Very first attempt at CP soap

[RKrynicki]

Today I made a loaf using Bramble Berry's Lots of Lather mix. I used their Dogwood and Ginger Blossom fragrance and a wine red mica. After mixing, I know I need to get better at recognizing light trace. It was a bit past that when I added everything in. I hope it comes out great and holds the scent. I could have used more mica because it came out light instead of darker, or maybe it was the trace that caused it to be lighter? What do you think if my first try?

 

[Deborah Long]

Yay! Welcome to your new obsession! Looks good to me!

 

[earlene]

It's the amount of mica you used that produced the shade. How much did you use? Was the mica also from Bramble Berry? I believe they recommend 1 teaspoon per pound of soap (link).

Here's a good video on coloring soap:

 

[shunt2011]

Congratulations on your first soap!!

 

[DWinMadison]

I agree with Earlene...and the other comments above.

Colorants are always a bit of hit and miss. Some disperse best in oil, others in water and some in glycerine, and they aren't generally labeled (at least from my supplies) as to which is which. I have a lavender colorant that, unless it's dispersed in water, turns grey in the finished soap. Now that I know that, I get two color options for the price of one, but a few months ago, I almost tossed it out after several disappointing batches made with it.

Mixing colors to get other colors is fun too--sorta like going back to kindergarten, but it's a bit of a crap shoot. You just get better at it over time, and even then, you sometimes miss your intended target. There are many apps that provide color blending, and some of the vendors (e.g. Nurture Soap) that do the same thing. Other apps will create color pallets for you.

Incorporating dark colors in your soaps can create really dramatic effects, but I'd recommend using it in small amounts for contrast as those dark colors can bleed onto wash cloths or make funky-colored lather.

Have fun, and let us know if we can help.

 

[RKrynicki]

It's the amount of mica you used that produced the shade. How much did you use? Was the mica also from Bramble Berry? I believe they recommend 1 teaspoon per pound of soap (link).

Here's a good video on coloring soap:

I have a sample box from Amazon and I used 3 of the .15 cc scoops, so maybe more next time?

 

[earlene]

I have a sample box from Amazon and I used 3 of the .15 cc scoops, so maybe more next time?

Yes. Here's something you could try: Divide your soap batter into equal sized portions & add different measurements of mica to each portion (keeping notes of how much in each section) then either layer or create a swirl, or put into individual molds as separate color soaps. You will see the resulting difference in color intensity and that might give you an indication of how much you need to put per pound of soap to get the color intensity you prefer.

In future, I strongly suggest you your micas from a reputable soap supplier. I've never bought micas via Amazon, so don't know if there are good ones on there or not. But there are many soap suppliers for micas around. You live about as close as you can to one, in fact. Nurture Soap is in Indiana and they have wonderful micas and a fabulous resource on color mixing in Carrie. Here's the page on colorants: https://nurturesoap.com/collections/soap-colorants

Check out the 'use notes' for a few of the micas. Loads of great information about the micas they carry and how they perform in different types of soap (CP, HP, MP).

If you have a chance to get over to Huntington, Indiana, you can actually visit the brick & morter store. I want to do that someday soon but it's over 300 miles away for me.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Good work! I think we all had a bit of trouble with the 'trace' thing when starting out. Probably because all the you tube videos on soapmaking show the soap coming to a medium trace before pouring. In my experience, by the time it's got that far, it usually races on to an unworkable state all too quickly.
Where's our @newbie video on mixing to emulsion?

 

[Dawni]

It is here

Congratulations on your first soap! I might be as excited as you to see it cut haha

 

[RKrynicki]

I cut the loaf and the bars look beautiful! I'm so amazed with the color!

Here's my second attempt at soap. It's my own blend of a triple butter recipe using SoapCalc and I added an Oatmeal, Milk and Honey fragrance oil which turned out to speed up trace. Good thing I caught it and poured quickly. This is my first time doing a recipe from scratch instead of using a pre-mix bag. THIS IS SO ADDICTING!!

 

[KiwiSoap]

Welcome to the addiction! Your soaps are looking lovely! I notice you have a 'sample bar sliver', is this for tracking weightloss of the batch over time? If so, I'd suggest weighing one of your full bars of soap (and keeping track of which one) as it'll be difficult to measure changes in a small sliver unless you have very accurate scales.

Thank you for sharing, keep up the great work!!

 

[RKrynicki]

Welcome to the addiction! Your soaps are looking lovely! I notice you have a 'sample bar sliver', is this for tracking weightloss of the batch over time? If so, I'd suggest weighing one of your full bars of soap (and keeping track of which one) as it'll be difficult to measure changes in a small sliver unless you have very accurate scales.

Thank you for sharing, keep up the great work!!

My loaf mold holds about 32oz of oils, so whenever I cut the bars at 1", I always end up with a sliver. I have weighed out each bar (sliver too) and they are all either over or under 4oz with the average weight bring 3.9oz. I want to get or make a soap cutter as I'm clearly not getting these even when I cut down them. It's on my shopping list lol

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I have made cp soap where the color came out so disappointing but after 24 hours it morphed into the color it was supposed to be

 

[earlene]

My loaf mold holds about 32oz of oils, so whenever I cut the bars at 1", I always end up with a sliver. I have weighed out each bar (sliver too) and they are all either over or under 4oz with the average weight bring 3.9oz. I want to get or make a soap cutter as I'm clearly not getting these even when I cut down them. It's on my shopping list lol

Don't forget water loss as it cures. It may start out at 4 ounces, but depending on how much water used in the recipe, it could lose as much as 25% of it's weight over time.

There are folks on here who have made their own soap cutters, and if you have the skills and tools you'd be able to save a lot of money doing it yourself. If not, try looking around for a good bargain, then ask for some advice before purchase, as you might find better options with feedback.

 

[RKrynicki]

Don't forget water loss as it cures. It may start out at 4 ounces, but depending on how much water used in the recipe, it could lose as much as 25% of it's weight over time.

There are folks on here who have made their own soap cutters, and if you have the skills and tools you'd be able to save a lot of money doing it yourself. If not, try looking around for a good bargain, then ask for some advice before purchase, as you might find better options with feedback.

I'm keeping track of the bars' weight weekly so I know how much each one has lost.

 

[earlene]

I did that in the beginning, too. Then I just waited until I was ready to wrap & label them to weigh them. But now, I really like Marie Gales's post here about how to calculate for water loss. It gives me a reliable method for labeling minimum soap bar weight without all the extra weighing each week.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Here's my second attempt at soap. It's my own blend of a triple butter recipe using SoapCalc and I added an Oatmeal, Milk and Honey fragrance oil which turned out to speed up trace. Good thing I caught it and poured quickly. This is my first time doing a recipe from scratch instead of using a pre-mix bag. THIS IS SO ADDICTING!!

Uh oh - you're on the slippery slope now. I just used oatmeal milk and honey too - it smells yummy doesn't it?

 

[RKrynicki]

Uh oh - you're on the slippery slope now. I just used oatmeal milk and honey too - it smells yummy doesn't it?

It smells amazing! My daughter said it smells like cookies and now she wants some lol If I could I'd make soap every day! Sadly, I don't have the space for all of them to cure yet. I'm thinking for my next batch to try red, white, and blue layers so it will be ready for the 4th of July.

 

[Deborah Long]

I love that FO! One of my favorites! I don't remember that it accelerates, though... Is it BB scent?

 

[RKrynicki]

I love that FO! One of my favorites! I don't remember that it accelerates, though... Is it BB scent?

I got it at Hobby Lobby because I never used that scent before and I wasn't sure if I'd like it. I'm going to definitely get it from somewhere else though, since theirs accelerated trace.