Spin swirls

[Dorymae]

Well . . . I'm onto the third try. Just not getting the umph I'm looking for.

You know, the making of soap and supplies don't bother me, the attempts are decent and they will sell even if I have to discount them BUT these soapy dishes are killing me! I hate hate hate doing dishes and I'm a BIG supporter of the dishwasher. ( but we all know that is a no go with soap!)

I am finding that I'm very picky when there is competition involved. For example I usually use one scraper, just wipe it off if the colors are too different. Now I'm using a scraper for each color - just in case a bit of color transfers! (Like anyone would notice!) This is causing my soapy dishes to get way out of hand!

I think I'm remembering why I don't enter competitions. On the other hand the frugal me reminds me I paid for three months and so I will enter something all three months. Stupid perfectionist tightwad!

 

[Saponista]

Sadly I can't donate any of my soap in the UK kaychaystack, it is not cosmetically certified as I am a hobbyist. It can't legally be donated or given away to anyone or anything else. It's such a pity as I'm sure it would go down really well with the homeless shelters. That's why I may actually have to resort to throwing some out as there is only a certain amount of soap I can use in one lifetime!

 

[reinbeau]

Sadly I can't donate any of my soap in the UK kaychaystack, it is not cosmetically certified as I am a hobbyist. It can't legally be donated or given away to anyone or anything else. It's such a pity as I'm sure it would go down really well with the homeless shelters. That's why I may actually have to resort to throwing some out as there is only a certain amount of soap I can use in one lifetime!

That is utterly ridiculous, that you can't give it away. Truly.

 

[kchaystack]

That is really a shame. I wonder how expensive it would be to ship some to someone over here that could donate it for you? (Or another country in that has less strict laws?)

 

[Cactuslily]

Cleantheworld.org is a great organization. If you know a bunch of soap makers in your area, it wouldn't be so expensive to pay for S/H. It's a great organization, but I understand how cost wise it could be prohibitive.

 

[nframe]

Sadly I can't donate any of my soap in the UK kaychaystack, it is not cosmetically certified as I am a hobbyist. It can't legally be donated or given away to anyone or anything else. It's such a pity as I'm sure it would go down really well with the homeless shelters. That's why I may actually have to resort to throwing some out as there is only a certain amount of soap I can use in one lifetime!

I was in the same situation as you until I contacted my local food bank. They agreed to take my soaps which were much appreciated. Since then, when I have too many, I fill up a carrier bag and take it to them. I also donated a carrier bag full to a local hospice. Perhaps it is not legal, but they did not seem to mind. It's worth a try. Good luck!

 

[Luv2Soap]

I had a second attempt today. The colour combination works better than the first but the top isn't as nice because I spent longer mixing the colours up. Gah! Now the perfectionist in me wants another go. I'll be bankrupt with all the fragrance that is going into these batches. Do any of you make unscented soap as your practices? I like to use scented stuff so I think I would end up throwing out the unscented practice bars which would be more of a waste than having loads of soap to use up.

The unscented ones you could always either rebatch or you could shred them and put them into another soap. *shrug*

 

[newbie]

This technique can give some nice effects, but I'm having troubles making or thinking of anything that would be particularly eye catching. I don't know if it's something about the technique or what. I've used different color combos and swirled and spun and various patterns before spinning, but it all ends up looking kind of the same. Is anyone else experiencing the same?

 

[Saponista]

I am completely with you on this newbie. All my attempts are kind of mediocre in my opinion. If I am going to enter something then I like to feel as though it has at least some chance of winning. This is definitely not the case at the moment. You can't go too wild with the way you fill the mould or the spinning will have no obvious effect. Such a difficult challenge to do in an imaginative original way.

I'm glad you told me you had managed to donate your soap nframe. I hadn't even considered asking as I assumed they would reject it. We have a food bank and the homeless shekinah mission so I will go and see if they will take any from me.

 

[newbie]

Yes, I've done all sorts of patterns but the spin makes them seem about the same in the end. I feel the same way you do, Saponista. I would like to enter something that I think stands a chance of winning, but everything looks kind of the same. I have one that gave me one cool spot in the soap, but that seems like little to go on. Color me perplexed.

 

[Dorymae]

I'm having the same problems. It's lacking that umph that makes you go wow! Even the soaps they showed as examples didn't make me go wow, so maybe it's just another way to swirl.

I do have hopes for my third batch, now sitting quietly undercover. We'll see, but I don't think I'll be turning any cartwheels over whatever I enter.

I have a question for those of you who have done this before. What do you do just open a Pinterest account and make a board for your entry? Can you post other pics of your soap there (like pics of the making and swirling) or only the pic you want entered?

 

[lionprincess00]

I have a blog that I made for this and for soap. Other people use their facebook account, but if you want to do something different you can open up a Pinterest board. I would make a pinboard of the soap challenge. Post as many pictures of the process with a caption of what you were doing while you did it. It seems to go over well with the contestants when they can kind of see your process behind your soap. We like to see as many pictures as you want to put out there. If you want just a pinboard for challenges, then you can do that and I'm guessing you could open up other pin boards for whatever reason you want to use them for. I don't do Pinterest but I'm pretty sure that it can work this way.

Edit to say many use pinterest, so you'd be in good company with it.

 

[Saponista]

I use my blog to post entries, but I do have a Pinterest account. You can make a board for your entry, and then put different pictures with captions etc. within that board to explain how you made the soap. If you get stuck and need some help, send me a pm and I will try to give you some help.

 

[Luv2Soap]

2nd spin swirl is put to bed. Not quite sure how this is gonna turn out - was VERY liquid when I poured it. I was so worried about it tracing to quickly that I mixed it until the oils and lye were just mixed together. Then added my fragrance and split into colors. I would have thought that it would have started thickening up, but nope We'll see what it looks like tomorrow!

 

[newbie]

Are you going to try to gel it? I've had soap separate if I've poured perhaps a touch too thin but if I leave it ungelled, it will hold together. I hope yours hangs in there!

 

[Luv2Soap]

Ugh....okay....I have a joke for you....

Knock Knock.... <who's there> ... Impatient Soaper!..... ME

The joke is on me unfortunately. I woke up this morning and even though the soap was soft, I thought it would be fine to cut. After all, I was curious about what the spin swirls looked like. So, my first cut and the soap crumbled into a soft, crumbly mess. The rest of the slab is intact though so I put it back into the mold with the lid on.

Do you think it will harden up if I just let it sit?

 

[Saponista]

Yes just leave it sitting and it should harden up, but if it's that soft you may have to wait at least a couple more days for it to harden enough to get a decent cut. Is it mostly soft oils?

 

[Luv2Soap]

Yes just leave it sitting and it should harden up, but if it's that soft you may have to wait at least a couple more days for it to harden enough to get a decent cut. Is it mostly soft oils?

In order of largest to smallest amount I used:

Olive Oil
Lard
Coconut Oil
Sweet Almond Oil

I also used salt and sugar to harden it and create more bubble.


I'll have to just be patient (not my strong suit)

Don't think my 2nd batch is turning out. So.....made a 3rd batch with these colors. Hope this one turns out!!! I will not lift the lid...I will not lift the lid...

 

[newbie]

How anyone get the middle to spin well is beyond me, at least with a square mold. Nice vibrant colors! I hope your third turns out well too.

 

[Dorymae]

How anyone get the middle to spin well is beyond me, at least with a square mold. Nice vibrant colors! I hope your third turns out well too.

Use a small 6x6 or 7x7 square and the middle will swirl.