Question?

[Obsidian]

Honey doesn't really dry out, it will eventually develop sugar crystals and get harder but it will still be sticky. I would think filling in the little cavities would make a horrible, dust collecting mess.

I use spirulina in my soaps, take it about 6 months or so to turn a olive green color. I don't mind it too much but if I want a nice true green, I use mica.

 

[slipknott76]

Yeah I saw the bubble wrap thing after I did the wrench but I like the look of the wrench give it a really nice 6 sided hole. I usually do add the honey to the oils but with the goat milk and sugars in the honey it's really hard to keep the temp down. I really just wanted to try something new.

 

[not_ally]

I like to use the bubble wrap b/c you can make it look more organic/less even, like real honey comb. I smash some of the ends and pop some of the holes, I like the way it looks. I am v. careful w/honey although I like to use it in limited amounts. I know some people are really good w/it, but it tends to overheat for me.

 

[Obsidian]

Is it possible to add a little honey to melt and pour? I've seen M&P colored like honey and drizzled on soap tops, it looks really neat.

 

[not_ally]

I've put honey in MP, Obsidian, but not much, only a TB ppo or so. And then I don't add many/too much of other liquid additives. I think the effect there, especially the fragrance (typically for mp b/c not killed by the lye) is much stronger, which is nice.

 

[IrishLass]

Ditto on the bubble-wrap. Several of us here use it all the time when we want to make a honey soap. I line my soap mold with it and I also lightly press it onto the top of my soap right after I pour. The soap batter flows all around the 'bubbles', and once the soap is hardened/set up, I just peel it off to reveal a really cool, honey-combed look to my soap. The bubble-wrap peels off real easy, by the way, and can even be re-used a few more times.

I personally wouldn't fill the holes with real honey. That's just asking for trouble if you ask me, but I think the idea of filling those holes with a honey-like substance is a very creative idea indeed, and it would be quite do-able with Melt & Pour soap. I have a block of Honey Melt & Pour from WSP that I think would be a perfect candidate for the job as it is transparent and golden colored, just like honey. What I would do instead of using real honey is to fill the holes with some melted transparent Honey Melt and Pour soap and let it set up. I think that would look pretty cool.


IrishLass

 

[cmzaha]

Where do you get your powdered spinach? (she says, eyeing her dehydrator speculatively).

Yep from my dehydrator, as my carrot powder, lemon peel etc. Love my Excalibur

Ditto on the bubble-wrap. Several of us here use it all the time when we want to make a honey soap. I line my soap mold with it and I also lightly press it onto the top of my soap right after I pour. The soap batter flows all around the 'bubbles', and once the soap is hardened/set up, I just peel it off to reveal a really cool, honey-combed look to my soap. The bubble-wrap peels off real easy, by the way, and can even be re-used a few more times.

I personally wouldn't fill the holes with real honey. That's just asking for trouble if you ask me, but I think the idea of filling those holes with a honey-like substance is a very creative idea indeed, and it would be quite do-able with Melt & Pour soap. I have a block of Honey Melt & Pour from WSP that I think would be a perfect candidate for the job as it is transparent and golden colored, just like honey. What I would do instead of using real honey is to fill the holes with some melted transparent Honey Melt and Pour soap and let it set up. I think that would look pretty cool.


IrishLass

There are some really nice honey m&p bases. I agree with IrishLass. It will look really neat with m&p tinted with mica

 

[slipknott76]

Thanks guys I like that idea a lot. The honey on the top in the combs idea seemed like a stroke of genius to me at first but when it came time to try it I was afraid of ruining the soap. Because like was said it was going to be a sticky mess. I think my hope was the surface of each honey dot would kinda dry In the air and hold the liquid underneath. Then the customer could (like bubble wrap) pop one during each shower. Yeah I over thought it. And how was I going to wrap it at the market. I seem to be doing a bunch of things I end up regretting later, lately. MP def seems like the way to go thanks again.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

The point of the honey in the mix is that it is in with the soap, helping to increase bubbles with that sugar. If the honey isn't actually part of the soap then it won't be bringing the benefits

 

[slipknott76]

Yup, now it's milky oatmeal soap. I'll go back to the way I used to do it the next time. I just was trying something different this time around.

 

[dillsandwitch]

last time I tried a goat milk and honey soap even after chilling the mould and putting it straight into the fridge it still overheated majorly and I ended up having to rebatch it. I haven't been having much luck with goats milk soaps late,y. Even my plain unscented one over heated.

I would love a pic of what the wrench marks look like if you feel like sharing

 

[hmlove1218]

I just made oatmeal milk honey but left the honey out cuz I don't like working with it in the oils.

Try adding the honey to the lye water while it's still warm, but not hot - basically when you can hold your hand to the side of the container without being burned. The lye water will heat back up a little, so give it time to cool back down before soaping.

Adding honey to the lye water seems to help with the heating in the soap. It's almost like the reaction with the lye water takes the fire out of the honey and makes it behave better.

 

[slipknott76]

Never even thought to try it that way but its a great idea. I guess the reaction is happening in the water instead of the double heating of the milk and the honey when it's in the oils. I'll def try that next time.

 

[slipknott76]

Dillsandwitch I filled the holes earlier so it's a little tougher to see the hex as clearly as you would if they were empty

 

[dillsandwitch]

Nice

 

[DeeAnna]

Honey will never harden. It's too hygroscopic (water loving) to ever dry out totally. You can dehydrate honey into a dry sugar but then you'll have to struggle to keep it dry with airtight packaging etc. You can mimic the look of honey with amber colored transparent melt and pour. I've seen a few soaps with toppings or veins of M&P "honey" and it's pretty.