Using clays in CP

[Candybee]

I've only been using clays in CP for a short while. I have used Morrocan red, French green, and Bentonite in different soaps. So far I have just been measuring out the clay and putting it directly into the soap batter then SBing it to blend.

This has been working for me but I have been wondering if I should add water to my clays first to make a kind of mud compound, then discount the water. Or does it matter if I do or not?

Which do you do, add water to your clay, or add the clay directly to your soap batter.. and why?

 

[chicklet]

I usually hydrate with a little water first and hit it a few seconds with my mini stick blender thingy to make sure there are no lumps before adding it to the batter.

 

[lsg]

I add it at very thin trace.

 

[bodhi]

Probably not recommended, but i just dump mine in at trace and blend the bleep out of it.

 

[kazmi]

Discounting the water from the water/lye solution I guess would depend on how much water you want to use to hydrate the clay. Less than a teaspoon no biggie unless you're on the edge of your water discount.

 

[songwind]

Is the clay reactive with lye? Is there any reason you couldn't mix the clay in your water for your lye solution?

 

[Serenity]

I would dissolve the clay in a little bit of water first then add this to the soap mixture and stick blend it through. If you add it directly to the soap you risk getting lumps of clay in your soap. And if you have to stick blend too long in order to get lumps out, you risk your soap getting too thick for pouring. That becomes relevant if you want to do fancy designs like layers, swirls, etc.

You should only need a small amount of water to mix with the clay, so I wouldn't worry about a water discount to your batch.

 

[Skatergirl46]

You can also take a little bit of the soap mixture at a light trace and blend the clay with it to avoid lumping. When you have it well blended mix that in with the rest of the batch.

 

[Mark the Box Guy]

Probably not recommended, but i just dump mine in at trace and blend the bleep out of it.

I did the same on my last batch and it seemed to work. This was a considered choice though; I had read about this technique and saw it on too many youtube videos to ignore.

You can ignore advice if you hear it once, but if you hear it twice, then paying attention is always good.

 

[Lotus]

I would dissolve the clay in a little bit of water first then add this to the soap mixture and stick blend it through. If you add it directly to the soap you risk getting lumps of clay in your soap. And if you have to stick blend too long in order to get lumps out, you risk your soap getting too thick for pouring. That becomes relevant if you want to do fancy designs like layers, swirls, etc.

You should only need a small amount of water to mix with the clay, so I wouldn't worry about a water discount to your batch.

This is the advice I have read. It is what I was going to do when I got around to using clay.

Hey, I just finally got my first oxides ordered! Can't wait! First time I finally get to play with real colors in my soaps! yay! Heehee. Can you tell how excited I am?

 

[Mark the Box Guy]

I'm not sure why anyone would add water to clay to avoid clumps, when adding water is precisely how one clumps a clay.

 

[WallFlower]

I add it to my oils before adding lye and stick blend until there are no lumps.

 

[Lotus]

I'm not sure why anyone would add water to clay to avoid clumps, when adding water is precisely how one clumps a clay.

I don't quite get you, here. If you add water to clay, it dilutes it, and in a sort of way, softens and muddles the clay, and gives you more of a "pulp" rather than a lump.

 

[Mark the Box Guy]

I don't quite get you, here. If you add water to clay, it dilutes it, and in a sort of way, softens and muddles the clay, and gives you more of a "pulp" rather than a lump.

For years I've made both a healing poultice and a facial masque by adding water to either French Green Clay or Rhassoul clay. It's simple really: add a small amount of water (the same amount recommended in this thread) to clay (again, the same amount recommended in this thread). The result is so thick that it cannot be mixed with a blender, and instead must be mixed by a finger or very messily by a fork. The resulting masque can accurately be described as the type of clump that this thread wishes to avoid. This masque can certainly be thinned by adding more water until it can be drunk (and this technique is often used to create a drinkable detoxifying agent), but the amount of water required would significantly dilute the water/lye ratio. Avoiding the clumping effect is why, last weekend, I chose to add my dry clay directly to the soap mix.

While I am certainly new to soapmaking, I am no stranger to clay, and can't imagine ever deciding to avoid clumps by pre-hydrating clay unless it was diluted sparingly into the lye-water. My choice was to sprinkle it into the soap as early as possible and as another poster described, "stick-blind the bleep out of it."

That's all just my humble opinion, and often times I can be a bit too pedantic.

 

[Mark the Box Guy]

Lotus:

Wow... I just re-read my post and it sounded like I was coldly telling a student why her essay was rubbish. Sorry for that. I've been grading papers for three weeks straight and am in a bit of a mood.

-Mark

 

[Ruthie]

Mark, I can understand that! That is one reason I've gone "down the ladder" and now teach Pre-K! But back to the original question- since one is putting the clay in the soap mixture which does include water, it makes sense to some of us to first add enough water to it and mix til one is sure there are no lumps in it. That does not mean this is the only way, just one way. First time I added milk powder to a rebatch I wish I had done this. Now this batch will forever have little white clumps of milk in a dark brown chocolate expresso soap. I'll not rebatch it again. I'll just use it myself.

 

[Lotus]

For years I've made both a healing poultice and a facial masque by adding water to either French Green Clay or Rhassoul clay. It's simple really: add a small amount of water (the same amount recommended in this thread) to clay (again, the same amount recommended in this thread). The result is so thick that it cannot be mixed with a blender, and instead must be mixed by a finger or very messily by a fork. The resulting masque can accurately be described as the type of clump that this thread wishes to avoid. This masque can certainly be thinned by adding more water until it can be drunk (and this technique is often used to create a drinkable detoxifying agent), but the amount of water required would significantly dilute the water/lye ratio. Avoiding the clumping effect is why, last weekend, I chose to add my dry clay directly to the soap mix.

While I am certainly new to soapmaking, I am no stranger to clay, and can't imagine ever deciding to avoid clumps by pre-hydrating clay unless it was diluted sparingly into the lye-water. My choice was to sprinkle it into the soap as early as possible and as another poster described, "stick-blind the bleep out of it."

That's all just my humble opinion, and often times I can be a bit too pedantic.

No, I think you're right! I don't know jack about clay in soap, but I know about clay in general pretty well. You're right, however. With the amounts given, that does make it impractical.