and got to thick trace quickly.

Should not bother with the stick blender for this batch?

Should I add the FO to the oils before mixing or to each colour after separating out and mixing the colours?

Would you change anything major about the recipe?

Spent a lot of time researching and planning this batch and really want to give me the best shot at achieving what I want.

 

[Dorymae]

If you really want a thin batter you can cool both your melted oils and your lye mixture to under 80 degrees, even as far down as 60 degrees. (Don't worry if your oils look slushy.) When you add your lye use a hand mixer to emulsify the oils and lye. (Make sure they are mixed well - it won't hurt to mix for 5 or more minutes.) At that point you can separate the mix and color and or scent the mixture without much worry of any acceleration. The mix will still be very thin. To bring it to trace simply stick blend in short bursts until you get the consistency you would like. This works in any recipe with more than 50% solid oils. Hope this helps you. This is the way I make my pipping soap for decorative tops, you will have quite a while to work with it.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Just wondering why the sf is 8%.

I would mix the FO in before you add the lye. Mix to emulsion and then split it out

 

[snappyllama]

I use that exact recipe (with a little less SF for my DH and about the same for myself) and have plenty of time for swirls. I've soaped it cool; I've soaped it warm; I've used milks; I've used calendula tea. Any way I did it came out fine. For a lot of colors, you might want to do it on the cooler side...

I premix my colors in a bit of the oil and get my batter only to emulsification before dividing it. Then I SB my colors just a bit and hand stir it to thin trace. I hand stir each time I pour: it seems to loosen the batter up a bit. I feel like the Swedish Chef which is always awesome. Stir, Pour the color, Bork Bork Bork.

One tip: TD seems to thicken up faster than other colorants I've used. I like blend up my whites last - often using just short SB pulses and hand stirring to finish.

 

[Sonya-m]

One tip: TD seems to thicken up faster than other colorants I've used. I like blend up my whites last - often using just short SB pulses and hand stirring to finish.

Thanks for the reply, this bit is interesting as I was planning on using TD in the bulk of my batter then drop swirling 3 colours into it - ultramarine blue, black (activated charcoal) and ultramarine violet. Am I better to leave my base natural rather than using the TD?

 

[Sonya-m]

Just wondering why the sf is 8%.

I would mix the FO in before you add the lye. Mix to emulsion and then split it out

The only reason being the drying effects of CO. Will lowering the SF increase/decrease trace time?

 

[snappyllama]

Thanks for the reply, this bit is interesting as I was planning on using TD in the bulk of my batter then drop swirling 3 colours into it - ultramarine blue, black (activated charcoal) and ultramarine violet. Am I better to leave my base natural rather than using the TD?

You're fine to use TD. I use it on just about every batch I make. I just mix that one up last. So it's sitting around and waiting on me to pour for the least amount of time.

 

[Sonya-m]

You're fine to use TD. I use it on just about every batch I make. I just mix that one up last. So it's sitting around and waiting on me to pour for the least amount of time.

Ok, so mix whole batch to emulsion, take out the 3 cups I want to colour, mix those colours ready for the drop swirl, add the TD to the main batch, pour this into mold, drop swirl the colours, keep fingers crossed it looks pretty?

 

[snappyllama]

I think it will be awesome. You'll have to post pics!

 

[Sonya-m]

I will! Fingers crossed my post is one of joy and not in the ugly soaps thread!

 

[PinkCupcake]

I want to see how this turns out for you. Your recipe is almost exactly the same as my basic recipe, and I love it! The lard give me such a creamy, yummy lather, and the batter is easy to swirl.