Ugly Soap...

[Elizabeth Driver]

Sigh....I don’t like the colour .....olive oil 65%, coconut oil 35%, 48 oz oil, 5% superfat, 33% lye. I used pink clay, for the colour, and ground oatmeal is the Bumps...did an attempt
At a swirl, pouring down the side of a pitcher.....1.5oz of EO, eucalyptus, sweet orange....lemon grass and thieves oil.....it poured fine....thickened quite quickly and went through gel phase very quickly....and seemed very hot. I don’t like the white and the soap has an overall translucent look - could that have been shifted if I cooled through gel phase?

 

[Sally Scheibner]

I just remake soap that I don’t like. Grate, add an ounce of mixed yogurt and coconut cream per pound over soap in a 210 oven for 3-4 hrs stirring every 45 To an hour until smooth enuf to pour. I even add a FO or EO that compliments soaps existing smell. Gonna remake shampoo adding extra emollients, silk & collagen & jojoba. Can’t decide fragrance? Maybe sandlewood & pinch of patchouli.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Soaps that gel are more 'translucent' than soaps that don't. If you want a creamier look you might try to keep it cooler so it doesn't gel. If you want prettier colours you should probably use micas - they are less natural looking. I make an oatmeal soap that looks similar to yours, however. I don't colour it at all.

 

[shunt2011]

My Oatmeal soap is about the same color. I do swirl with a bit of the batter colored with cocoa powder. My oatmeal is much finer though.

 

[DeeAnna]

In my experience, rose or pink clay isn't very pinkish in soap unless I use a fair bit. If I use enough to get a definite pink, the soap can get an odd chalky texture. So I don't use clay as a colorant in soap anymore.

The soap looks exactly as I would expect it to look given your recipe and additives. It's rustic, certainly, but that's what soap with clay and oatmeal should look like. I'm not at all convinced that rebatching the soap would improve it any as far as the appearance goes.

My only reservation is the larger oatmeal lumps. I don't care for lumpy bits in soap because they can be objectionably rough on the skin. Or just weird feeling at the very least.

 

[Obsidian]

I agree about rebatching, it will just make the soap more rustic.
I like the color and translucency but the big oatmeal would be a no go for me.
I use baby oatmeal cereal and you can't feel or see it at all.

 

[Elizabeth Driver]

Thank you!! I think your feedback is exactly right - I dont mind the colour...or even the pattern so much- but the oatmeal seems sooo big - although I ground the heck out of it. Well, I am not going to rebatch, it just won’t be my favourite. I have a vita mix, I will
Run my oatmeal through that next time...I have another soap I did with the oatmeal and I like this one Better -
I used a similar recipe - but citrus EO, and annetto seed powder, and another that I used ground nettle, and I like both of those

 

[Jersey Girl]

Thank you!! I think your feedback is exactly right - I dont mind the colour...or even the pattern so much- but the oatmeal seems sooo big - although I ground the heck out of it. Well, I am not going to rebatch, it just won’t be my favourite. I have a vita mix, I will
Run my oatmeal through that next time...I have another soap I did with the oatmeal and I like this one Better -
I used a similar recipe - but citrus EO, and annetto seed powder, and another that I used ground nettle, and I like both of those

Those are awesome!

 

[DeeAnna]

If you use a blender or something similar, be sure to put the powder through a sieve to remove any lingering large bits.

I used my Blendtec blender (like your vitamix) to pulverize some rolled oats recently. It looked like dust when I was done, but I still found a few larger bits when I sieved the powder.

 

[Elizabeth Driver]

Those are awesome!

It’s amazing how something. Little can be quite large in a soap - like poppy seeds can be very abrasive, and I love scrubby bars, but I have to be sparse.

 

[Elizabeth Driver]

I remade my soap and I ground the oatmeal much more fine, and used a bit less.....also I realize in my first soap I had put all of the EO in the pink batter....and it seemed to just not be right.....this time I kept a bit More white batter, and scented both colors....it thickened you like crazy, but I layered the colors and dragged a gear tie through to try to get some swirl....I like the smell ....but trying to copy cat thieves oil....cinnamon bark EO is expensive..!! Does anyone else use thieves oil or their own version? Maybe FO are less expensive?

 

[Jersey Girl]

I remade my soap and I ground the oatmeal much more fine, and used a bit less.....also I realize in my first soap I had put all of the EO in the pink batter....and it seemed to just not be right.....this time I kept a bit More white batter, and scented both colors....it thickened you like crazy, but I layered the colors and dragged a gear tie through to try to get some swirl....I like the smell ....but trying to copy cat thieves oil....cinnamon bark EO is expensive..!! Does anyone else use thieves oil or their own version? Maybe FO are less expensive?

That looks terrific! I only use a few EO that are affordable like lemongrass, lavender, eucalyptus...FO is much more economical and has so many more options to choose from.