My wine soap is a dud

[Derpina Bubbles]

Finally tested my merlot wine soap tonight. Smells fantastic (BB berry wine FO), but not even a pretence at lather. It was just weird. I used the big 3 oils (olive, palm and coconut) and soap calc tells me it should be lovely and bubbly. So I can only guess it's either the merlot or the amount of mica I threw in. I panicked about the colour when making this one (it went dark brown and yep, I know not to freak next time and go easy) and tossed in anything I could get a red with such as red oxide, the merlot mica, some other oxides and ultramarines blended into a red in a bowl and a dash of Ronald Weasley. Yes, I may have passed recommended levels of colourants.

The soap is nice and creamy but not really sure if it's doing much in the way of cleaning. Afraid of being a festy wench, I swapped out for another soap while in the shower. It just felt that weird. I know soap doesn't absolutely require lather to cleanse but this one should have had lather and I personally prefer it that way.

So, the colours or the wine? Any ideas folks?

 

[kazmi]

I recently made wine soap and mine creates lots of foamy small bubbles. I doubt yours doesn't lather because of the wine since the sugar content should boast bubbles. I've read that some colorants can reduce them but also it could be your recipe. Have you made similar soap (minus the wine) with good results? When using your wine soap is your lather colored (ie over colored)?

 

[Derpina Bubbles]

Well the attempted lather isn't coloured and I've used this base recipe before a heap of times and had great results. Normally a rich, bubbly lather.

I thought wine would make more bubbles like you mentioned. It's all so confusing as to why it's so flat.

 

[yadonm]

Oh Derpina, I feel your pain. Don't use WSP Matte Purple pigment. I used it yesterday in my CP soap and it was the most pathetic brown I've ever seen. I'm glad I didn't drop into my batch.

 

[yadonm]

For more bubbles try Champagne?

 

[cmzaha]

How long has your soap aged? Maybe longer aging will help. Wine soaps do tend to go brown if the wine is added to the lye. I only add enough water to dissolve my lye and add in all other liquids after stirring in the lye. Color change can still happen but usually is not as drastic. You can also add in some boiled down at thin trace. It is strange with all the sugar in wine you don't have lots of bubbles.

 

[Candybee]

I think you were right about the colorants being the culprit. Those oils should have given you lovely lather and I don't think it was the wine either.

 

[MzMolly65]

I'm laying my bet it's the Ronald Weasley!!

 

[Derpina Bubbles]

Oooo checked how "aged" these soaps were and um, about 4 weeks lol. Not exactly Betty White old. I could have sworn I made these a couple of months back *shrugs*. I think it must be the colour fest I threw in because nothing else explains it. Next batch of soap I make I'm going to colour 1 bars worth with extra mica as an experiment (that's the one I was really heavy handed with). Yep MzMolly, I should have left out the Weasley.

 

[soap_rat]

That's a shame, but perhaps it will improve with age? If not, rebatch it, shredding it and putting it in a batch of white wine soap without colorants and everything should even out!

My wine soap is quite bubbly. I use white wine so it only yellows.

 

[Derpina Bubbles]

That's a shame, but perhaps it will improve with age? If not, rebatch it, shredding it and putting it in a batch of white wine soap without colorants and everything should even out!

My wine soap is quite bubbly. I use white wine so it only yellows.

Now that's thinking! I'll give it another 4 weeks and then off with it's head. Really tempted to do it anyway, that sounds so good. I didn't like how these turned out. Thanks!

 

[fuzz-juzz]

This thread got me thinking. I currently have in the shower bar of soap with lard and merlot and gold mica as colourants. This is the first time I used micas in the soap batter as colourants. It's 6 weeks into cure and soap still feels slimy-ish. With much more less bubbles than my other soaps. It is a slightly different recipe, but I have lard as 50% in my uncoloured facial bar and it bubbles up just fine. Mica could be really the bubbles killer.
I hope your soap gets better in the next few weeks, but don't toss it if it doesn't, you can chop it up and use as embeds at least.

 

[Derpina Bubbles]

This thread got me thinking. I currently have in the shower bar of soap with lard and merlot and gold mica as colourants. This is the first time I used micas in the soap batter as colourants. It's 6 weeks into cure and soap still feels slimy-ish. With much more less bubbles than my other soaps. It is a slightly different recipe, but I have lard as 50% in my uncoloured facial bar and it bubbles up just fine. Mica could be really the bubbles killer.
I hope your soap gets better in the next few weeks, but don't toss it if it doesn't, you can chop it up and use as embeds at least.

This was my 1st with mica as a base colourant in CP too. Right, will definitely do a mica experiment. I'm going to make some sake soaps now which is basically wine so will colour up 1 bars worth with mica and try it in a few weeks versus the other bars.

 

[MzMolly65]

ok you guys .. why make wine soap? What's the deal with wine .. or beer for that matter? Besides the name, what's it do for your soap?

 

[fuzz-juzz]

Let us know how it goes.

 

[Obsidian]

This thread got me thinking. I currently have in the shower bar of soap with lard and merlot and gold mica as colourants. This is the first time I used micas in the soap batter as colourants. It's 6 weeks into cure and soap still feels slimy-ish. With much more less bubbles than my other soaps. It is a slightly different recipe, but I have lard as 50% in my uncoloured facial bar and it bubbles up just fine. Mica could be really the bubbles killer.
I hope your soap gets better in the next few weeks, but don't toss it if it doesn't, you can chop it up and use as embeds at least.

How much mica did you use? I have a 2lb batch that is colored with 2.5 tsp of merlot mica and it bubbles just fine.

ok you guys .. why make wine soap? What's the deal with wine .. or beer for that matter? Besides the name, what's it do for your soap?

Part is label appeal and psrt is the sugars helping to increase bubbles. I really haven't noticed anything special about beer soap but I still make it.

 

[fuzz-juzz]

How much mica did you use? I have a 2lb batch that is colored with 2.5 tsp of merlot mica and it bubbles just fine.

Maybe about 1 tsp of each in 1kg batch. I also used a sprinkle of neon yellow with gold mica and same of neon pink with merlot mica. Sounds like the amount you would use normally. I did reduce CO a bit but left castor oil % the same. I don't think lard should influence amount of bubbles. It could be one of those soaping disappointments which can only be blamed on soap gremlins.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

.......... With much more less bubbles than my other soaps. .............

:shock: Much more less? Ow ow ow!

I am tempted to make a mulledwine soap for Christmas time and of course a Bay Rum. In these cases it's label appeal, but will be interesting to see how the water replacement alters the soap.

 

[fuzz-juzz]

Oh, we have a grammar police... nice! Sometimes I type in a hurry and on my mobile. English is not my first language, I'm sorry if it bothers you that much.

 

[Derpina Bubbles]

ok you guys .. why make wine soap? What's the deal with wine .. or beer for that matter? Besides the name, what's it do for your soap?

Um. The cool kids were doing it.

*Seriously, it's meant to bubbly and yeah label appeal and yeah I just like throwing weird things in soap. I would use eye of newt if I could find a supplier.