My First Soap - Please Critique

[neeners]

exciting! congrats on your first CP soap! it looks really good. can't wait for cut pictures.

i'm no experienced soaper (about 10 batches under my belt), but can you get a hold of butters? like shea butter or cocoa butter? they can help harden bar. I use those as I have a hard time finding lard where I live....

 

[dixiedragon]

If you have a Fred's Discount Pharmacy in your area, you may be able to find cocoa butter there. Weird, I know. The brand is Queen Helene's and it comes in a round stick. It's about $2 for an ounce, or so. You will see lots of jars of stuff that contain cocoa butter, but only the stick is 100% cocoa butter.

 

[neeners]

I also saw a recipe recently on The Sage called Chocolate Soap that used good quality un-sweetened chocolate bar as part of the oils base. that could be an interesting option......

 

[Soapy J]

Alright. So my first soap ever has been taken out of the mold, cut, Zapped and set to cure. I had some difficulty taking it out of the mold. I used wax paper as a lining and instead of coming right out the paper tore. I turned it upside down, gave it an encouraging bump and out it came. I didn't do the greatest job lining this soap so I'll need to figure something else out next time. I used a 6" putty knife to cut which didn't give me any issues. A few observations... The soap seemed sticky the closer to the middle I got. It also has some discoloration in a swirling pattern in the middle as well (possibly due to partial gel?). I think the darker swirls actually look kind of cool but would love some feedback on that.

Pictures are attached. I did kind of scratch my head on the discoloration of the mold after I took the soap out. Any ideas? Thanks for all of the feedback. It's been much appreciated and the ideas are great. BTW, using chocolate in soap sounds pretty interesting but it may not make it in the right bowl

J

 

[kazmi]

I've never used a metal mold before but have read that it will react to soap/lye. It looks like that may be what happened. If you can get to a Walmart, or Target, Michaels or someplace in your area that you can find a silicone mold for baking I would suggest that.

 

[CaraBou]

It looks like a nice recipe and I bet you'll love the soap!

 

[neeners]

looks good! looks like my first batch (something not super pretty, but hey...it's YOUR FIRST SOAP! how exciting is that??)

i'm not sure about the discolouration, but maybe next time find a leftover cardboard box of sorts (shoe box, reinforced tissue box, etc)? I line mine with parchment, and some line with freezer paper. makes it easier to come out.

 

[JessieD]

That looks great! Good job!! The swirls definitely add some interest. I've seen partial gel photos before and they don't look like those swirls. Again…I've seen photos. Lol. I don't have the experience to say that they are or aren't from a partial gel. I agree that they are cool though.

I also agree that the discolouration is probably from the lye. I read to put saran wrap in your mould first and then the parchment paper just in case you have some leaks. That's what I've been doing…but I'm not using a metal mould either. I hope you weren't wanting to use the loaf pan for food again…I don't think that's an option now :sad:

 

[Soapy J]

Even though I know nothing changed from last night to this morning I had to take a peak anyways just to check up on them. My wife thinks this is all hilarious btw but will enjoy the soap I'm sure.

Definitely won't be using any soaping items for food preparation. I've got some PVC laying around and will probably use that as a mold for the next batch. What I've collected so far for mold use are small boxes (postal/velveeta), the cheap bread pan and PVC pipe. Right now I'm just trying to figure out what EO to try first. Will probably keep same recipe for now since it wasn't the hardest to work with and didn't zap my tongue, plus I have all of the oils still for at least four - five more pounds. I've also thought about HP'ing the next batch but haven't decided if I want to waste my oils on it unless you guys think it's worth the try/experience!

 

[neeners]

cool! with the PVC pipe, people don't really line it, but I line mine. makes it easier to take out (no need for bashing it around).

I check on mine everyday! so don't feel weird about that at all! lol

 

[Skatergirl46]

The discoloration is from the lye reacting with the aluminum. I have seen this before (my husband used oven cleaner on an aluminum pan).
Your soap looks good! Were you able to get the hearts out of the molds? I noticed that they were plastic, and those can be a pain sometimes.

 

[Soapy J]

The discoloration is from the lye reacting with the aluminum. I have seen this before (my husband used oven cleaner on an aluminum pan).
Your soap looks good! Were you able to get the hearts out of the molds? I noticed that they were plastic, and those can be a pain sometimes.

Well... I put the heart molds in the freezer and no luck... I may try heating the outside next as soon as I get them out of the freezer... Have definitely learned a valuable lesson on this one. Unlike melt and pour, CP doesn't just pop right out!

On the reaction, I'm assuming the soap is still useable?

 

[Soapy J]

Well... I put the heart molds in the freezer and no luck... I may try heating the outside next as soon as I get them out of the freezer... Have definitely learned a valuable lesson on this one. Unlike melt and pour, CP doesn't just pop right out!

On the reaction, I'm assuming the soap is still useable?

Checking back in a week later. Soaps are whitening up more around the edges. No longer mushy and beginning to harden. I was able to get the hearts out of the plastic molds after leaving them in the freezer this week. I slid a thin knife around the edges and they popped right out. I'm still R&D'ing my next batch. I'm thinking an EO mint and eucalyptus bar adding cocoa butter to my original recipe. Will keep you updated with lather pictures next week at week2!

 

[judymoody]

Freezer paper works much better than waxed or parchment paper for lining molds, for next time.

Congrats on your soap!

 

[kikajess]

Thank you for keeping us updated on your progress. I'm going through this new soapmaking experience alone, except for all of the people on this forum. Seeing what you're doing is like having people to learn with so it doesn't feel alone at all!

I'm all for trying as many different techniques as possible. Definitely try HP sometime. I hear people love it! Yesterday I did two firsts: lined a mold with freezer paper and tried to prevent a batch from gelling by sticking it in the freezer rather than insulate it. There are so many different techniques to learn, we will be experiencing a lot of firsts for a long time.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading about what happens next with your soap adventures!

 

[Soapy J]

Thank you for keeping us updated on your progress. I'm going through this new soapmaking experience alone, except for all of the people on this forum. Seeing what you're doing is like having people to learn with so it doesn't feel alone at all!

I'm all for trying as many different techniques as possible. Definitely try HP sometime. I hear people love it! Yesterday I did two firsts: lined a mold with freezer paper and tried to prevent a batch from gelling by sticking it in the freezer rather than insulate it. There are so many different techniques to learn, we will be experiencing a lot of firsts for a long time.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading about what happens next with your soap adventures!

Thanks for following along. Its definitely an interesting process. Just when I thought I was ready to make that first batch I quickly found out there were so many of the nuiances I had overlooked. Thank goodness for the generous people here on the forum.

Researching in preparation for my next batch has become somewhat of an obsession of mine at this point although it may be until the new year before I make another one. I'd like to give this one plenty of use and time before I modify the recipe and start adding/taking away. This will also give time for those gift cards I typically request to start rolling in I'm sure they'll look at me like I've lost my mind when I tell them to get Brambleberry gift cards instead of Bass Pro!!!

 

[Soapy J]

Alright guys. Was out of town this weekend so the lather test was a little delayed. I did a quick YouTube video you can see it lather up here [ame]http://youtu.be/L21144IWHtw[/ame] I used one from the heart molds that was all the left over at the end instead of the cut bars. IMO it lathered up good and I think I'll get my dry hands wife to give it a go tonight! Still haven't made another batch but already have one holiday gift card to burn through and a couple of new molds made! Everyone have a great Thanksgiving week!

 

[Soapy J]

Just a quick observation after three days of use. Still under the 3 week mark, this particular recipe combined with the winter weather (on the east coast and we're getting hammered with cold winter weather) may not be the greatest for my skin. Leaves me feeling a little dry compared to my off the shelf soap. I've used it in the shower the last two days and have noticed a difference. Could this be related to curing time as well? Initially I'm going with no and it's more the recipe...

 

[neeners]

for the drying, it could be recipe or it could be time for cure. soaps get milder the older they get (kind of like how wine gets better as it ages type thing). so b/c it's just been 3 weeks, it could be still a little harsh for the body. I can never wait for full cure to try my soaps, but I'm aware that it will be slightly harsher the younger it is. options for you is use it as a hand soap during the winter and wait a little longer before trying in the shower again, or you can make another batch of soap with more conditioning oils (or look for recipe for sensitive skin oils), and lower your CO way down (that can be drying).

 

[Soapy J]

I've thought about going the lard route to decrease my CO and add hardness to the bar but I'm trying to stay all veggie just in case down the road anybody I gift soap too has an aversion to animal products. Sustainable Palm isn't available in stores here so I'll have to get that online if I decide to go that route... Oh the decisions in planning for batch2...

Questions I'm currently tackling: how do I spend a limited budget wisely, what basic FO's should I start with that won't go crazy as soon as I add them to my batch, what kind of mold do I want to invest in and should I go ahead and get a good wire cutter instead of my putty knife. The decisions!

(BTW: These are the vain of my nightly research and if anyone has suggested resources fire away! I watch a ton of youtube, read as much through google search and or course browse daily on here.)