Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Thanks for the update. Good work. I hafta say, tho, I was fascinated by the article on Castor Oil that you linked. Wowser! Who knew?! Thanks for keeping us updated on that as well.
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KiwiSoap
Well-Known Member
Update on Batch 10: Adapting KiwiMoose's Soy Wax
Here is yesterday's batch, smelling sweet! The middle-bottom bar is plain, the middle-top bar is (dis)coloured courtesy of White Tea and Berries FO. I like it! The ITP swirls are a bit mottled, I guess the (dis)coloured batter bled. The lines are so smooth and crisp, that must be thanks to the cacao butter. No scent of the cacao remains, but then again the plain bar seems to have taken on the FO as well. Everything smells of White Tea and Berries, no complaints yet!
Here is yesterday's batch, smelling sweet! The middle-bottom bar is plain, the middle-top bar is (dis)coloured courtesy of White Tea and Berries FO. I like it! The ITP swirls are a bit mottled, I guess the (dis)coloured batter bled. The lines are so smooth and crisp, that must be thanks to the cacao butter. No scent of the cacao remains, but then again the plain bar seems to have taken on the FO as well. Everything smells of White Tea and Berries, no complaints yet!
I want those moulds! Where did you get them?
KiwiSoap
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the tip re. baking paper! And I'm sure you'll get a gorgeous gel, you seem to be able to make anything work! Looking forward to seeing those...
They are from a Silikolove mould, available from AliExpress who happen to have a Mid-Year Sale on now .. I did not need to see that!! There is a second similar mould here. Be sure to check AliExpress is showing prices in your local currency before shopping, check whether shipping is included!
Ordered both your ones and the new ones 
KiwiSoap
Well-Known Member
Batch #11: KiwiMoose's Soy Wax soap with Cacao butter and Calendula-infused Oil
Yesterday I squeezed in a bit of time to bash out a batch of soap. I've had a jar with Calendula petals infusing in rice bran oil for a while now (7 weeks), sitting in a window that catches a lots of light, however being it is winter here our days have been shorter and temperatures have lower so the conditions for infusion have not been optimal.
I started by measuring out the rice bran oil required for the recipe from the infused oil then, using a fork, taking about a teaspoon of the soaked calendula petals which I let drain for a bit before adding to the oil and stickblending. This broke the petals up into lots of small pieces so they won't get caught in the drain.
I included the infused rice bran oil with calendula in the oils that I melted using the microwave, hopefully adding to the infusion. I again used cacao butter in place of shea butter, otherwise the recipe was followed as usual. Knowing the effect of cacao butter on the batter from last time, I soaped at a warmer temperature (about 55°C/131°F). When I added the lye to the oils, the batter still had a strange distortion on the top and it thickened quickly even without much stickblending. It still flowed nicely into the moulds, and I CPOPed the whole batch.
The result is subtle, it is perhaps a shade more yellow than shown below, comparing the same recipe with Calendula infused (left) and plain (right). The gold flecks of the petals add to the effect, and I swear the soap has a perfume to it which is very pleasant, perhaps this will dissipate quickly though. I can't wait until we have warmer weather again to try to create a stronger infusion (although I could try the microwave method for infusing oils).
Many more calendula flowers are popping open in the garden, but I have enough dried and the remainder of this infusion to keep me in good stock for now!
Yesterday I squeezed in a bit of time to bash out a batch of soap. I've had a jar with Calendula petals infusing in rice bran oil for a while now (7 weeks), sitting in a window that catches a lots of light, however being it is winter here our days have been shorter and temperatures have lower so the conditions for infusion have not been optimal.
I started by measuring out the rice bran oil required for the recipe from the infused oil then, using a fork, taking about a teaspoon of the soaked calendula petals which I let drain for a bit before adding to the oil and stickblending. This broke the petals up into lots of small pieces so they won't get caught in the drain.
I included the infused rice bran oil with calendula in the oils that I melted using the microwave, hopefully adding to the infusion. I again used cacao butter in place of shea butter, otherwise the recipe was followed as usual. Knowing the effect of cacao butter on the batter from last time, I soaped at a warmer temperature (about 55°C/131°F). When I added the lye to the oils, the batter still had a strange distortion on the top and it thickened quickly even without much stickblending. It still flowed nicely into the moulds, and I CPOPed the whole batch.
The result is subtle, it is perhaps a shade more yellow than shown below, comparing the same recipe with Calendula infused (left) and plain (right). The gold flecks of the petals add to the effect, and I swear the soap has a perfume to it which is very pleasant, perhaps this will dissipate quickly though. I can't wait until we have warmer weather again to try to create a stronger infusion (although I could try the microwave method for infusing oils).
Many more calendula flowers are popping open in the garden, but I have enough dried and the remainder of this infusion to keep me in good stock for now!
KiwiSoap
Well-Known Member
Batch 8: 'Battle of the Greens' Twelve week update
Apologies for my absence, life is rather full on at the moment, and even when I've had plans to make soap those have had to be overridden Also, the app isn't working for me currently and the website just overwrote the long linky message I wrote so this will be (relatively) brief..
The good news is that my soap continues curing, and I can now present to you ... Battle of the Greens - the Twelve Week mark! Three months is the magic number I've heard, how have these natural greens held up?
Clockwise from top left: chlorella, spirulina, parsley flakes, matcha; left set is gelled, right set is ungelled
Chlorella seems to have fared best, thought it has faded a little. My gelled set is free of soda ash, I steamed off the ash soon after taking that top image but some returned.
Lots of other SMFers have experimented and had (greater) success with natural greens: @Mobjack Bay has had brilliant results using matcha, @KiwiMoose has used spirulina to better effect than I... be sure to search and scour the forum, there is lots of great information and ideas out there!
Happy soaping, I hope to catch and and soap with y'all again soon!
Apologies for my absence, life is rather full on at the moment, and even when I've had plans to make soap those have had to be overridden
Also, the app isn't working for me currently and the website just overwrote the long linky message I wrote so this will be (relatively) brief..The good news is that my soap continues curing, and I can now present to you ... Battle of the Greens - the Twelve Week mark! Three months is the magic number I've heard, how have these natural greens held up?
Clockwise from top left: chlorella, spirulina, parsley flakes, matcha; left set is gelled, right set is ungelled
Chlorella seems to have fared best, thought it has faded a little. My gelled set is free of soda ash, I steamed off the ash soon after taking that top image but some returned.
Lots of other SMFers have experimented and had (greater) success with natural greens: @Mobjack Bay has had brilliant results using matcha, @KiwiMoose has used spirulina to better effect than I... be sure to search and scour the forum, there is lots of great information and ideas out there!
Happy soaping, I hope to catch and and soap with y'all again soon!
Hey @KiwiSoap. I don’t know where you’ve been but I’m missing you and your posts! I’m wanting to make a brown soap, so I was popping in to remind myself which of the green colorants made the nicest brown and it looks like I missed your 12 week update altogether. It’s interesting how the parsley soaps seem to have gotten greener by twelve weeks.
penelopejane
Well-Known Member
Batch 8: 'Battle of the Greens' Twelve week update
Apologies for my absence, life is rather full on at the moment, and even when I've had plans to make soap those have had to be overridden
The good news is that my soap continues curing, and I can now present to you ... Battle of the Greens - the Twelve Week mark! Three months is the magic number I've heard, how have these natural greens held up?
Clockwise from top left: chlorella, spirulina, parsley flakes, matcha; left set is gelled, right set is ungelled.
Chlorella seems to have fared best, thought it has faded a little. My gelled set is free of soda ash, I steamed off the ash soon after taking that top image but some returned.
Lots of other SMFers have experimented and had (greater) success with natural greens: @Mobjack Bay has had brilliant results using matcha, @KiwiMoose has used spirulina to better effect than I... be sure to search and scour the forum, there is lots of great information and ideas out there!
Happy soaping, I hope to catch and and soap with y'all again soon!
Hi Kiwisoap,
Can you please clarify how you are labelling your soaps in the pictures?
Top Row left: Chorella (gelled), spirulina (gelled), Chorella (not gelled), spirulina (not gelled)
2nd Row left: parsley flakes, (gelled), matcha (gelled), parsley flakes (not gelled), matcha (not gelled)
Is that right?
He’s going clockwise, so you need to reverse parsley and matcha on the bottom row. The matcha is in the lower left corner of each set.
penelopejane
Well-Known Member
Thanks
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