Realized this morning that I hadn’t properly introduced myself.
I’m The Gecko; all-knowing all-seeing...or dumber than a box a rocks and blind as a bat depending on the day of the week.
I’m on the dark side of 50 with only a hop and skip left to 60 (I don’t jump anymore...or run, unless there is chocolate, preferably dark with some caramel). Married, hubby and I have five children between us, two grandchildren and a third on the way, and two cats that hired us last year (we have yet to receive a paycheck from them). Hubby is retired due to disability and I work full-time as an accountant.
Okay...the soap thing. I took a soap making class several years with the intent to make goat milk soap. I had been buying it for years from this one gal, but then she retired and the gal who took her place only makes five soaps (she really likes oatmeal) and that’s it. But then hubby became disabled and money was tight for several years, so I set the thought aside.
Then at the beginning of this year, I ran across a YouTube video on someone making soap and I started neglecting my knitting. I sat in the evening watching video after video after video and taking notes...saponification, super fat, hard oils, ITP, Lauric acid, and so on and so forth. And I started collecting recipes, but the majority of them didn’t make sense until I found a tutorial on SoapCalc. Then I started entering the recipes and making notes on the differences between the ingredients and amounts thereof and how they related to each other. I looked at the various processes of soap making and even the history of soap making.
It was the history and subsequent research into modern soaps that led me to consider soap making as more than just a hobby. I discussed my idea with my husband, did some more research, wrote a 5-year business plan, ordered the Beginner’s CP Kit from BrambleBerry and then headed down the rabbit hole. But I didn’t far. Not only did the amount Macadamia Nut Oil not really add all that much to my soap, it didn’t fit with the brand I was trying to create.
So here I am. I don’t view failures as failures, but as opportunities to learn...and I have learned a lot:
- If you are going to ‘master batch’ do it with only one recipe instead of three; that way you won’t put your ‘2 lb’ lye solution in your 1 lb batch. I put it in the middle of my driveway because I thought it might catch on fire...it was that hot.
- Double-check your measurements...there is a big difference between 2 teaspoons and 2 tablespoons of Titanium Dioxide and it should be dispersed in water (or oil), not added dry. Soap was a gorgeous white...and shattered when I cut into it.
- Heavy-duty white plastic molds need to be lined. I had never seen anyone use one before so I thought they were like the clear acrylic molds. Hubby had to chip the soap out out of the mold; it might not have been so bad if it didn’t have two tablespoons of dry TD in it (yes, I made two batches).
- Double-check all new ingredients before you use them. By the time I used the Pearberry FO, I had forgotten that it accelerates...badly. I went from a beautifully colored light trace to concrete with a single pulse. I tried chipping the mess out of the bowl, but only succeeded in punching a hole in it. My second batch turned out much better.
- No reviews doesn’t mean no problems. I wanted to make a ‘lemon’ soap with a Lemon EO (BB) and Lemon Sherbet Mica (RE). Double-checked everything; oils and lye is at room temp, mica is properly dispersed in batch oils, EO is measured and ready to go. Add lye solution to oils and blend to light trace, stir in color and give it a couple quick pulses, and add in EO and stir and...what the heck?!? My soap is turning ORANGE!!! I wanted to cry, but I finished up and put it to bed in the garage. Several hours later I went to show hubby my ‘failure’ and OMG...it’s yellow! I now only make 1 lb batches when using a new color or scent.
- Despite all my research into making Goat Milk Soap, I somehow missed that its’s a good idea to refrigerate it. Instead I covered and insulated it. When I checked on it the next morning, I noticed the top looked a little rough, but figured I could trim it off. Then I turned the mold over and noticed some excess oil. Okay. Cut off a small slice, it was clean, tested it...it was soap. It was my first post here. Subsequent batches of GMS have turned out beautifully.
I continue to research and watch videos...always something new to learn, and it doesn’t to review old materials with a better understanding.
I’m The Gecko; all-knowing all-seeing...or dumber than a box a rocks and blind as a bat depending on the day of the week.
I’m on the dark side of 50 with only a hop and skip left to 60 (I don’t jump anymore...or run, unless there is chocolate, preferably dark with some caramel). Married, hubby and I have five children between us, two grandchildren and a third on the way, and two cats that hired us last year (we have yet to receive a paycheck from them). Hubby is retired due to disability and I work full-time as an accountant.
Okay...the soap thing. I took a soap making class several years with the intent to make goat milk soap. I had been buying it for years from this one gal, but then she retired and the gal who took her place only makes five soaps (she really likes oatmeal) and that’s it. But then hubby became disabled and money was tight for several years, so I set the thought aside.
Then at the beginning of this year, I ran across a YouTube video on someone making soap and I started neglecting my knitting. I sat in the evening watching video after video after video and taking notes...saponification, super fat, hard oils, ITP, Lauric acid, and so on and so forth. And I started collecting recipes, but the majority of them didn’t make sense until I found a tutorial on SoapCalc. Then I started entering the recipes and making notes on the differences between the ingredients and amounts thereof and how they related to each other. I looked at the various processes of soap making and even the history of soap making.
It was the history and subsequent research into modern soaps that led me to consider soap making as more than just a hobby. I discussed my idea with my husband, did some more research, wrote a 5-year business plan, ordered the Beginner’s CP Kit from BrambleBerry and then headed down the rabbit hole. But I didn’t far. Not only did the amount Macadamia Nut Oil not really add all that much to my soap, it didn’t fit with the brand I was trying to create.
So here I am. I don’t view failures as failures, but as opportunities to learn...and I have learned a lot:
- If you are going to ‘master batch’ do it with only one recipe instead of three; that way you won’t put your ‘2 lb’ lye solution in your 1 lb batch. I put it in the middle of my driveway because I thought it might catch on fire...it was that hot.
- Double-check your measurements...there is a big difference between 2 teaspoons and 2 tablespoons of Titanium Dioxide and it should be dispersed in water (or oil), not added dry. Soap was a gorgeous white...and shattered when I cut into it.
- Heavy-duty white plastic molds need to be lined. I had never seen anyone use one before so I thought they were like the clear acrylic molds. Hubby had to chip the soap out out of the mold; it might not have been so bad if it didn’t have two tablespoons of dry TD in it (yes, I made two batches).
- Double-check all new ingredients before you use them. By the time I used the Pearberry FO, I had forgotten that it accelerates...badly. I went from a beautifully colored light trace to concrete with a single pulse. I tried chipping the mess out of the bowl, but only succeeded in punching a hole in it. My second batch turned out much better.
- No reviews doesn’t mean no problems. I wanted to make a ‘lemon’ soap with a Lemon EO (BB) and Lemon Sherbet Mica (RE). Double-checked everything; oils and lye is at room temp, mica is properly dispersed in batch oils, EO is measured and ready to go. Add lye solution to oils and blend to light trace, stir in color and give it a couple quick pulses, and add in EO and stir and...what the heck?!? My soap is turning ORANGE!!! I wanted to cry, but I finished up and put it to bed in the garage. Several hours later I went to show hubby my ‘failure’ and OMG...it’s yellow! I now only make 1 lb batches when using a new color or scent.
- Despite all my research into making Goat Milk Soap, I somehow missed that its’s a good idea to refrigerate it. Instead I covered and insulated it. When I checked on it the next morning, I noticed the top looked a little rough, but figured I could trim it off. Then I turned the mold over and noticed some excess oil. Okay. Cut off a small slice, it was clean, tested it...it was soap. It was my first post here. Subsequent batches of GMS have turned out beautifully.
I continue to research and watch videos...always something new to learn, and it doesn’t to review old materials with a better understanding.
