Oven Process - a first for me

[Guest]

I just made my first batch of oven process soap - sorta like crock pot but in the pot in the oven. I have no idea if I reached the right stage so did the zap test and it didn't zap.
I feel like the clever self today. Used a box as the mold, used another box top as a divider and made 2 different batches with one base. One is a crafter choice white tea and ginger scent and a coral mica powder swirl. The other is London for men with a liquid ultramarine purple swirl.

I learned a few things:
Oven process takes twice as long as I budgeted my time for. Please, Lord, forgive me for missing services today.

If I need to eyeball half a recipe, I shoudln't. I did the London for men first as the flash point (another lesson) is higher than the ginger scent. I thought it looked like half. It wasn't. I didn't fill half of the mold.

If you have extra HP soap that needs to be in the mold quickly, it is better to have a prepared mold. Sigh

It seems to me that you need less color with the mica powders to get a deep color than with the liquid ultramarine.

When using a cardboard box top as a divider, hold it down for a bit until the soap sets up to avoid seepage under the bottom of the mold; alternately, line the mold differently, so that the parchment paper goes on the bottom, over the divider and on the bottom of the other side.

Pay attention to the flash point and maybe the fumes given off wont make your head spin.

Nancy-something-or-other has videos I find totally hilarious when I youtube videos on soap making. It seems so real. She starts a video and you watch the whole thing while she makes mistakes, has skill saws with tape on the wire, cuts boards off her kitchen table, can't find her drill. She is so much like me it has my husband laughing uproariously - when I find one I will really share. Sometimes it is so close to home it hurts. I wish I had bookmarked her cause I am not even sure if her name is right.

 

[Bean13]

Did you take pics?

I have not tried OP yet. But that day will come. I'm thrilled for you that it turned out.

The YouTuber's name is Nancy Today. She makes me laugh to and seems very very kind. But the clutter makes me cringe. Oh well I don't have to watch but I kept going back. LOL

 

[Elly]

I've never tried OP soap, love to see pics if you took any, intrigued to see the beautiful colours you describe, I bet the soaps look gorgeous. I love Nancy Today she is so funny it is really fun to watch her videos, I can relate to her sometimes with boxes and bottles and oils etc all over the place

 

[Bama]

Thank you for sharing about Nancy today. I had to go watch a few and love those videos.

 

[Guest]

Yes, I actually found a video of hers last year and sent it to people because she reminds me of a caricature of myself. Then I forgot about her and enjoyed watching some of her videos while I wated for the Oven Process soap to cook.
Here is the pic of my first soaps-colored and done OP
The batch in the cardboard box, still in the get stage, is a CPHP soap. Same recipe. I will see if there is a difference in the texture, etc.

[/img]

 

[Bean13]

Oh what a beautiful job you did. Is there a scent? What are those round things on the right side of the box?

 

[Guest]

I was thinking of starting a thread "I am so cheap I have done x ". Those round things are upsidedown mugs acting as spacers for my cardboardbox loaf pan. I even reuse the parchment paper a few times.

 

[Bean13]

Oh yeah. I see now. I thought the mold was much bigger then that. LOL Thought they were upside down cake pans or something or beveled edge round soap. LOL

You should start a thread on the cheap things we use. Soaping can get so expensive. I would visit the thread time and time again. Probably should even be a Sticky. LOL

 

[Zhuliya]

I just finished my very first batch of OP soap... fingers crossed, I wasn't quite sure of when the soap is ready to be poured on the molds, I suppose in a few hours I'll see if I got it right....

 

[rubyslippers]

Beautiful soap fffrannie! I think you did a great job.

 

[dubnica]

yes, great job, it looks good.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the compliments. It is always a good motivator. I think the OP soap came out whiter - don't know why...... I may try that again. The texture of both seem to be pretty good.
Zhul, you will have to let me know how you did......
Fran

 

[Zhuliya]

Here's my first ever OP soap... actually, I love the fact that I can try it right away, and that I could colour it with food colouring (which I find easily and is unexpensive here) without getting some weird or ugly change after the cure.

It also smells great of lemon!!!

Here it is:

The only two problems are:
- it doesn't bubble much, I don't know whether that's because it still needs to cure for a few weeks, or because I didn't use coconut oil;
- I couldn't avoid some air bubbles here and there (as you can see). Nothing major, but it still ruins the overall look of the soap.

Btw, frecklefacedfrannie did you try yours? How is it?

 

[Bubbles Galore]

That looks really good and with swirls ... bonus. :wink:

 

[Guest]

Zhuliya,
Your soap looks pretty. Maybe post your recipe and people can tell you why id does not bubble. It looks pretty though. I like the food coloring. I have not tried that but am encouraged by your experience Let me know if it discolors your rag or leaves stains.
Fran

 

[Zhuliya]

Zhuliya,
Maybe post your recipe and people can tell you why id does not bubble. It looks pretty though.
Fran

Thanks for your comments Fran, here's the recipe:

80% olive oil
10% cow milk butter
7% rice oil
3% linseed oil

I used a 5% lye discount, and I included the rice and linseed oils AFTER I took the soap out of the oven (to avoid all the vitamins and minerals to be killed by the heat).
I know, probably I don't get many bubbles because I didn't use coconut oil, but unfortunately I run out of it, and I still haven't found a retailer with a fair price for it, so I just tried without it!

 

[Guest]

Zhul,
Start a new thread. Than maybe the right people will see it. Soapcalc will help you to understand how much bubble oils will give, but I still don't get how to figure out the superfat or the fact that the milk will help with lather....

 

[Elly]

Fran your soaps look great nice swirls, did you find it hard to swirls HP soap? I find it very tricky and hard to handle, think I need to practice a bit more, your soaps look very smooth congrats!!!

Zhuliya I love the colour of your soap, please let us know if it stains. I have a suggestion for bubbles if you don't have CO next time try some sugar into the lye water, sugar is a bubbles booster. I am not an expert but I think that adding 10% of your oils after saponification has been completed as is the case of HP could give you a soap that is lye heavy, I could be wrong maybe one of the experts can comment in regards to this issue, if not start a new thread it will be interesting to find out :wink:

 

[Guest]

I don't know if I am doing it wrong, but it is working. I put the soap to be colored into a pyrex measuring cup - (one of those big 8 cup ones). Since it is winter here the soap dries on the sides by the time I finish mixing my color and I was frustrated. So I popped the color mix into the microwave for about 15 secs. It starts to bubble on the sides. I stir it up and then pop back into the base pot and swirl in the pot.
It works for me
The colored soap is more runny than when I color and pop it back and it swirls more easily
My thought is that the soap in the pot is staying hot while the colored soap is cooling down more quickly. Why not bring them to a closer temp????
Fran

 

[Elly]

wow that's clever warming it up in the microwave then putting it back in the hot soap. I might try it I see how it comes out, yours look great, hope I get same results. Thanks so much for replying :wink: