Texturing tops
- Thread starter Happysoap
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I actually like Celine's of I am Handmade's method best. I think it turns out just lovely and gives the soap bars a little something to hold on to in the shower, rather than just a slippery rectangle.
At about 19:44 she starts to texture her top. Must say they look like a yummy pudding or cake frosting when she does it, makes me hungry, lol. (On a side note, I think she and Titch should do a talk show, they always talk about interesting topics, and make me laugh out loud with their jokes.)
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwjQ6Zf52VI[/ame]
At about 19:44 she starts to texture her top. Must say they look like a yummy pudding or cake frosting when she does it, makes me hungry, lol. (On a side note, I think she and Titch should do a talk show, they always talk about interesting topics, and make me laugh out loud with their jokes.)
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwjQ6Zf52VI[/ame]
GrantLee63
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Very simple yet very cool ... definitely gonna' try this technique on my next batches.
giddyforgilda
Member
I was about to recommend The SoaperStar (I am Handmades youtube channel) She has the most gorgeous soaps! The tops are always so fluffy.
And yes they are a very entertaining pair!
And yes they are a very entertaining pair!
judymoody
Well-Known Member
I use a chopstick to texture the top. The only caution I can offer is that you can play forever and at some point you need to put the chopstick down and walk away.
Lin
Well-Known Member
My boyfriend jokes around about all the videos on youtube where it seems they're swirling the tops for absolutely ages. He says he's going to start a channel and call it soap swirling 101, then swirl each soap with a chopstick/spoon/etc until the point when the colors have completely combined and show no distinction any longer.
paillo
Well-Known Member
Spoon and chopstick. Plenty of glitter and mica on hand, botanicals, depending on the mood. And definitely, yes, walk away when it's almost there but you're gonna wanna twiddle forever. Time to move on...
lpstephy85
Well-Known Member
Yup, as Judy and Paillo have said don't "twiddle" for too long, I have muddled up some tops that otherwise would have looked fantastic had I shown some restraint!
Oh, I miss Ireland..............
Here is my favorite, using a skewer to trace a bunch of overlapping circles. Really simple and turns out nice if your batter is the right thickness. That -- and walking away like others have said -- is key.
That one is very good!
Lin
Well-Known Member
I prefer the skewer done tops myself. I don't like the spoon textured ones as much personally, though I DO like that one from Celine, it doesn't look spoon textured it just seems to have waves. I'm not a fan of the really high in the center tops where more batter is added either. Its just personal preference. I like the simple skewer swirled, or even just ones with the last of the batter drizzled all over and nothing done to it. While they don't look good looking at the whole loaf, they seem to look great once the bars are cut!
I just use skewer technique like Lin and CaraBou or if I have time, I let some of the batter sit for a minute or two until it's quite thick and I just kind of slap it on with a spoon and somehow end up with few swirls and blobs.
I tried Celine's technique but failed miserably. As someone mentioned in one of the previous posts, tops ended up looking like a mess and all the colours unrecognisable. There is probably a way to do it properly, Celine nails it every time, but I just gave up.
I tried Celine's technique but failed miserably. As someone mentioned in one of the previous posts, tops ended up looking like a mess and all the colours unrecognisable. There is probably a way to do it properly, Celine nails it every time, but I just gave up.
Next time that you make a single colour batch, have a practice! After a few goes you can always smooth it back down again if it doesn't look right and as it's just 1 colour it won't ruin anything. I tried with my last HP batch but I think it's more of a CP thing!
This is one I just did with a chopstick. Sorry the one end does not look good in the picture. I am absolutely the worst photographer. This is Kahula Latte. I had some coffee left over with kahula and added with buttermilk for my liquid, not into the lye
In the pictures from Lin and cmzaha, I can't make out the texturing in the images I'm afraid - a slight ridge here and there, but not really textured
Lin
Well-Known Member
Thats the point. I personally don't like highly textured tops. I prefer swirling the top with a skewer to flatten it out and leave a feathery top, and I've also seen ones where the last bits of soap were randomly dribbled on top and then completely left alone. Those are the ones where looking at the entire soap it doesn't look good (imo) but once they're cut the tops of each individual bar looks quite nice.
