Oatmeal and honey soap

[SmellyKat]

I vote for partial gel, too, but your soap is fine.

The bars of soap are a brown color. This is because of the honey and oatmeal?? They popped out of the molds nicely.

My GM/oatmeal/honey soaps are always a tan or medium brownish color, which I am sure is because I mix my lye and honey together. It turns my lye water a dark burnt orange color.

[quote:2v3e40aw]Do you guys scent yours or leave it as it is? just curious. If you scent it what do you use?

I scent mine with just a tiny, wee bit of Buttermilk & Honey FO from Daystar (about .2 oz ppo). It's just enough to enhance the natural fragrance from the honey and oats without going overboard.

IrishLass [/quote:2v3e40aw]

I guess it was a partial gel. It is a darker tan in the middle of the bar.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I add my honey to the lye water when it cools down. i find this stops the honey coming through the finished soap in spots.

This is what I do, too. It completely stopped the problem with honey spots that I had been experiencing.

IrishLass

When you say the lye has cooled down, what temp are we talking about?
Mine gets to about 140 degrees and I let it cool down to 100 degrees. Is that "cool" enough to add the honey?? And 1 T ppo of honey is a good measurement?

Just so everyone knows, the other day I waited until my lye was cold to add the honey (so I could see what happens) and the honey wouldn't melt at all. I ended up pulling it out and giving up on that idea.

 

[heyjude]

Good to know, Jenny. Thanks for doing a bit of experimenting for us.

 

[IrishLass]

Jenny, what I do is I hold back a little bit of my water amount and warm it up, then I dissolve my honey in it before adding to my cooled lye solution. Works great.

IrishLass

 

[SudsyKat]

Well, I made my first oatmeal and honey soap this weekend. Thanks to all of your great input, it came out awesome! I didn't scent it because frankly, I didn't have anything good to scent it with. If I make some more, I'll order a honey type of fragrance for it.

I held back a little bit of the water and heated it up (boiled it, not intentionally) in the microwave. I added the honey to the very hot water and it melted perfectly. I then added that to the lye water at about 120 degrees. It turned an awesome color - like blood orange, or a really, really dark tea. And it got very hot, but didn't do anything exciting, like volcanoing or hissing. And it smelled really wonderful right after I added it to the lye water (seems strange because other people here said it smells funky). It had a very strong honey smell, which totally faded. The finished soap looks great and doesn't seem to have any scent. I was hoping maybe just a hint of the honey scent would come through, but it's still a great soap - and I'm such a newbie, that I get excited anytime I get a successful soaping experience.

Incidentally, I gently (not tightly) covered the mold with a thick towel. It didn't seem to be extremely hot, like I thought it might be because of the honey. It was just average hot, like the other soaps I've made, so I decided to insulate it. It gelled fully and looks smooth and uniform (except for the pretty specs of oatmeal). I used old fashioned oatmeal and chopped it fairly fine in the food processor. I added it to the soap at medium-thick trace.

Sorry for all the detail, but in case anyone cares, I noticed that the batch (only a 3 lb batch) didn't seem to be as much as the other 3 lb batches I made. I mean, when I poured it into my slab mold, it seemed like it might be too thin a layer. I just ended up pouring it into a milk-carton mold that I keep handy. It worked surprisingly well and the finished soap looks nice.

Thanks again to all for your wisdom and experience!

 

[SmellyKat]

Well, I made my first oatmeal and honey soap this weekend. Thanks to all of your great input, it came out awesome! I didn't scent it because frankly, I didn't have anything good to scent it with. If I make some more, I'll order a honey type of fragrance for it.

I held back a little bit of the water and heated it up (boiled it, not intentionally) in the microwave. I added the honey to the very hot water and it melted perfectly. I then added that to the lye water at about 120 degrees. It turned an awesome color - like blood orange, or a really, really dark tea. And it got very hot, but didn't do anything exciting, like volcanoing or hissing. And it smelled really wonderful right after I added it to the lye water (seems strange because other people here said it smells funky). It had a very strong honey smell, which totally faded. The finished soap looks great and doesn't seem to have any scent. I was hoping maybe just a hint of the honey scent would come through, but it's still a great soap - and I'm such a newbie, that I get excited anytime I get a successful soaping experience.

Incidentally, I gently (not tightly) covered the mold with a thick towel. It didn't seem to be extremely hot, like I thought it might be because of the honey. It was just average hot, like the other soaps I've made, so I decided to insulate it. It gelled fully and looks smooth and uniform (except for the pretty specs of oatmeal). I used old fashioned oatmeal and chopped it fairly fine in the food processor. I added it to the soap at medium-thick trace.

Sorry for all the detail, but in case anyone cares, I noticed that the batch (only a 3 lb batch) didn't seem to be as much as the other 3 lb batches I made. I mean, when I poured it into my slab mold, it seemed like it might be too thin a layer. I just ended up pouring it into a milk-carton mold that I keep handy. It worked surprisingly well and the finished soap looks nice.

Thanks again to all for your wisdom and experience!

Sudsykat, your soap sounds like it turned out perfect!! Way to go!!
I too am a "noob" soapmaker and love making it and even more happier when it turns out nicely!! haha

 

[peteyfoozer]

Give it a couple days. All of my honey soaps wind up smelling like honey in the end. Gel or no gel.

 

[SudsyKat]

Yes, it's true - I didn't scent the oatmeal and honey soap and yet it's starting to have a nice honey smell.

I have a question for whoever - I noticed a thin white layer on top of the soap, but when I hear the term "ash", I think of it literally - like a powdery covering. This is not what I have. It's just the same consistency as the rest of the soap, but it's white, while the rest of the soap is a tan color. Is this ash? How can I tell for sure?

Thanks!

 

[soapbuddy]

Yes, it's true - I didn't scent the oatmeal and honey soap and yet it's starting to have a nice honey smell.

I have a question for whoever - I noticed a thin white layer on top of the soap, but when I hear the term "ash", I think of it literally - like a powdery covering. This is not what I have. It's just the same consistency as the rest of the soap, but it's white, while the rest of the soap is a tan color. Is this ash? How can I tell for sure?

Thanks!

Does the white rub off or is it deeper in the bar?

 

[SudsyKat]

Sorry for the delayed response - no, the white doesn't rub off. It's a very thin layer, and it's only on top, but it seems to be part of the soap.

 

[soapbuddy]

Sorry for the delayed response - no, the white doesn't rub off. It's a very thin layer, and it's only on top, but it seems to be part of the soap.

You said that you used a milk carton, correct? Could it be some of the wax coating that melted into the top of your soap from the carton?

 

[SudsyKat]

Very good question. Maybe so. I've decided I'll probably just wait until the soap cures and if the white layer causes a problem, I'll cut it off. Thanks so much for your input.

I am curious, though, for those who've experienced a layer of ash - what's it like? Is it literally like ash, that you can easily brush off?

Thanks!

 

[dubnica]

I had something similar on my soap and I think its oxidation or something....I had some bars white on sides but noce in the middle. Last time I made little soap for kids and they were nice light blue one day and the next they were all white. I don't know...ash or some kind of color oxidation.....

 

[Soaplady22]

The occasional "ash" that I get does not brush off. I think that's what people are talking about - some FOs cause it. And I guess there's other reasons, but I haven't been able to pin down the culprit.