SMF December Challenge- high and low water batch

[Saponomancer]

That back lit soap is extremely eye catching, but I like the cedar bars too!

 

[newbie]

Reposting, for easy access and in case someone doesn't go back a page or two.


Not too many entries this month but we will carry on no matter how many there are!

You have three votes. Please vote if you signed up, whether you submitted an entry or not. You may still partake! If you did not sign up, please do not vote.

Voting will close on at midnight on the 30th.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QZBPSLK

 

[Saponista]

The backlit soap is so beautiful! It reminds me of seaglass. I'd love to try dropping different blobs in to make a multicoloured seaglass style soap.

I was going to make a second black and white soap for my video before posting the Jan challenge thread as I wasn't happy with how neat it turned out, but if everyone will forgive my shoddy soaping then I can put it up after I get chance to edit tomorrow? Then everyone can have this week to soap.

 

[Misschief]

Obviously not for the challenge but I did try this technique yesterday.... and got distracted. The soap looks ok at best but I mixed up my batches. The high water lye mix went into the low water oils and vice versa. Normally that might not be an issue if the batches were equal sizes. However, one was 600 grams, the other was 300 grams.

Now, the 600 gram part has they lye for the 300 grams (too little... that part is oily) and the 300 grams has the lye for the 600 grams... in other words, lye heavy.

I wasn't very happy with my swirl either. It wasn't very "swirly".

hilow_oops by Ev Skae, on Flickr

 

[newbie]

What a shame! That looks like it would have been a great pattern for this technique. Thankfully it's all neutral (all uncolored, perhaps?) which means rebatching will give you a nice bar, as opposed to muck.

I think you should post your video early, Saponista, so people can soap this week if they want. We promise we won't judge you because your soap is "shoddy" which probably means it's perfectly fine but not what you wanted.

We still need 7 people's votes. Once we get everyone's votes, I will release results, even if it's early, so we can make way for January's Challange and not be distracted. Let's go people! Chop, chop!!!

 

[CaraBou]

Yes, definitely post the video! I'm with newbie here, that the shoddy will only be shoddy to you. Besides, there's no shame in shoddy soaping; only lessons!

Misschief, that is a nice soap. Did you run it through a calc to see just how far off it is? I'd be curious to see how it cures out but like newbie said, it's a great candidate for rebatch.

I'm thinking of starting a new thread for backlit soaps, where others can post too. But dangit, I can't find my spotlight, which would illuminate a larger portion of the bars than what I showed previously. Well it's bound to turn up somewhere, so maybe I'll just start with what I have.

BTW, my vote is in. I couldn't wait a second longer than when I first saw the link!

 

[Misschief]

Misschief, that is a nice soap. Did you run it through a calc to see just how far off it is? I'd be curious to see how it cures out but like newbie said, it's a great candidate for rebatch.

I haven't run it through yet but..... correct me if I'm wrong on this.... my thinking is leaning towards simply rebatching it so that everything is uniform. The percentages of the oils for each batch is the same. The only difference between the two parts is the water to lye ratio. Rebatching would up the ratio in the parts that don't have enough and lower the ratio in the part that has too much. Both parts were superfatted at 5% (in my original plan).

Yes? No?

ETA: and, having checked SoapCalc, my thought seems to be correct. If I add up the total amount of lye used in the 600 and 300 g batches, then run through the same formula but for a 900 gram batch, and take the average between the two percentages of lye concentration used, the lye required is the same amount as the total amount used and will give me a lye concentration of 41%.

I will, however, need a larger crock pot.

 

[Steve85569]

ETA: and, having checked SoapCalc, my thought seems to be correct. If I add up the total amount of lye used in the 600 and 300 g batches, then run through the same formula but for a 900 gram batch, and take the average between the two percentages of lye concentration used, the lye required is the same amount as the total amount used and will give me a lye concentration of 41%.

I will, however, need a larger crock pot.

You may not need a larger crock pot if you are sure you have an even distribution. Just rebatch what fits.

But only if you are sure. :think:
Then again it's a good excuse to get a big crock pot on the after Christmas sale!

 

[CaraBou]

Yes, I think you are right to rebatch. I just had it in the back of my mind that a negative superfat can turn out okay with enough time and water, but your soap doesn't really fit the model I've seen that applied to. Your soap is actually perfect for a rebatch because you won't need to add anything to balance it (except possibly a small amount of water), and it is completely uncolored. It doesn't get any better than that!

If you decide not to crockpot you could try putting it all in a sealed plastic bag then putting that in a hot/boiling water bath til it melts as much as it can. It's a pain to get it out but cleanup is minimal. Also, you can remelt in the oven directly in stainless steel. No matter what you try, good luck! One thing about rebatch soaps, they lather great!

 

[Misschief]

Also, you can remelt in the oven directly in stainless steel. No matter what you try, good luck! One thing about rebatch soaps, they lather great!

Tell me more?

 

[CaraBou]

Oh geez, it's been so long, I hope someone will tweak if needed. But the basics are: With gloves on, grate it, put in a stainless steel pot, and stick in a 200 F oven (no more, maybe less). Within a couple hours it should be pretty fluid. It will still have unmelted parts, but if you can pour or plop it into a mold, go for it. Work fast because it will cool quickly in ambient temperature and change on the top to a solid, dry consistency. You probably don't need to add water since it's so fresh, but monitor it in the oven and stir in a skosh of hot water after an hour or so in the oven if it seems like it needs it. For the most part just let it do its thing because every time you stir, it solidifies on your spoon, the sides of the pot and and possibly the top.

Hope that helps; good luck, and don't worry, you'll see your soap again on the other side.

 

[Misschief]

Thanks so much, CaraBou! I just did two rebatches this past week, one with the double ziplock bag method, the other with my appetizer-sized crockpot. I didn't like the bag method even though getting it into the mold was simple. The crockpot worked great but it's small, fine for end bits that add up over time but not for a 900 gr. batch (oils) of soap. I'll try the oven method later today and I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[DeeAnna]

You can also use CaraBou's method with a hot water bath on the stove. It takes a bit more hovering, however, since you're working on the stove, not in the oven. You also need a second pot that's large enough for your soap pot to fit loosely into. Put water in the larger pot, soap pot in the water, warm the water to just a simmer (CaraBou's 200 F), and let the soap melt as she described.

 

[Misschief]

My kitchen (and especially my stove) has limitations. One of the reasons I didn't like the double bag method was because of space limitations on my stove. It's an apartment sized stove, smaller than a normal stove. Rebatching in a crockpot, or in the oven, doesn't take up much needed stove space, especially now that DH is off work and always underfoot, wanting something to eat.

If it's in the oven (or a crockpot, which I'll be hunting for today), it's out of the way and he can still use the stove if he wants.

 

[newbie]

Reposting, for easy access and in case someone doesn't go back a page or two.


Not too many entries this month but we will carry on no matter how many there are!

You have three votes. Please vote if you signed up, whether you submitted an entry or not. You may still partake! If you did not sign up, please do not vote.

Voting will close on at midnight on the 30th.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QZBPSLK

We need the last three people to vote. Hopefully they aren't on vacation until the end of the year.

 

[newbie]

I'm having a crisis of confidence. Did people find this challenge too hard or too challenging? It was a holiday month and all, I know, but I want to be certain people like the challenges and are enjoying participating. This one was a bit more complicated with the math and all. Feedback is always good and I like constructive criticism.

 

[dibbles]

I really enjoyed the challenge Newbie. This was something I wanted to try. I'm finding that the technique challenges are techniques I want to try anyway - this is a great way to get the motivation to dive in. I enjoy learning along with those that haven't done them either. There was math in this one, but that wasn't a problem for me, and math isn't always kind to me. So, thanks for putting this one out there.

Now, if you choose a challenge of the soap caning you were working on...different story. That looks difficult.

 

[lionprincess00]

I really wanted to try it, but my holiday season is just really long. I also had a kids birthday, and so my entire month was eaten up. I wish I had more opportunities to make more soap. I've only made one salt soap and your challenge, a failed try, this month.
December was just too busy for me, of course I can't speak for everyone else.
Now that things have slowed down, i am currently cpoping a practice soap for my April's potential challenge. Will try the technique one more time and then a final soap and film it early to prevent the hiccups I had loading my last challenge

 

[lenarenee]

I'm having a crisis of confidence. Did people find this challenge too hard or too challenging? It was a holiday month and all, I know, but I want to be certain people like the challenges and are enjoying participating. This one was a bit more complicated with the math and all. Feedback is always good and I like constructive criticism.

Are you wondering if the small number of entries is due to disinterest or the busy holiday season? For me, I was very interested in trying this and it seemed a simple enough method to try as it didn't require any special equipment, colorants or molds. But we had unexpected events in December so the challenge was put last.

I still plan on trying it, especially since I need to replenish my stock of plain jane soap, and I got a wonderful slab mold for Christmas!

Ever think of having a "high and low water batch challenge part 2?"

 

[newbie]

No, I hadn't thought of doing the same challenge again. We have a long list of ideas for challenges so don't have a need for a re-do.