Just made my first batch - now need help re readiness!

[Moiby]

I'm so excited - I just made my first batch! It is a simple olive oil and coconut oil soap, fragranced with lavender, neroli and bergamot.

I forgot to take photos while I was doing it but it looked like thick condensed milk at trace, when I added the fragrance it liquified a little but I whizzed it a bit more with my stick blender and got it looking 'sloppy' so poured it.

It's now all wrapped up in old towels and I'm looking forward to tomorrow to checking it out! I think it may take a while to harden because there's a lot of olive oil, but we'll see how it goes. I can make other batches in the meantime.

How long have other people's olive and coconut soaps taken to harden? The recipe I followed had proportions of about 70 per cent olive oil and 30 per cent coconut. It's a little batch though - total oil content was 700 grams (ummm, about 22 ounces?!)

 

[Dixie]

Congradulations! It should be ready tomorrow this time. Make sure to take pics so we can see

 

[heartsong]

x

hey good for you!

i love bastille soaps, and the fragrance blend sounds wonderful! (all my fav f/o's)

imho i have found that this soap hardens faster if you let it heat up and gel.

the type of olive oil i used makes a difference in my soaps. extra virgin seemed to take forever, but when i switched to the golden olive oil (it doesnt say virgin) it seems to soap way better.

i get the "great value" ooat walmart and it performs just as well as the www.soaperschoice.com "a" grade olive oil when i'm in a pinch.

anyway, NO PEEKING!" until soap cools down-then looking forward to pic's! :shock:

congrats on your first batch!

 

[Guest]

Like heartsong said -- extra virgin olive oil soap is softer at first than regular olive oil, which hardens up pretty fast.

I like regular olive muuuuuch better.

 

[Moiby]

Thanks so much for your advice!
I'll definitely post photos.

 

[rubato456]

yes, looking forward to yer pix! congrats!

 

[Guest]

Way to go , and congratulations on your first batch. Yes!! we love looking at soap pictures , if you happen to have any laying around in the next day or two. :wink:

Kitn

 

[artisan soaps]

..

 

[vivcarm]

Well done, you do realise there is no way out now!

 

[Moiby]

Thanks so much for the support!

Yes, I think I'm hooked.

 

[topcat]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Tanya

 

[Moiby]

Yep - I'm addicted.

I made a second batch last night, slightly different oil combination, scented with cinnamon and I put some oatmeal in it.

My first batch (coconut and olive) has definitely hardened but is still soft around the edges. I'm thinking I should leave it another day? Or will it stay soft and so should I just unmould and trim those bits off? I'd appreciate your advice!

Meanwhile, the cinnamon and oatmeal did wonderfully. Hard all over (there was a greater quantity of harder oils - palm oil this time as well as coconut oil). After a bit of wrestling I unmoulded it and have cut it into pieces. I'm so pleased - though the scent is stronger than I thought (will this fade? - I used less than 2% at trace, for the first batch I used 2.5% at trace).

I have pics which I will post later.

 

[Guest]

I've done a 100% OO before and cut at 2days, probably should have left it 3 though .. And my last was a 25% Coconut/75% Olive that I left for 2 days and was happy with it .

Just an FYI ..Keep an eye on your 100% OO soap after 2 days . I just made one that I left for 3 days and it was very very hard to cut and worse to bevel.
Day 2 was to soft , day 3 to hard , so maybe day 2 and a half :wink:

Kitn

 

[xraygrl]

Congrats on your new addiction!

 

[Moiby]

Thanks for the advice Kitn!

And thanks for the congrats xraygrl!