Just starting! First batch...decent!

[Halibaal]

Hello, Ive been researching and studying soaping and body butter/lotion bar related things. I just did my first small batch of cp today, and some test batches of lotion bars.

The soap seemed wonderful until i unmolded it.. broke apart rather messily! But I did go into it in a fists swinging sort of way. I think that the salt, even at half oil amount, was too ambitious along with the other things I added. Its kind of like...crumbly stone soap. Great hand-feel though.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Looks good for a first batch - but yes, salt may have been a bit ambitious for a first try. I recommend you do salt bars in individual moulds because it can be tricky to cut. Love the black and white effect though!
P.S I used to live in Kentucky

 

[Halibaal]

Ooh yes! I hadnt bought any individual molds yet that probably would have been perfect, i wont scrap this recipe just yet! I'm fine tuning the lotions more- i think am equal portion of the beeswax is too cloying for me so I'm lessening it and adding cocoa butter for the gap. Ill be working on a kokum soap next with any luck~ I love kentucky, but then again its the only place I've ever lived! Nice small town here.

 

[earlene]

Nice job using what you have available for making your soap. But I want to warn you against making soap in glass containers. The lye etches glass and over time, weakens it to the point that it can break at the most inopportune time. Not something you want to happen while carrying a glass baking dish.

Perhaps you can find some silicone baking dishes at a thrift store if you are looking to save money on molds. I have found several items from thrift stores that I re-purpose for soapmaking.

 

[Halibaal]

Oh , shoot. I didn’t think about it, thank you. I need to hit up some places for sure for supplies!

 

[Halibaal]

Whelp, did a test of dissolving lye in pansy infused vinegar. Definite fail >< At least for pansies! Color totally lost.

OOPS-started out okay- did I ruin it?-Okay, according to google I didnt ruin it but I may not like the way it looks. This was a fresh strawberry and fresh basil bar of coconut grapeseed safflower amd avocado oils. ..with some salt. I like the texture of salt! I should probably try a plain batch though next.

 

[earlene]

But I love pansies! They are such a hardy flower for one that appears so delicate. And they are edible, too!

That's a nice soap mold. Good job utilizing easy to access materials! I have used many cardboard and paperboard boxes as soap molds and they work perfectly fine. I've also done the plastic lining, but found that freezer paper gives a nicer finish on the bottoms and sides (no embossed wrinkles to plane off).

 

[cassia]

Congratulations! I haven't made soap ever, but I did buy two highly recommended (here) soapers books and got two molds, the purple silicone that fits inside a nice wooden box, tongue in groove corners.

I don't want to do anything riskier than the soap making itself. Starting out with something simple is best for me.

 

[Halibaal]

I made a chocolate coffee soap, too bad everyone of these learning attempts are unscented, i hope some of the coffee or cocoa powder comes through. But its pretty as heck. If i just had a mold for berries or banana slices to stick on it would be perfect.

Dangit gel-phase! There’s no sugar in there, gah!!!

 

[earlene]

Even if you used unsweetened Cocoa Powder, there are enough sugar and carbohydrates to heat up your soap.

But also, what amount of CO (coconut oil) is in your recipe? I find that high CO soap gels very quickly, even left un-insulated out on the counter like that. Especially in the summer when it's so warm.

 

[Halibaal]

Even if you used unsweetened Cocoa Powder, there are enough sugar and carbohydrates to heat up your soap.

But also, what amount of CO (coconut oil) is in your recipe? I find that high CO soap gels very quickly, even left un-insulated out on the counter like that. Especially in the summer when it's so warm.

Wild! Never would have guessed there was still sugars in that.. When I added my lye water to my oils bother were about 100 degrees, and I have been using higher amounts of coconut oil cause it’s the one I can get the most of, and since I am practicing I need cheap oils- that’s been the hardest part of this trying to find the best prices and sinking money into these fails. The pink batch is unusable.

 

[cmzaha]

Why is the pink batch unusable, and how much vinegar did you use? If using vinegar you need to use the correct amount of NaOH to react the vinegar creating Sodium Acetate which will make for a harder bar of soap. Vinegar will not lower ph of soap if that was by chance your reason for using it. There is good information located here on using acids in soap https://classicbells.com/soap/soapyStuff.asp Scroll down until you get to the Acids and Salts section. It is also good to read all the info on DeeAnna's site. (Our resident chemist)

Along with not using glass as molds it is very unadvisable to mix lye in pyrex measuring cups for the same reason, etching and possible exploding of the pyrex, which you do not want to happen when it contains lye solution.

 

[Halibaal]

Why is the pink batch unusable, and how much vinegar did you use? If using vinegar you need to use the correct amount of NaOH to react the vinegar creating Sodium Acetate which will make for a harder bar of soap. Vinegar will not lower ph of soap if that was by chance your reason for using it. There is good information located here on using acids in soap https://classicbells.com/soap/soapyStuff.asp Scroll down until you get to the Acids and Salts section. It is also good to read all the info on DeeAnna's site. (Our resident chemist)

Along with not using glass as molds it is very unadvisable to mix lye in pyrex measuring cups for the same reason, etching and possible exploding of the pyrex, which you do not want to happen when it contains lye solution.

I didnt use any vinegar in the pink batch i just tested a bit of vinegar aside to see if it would carry the infusion, but the color changed so
I didnt use it. I only used the glass measuring cup for this small test amount.

The pink batch is very abrasive, has absolutely no lather, and smells horrid.

 

[Halibaal]

Felt like experimenting and did two 100% single oil soaps. Grapeseed and Fish oil. Both at 50% water discounts. Still both only had the verrrrrrry lightest trace possible. Barely detectable.

After 4 nearly 5 days

Grapeseed: still soft enough to smush a finger into but holds its shape with out mold, too soft to cut, cant test it yet, love the color

Fish oil: mostly Solid but with some odd layers? very strong fish smell remains. Will test it at 5 days to see if it lathers at all, oil reacted with lye and darkened