Layers & Ciaglia (rebatched soap shreds)

[MomInWA]

I finally felt brave enough to try using micas! I wanted to make a 2-color swirl soap for Halloween. I thought I could put a thin layer of green in my loaf mold, then layer it with orange, and create a swirl using a chopstick as I've seen so many others do. Unfortunately, my batter came to thick trace very quickly! By the time I had mixed and placed the evergreen, the orange had thickened up so much, that all I could do was jam it into the mold and squash it in. I thought, well...maybe...and used a chopstick to try and swirl at least *something*. First picture you can see all that did was create a dent. So I rebatched it!

Day #2. I cut off the green top and part of the orange and shredded it using a cheese grater. I placed the remainder of the orange in the loaf mold. Then I made up a small batch of the original soap recipe (sans color and FO) mixed it with the soap shreds, and smashed it on top. I can't say it's beautiful, but it is just fine for a first attempt!

Notes. This soap batter is malleable, even a day later. It's soft, but holds its shape. I'm going to put a pin in the recipe for when I feel brave enough to try rolling soap dough. I added sugar to the Aloe Vera and made a simple syrup out of it. In the future, I won't stick blend it. It came to thick trace quickly just using a spatula the second recipe - reasonably doable.

Ingredients.

Oil	%	Grams
Soybean, fully hydrogenated (soy wax)	15	90
Coconut Oil, 92 deg	10	60
Olive Oil	20	120
Cocoa Butter	5	30
Shea Butter	20	120
Castor Oil	15	90
Almond Oil, sweet	15	90
Total	100	600

Sugar

1 tsp

5 g

Aloe Vera Gel100 g100 g

Liquid Required	49.53 g
NaOH Weight at 99 % Purity	74.76 g

BB Pumpkin Souffle FO 1.2 g
Evergreen and Scarlet micas from WSP.

Also, I superfatted at 10%. I know this isn't as good as most soapers here, but for me it was a challenge! The Pumpkin Souffle smells yummy! I am thinking in the semi-near future I will try piping shapes on top. For me, it's one-thing-at-a-time until I feel skilled enough.

 

[dibbles]

Nice save! The soap is very pretty. One note though, this is really a confetti soap, not the Ciaglia method.

 

[ScentimentallyYours]

it's one-thing-at-a-time until I feel skilled enough.

Some of us are perpetually making one-thing-at-a-time soap, so we are always learning and always developing additional skills. BTW, every time you use a new fragrance oil, you are trying out a new soap method because you don’t know how that fragrance is going to affect what you do with your soap. You might try unscented when you try a new soap technique. Jump right in on any soap you might like to try. You’ll develop skills by actually doing.

Your confetti soap is beautiful! I think you should tell people that it is the soap you set out to create in the first place, no need to mention that it was a save.

Have you looked into getting a planer yet? I bought this inexpensive planer on Amazon. It cleans up the sides and even the faces of the bars very nicely. Some of my more rustic bars look very professional when I’m done. It’s also possible to angle the soap and use the planer to bevel the edges, getting a result that is a little better than using a carrot peeler. Be very cautious if you decide to readjust the cutting blade. It’s difficult to get it set just right as you tighten the screws.

 

[MomInWA]

Nice save! The soap is very pretty. One note though, this is really a confetti soap, not the Ciaglia method.

OOOOOOOOH! Haha! I thought they were one and the same! Good to know!

 

[MomInWA]

Some of us are perpetually making one-thing-at-a-time soap, so we are always learning and always developing additional skills. BTW, every time you use a new fragrance oil, you are trying out a new soap method because you don’t know how that fragrance is going to affect what you do with your soap. You might try unscented when you try a new soap technique. Jump right in on any soap you might like to try. You’ll develop skills by actually doing.

Your confetti soap is beautiful! I think you should tell people that it is the soap you set out to create in the first place, no need to mention that it was a save.

Have you looked into getting a planer yet? I bought this inexpensive planer on Amazon. It cleans up the sides and even the faces of the bars very nicely. Some of my more rustic bars look very professional when I’m done. It’s also possible to angle the soap and use the planer to bevel the edges, getting a result that is a little better than using a carrot peeler. Be very cautious if you decide to readjust the cutting blade. It’s difficult to get it set just right as you tighten the screws.

Thank you so much! I do need a planer....now that my "hobby" is more of an addiction...

I hear what you're saying about fragrances making each recipe "new", but what about micas? I assume the same would be true. @Zany_in_CO 's No Slime Castile recipe turned out really well when I made it, and I was thinking would work really well in a mold since it didn't set up too quickly. I have so many recipes printed out, it's hard to decide what I want to do next! It sure is fun, and my family loves my soap!

 

[2lilboots]

@MomInWA I bought a $12 planer off Amazon. I like being able to "clean" up my soap with it. I post pics the day I cut my soaps, but I don't bevel and plane them for a couple weeks.

 

[MomInWA]

@MomInWA I bought a $12 planer off Amazon. I like being able to "clean" up my soap with it. I post pics the day I cut my soaps, but I don't bevel and plane them for a couple weeks.

That's helpful, thank you! I have been cleaning up the bars with a paring knife when they come out of the mold. Funny, isn't it? I'll spend $300 on butters, oils, EOs, FOs. But buy a $12 planer? Heavens, no! I'll just improve my whittling knife skills!