OK, here goes!

[Jean]

Thanks to Faithy and Paul, I am attempting my first batch of RTCP, using Faithy's version of my recipe. My lye is in the works, and all my oils are mixed. Right now the oils look like tapioca pudding. I whipped the mixture with my hand-held mixer and there are still some coconut oil not liquified. Now, do I make sure all those little hunks of CO are melted in to the mixture?
I'll keep you posted!
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[Jean]

oops! I tried to insert a smiley face, it didn't work!

 

[seaysoap]

I made my first batch of it a couple of weeks ago. Seems the eo hold up better than they do when I mix at 110-120. I will be making another batch tonight myself before work. I does seem to thicken up fast and trace in about a min. with a hand held mixer.

 

[Guest]

Whooooo Hooooooo


Yes I describe it as a slurry.......

Are you using a hand blender or a stick blender?
But if you whip it long enough the chunks should become very very small even with a hand blender. I've only used a hand blender with liquid soap when my stick blender broke in the middle of the process but all my oils were also melted at the time.

 

[Jean]

Faithy, I used a hand mixer to whip up all my oils. Then I used the stick blender when I incorporated the oils and lye. It looks good this morning. I mentioned on another thread that I will take post pictures later today, whether it turns out good or bad! Jean

 

[Soapmaker Man]

Jean, I melt all my oils under heat to liquify, then just store in a big laundry jug, the ones with a pour spout, the master batch recipe. It cools to room temperatures, then I just shake the jug to make sure everything is mixed up and then measure out how many ounces of oil I need for my mold. It is super fast and the process works flawlessly. I get full gel every time in my wood TOG molds with the top on. Let me know how it turns out and love pics!

Paul

 

[Jean]

I promised that I would post a picture, good or bad. Well this is not what I had anticipated. I think my soap was too thick when I piped in the contrasting color. I am going to try it again today. I think I will have to get my ingredients a bit warmer so it won't trace so fast. I am satisified with everything regarding the RT soap method, just going to have to work on my swirls.

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[seaysoap]

that soap looks great, I wish all of mine looked that good. I had a batch of RTCP that didn't harden this weekend. I don't think I let my oil and lye come to RT. I got to big of a hurry. The good thing is another batch I did turned out great.

 

[Guest]

Looks Good Jean !!!

But it's also a learning process. Since there are so many variables, it takes time and experience to learn to judge what your doing based on looks and feel rather than 'time' etc.....

But your on the right path and it's only going to get better with experience.

 

[Jean]

Thanks for the compliments. Acutally, I rebatched this soap yesteday, I stuck it in the freezer but have not unmolded it yet. I had to add quiet a bit of water to it, it was thick as paste or worse, when I was melting it down in the oven. I had my oven on 200 and it was in there for about an hour and a half. I figured it evaporated all the water I had in the soap, that is why I added more water. It was the consistency of thick oatmeal by the time I finally decided to put it in the mold. It did turn out to be a pretty color, and I think it is going to make a pretty soap now.
I hope I'm not wearing out my welcome but I have a question. My house must be a lot cooler than most houses because my oils and lye at room temp. were only about 72. My soap would start to trace extremely quickly, and you don't hardly have time to dip out the soap you want to color and swirl with. Actually, I made another batch yesterday and I warmed up both lye and oils to about 100 and this gave me more time to swirl. My swirls were a lot better this time. I'll post pic of it if you would like to see it. Jean

 

[Guest]

I always soap at room temp but I don't masterbatch per say. I am always adding new things to my soap and tweaking my recipe. I do have a few recipes that I use over and over again and I will materbatch those. This winter I had to warm the oils again on several occasions. The cold weather made it hard to get them mixed again once they separated. Regardless - I always let my oils cool down to room temp - same with my lye mixture.

Another time saving tip is to weigh out your oils when you get them in if you can. I weigh out what I usually use in my recipes and put them into baggies. for example - I almost always add about 4 ounces of castor per 3 lb recipe. I weigh it all out in baggies and close them up. They are ready to go when I need them.

 

[Jean]

Thanks Marr

Do you put your oils that are in liquid form in a baggy as well as the solid oils?

 

[Guest]

Yes - I do. You really have to run your fingers down the bag to get the oil out but it is worth it. Containers with lids work great too and would save in plastic waste. You could run a spatula over it to get all the oils out easier.