I made Castile Soap last night...

[Zenobiah]

It took QUITE a while to harden. It was still a bit soft this morning. I didn't have any FO's on hand so I poured a lot of real vanilla essence into it. A bit too much it seems as there were some puddles on the sides...

It smells good though. My recipe:

70% Olive oil
15% Coconut
15% Palm Oil
Too much real Vanilla Essence

I will see if it is cuttable tonight.

 

[Zenobiah]

Crap. I just cut my soap. It has a dark center. It is light all the way on the outside, but dark in the center. Does that mean it didn't gel properly? It feels all oily but I have never made castile soap before so I don't know how it should be.

Does this mean I can't give it as a gift to my sister? Will it develop DOS?


:cry:


I thought I had the perfect solution to being penniless for my sister's 10th wedding anniversary.

 

[edco76]

Vanilla, it will likely darken more as it cures.

 

[Zenobiah]

Really, Ed? Oh I sure hope so. It feels kind of soft, more like a lotion bar than a soap right now.

 

[edco76]

yeah, my first vanilla lesson came with an FO that was 26% vanilla. Day 2 yellow, day 4 tan, in about 2 weeks it was completely brown. It smelled great though. I just changed the name anf ended up delling it all.

 

[Zenobiah]

But I didn't use an FO I used real vanilla. Do you think it will be the same? The soap is cream / light tan on the outside and tan on the inside right now.

 

[freshwater pearl]

Vanilla oils, unless you use a white vanilla, will turn soap a dark, dark brown.

 

[pink-north]

Can anyone explain to me what Vanilla essence is and where to get it from?

 

[Zenobiah]

Vanilla essence that I used is the kind you use in food. I think hubby got it from Sam's or Costco last time he went to the States. I didn't have any FO's on hand and he wanted me to try it.

 

[pink-north]

Your're not talking about Vanilla extract. I've never seen vanilla essence. What does it look like?

 

[gbtreasures]

Zen: If your vanilla is 28% "nilla", then what else is in it? Does it smell good? Going through the saponification process make the fragrance stronger than when its in the bottle?

Thank you.

 

[dantango]

Crap. I just cut my soap. It has a dark center. It is light all the way on the outside, but dark in the center. Does that mean it didn't gel properly? It feels all oily but I have never made castile soap before so I don't know how it should be.

This is exactly the issue I framed in my post about the 'gel pattern remaining."

I'd like to get the answer. I just made a batch that was identical to my last that gelled 90% or so and kept that pattern after curing. This time the only change I made was to increase my water to oils percentage from about 2% to 32%. It is at the gel stage right now and looks like almost 99% has gelled dark. Maybe using more water allowed the lye to distribute and interact better with the oils resulting in better gelling over more of the batch.

Anyone really know?

 

[Zenobiah]

It is called Vanilla Extract and has about 35% Alcohol in it.

The soap has been curing for 4 days now and has not gotten darker. It is still a light beige on the outside. About 70-80% of it gelled a little darker, a tan.

 

[gbtreasures]

Zen: I didn't know vanilla extract could be used, bc of the alcohol, however, this could be very convenient! Please let me know what you think of the fragrance. Is it stronger than when you poured from the bottle? In other words, has the fragrance matured and do you like?
Thanks!

 

[Zenobiah]

Hey, what do I know, I just add whatever is handy since I haven't got any FO's around... Maybe the soap is totally messed up, hard to say.

The smell is pretty much the same as when you sniff a bottle of vanilla extract. Kind of an alcohol-y vanilla. I am sure it will fade.

 

[gbtreasures]

I'm so sorry - don't mean to hi-jack.
I hope your soap hardens up, please let us know how it turns out. The vanilla questions I ask are bc some soaps have such a wonderful fragrance. Vanilla is my favorite. I bought a Vanilla & Oatmeal from Soapmaker Man that I fell in love with. I don't know if he would share his brand vanilla fragrance or not. :?: But I was intrigued by the use of the extract to see what you thought about it and if you would use it again for soap. If I perturbed you - I'm sorry. Believe me, you have much more experience at this soap thing than I do!

 

[pink-north]

I'm with GB. I didn't know you could use vanilla extract because of the alcohol. Please let me know how it turns out. I'm really intrigued by this. I really like the smell of vanilla.

 

[Zenobiah]

Hehe, and I didn't know you weren't supposed to use it.

I didn't have time to check it this morning, but I will check it when I get home. I have a hunch the smell will fade pretty fast though.

 

[Zenobiah]

I tried my soap today for the first time.

The color didn't change
It is still pretty soft, like a lotion bar
It is very nice on my hands and gives a great lather!

 

[dragonfly princess]

Hey I use Peppermint Extract in my foot balm, it is kinda cool because the peppermint actually becomes gritty when the balm cools, so it is like an exfoliant for the feet, my hubby loves it.