Newbie's first batch, and a question.

[Melrose]

I made some soap! They are so cute! I had an old steel muffin tin in the recycle pile I used as a mold. Lil' peppermint nubbins!

I do have a question though. I have read several books on the subject, and am wondering which is the best way to mix in addatives such as oatmeal, cornmeal, herbs, etc. Some formulas say add it at trace, some say rebatch/hand-mill it in. Any ideas? I have something in mind for a batch a few months down the road, as I am not anywhere near comfortable creating my own recipes yet. I would love some insight and/or a book suggestion to help me understand this. I am still so confused. But dang, this is fun!

 

[IrishLass]

One of my favorite soaps to make is my oatmeal soap. I use baby oatmeal (the dry boxed kind) from the healthfood store, as I found other oatmeals and oat flours just too scratchy for my skin. The baby oatmeal is da bomb for me. I use 1 tablespoon of baby oatmeal per pound of oils, and I stickblend the oatmeal right into my oils before adding my lye solution. It works great and my resulting soap is one of my personal favorites to use. I also add honey and goatmilk to it.

I've never added herbs or cormeal to my soap so I can't say when the perfect time to add them is, but for most things, I like stickblending my additives into my oils either before adding my lye solution, or just after. For things like pumice and salt, however, I hand-stir them in right before I pour.

I don't have any book recommendations, unfortunately. I've read a lot of soaping books, but to be truthful, the best and most up-to-date soaping info (not to mention that it's free) is right here on the net in great soaping forums such as this one.


Welcome to the soaping addiction!


IrishLass

 

[cdwinsby]

i don't know if there is a 'best' time to add things like oatmeal and herbs but I prefer to add mine at a light trace.

It's always worked well.

As for rebatching....not for me. I've done it but don't really like the resulting bars.

I'm a cold process girl at heart.

 

[andreabadgley]

I usually add things like herbs, oats, honey, etc at trace in CP and after the cook in HP. I'm only just starting to play with colors, so I don't know the best way to deal with that.

IrishLass, I like the idea of using the baby oatmeal! I'm with you - the regular oats are often too scratchy for my taste, even if I grind them to nearly a powder. I'm going to have to try your method. Thanks for the tip!

 

[beachgurl]

I agree with the above posts .. the only addition I have is that you don't want to add it at a super light trace .. it'll all sink to the bottom .. and you don't want to do it when it's a super heavy trace .. it's a b*%^ to mix in then. I always do it somewhere in between. Don't ask me how I know