Tallow Soap Pouring/Mold Improvements?

[phat.oliver]

Hello soap makers.

I recently made 36 bars of my homemade tallow soap as a trial run to sell to friends and family before I expand, to be sure the soap is good quality. Pretty much everything about the soap is a hit, but I have a bit of trouble pouring it into the molds and getting flat and well-balanced surfaces.

For context, the soap is 7% superfat. 60 Tallow, 20 EVOO, 15 Coconut, 5 Castor, CP.

Generally, I wait until I have a quite thick trace, pour it from the bowl into a 4-cup glass measuring cup into the center of the 6-bar mold, and then spread it around with a plastic spatula into the other empty bar spots, and use the spatula to make the top look flat. Honestly, the top (external on the mold, the part I can touch) side tends to look better than the bottom, which usually has weird issues like you'll see in the photos. I take them out after 24 hours.

Any tips before I expand to produce 100+ bars? Do I use the spatula to push the soap into the corners? Do I change my trace, pour using something other than a measuring cup, etc?

Note:
I don't really want to use a loaf mold to get the better sides, because A. I've already designed my labels and marketing for this size bar, and B. If I increase the weight, I'd need to increase the price, and I feel like the low price for the smaller bar is a part of my appeal and C. I've already invested into buying several of these molds, and D. People buy them anyway because they care more about the benefits than the appearance.

Also ignore the hair on that one bar LOL that's my personal bar

Mine are 'underweight'.

 

[DeeAnna]

You've answered your own question. Pour at thinner trace.

If you're struggling with solutions to basic issues like this, you do not have the skills and expertise to be selling.

 

[AliOop]

^what @DeeAnna said. I would add:

1. Don’t use a glass measuring cup for fresh soap batter. You can read more about the dangers of that by searching this forum.

2. Make your soap in a container from which you can pour directly. Cambro food containers work well, especially the square or rectangular ones, where the corners make nice pouring “spouts,” if you will. Otherwise, your soap will cool and thicken even more while you are transferring it from one container to another. That is exacerbating the problem you have. Pouring directly from the mixing container will help you avoid or at least limit that.

3. What you are seeing in your soaps are air bubbles and pockets due to pouring at thick trace. Most soapmakers will tap or bang the mold against the countertop to force air bubbles to the top. To do this with cavity molds, first set them on a flat, non-aluminum pan, or a thick cutting board, before pouring the batter into the molds. This will allow you to lift up the pan or board with the filled mold(s) on it, and bang that on the counter top. But again, this is only going to help if your batter is thin enough to allow the air bubbles and pockets to move up and out as the batter settles down into the mold. However, from the looks of your soap, banging down the molds probably wouldn’t have helped much, because your trace was just too thick. There is no reason to blend to such a heavy trace; a stable emulsion or thin trace is just fine.