Programmer/Web Designer turned soaper?

[drunkonlife]

Hi all,

My name Leo and I have decided to make the leap into soaping. Been researching (carefully) soaping for about a month now and have recently bought all the necessary materials (scale, stainless steel pot, lab glasses, silicone whisks and spatulas, hand blender, oils, lye, etc.).

I'm really drawn to soaping because of the artistry that comes with it. I bought two 5 pound molds and am thinking now that my excitement may have made me a little too excited (haha) and was wondering what a proper mold would be for testing soaping recipes.

Thanks a lot for any advice and I look forward to being a regular here.

Leo di Milo

 

[toxikon]

Welcome welcome! I'm a game artist/graphic designer and soapmaking is such a fun creative outlet.

Most folks recommend your starting batches be between 500g - 1lbs of oil. You can definitely use your big molds, but just fill them up to the halfway point. Making small batches is definitely beneficial if things go wrong - it also lets you fiddle with your recipes and find out what you like without ending up with a dozen pounds of soap!

 

[SaltedFig]

Hi Leo,

Off to a flying start - addicted to soaping before the first batch - love it! :mrgreen:

You're in good company here, there's plenty of computing people, lots of experience and a bunch of nice folk.

On containers for testing, almost anything will do (even a milk carton or lined cardboard box). If you decide to use plastic, it will need to be #2 or #5 (on the bottom) to resist the caustic soap batter, and never EVER use aluminium (it will dissolve in a slow plume of toxic smoke).

 

[dibbles]

Welcome Leo :bunny: I have this mold https://www.brambleberry.com/4-Silicone-Loaf-Mold-P5531.aspx and find it works well for small batches. If you aren't opposed to lining with freezer paper, then find an appropriately sized box and go for it.

If you want to make the investment in a smaller mold, I have the silicone lined 2.5 lb. loaf mold from Nurture Soap and love it. It makes a nice sized batch for my purposes. I love making soap, and this size helps to keep it from piling up too much. I can usually find homes for most of the excess.

https://nurturesoap.com/collections...ts/2-5-pound-premium-mold?variant=20032785350

https://nurturesoap.com/collections/loaf-soap-molds/products/2-5-pound-basic-mold

 

[WeaversPort]

Welcome!!

My first mold was a tall, skinny Tupperware with the recycling #5 on the bottom. It was perfect for 500g batches! But I also used disposable water bottles and Pringles cans (yay recycling!) just to start getting the hang of things.

I'm sure you will have a blast!

 

[Saponomancer]

Welcome to the forum! My first test molds were tiny silicone loaf molds from amazon XD but you can get a very nice 1lb mold from WSP!

 

[shunt2011]

Hello and welcome. I would just make a divider for the molds you have to make them smaller. I've seen people use cardboard, wood etc wrapped in plastic wrap or freezer paper.

 

[Rusti]

Welcome to the addiction! I'm a graphic designer/web specialist/creative jack of all trades with a vinyl cutter/printer and find it ironic that I get more interest (and people more happy to fork over, even if the bar was given for free) in soap than sparkly t-shirts fairly often! Soaping tickles my mad scientist itch for sure.

 

[IrishLass]

Welcome Leo! :wave:

Ditto all of the above- especially with starting out making 500g/1lb batches until you have your recipe to where you like it. If anything goes south or your skin ends up really hating your recipe, you won't feel so heartbroken over the loss of 4 or 5 bars of soap compared to 25 to 30 bars, not to mention the larger amount of oils and other ingredients that went into making all those bars.

Like Dibbles, my favorite batch size is around 2.5lbs/1134g or so (8 or 9 bars of soap), which is plenty to keep us in suds without piling up too much.....depending on how often I decide to soap, that is. The great thing about soaping, though, is that it will all get used up eventually. If I sold, it would be different, but I only make soap for me and my family and friends & for gift-giving.


IrishLass

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Welcome!

I think the Crafter's Choice 1501 is extremely versatile. Filled to the top, it's about 2-1/2 lbs and 8 bars which is a good size for an everyday recipe you're familiar with. For testing, 1-1/4 lbs (566g) cuts into 3 bars approx 1.25x2.6x3.5 inches.

 

[lsg]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Susie]

Hey and welcome!

Rather than spend more money on soaping equipment, I would use the 5 lb mold you have, but only put 1.5 lb of soap into it. That will give you about 1" deep soap, so you can just cut the pieces about 2-2.5 inches wide.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Howdy Leo, and welcome! :bath1:
​

 

[Steve85569]

Welcome to the forum!

Small batches for trials are good. Just don't go too small. 500 grams is about as small as I usually go.