My first soaps are failures, but...

[kikajess]

I'm not ashamed of failures. I've learned a lot from them!

I poured my very first batch of CP soap less than a week ago. I haven't had much success yet, but I love this experimental phase. I've only used EOs for scent, I tried to use sage powder for color a few times, but I haven't tried any other additives yet. I hope to get creative with colorful swirls and beneficial additives someday, but for now I will be ecstatic with a high quality bar of simple soap. Here are my soaps so far:

Batch #1:
Good: nice density, sliced nicely
Bad: too stinky (kind of smells like gasoline or something of that nature), too yellow (reminds me of puss, ew), traced very quickly and thickly-did not pour, too many wierd spots

What I learned:
1. Unrefined virgin palm kernel oil stinks and it is dark
2. Wheat germ oil is dark
3. Do not overuse tea tree oil - Pee Yoo!!!
4. Maybe tea tree oil and patchouli don't mix

Batch #2:
Good: nice bright color, shiny, hard, perfect clean-soap scent
Bad: too brittle, too airy, traced too quickly

(I embedded chunks of batch #1 in this to try to mask the smell of Batch #1. It kind of worked.)
What I learned:
1. Maybe not enough water
2. Maybe too much lye
3. Maybe too much sage powder
4. Maybe didn't mix at the right temperature

Batch #3:
Good: nice color, nice scent (I used lavender EO), took longer to trace
Bad: too cakey, didn't slice well

What I learned:
1. Maybe my scale was off? Kind of scratching my head.

Batches #4 & #5: will be unmolded tomorrow. I wonder what I will learn from them...?

 

[Relle]

No photos posted. You will have to try to attach them again.

 

[TVivian]

I can't see the photos either but I agree about the tea tree "pee yoo" haha!


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[kikajess]

Hmm...Ok. Are the pictures showing now?

 

[eyeroll]

I can see them. I actually really like your first batch. I'm sorry you don't like the tea tree EO, but it looks lovely.

Your third batch may harden up. How long after making did you cut.


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[judymoody]

Congrats on your first batches!

Where did you find unrefined palm kernel oil? I've used unrefined virgin palm and it is bright orange and has an odor I don't particularly like. But virgin PKO, I've not seen.

Your first batch looks fine. The spots may be stearic spots from your palm oil which are harmless and have to do with soaping temperatures. However, you should probably zap test the spots to make sure they aren't lye crystals. I also notice you have a little bit of ash on the cut surface of your soap which can happen when you cut too soon.

Second batch - how much lye/water did you use?

Third batch - I think your soap probably didn't gel and you cut too soon. Also depending on the amount of water you are using, there might be room to reduce your water amount and your soap will be ready to cut sooner.

Sodium lactate at 1-2% of oil weight can also firm up your soap.

Thanks for sharing. I learn a lot from batches that don't turn out perfectly too!

 

[kikajess]

Hi, eyeroll! The first batch is slowly growing on me. The smell is mellowing out a bit. I've been waiting a full 24 hrs or longer before unmolding and cutting these bars. I'm about to slice up Batch #4 right now!

 

[kikajess]

Hi, Judy! I found the pko here: http://www.aromaticsinternational.com/organic-palm-kernel-oil
I like how this company is aware of the orangutan plight in relation to palm oils. This PKO comes out of Togo, West Africa where they claim orangutans do not live. But it has a strong peanut-buttery odor. Not too unpleasant, really, just strong.

Good idea to zap test the first batch directly on the spots. Good call! I waited 24 hrs to unmold and cut it.

Second batch I used a water/lye ratio of 2.695:1. But the scale I was using turned out to be off. I think it caused some problems.

Third batch I waited 24 hrs again before unmolding and cutting. I think it is a problem with the scale, again.

Sodium lactate sounds like something I want to try. I like the feel of a really firm bar.

Thank you so much for all these great tips!

 

[dixiedragon]

What kind of scale are you using? Bed Bath and Beyond has nice scales, and you can get 20% off with those coupons they send in the mail.

I'm glad you are having fun.

I like Tea Tree oil, but it is pretty mediciny-smelling. Maybe try adding some lavender to the tea tree and patchouli? both of those are SO STRONG that I think the lavender really helps to soften and lighten them.

 

[judymoody]

Thanks for the reference on the PKO.

You can get a reliable digital scale which measures in grams from a variety of vendors, including Amazon, for about $20.

Did you formulate a different recipe for each batch or are you using recipes from books/internet? Which lye calculator are you using?

 

[kikajess]

I've been using a shipping scale, which only measures in increments of .005 and .000 lbs. So, if the recipe called for .221 lb of water, I'd go with .220 lbs. Or if it called for .653 lbs of oil, I'd put in .655 lbs.

I got my nice precise kitchen scale out of storage yesterday. Batch #5 was measured with it. No rounding amounts up or down at all. I will be unmolding that this afternoon.

I'm using soapcalc.net for my recipes. Since batch #2, I have been tweaking that same recipe slightly each time:
Olive Oil 39%
Coconut Oil, 76 deg 29%
Shea Butter 13%
Palm Oil 11%
Castor Oil 8%

My first batch used olive, coconut, pko, wheat germ, and castor, but I don't care for the darkness of some of those oils. But it's seeming like my first batch is the best one! Hehe, crazy.

 

[kikajess]

Soooo....batches #4 and #5 turned out similar to #3, but worse. 24 hours after pouring, they stuck to the mold and were very soft. But they sliced nicely. They smelled kind of like lard, though, even though I only used plant-based oils. I think they didn't gel. I don't know enough about gelling to know for sure, though, but I think it's a pretty good guess at the problem.

Anyway, I grated them up last night while watching The Voice and made my first rebatch with them. I think it's going to be a decent rebatch of soap, though. It smelled really good. And I hanger-swirled it - my first swirling attempt. I can't wait much longer to slice it!

 

[houseofwool]

Don't cut yet! If you aren't gelling and are using full water, I've had to wait nearly a week to be able to cut.


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[kerry100]

Laffin ... you dont waste much time girl !! hehehe

you just stuck right on in .... ive been plastering about for 6 months .. humminmg and ha'ing .... reading and watching ... bla bla bla ..

Cant help but admire your enthusiasm

much love

kerry