Introducing...

[John Harris]

Vanilla Bean

Just poured a vanilla batter using a homemade VCS. It was a mix of 30% sodium metabisulfite and 70% distilled water. It seems to have come out really well! I'm noticing that deciding when to pour is crucial. Lately I've been pouring when the batter is just crossing over from emulsion to light trace. By the time the pouring is actually over, the batter is at complete light trace and approaching medium trace. I did a ITP swirl with light brown highlights. I hope the white stays white!

A couple pics of post pour:

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Lookin' good. Crossing fingers that the white stays white!

 

[John Harris]

Strange goings-on

The soap is still in the mold. The cut is planned for a few minutes from now. I took the cover off the mold this morning and noticed a substantial oval of brown developed/developing in the slab. I have some pics below. I don't know for sure if gel happened in this batch, but I am guessing that it did happen in the area that turned brown. Notice how white the rest of the batch is. I'd be curious of what you think.

 

[Megan]

Strange goings-on

The soap is still in the mold. The cut is planned for a few minutes from now. I took the cover off the mold this morning and noticed a substantial oval of brown developed/developing in the slab. I have some pics below. I don't know for sure if gel happened in this batch, but I am guessing that it did happen in the area that turned brown. Notice how white the rest of the batch is. I'd be curious of what you think.

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I noticed when using my WSP VS that I would get browning on the top...now you're making me wonder if it's because I gel all of my soaps...

 

[John Harris]

After the cut...

At this point the brown is very superficial, but I think we need to give the air some time to do its dirty work.




You can see the brown on two of the bars below.






Again, you can see the brown on this highlighted bar.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

No matter what, it's still lovely looking soap!

I'm sure this has been asked before but I ask it again here...
What are you planning to do with all that soap!!! ???
Do you have a warehouse to store it? Or what?

 

[John Harris]

@Zany_in_CO Hi Zany!

Yes, the swirls did come out nice, didn't they! I just hope they don't all turn dark brown and obscure the swirling.

Yes, it has been asked before, "What are you going to do with all that soap??"

Well... I have three storage units that still each have room in them. But, I know, you probably mean what am I going to do with them in the long run?

I am finding that there is quite a demand for them. I am always being approached for soap. People sort of know me as the "Diamond Jim Brady" of soap. Soap is just falling out of my pockets. People at work. (I am a nurse.) Family. (They get it free.) Friends. (They probably get it for free.) And I have a private soap show a few times a year. (Compliments of a hospital security guard who is absolutely nuts about my soap! He is a big time promoter.)

I am partially retired, and so I need things to do. Soaping has SO MANY unseen details to it. It really takes up my time!

And it just feels good to have all that soap surrounding me!

I've had MANY hobbies in my life and I have always jumped into them with both feet - up to my neck. And I always spend a small fortune on them. Soap is a re-kindled obsession. I've been doing it on and off since 1998. At one point I had 1200 bars of soap in my house. I've said this before, but people walking past my house have told me they could smell the soap!

When I run out of storage space, I suppose I will have to cut back on soapmaking. But for now, it is Damn the Torpedoes! Full Speed Ahead!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

"Diamond Jim Brady" of soap.

That's an amazing story. I'm much relieved to know you have space for all your soap. I'm wondering if you might take a picture one of these days?

Thanks for sharing.

ETA: A bit of trivia about the battle cry, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”

David Farragut (1801-70) was an accomplished U.S. naval officer, who received great acclaim for his service to the Union during the American Civil War (1861-65). Farragut commanded the Union blockade of Southern ports, helped capture the the Confederate city of New Orleans and provided support for General Ulysses S. Grant’s siege of Vicksburg. Farragut is best known for his victory at the Battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864, during which he commanded his fleet to ignore Confederate defenses in the harbor, famously proclaiming “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”

 

[John Harris]

11 days later...

The Vanilla Color Stabilizer seems to be doing its stuff. The bars are not getting any darker. The brown that you see is the ITP swirl I did to give the sense of vanilla BEAN. So far so good!

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Wow. That one particular bar is probably the most marble-mimicry soap I've seen so far. Dunno if it's your intention, but it's really good. Append a warning to your labels, that people with marble bathroom interiors should better use a soap dish, otherwise they might overlook the bar lying next to the sink.

metabisulfite

Thank you!