SunRiseArts
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No idea, perhaps someone else can answer. But I would think there is no difference.
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- Thread starter Laurabolyard
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No idea, perhaps someone else can answer. But I would think there is no difference.
Do tell!!! Design purposes?
gloopygloop
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Am sure that you will find letting the soap do its thing in the oven a lott easier and the results are good, because of no peeking you dont loose water with evaporation like a crock pot, I really hate those things. to me oven is much more controllable and the results speak for themselves.
As for stick blending, dont think there is any difference if you do or you dont, only extra time usually with hand stir and I must say I do sometimes do that as long as its a recipe which will come together before I grow a beard:roll:
Ok, I'm about to give the oven another try, but I have some questions, given what I'm about to attempt! I'm ready to experiment with natural colors. There's no getting around the fact that I'm really drawn to that look.
I'm going to try coffee, though I'm not sure yet if I should use finely ground, or ground instant. I will be mixing it into 1 of 4 lbs after it comes out of the oven.
The same with cocoa, and chlorella. The turmeric is going to be a bit more of a challenge, its fresh! I was going to juice it and then dehydrate the liquid, too much trouble! thought about dehydrating the root then powdering, too much trouble. My thought is to make a separate 1lb batch, using the juiced turmeric as my water.
I will be making 4 lbs for the above ingredients and 1 lb for the turmeric. My question is about timing. I will start with the 4 lbs., get it in the oven. How long would you suspect I should wait, if at all, to put the 1 lb in??
I may have to pour the two batches when they are at different stages. Thoughts?
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Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
If you don't mind my asking, where do you buy your chlorella?
Funny you should ask!! I WAS getting it from HEalth Ranger as tablets. I made a mistake a few months ago, and bought powder form. They wouldn't give my any kind of break with return shipping and re shipping, not even a darned coupon for a future order. I had a bad taste in my mouth, as I can't use the powdered form... SO I THOUGHT!!! I may send him another email showing how I finally used it!
Yes, for design purposes as you say. For CP, mixing to emulsion, separating the batter and coloring while still at emulsion, makes just that one step easier when an intricate and time-consuming design or technique is required. In some cases thin trace is desirable, in some a thicker trace. It just depends on the results one wishes to achieve and how much time it's going to take to achieve them.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Hopefully, the powder works for you. Other than that, Health Ranger looks like a good company to do business with. Sad that they don't do more to accommodate customers. 
roblem:
Any thoughts on mixing well ground coffee or ground instant right into the batter? I'm stuck
Laurabolyard, lots of people have made coffee soap, which I had not realized when I first decided to make coffee soap for my husband. I thought it was my original idea! :think:
Anyway there are many ways to do it. You can make coffee and use the actually drink as your lye water, making for a coffee-lye solution. You can add VERY FINELY GROUND coffee grounds to your soap batter (new or used.) Don't use coarse ground coffee as it tends to be far too scratchy when bathing with it. If you use spent coffee grounds, I suggest drying it out first, like I do in the oven so you don't have to try and figure out how much extra liquid you are adding to the soap. You can use decaf or regular. I started using decaf because my husband won't drink decaf and hotels always seem to give a packet or 2 of decaf and I do a lot of traveling so it's an easy source for me. For adding dry grounds to the soap batter, I find that a thick trace helps keep the grounds from sinking to the bottom of the mold. But it depends on your design plan.
You can make it with or without the coffee-lye solution. With or without the coffee grounds.
But don't expect any coffee scent to remain in the soap unless you use a coffee scented fragrance oil, and then I would suggest using the maximum allowed to get a really lasting coffee scent.
I have not used instant coffee in soap as we don't use instant in our house (I don't even drink coffee, myself).
Anyway there are many ways to do it. You can make coffee and use the actually drink as your lye water, making for a coffee-lye solution. You can add VERY FINELY GROUND coffee grounds to your soap batter (new or used.) Don't use coarse ground coffee as it tends to be far too scratchy when bathing with it. If you use spent coffee grounds, I suggest drying it out first, like I do in the oven so you don't have to try and figure out how much extra liquid you are adding to the soap. You can use decaf or regular. I started using decaf because my husband won't drink decaf and hotels always seem to give a packet or 2 of decaf and I do a lot of traveling so it's an easy source for me. For adding dry grounds to the soap batter, I find that a thick trace helps keep the grounds from sinking to the bottom of the mold. But it depends on your design plan.
You can make it with or without the coffee-lye solution. With or without the coffee grounds.
But don't expect any coffee scent to remain in the soap unless you use a coffee scented fragrance oil, and then I would suggest using the maximum allowed to get a really lasting coffee scent.
I have not used instant coffee in soap as we don't use instant in our house (I don't even drink coffee, myself).
Thanx! I can't add it to my lye water because I'll be using some lighter colors as well. I was able to dissolve a fair amount in a tiny amount of water, I may try that, no chance of being scratchy!
Lin19687
Well-Known Member
I tried the coffee grounds, used even, and it was a bit too scratchy for me. I did HP soaping
Would try the coffee water with out grounds, unless you are looking for a gardeners/mechanic soap (which is what i did but I still didn't like how scratchy it was.
Would try the coffee water with out grounds, unless you are looking for a gardeners/mechanic soap (which is what i did but I still didn't like how scratchy it was.
I definitely think that dissolving the instant is worth a try. I can't use it in the water because I'm going to use some lighter colors as well. The coffe is only going to be in about a lb of soap, 1 lb. chlorella, 1 lb cocoa, 1 lb turmeric and leaving 1 lb natural.
Laurabolyard, since you plan to use 3 colors, with only one being dark, why not limit your coffee to the dark section? I have seen some really pretty soaps where the coffee grounds were added to only one part of the soap. Having never used instant, I can't really give you a good suggestion as to how much, but obviously it would be less than for the entire soap if only going into one color.
Oh, btw, I have used dry cocoa powder (you know, for making hot cocoa to drink) in soap to color it brown. It works well, and a little goes a long way.
Oh, btw, I have used dry cocoa powder (you know, for making hot cocoa to drink) in soap to color it brown. It works well, and a little goes a long way.
SunRiseArts
Well-Known Member
coffee is really good for the skin. I do not like coffee grounds either, but I do add instant coffee when I had made mine. It dissolves completely.
I am just mixing the coffee with one lb., cocoa with one, chlorella with one, turmeric with one, and leaving one natural. I'm about to begin, we shall see what happens! I'm having to do a 4 lb batch and a one lb batch for the turmeric, as I am using juiced turmeric as the water. Little nervous!
Well, I just did my first HP/CP!! I will likely save the oven cleaning for tomorrow!!
I had gotten the 4 lb batch in the oven, then went to stick blending the 1 lb. when I went to put the 1 lb in the oven, the 4 lb had volcanoed out of the cover and all over the oven :headbanging: I stirred it down, took it out and turned the oven off, scooped what I could out of the oven. The 4 lb was ready but the 1 lb had t made it in. I turned the oven on again, in hopes of at least getting some heat on the 1 lb. had to abort, getting smoked!!
So, I have a layer of CP in my HP! Hmmm... it's covered and wrapped in a towel. $@&#%^*€¥
Well, I just did my first HP/CP!! I will likely save the oven cleaning for tomorrow!!I had gotten the 4 lb batch in the oven, then went to stick blending the 1 lb. when I went to put the 1 lb in the oven, the 4 lb had volcanoed out of the cover and all over the oven :headbanging: I stirred it down, took it out and turned the oven off, scooped what I could out of the oven. The 4 lb was ready but the 1 lb had t made it in. I turned the oven on again, in hopes of at least getting some heat on the 1 lb. had to abort, getting smoked!!
So, I have a layer of CP in my HP! Hmmm... it's covered and wrapped in a towel. $@&#%^*€¥
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Laurabolyard, boy am I glad that didn't happen to me. Cleaning up a HP overflow from my worktable was bad enough when that happened, but to have to stick half my body into the oven to get at all the nooks and crannies would be no fun at all!
So I am guessing you may have had the soap in a too-shallow pan and/or the oven was too warm or the soap went in while it was already too hot, or maybe time got away from you or all of the above. It can happen so fast it's alarming, isn't it?
Well that overflow soap you pictured in the ugly soap thread, is still soap. You can try it out and see how well your formula performs, anyway, right?
So I am guessing you may have had the soap in a too-shallow pan and/or the oven was too warm or the soap went in while it was already too hot, or maybe time got away from you or all of the above. It can happen so fast it's alarming, isn't it?
Well that overflow soap you pictured in the ugly soap thread, is still soap. You can try it out and see how well your formula performs, anyway, right?
gloopygloop
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I had many an overflow / volcano in my oven early on and learned the hard way OVEN NOT TOO HOT! phew it really is a hard chore cleaning it up! keep the temps way down, I find that when the time is right to take a peek and do my zap test, I take the pot out of the oven, take off the lid and the soap has not risen at all but it looks totally translucent, that is when I zap test, if there is any sign of opaque in the centre then its not done and I pop it back in for another 15 minutes....ish. For my oven around 100c or just under woks fine and never volcanos, sometimes I turn off the oven 15 to 30 minutes before time and just leave it in the oven to finish off, sort of depends on the recipe, some seem to do faster than others for some reason.
Well, the soap was at about 180, the oven was 175. MAYBE the pot wasn't big enough, though I felt it was, or maybe the recipe... I used this pot the last time, but with 3 lbs as opposed to 4, and I don't think I had it covered last time.
Here's the recipe, and the pot (the soap came up to roughly half).
To the recipe I added 3% LA and 5% sugar.
Sugar probably helped it heat up fast. Did you check your oven's actual temperature with a themometer?
Not only do I use an oven thermometer at all times, I also use my Infra-Red thermometer to spot check the oven for temperature when ever I use it for soap. Temperature sensor malfunction is a pretty common problem with ovens that cause them not to heat to the temperature setting. My husband had to replace one of the heating elements in our oven a few years ago due to one of the most common malfunctions of electric ovens. But even though it always seems to be working correctly now, after the two oven malfunctions I have experienced in my life, I am vigilant about the correct temperature.
Just a thought regarding oven temperatures.
Not only do I use an oven thermometer at all times, I also use my Infra-Red thermometer to spot check the oven for temperature when ever I use it for soap. Temperature sensor malfunction is a pretty common problem with ovens that cause them not to heat to the temperature setting. My husband had to replace one of the heating elements in our oven a few years ago due to one of the most common malfunctions of electric ovens. But even though it always seems to be working correctly now, after the two oven malfunctions I have experienced in my life, I am vigilant about the correct temperature.
Just a thought regarding oven temperatures.
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