SMF February Challenge - Spin Swirl

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Don't forget how long low water batter stays fluid! Well, as long as your use the right FO, it will stay fluid for up to a couple hours.

Low water? Hmmm...

My recipe was 30% OO, 30% CO, 20% Palm, 15% RBO, and 5% castor with 5% SF and water as 38% of oil weight or 2.667:1 water:lye. There's no way I could have let it sit for a couple of hours.
 
Low water? Hmmm...

My recipe was 30% OO, 30% CO, 20% Palm, 15% RBO, and 5% castor with 5% SF and water as 38% of oil weight or 2.667:1 water:lye. There's no way I could have let it sit for a couple of hours.

I can't comment on your recipe since I don't use palm oil and never have, but yes low water with the right FO would probably ly work great for this. When I used low water (1.4:1 water:lye) it was fluid for well over an hour. I took a shower, ate a sandwich, etc waiting for that puppy to trace!
 
If you use low water, feel free to post your fo choice (before soaping ), and let us tell you if we have used it, and whether or not it performs well, in low water.

We are all here to help!

Afterthought, what fo did you use?
 
My fave right now is patchouli. Almost everything I make at the moment has patchouli in it. I didn't use it in my first attempt, though. I was going to use cedarwood but forgot it when the batter went to thick trace so quickly.
 
My fave right now is patchouli. Almost everything I make at the moment has patchouli in it. I didn't use it in my first attempt, though. I was going to use cedarwood but forgot it when the batter went to thick trace so quickly.

So, do you...or have you been...using only eos? That helps when troubleshooting.

Love patch btw! Was so nervous about the hippy dippy (no offense to hippies or dippies) smell i remember back in the day, got me a patch eo, in love!!!
 
I'm waiting to see if I can get some lye before signing up. This challenge looks like fun based on the cool soaps so far :)
 
I made my first attempt. I'm calling it a keeper! It was probably more fluid than it should have been when I poured so it swirled quite easily. I'm really happy with the bars.
 
Patch EO works well in low water. Are you going to be blending it with anything? The difference in time between high and low water batter is really astonishing. Low water with the right fragrance will definitely stay fluid for over an hour, assuming you don't over-SB, which applies always.
 
Patch EO works well in low water. Are you going to be blending it with anything? The difference in time between high and low water batter is really astonishing. Low water with the right fragrance will definitely stay fluid for over an hour, assuming you don't over-SB, which applies always.

Third attempt is resting in a warmed (turned off) oven. This went better.... except for the part with the titanium dioxide added. You're right about the difference between high and low water being astonishing. I mixed my TD with water and added it to the batter. In a heartbeat, it went from fluid to plop so I abandoned it. The rest stayed fluid long enough to do what I wanted and for the swirl. I think I'll be happy with it. Tomorrow will be the test.

I like the patchouli on its own. I've blended it with other things in the past but, I have to say, I'm just in love with patch all on its own. It doesn't even bring back memories (I was a teenager in the late 60's, early 70's, at the height of patch's popularity).
 
My first attempt was done this morning. I attempted to use my loaf mold with a divider to keep it square and only a 1 lb batch. Sounded great, but dagnabbit my flippin' divider fell during pouring. I gave up, took it out, finished pouring and spun it right round baby lots of times. I plan to cut my horizontal cut from the side that didn't fall, and hope for the best. I'm also on the lookout for another mold really quick for another attempt.
 
First attempt is done. Not to sure yet if it is entry worthy. Depends how the next try goes I guess
 
This went better.... except for the part with the titanium dioxide added. You're right about the difference between high and low water being astonishing. I mixed my TD with water and added it to the batter. In a heartbeat, it went from fluid to plop so I abandoned it.

That's really interesting - I used some TD in part of my low water in the hi/low challenge, and I didn't experience that. Has that happened to anybody else with low water?
 
My third attempt is out of the mold now and I'm happy with it. Here's attempt #2:

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OK, now I know why I don't like slab molds....I can't cut straight!!!

I like the colors and swirls, but every bar is wonky. I think I an definitely a candidate for slab dividers.
 
Re: TD in low water, I think it would depend on how much water you used to mix up your TD. If you were a little heavy handed on the water, or added your TD/water mix to just a small amount of batter, it could make your batter thicken quickly. It would also be more likely to thicken your batter the closer to trace you are. If at trace and you add a decent amount of water-glop!
 
Re: TD in low water, I think it would depend on how much water you used to mix up your TD. If you were a little heavy handed on the water, or added your TD/water mix to just a small amount of batter, it could make your batter thicken quickly. It would also be more likely to thicken your batter the closer to trace you are. If at trace and you add a decent amount of water-glop!

Yup, that's pretty much what happened. I didn't add much, either. Lesson learned.
 
Another attempt is in the mold. I tend to be a pretty messy soaper under the best of circumstances. I think my batter was a little to thin, and I wanted to get a lot of movement, so I had soap batter all over the place. Good times!! :mrgreen: Seriously, it was fun! However, I'm not expecting to find anything exciting when I cut.
 

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