I feel like something is not clicking

[ShySoaper]

Peeking shouldn't be enough to give you ash unless you're leaving it uncovered for a long time. I check on mine until they are in full gel and then lighten the insulation. I rarely ever get ash.

Shunt 2011 you are a pro at soap making. I did leave it out for a little while. What I start doing is covering with plastic wrap as soon as I’m done and that helps a lot to.

 

[Catscankim]

Those turned out really nice. Yes, your batter does need to be thinner/fluid to pour into a cavity mold(s). It used to really bother me that my soaps weren't 'perfect', but I'm okay with it now.

I bought the entire Dreamy Desserts Collection and I absolutely love the Lemon Bar! And the Chocolate Orange. The Cinnamon Swirl is my least favorite so I will probably find someone to gift it to. I just need to get a new mold...can't decide between the 9-bar or 18-bar.

All my cavity molds are set on either a cutting board or cookie sheet because of the floppiness. I learned that lesson after trying to pick up a mold and spilling half of the soap on my counter.

I like walnut shells, but then I have to put a red warning on my label for those with nut allergies. I know that a lot of folks use Apricot Seeds/Powder.

I dont even like lemon anything all that much, but i feel like i could take a bite out of one of these bars lol.

I really hated the floppiness. I wish i would have thought about that before i made them then try to carry it to the other room Lol. I mean, eventually i figured it out. But it was a pita, especially after i was so flustered trying to scoop the thick batter in and salvage the soap lol. Like “what ELSE can go wrong?” Soap gods were like, here, watch this mess!

 

[shunt2011]

Shunt 2011 you are a pro at soap making. I did leave it out for a little while. What I start doing is covering with plastic wrap as soon as I’m done and that helps a lot to.

You'll get it. You will eventually figure out what works best with your recipe(s) It takes time, don't be too hard on yourself. It's all a learning curve.

 

[Catscankim]

Thank you

 

[TheGecko]

I really hated the floppiness. I wish i would have thought about that before i made them then try to carry it to the other room Lol. I mean, eventually i figured it out. But it was a pita, especially after i was so flustered trying to scoop the thick batter in and salvage the soap lol. Like “what ELSE can go wrong?” Soap gods were like, here, watch this mess!

I have no doubts that every soap maker has poured into a floppy cavity mold on their counter and then went "Oh crap!". A couple of things I do when dealing with a thickened batter is to glop in layers, use a chopstick and bang down on the molds as much as I can. It's alway possible with cavity molds, but every little bit helps.

 

[Deborah Long]

I looked at the recipe at Brambleberry and notice that it has titanium dioxide IN the batter. I usually have an issue using TD in batter so I seldom use it (can't remember the last time, actually!). TD doesn't work for long and that few months, mostly spent curing the soap, that TD makes a difference I just don't care about. If I'm using an FO that is going to discolor, I know that going in. That (the TD) may have been at least part of your problem. I'm sure you could do the same soap with basic ingredients (no TD) and do the exact same thing that Anne Marie did without making it so spendy! Remember that she is REALLY trying to hawk her own wares - which she SHOULD do - but is not always the best/cheapest for beginners. Try just a basic recipe in a 1 pound mold and see how lovely your soaps can be without all of those pricey butters. It will give you practice with the calculator, stickblending, swirling, FO, EO, it all! Trust me. It's easier to get rid of 4 bars per batch than 10! LOL Soap on, @Catscankim! You're doing GREAT!

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

Catahoula... thank you for so many great tips!

i followed the recipe, so i used the temps that the recipe recommended. Up until now i have only made olive oil soap, except for one lard soap, which i might try agin tomorrow.And for everything but the cutting, they have been coming out pretty good so far, i think.

this is the first time using other oils and butters. I need to find ONE recipe that will be MY soap for all my bars that i can perfect, and eventually sell down the line. I want it to be really good.

But i know everything is practice right now....trying to learn the science of all the ingredients.

By the time I have a sellable soap, me and my sister are going to have BAGS of imperfect soap lol.

I presume you have a catahoula. i have one too. Long story short, shes a rescue, sorta. She is my bosses friends dog who went to hospice but they had nowhere to put the dog, so i took her.

Got her in december. Shes an old girl. She is so sweet. Almost 100% deaf. Gets along with the cat. walks around like a baby giraffe most of the time because i think her hips hurt, but if she sees a rabbit, she turns into a greyhound lol. We are developing doggie sign language. She definitely knows “mom is mad“ face lol.

She looks so regal here

I've got three catahoulas and might be getting another one in August. My business mascot is the first catahoula I ever had. He was my best boy ever.

As for the recipe you want. Go to soap calc and put in different combinations and amounts of oils and look at the results that come up.

Soap Bar Quality Range​ Your Recipe​ Hardness 29 - 54​ 42​ Cleansing 12 - 22​ 19​ Conditioning 44 - 69​ 54​ Bubbly 14 - 46​ 23​ Creamy 16 - 48​ 26​ Iodine 41 - 70​ 58​ INS 136 - 165​ 153​

Lauric 14 Myristic 5 Palmitic 17 Stearic 6 Ricinoleic 4 Oleic 42​ Linoleic 8 Linolenic 0

This is the results I get from my standard go to recipe. This is my ideal bar. I've had good reviews from my customers and I do add in various additives such as milk for the liquid or clays, eggs, and oatmeal. It's not conducive to very fancy pours though because of the amount of solid oils I use but this is my favorite recipe. I do have others that I make based on what I'm looking for soap wise. So take a recipe and run it through soap calc and see what the values are and then tweak it by adding different oils that you might want to use. All of my soap recipes start with Olive oil and then I go from there. And again, make smaller batches so you aren't up to your eyeballs in soap. Good Luck!

 

[cmzaha]

Catahoula... thank you for so many great tips!

i followed the recipe, so i used the temps that the recipe recommended. Up until now i have only made olive oil soap, except for one lard soap, which i might try agin tomorrow.And for everything but the cutting, they have been coming out pretty good so far, i think.

this is the first time using other oils and butters. I need to find ONE recipe that will be MY soap for all my bars that i can perfect, and eventually sell down the line. I want it to be really good.

But i know everything is practice right now....trying to learn the science of all the ingredients.

By the time I have a sellable soap, me and my sister are going to have BAGS of imperfect soap lol.

I will mention one thing about recipes and temps. Most use an infrared thermometer, the problem is they are really made for taking surface temps so if you used an infrared to take temps yours may have varied from the one B&B used when making their lemon soap. I can almost bet on the fact they used an infrared for taking the temp of their oil. Just a degree or two can make a huge difference in how your soap batter can act. One of my go-to recipes can be 2 degrees too hot and it accelerates to soap on a stick.

It took me years to finally come up with a vegan and non-vegan recipe that I consider my base recipes, although I will still change out the liquid oil and add or delete butters. The only consistent part is the percentage of palm for the vegan recipe and tallow/lard percentage stays consistent for my non-vegan recipe.

Many times it takes many batches of soap to determine what you like and do not like.

 

[Catscankim]

I will mention one thing about recipes and temps. Most use an infrared thermometer, the problem is they are really made for taking surface temps so if you used an infrared to take temps yours may have varied from the one B&B used when making their lemon soap. I can almost bet on the fact they used an infrared for taking the temp of their oil. Just a degree or two can make a huge difference in how your soap batter can act. One of my go-to recipes can be 2 degrees too hot and it accelerates to soap on a stick.

It took me years to finally come up with a vegan and non-vegan recipe that I consider my base recipes, although I will still change out the liquid oil and add or delete butters. The only consistent part is the percentage of palm for the vegan recipe and tallow/lard percentage stays consistent for my non-vegan recipe.

Many times it takes many batches of soap to determine what you like and do not like.

I am actually using an instant read digital meat thermometer Lol. Its all i had since the infrared one was sold out, when i placed my order. I stir up the oils or lye water with it and take the temp. Kinda glad i didnt invest in it. It seems to be pretty accurate.