My 1st Batch Bites!!! Bah!!!

[SoapyGal]

Bah!



I'm So mad I could spit nails!!

I tried out a bar of my first batch last night... & DH tried it this afternoon.

It's terrible!!!

I've been letting it cure for 2 wks, & when I used it, I couldn't smell the FO at all!!!!!

When the bar is dry, you can smell it....

And when I got out of the shower, there was no scent on me at all!!

The bubbles were present, but very disappointing & uneventful.

I guess I won't be able to go by the numbers on Soapcalc, then... I was expecting more based on those.

DH said he liked how it cleans him, he doesn't feel greasy like alot of the moisturizing bars make him feel.

But he, too, was disappointed at the lack of bubbles. And also disappointed at the lack of scent. That's half the reason for bathing, is the lovely smell that's on you when you step out of the shower!!!

I was thinking of rebatching it, & adding more scent to it....

Anybody have any input on this?

I'm so disappointed.

pooey.

 

[Guest]

I think it's all in your expectations. I want a bar that gives an aromatic pleasure while you're using it. I don't expect to smell the scent on my skin when I've toweled off. YMMV

 

[LyeSoap]

Good luck with your next batch. I will be trying to add scent to my second batch this coming weekend.

 

[Tabitha]

What ascent did you use & by what company? How much scent per pound of soap did you add?

 

[SoapyGal]

What ascent did you use & by what company? How much scent per pound of soap did you add?

Hey Tabitha

It was Bergamot & Chamomile from MMS... per their instructions on their website's fragrance calculator, I chose the amount they recommend for a "strong" scent... which is 2.75% of oils, for a grand total of .42 oz.

It was a one pound batch.

Would I use the same amount again for rebatching it?? :?:

Thanks for your help.

 

[Guest]

Actually might be a fair amount for rebatch. Speculating, 0.5 oz ppo.

I've set myself on 1.0 oz ppo until I get better results with scents. So far only one scent (ylang ylang EO) came out too strong. All the rest, too weak to barely okay.

 

[leowife]

Sorry you were disappointed Soapy. I like to smell soapy when I come out of the shower too. What scent did you use?

I also used my first batch of soap today...while it wasn't much to look at...it smelled good in and out of the shower. But the out of the shower scent was light. It also took a little bit to lather...but it finally did and the lather was pretty nice. I've never rebatched...so can't offer advise there.

 

[Guest]

________________________
stress? who has stress? do i look stressed? i work as a mail carrier and i'm married to a police officer. no stress here LOL.

I love your sig Leowife. I plan on being very, very nice and very, very patient with you.

Do you prefer "Leowife' or perhaps some other name to address you???

 

[Soapmaker Man]

Soapy, most reliable FO suppliers suggest 3 to 5% total oils weight as the FO usage. I generally use .85 to 1 oz, PPO. I like to smell my soap in the shower, and for a bit after on my skin. I would not ever recommend anything over 1 oz. PPO, as some can have reactions from too much FO.
I have some old FM bars that are almost 3 years old that still smell great!
In the rebatch, since you only used about 1/2 ounce PPO, go ahead and add another 1/2 oz. for the entire weight of the rebatch.


Paul :wink:

 

[Guest]

Soapy, most reliable FO suppliers suggest 3 to 5% total oils weight as the FO usage. I generally use .85 to 1 oz, PPO. I like to smell my soap in the shower, and for a bit after on my skin. I would not ever recommend anything over 1 oz. PPO, as some can have reactions from too much FO.

Yeah what Paul said. I feel exactly the same. I've been using 1 oz ppo the last week. Too soon to tell...

I too am reluctant to go over 1 ppo. You're starting to get crazy then. Time to switch to HP...

 

[SoapyGal]

Sorry you were disappointed Soapy. I like to smell soapy when I come out of the shower too. What scent did you use?

Thanks for commiserating with me leowife. I used "Bergamot & Chamomile" from MMS.

I also used my first batch of soap today...while it wasn't much to look at...it smelled good in and out of the shower. But the out of the shower scent was light. It also took a little bit to lather...but it finally did and the lather was pretty nice. I've never rebatched...so can't offer advise there.

What scent was your soap? Have you posted pics here already? Inquiring soapy minds want to see!!

 

[SoapyGal]

Soapy, most reliable FO suppliers suggest 3 to 5% total oils weight as the FO usage. I generally use .85 to 1 oz, PPO. I like to smell my soap in the shower, and for a bit after on my skin. I would not ever recommend anything over 1 oz. PPO, as some can have reactions from too much FO.
I have some old FM bars that are almost 3 years old that still smell great!
In the rebatch, since you only used about 1/2 ounce PPO, go ahead and add another 1/2 oz. for the entire weight of the rebatch.

Paul :wink:

Well, this is very helpful. Their website claims that their FOs are stronger than other people's FOs, and so less is needed.... maybe for some, but not for this one!!

I'll use .50 oz. for the rebatch. Hopefully that will put an end to the matter. Experimenting & learning is fun.... but I do have my limitations!

Thanks for your input :wink:

 

[Guest]

Their website claims that their FOs are stronger than other people's FOs, and so less is needed.... maybe for some, but not for this one!!

I read that claim from MMS too and felt that it might be a bit heavy on the marketing and a bit light on the objectivity. It's an implied justification that either you get more scent for the same money, or the same amount of scent but less money. I haven't ordered any of their FOs so of course this is just speculation, but I plan on buying something from them in the future. I won't have any expectation that their FOs are any stronger than anybody else's though.

 

[leowife]

________________________
stress? who has stress? do i look stressed? i work as a mail carrier and i'm married to a police officer. no stress here LOL.

I love your sig Leowife. I plan on being very, very nice and very, very patient with you.

Do you prefer "Leowife' or perhaps some other name to address you???

LOL Greg! Call me Deb..that works I'm glad you like my sig...at the time when I joined I was pretty stressed out, frustrated with my job after having suffered an on the job injury (finally had surgery in April, still not back to work though)...and my husbands schedule is stressful also. In fact...he just got paged out for a job 10 minutes ago while I was trying to respond to your post lol (he's also swat in addition to being an officer in our town). It's 100 degrees here today...he's going to be hating it out there. When he gets called out for these emergencies..I get a little stressed out with worry. Not so much for his safety (of course I do worry about that some)...but I worry about the "outcome". I hope for a peaceful outcome for all parties...and I especially don't want him to use his skills (sniper). Today, the job is here in our small town...so I will be on pins and needles until I hear of an outcome. He likely knows the person (suicidal man with a gun), my husband has lived here in this town his whole life...and I hope it ends peacefully.

But other than that....I'm a happy go lucky gal LOL...really!

Soapygal...I did post pics of the soap I made in my TOG mold from Paul. I can dig it up if you'd like to see

eta...link to my soaps. I'll probably rebatch the palm soap eventually.


[/url]http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4163

 

[Guest]

Hiya Deb! I should'a noticed your name in your signature, but your "Make my day!" message had me focused on being really, really nice to you. You know, like you want to be very extra specially careful when you're carrying your concentrated lye across the kitchen?

Well it does indeed sound like you've got a fair amount of stress in your life. In fact stress built up in my career (and also commuting in SoCal) to the degree that I could be working now but choose not to, partly because well okay it's more fun to play than work, but also because I find life much less stressful without the job and commuting. I'm very fortunate to be able to do that, at least for the short run, although I should probably get back to my career for a few more years to beef up my retirement funds.

It's not unlikely that I'll make some effort to resume working perhaps later in the summer. Until then I guess I'll just make soap!

 

[SoapyGal]

Well... back on topic....

I rebatched it tonight. Added salt, sugar, 8 oz of water to 18 oz of shredded soap, and .5 oz of my FO. I used the double boiler method.

It took about a total of 45 minutes, got it to a lovely light-medium trace viscosity, waited until them temp was below the flash point of the FO, stirred it in with the spoon, transferred to a pouring container, then poured it nicely into the mold, and another little desert dish (like the size for creme brulees)

It's got a little skin on it now at almost 3 hours later.

Will keep you posted, but all in all it was a great experience.

 

[SoapyGal]

I forgot to add....

DH used it again tonight, & said, "Don't change the soap!"

He said he "LOVES" how the soap works for him. Took care of some dry skin issues in his beard, and cleans without making him feel greasy.... exactly what he's looking for in a soap. He would just like the scent to be stronger.

So -- that's why I didn't add anything else during the rebatch... just upped the scent.

Curious to see how this little science experiment turned out. 8)

 

[Guest]

That's one reason soaping appeals to me: science experiments. And also: art experiments.

I'm a bit worried about the amount of water you added. I'll be feverishly awaiting your report. :twisted:

 

[SoapyGal]

Well.... several days later now. Hubby & I disagree on a few points, but the one we both agree on.... the fragrance is a bomb. It smells even less potent now than before I rebatched. I have no idea what that's about.

It still has a way to go to be a hard bar again, but the weird thing is, it's almost a perfect white color now after rebatching it. But I think it will only take another week or two to be completely hard again.

The grain of it is very smooth & almost marble-like, nicer than it was the first time around. I used it to wash my hands, and it had very creamy lather, I liked that, and the lather was very thick. Much better & different than before rebatching it. Personally, when I washed my hands with it, I could smell the scent, & it was ok, just not as strong as I would like. Hubby said that he can now smell a slight whiff of lard in it (it does have some in it), where before he couldn't detect it. I purposely kept the temp down when rebatching, so that I wouldn't burn off the scent when I added it, and so that I wouldn't enhance the lard smell. So, I don't know what happened. He also found that it melted away quickly in the bath, but it isn't finished drying out & hardening, so I think that's to be expected.

All in all, he liked the soap before I rebatched it better than after (without taking the scent issues into consideration). I like the soap better now after rebatching (again - not considering scent issues).

So -- I will never use that scent again.... a total bomb.

Just as a refresher, it was Bergamot & Chamomile FO from MMS.

 

[Guest]

I've just about resigned myself to fragrance being a hit or miss situation the first time you use each new scent or new supplier. Sometimes there's little or no scent so you either try it again at a higher strength or forget it. Or the scent sounds good, smells good OOB but smells horrible in your soap. I've developed a few winners that I'll reorder and a lot longer list of fragrances that didn't work for me. You've got to kiss a lot of frogs to get a few good princes or princesses.