I failed my soap twice in 2 days

[Arimara]

May I ask if the mold you used to pour your soap in was metal?

 

[bobbychandra]

Chandra? Yes, it would be very difficult to get soap making supplies in most parts of Indonesian, I think. That's why I stopped making soap when I moved there. Although there is a lot of coconut & palm oil there LOL

My first thought was also the fact that Indonesia probably still doesn't have the same quality fragrance oils as many other countries. When I was still there, nobody was making soap except for one or two foreigners in Bali.

I seem to remember hearing on a YouTube channel - a soap maker - that when they use charcoal they do experience accelerated trace, much like with kaolin. I haven't made a batch of soap using charcoal for many years so I haven't tested this theory out myself, but for sure, kaolin can make things crazy. I have learned to use more water when using clays. Like a 2.4:1 water : lye ratio. I find the ratios make more sense to me than percentages with soap making. It DOES help. My soap batter stays fluid longer.

Personally, I would try using more water.

Where did you study English? I was teaching in Jakarta for 7 years but also lived in Bali, Lombok & on Gili Trawangan.

Agree.. i never go to the another country but from soapmakers vlog in US i watch, i could assume that they could get fragrance oil so easily. Like there are so many soap suppliers and so many fragrance for the soap in the market. In indonesia i only found 2 or 3 soap suppliers that sell fragrance oil for the soap in the online marketplace. Most of the fragrance are medium and accelerate trace. It mean not much choice for my fancy soap design
Palm oil and coconut oil are everywhere here. But pomace olive oil is very rare. I bought it online from another city since i couldnt find it on supermarket.
I dont study english spesifically. Just learn it a little when i was in school. Thats why my english was so bad. I live in Solo, the hometown of jokowi.

May I ask if the mold you used to pour your soap in was metal?

Yess.. one of my mould is made from metal. i found it from my mom's kitchen then bring it to my house since i dont have mold when i start making soap. but i put paper on the mold too. Most of my mold are made from wood now. So i have to put paper on it before i pour the soap. I hope i could afford silicon mold.

 

[AliOop]

Yess.. one of my mould is made from metal. i found it from my mom's kitchen then bring it to my house since i dont have mold when i start making soap. but i put paper on the mold too. Most of my mold are made from wood now. So i have to put paper on it before i pour the soap. I hope i could afford silicon mold.

Great catch, @Arimara!

@bobbychandra That metal mold could definitely be the cause of your problems. The paper may not have completely protected the soap from contact with metal. If there is any aluminum in the metal, that causes a dangerous reaction, and your soap is not safe to use.

For years, I used cardboard boxes or cardboard juice cartons for molds. They work very well if you line them with paper, or even plastic bags.

 

[bobbychandra]

Great catch, @Arimara!

@bobbychandra That metal mold could definitely be the cause of your problems. The paper may not have completely protected the soap from contact with metal. If there is any aluminum in the metal, that causes a dangerous reaction, and your soap is not safe to use.

For years, I used cardboard boxes or cardboard juice cartons for molds. They work very well if you line them with paper, or even plastic bags.

Thank you.. i think i'm goin to stop using that mold. Yesterday i've made new molds from cardboard. I dont expect that its very cheap and easy to make. I even can make my own custome size..

 

[Arimara]

Thank you.. i think i'm goin to stop using that mold. Yesterday i've made new molds from cardboard. I dont expect that its very cheap and easy to make. I even can make my own custome size..

That's how a lot of people will do it if they want to make soap. Cardboard boxes, milk containers, yogurt cups, and so forth can make for great soap molds until you can afford one but a wooden box lined with freezer paper is also good too, if you have.

 

[Savage Daughter]

Agree.. i never go to the another country but from soapmakers vlog in US i watch, i could assume that they could get fragrance oil so easily. Like there are so many soap suppliers and so many fragrance for the soap in the market. In indonesia i only found 2 or 3 soap suppliers that sell fragrance oil for the soap in the online marketplace. Most of the fragrance are medium and accelerate trace. It mean not much choice for my fancy soap design
Palm oil and coconut oil are everywhere here. But pomace olive oil is very rare. I bought it online from another city since i couldnt find it on supermarket.
I dont study english spesifically. Just learn it a little when i was in school. Thats why my english was so bad. I live in Solo, the hometown of jokowi.

Have you tried to find essential oils there? When I lived in Indonesia, I came across some beautiful essential oils which were being produced in some villages. Many are made there & then exported to Western & European countries. The patchouli oil was amazing.

New Directions Aromatics ships to Indonesia. I ordered from them before & had my package shipped to Jakarta Selatan, no problem. They have a website specifically for Australia. You might want to check them out.

I would suggest trying to incorporate some of the local spices & herbs in your soaps. Vanilla pods (you can find from exporters - some warehouses in Bali which I found), frangipani & jasmine flowers (infuse them into coconut oil) & other traditional herbs / jamu which are good for skin. Turmeric / kunyit and galangal would also be good. Think of lulur / traditional Indonesian body scrubs. Those are made with many traditionally used flowers, herbs & spices. This would make your products unique. No sense in trying to copy Western products. You can make yours special, based on what is special in Indonesia. Experiment with the many tropical plants, herbs, spices, flowers you have available to you there. Just make sure that they are safe to use on the skin.

The person I married - past - is from Semarang & has quite a few family members in Solo, as well as in Kalimantan. I am not a fan of Jokowi, although I know many people there are.

Your English is not terrible. Mainly grammar issues. Your vocabulary is quite good. You can improve by reading simple books in English & paying attention to sentence structure. When you understand those more simple books, you can move on to more difficult books. Never be afraid to practice.