Making my first cold process soap batch

[lindakschickens]

Dixiedragon I ended up using one of my new soap domes using that recipe today it's hard as heck compared to the firmish jelly like one I made the previous day. 1 day out from being made it's not harsh on me makes loads of bubbles a bit creamy got grease off my hands but did not dry them out in fact it left my hands quite soft.

The bar from the first batch is a firmish jelly (the orange colour does it justice) and has not really harden up, I used it 1 day out from being made and it makes a nice creamy lather with a mild amount of bubbles and leaves my hands really soft.

The other bars are curing tho I think I'll leave them for at least 4 weeks. I'm debating if I take the one's I trailed 1 day out from being made and rebatch them together as I think the oil oil and rapeseed might have made it a bit soft.

DrewerGeorge true true but I come from a family that don't like things going bad specially if we can use it up.. prob why my father has canned veg from 2008........

 

[dixiedragon]

Castor has a long shelf life, unlike some oils - grapeseed and hemp come to mind. But you can always pour some of it into a smaller bottle and put it in the fridge or freezer.

As to constipation - you just take a spoonful or so. I'm not recommending it, I'm just saying that it's in the pharmacy section as a laxative.

 

[lindakschickens]

Think I will freeze some thanks for the tip dixiedragon. Heck if I would have know that 2 years lol.

Question anyone else think it's a waste of saffron to just use it as a natural dye in soap?

 

[shunt2011]

I agree with too much castor. Causes a sticky, softer bar of soap. Not really optimal over 10%. Cheap still adds up over the long run.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

..

Question anyone else think it's a waste of saffron to just use it as a natural dye in soap?

Abso-fricking-lutely!

Most natural dies don't survive lye to any degree and saffron is WAY to precious to experiment with.

If you want natural yellow, use tumeric.

 

[lindakschickens]

Abso-fricking-lutely!

Most natural dies don't survive lye to any degree and saffron is WAY to precious to experiment with.

If you want natural yellow, use tumeric.

That is what i was thinking someone goes oh use saffron to get a pretty yellow in your soap and I was like uh 5g max of it at £5 (round $7) no thanks I'll pass. I did make a new soap tho


1 Apricot Kernal Oil 140g (23.33 %)
2 Castor Oil 60g (10%)
3 Cocoa Butter 110g (18.33%)
4 Coconut Oil,. 180g (30%)
5 Shea Butter 110g (18.33)

Water 228g
Lye 84.93g

228g=8.04 oz so I used 2.04oz water and 6oz of milk. also added 1 tsb of honey and 3 tsb of ground oats. Resulting mixture looks like a really dark honey colour (I really like it) I assume this is because of the reaction of the milk with lye. I did put it in a neat mold (attached a pic of it and the size). I bought it thinking it might be easy to cut it into individual pieces what you all think?

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Better, but still too much castor.

 

[shunt2011]

That is what i was thinking someone goes oh use saffron to get a pretty yellow in your soap and I was like uh 5g max of it at £5 (round $7) no thanks I'll pass. I did make a new soap tho


1 Apricot Kernal Oil 140g (23.33 %)
2 Castor Oil 60g (10%)
3 Cocoa Butter 110g (18.33%)
4 Coconut Oil,. 180g (30%)
5 Shea Butter 110g (18.33)

Water 228g
Lye 84.93g

228g=8.04 oz so I used 2.04oz water and 6oz of milk. also added 1 tsb of honey and 3 tsb of ground oats. Resulting mixture looks like a really dark honey colour (I really like it) I assume this is because of the reaction of the milk with lye. I did put it in a neat mold (attached a pic of it and the size). I bought it thinking it might be easy to cut it into individual pieces what you all think?

It's likely a combination of the milk and the honey. Sugars can scortch sometimes depending on when added.

 

[lindakschickens]

Better, but still too much castor.

seriously oh well at lest's it's not more then 10. but I think I added to much honey.. On a plus side my soap does look pretty like a dark honey brown!

 

[lindakschickens]

It's likely a combination of the milk and the honey. Sugars can scortch sometimes depending on when added.

ya thats defo what I was thinking! but again pretty colour for my soap. any suggestions on how to add milk and honey to soap.

 

[shunt2011]

I've used as much as 10% with out a problem. Not often but I have 1 recipe I do.

I can only speak to how I add them. I generally mix my lye with water. I then add my milk to my oils and blend well. My honey, I dissolve mix in a bit of warm water then also add it to my oils. Some add their honey at trace. I don't mind a bit of discoloration from the sugars. I almost always use coconut milk. when I add my lye water sometimes it turns a bit orange but I add a bit of TD to it and it's light light beige or white.

 

[lindakschickens]

Coconut milk I have some of that gonna try that in my next batch. TD??

 

[dixiedragon]

TD = Titanium dioxide. It's a white colorant. You can buy it at most soaping suppliers, but if you want a bit for right now, you can get it in the baking section of a craft store (Michael's, Hobby Lobby). It's a frosting color, the brand is Wilton. Read the ingredients- they should include glycerin and TD. (I think also sugar.)

 

[lindakschickens]

TD = Titanium dioxide. It's a white colorant. You can buy it at most soaping suppliers, but if you want a bit for right now, you can get it in the baking section of a craft store (Michael's, Hobby Lobby). It's a frosting color, the brand is Wilton. Read the ingredients- they should include glycerin and TD. (I think also sugar.)

thanks for letting me know had no clue what TD stood for had no clue at all. Another question I have heard and read of people doing single oil/fat soaps anyone do this?

 

[BrewerGeorge]

thanks for letting me know had no clue what TD stood for had no clue at all. Another question I have heard and read of people doing single oil/fat soaps anyone do this?

Lots of us have done at least one, but not many oils are really suitable for a single oil soap, IMO. High oleic soaps like olive, or HO safflower can be used to make Castille soaps but they need to age a year to be decent. 100% lard is okay, but it doesn't bubble much. 100% coconut is often used for laundry or dishes because of its cleaning power, but it would be rough on skin.

There are several threads that chronicle people's experiences with single-oil soap experiments if you search.

 

[lindakschickens]

Thanks for the heads up BrewerGeorge! I will have a look.

 

[dixiedragon]

Google single oil soaps and you'll find several interesting blog entries. I know Soap Queen did one, and I think Lovin Soap.

 

[earlene]

If you want a yellow soap with a common kitchen spice, turmeric works nicely. Here it is not expensive and judging from the plethora of East Indian food available in London last time I was there, I am guessing it is no it too pricey there either.

I am one of many who has experimentally made many single oil soaps. It was more because I wanted to see what each oil was like on its own and not a plan to try and find a single oil soap to become my go-to soap. It was a fun experiment which I have repeated recently with just a couple of oils. Doing a whole bunch of single oil soaps at once was a bit cumbersome.

Your soft OO & Rapeseed (Canola in the US) will probably remain soft for as long as 2 or 3 weeks, maybe more. If you used full water, the default in the lye calculator, it's just going to take a long time to get hard. Additionally, if you made a really small batch with a scale that only has an accuracy to 0.1 grams, then it is entirely possible that your measurements are just not as close to accurate as you might think. As BG mentions above.

So let that soap cure a good long time and keep an eye on it. Over time bars of soft oil soaps made with high water will also warp, so you could try turning them periodically if you prefer them to be straight.

 

[Misschief]

TD = Titanium dioxide. It's a white colorant. You can buy it at most soaping suppliers, but if you want a bit for right now, you can get it in the baking section of a craft store (Michael's, Hobby Lobby). It's a frosting color, the brand is Wilton. Read the ingredients- they should include glycerin and TD. (I think also sugar.)

I did not know that! That's a good thing to know when all your fave suppliers are out of TD!

 

[lindakschickens]

I use quite a bit of tumeric to make my cheesy bacon risotto and yes tumeric is pretty cheap here I can get a bag that almost 2lbs for maybe $5 max. It also makes a decent face mask for inflamed skin only downside you look like a oompa loompa after.