Video: Making of Rosemary Mint Olive Oil Soap

[danahuff]

Hi everyone! I posted this video of the making of one of my soaps, and I wanted to share it with you all.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOt-v5DRMTI[/ame]

 

[melstan775]

Thanks Dana! Cant wait to see th cuts!

 

[Shannon_m]

I love that video and I'm sure that soap smells just divine! I can't wait to see what the swirls look like =)

 

[TeriDk]

Be sure to post video of the finished soap. Nice job.

 

[Maythorn]

Good job!

 

[WallFlower]

Love the video & the soap! Awesome job!

 

[ruby61]

Nice!

 

[danahuff]

Thanks, everyone!

 

[danahuff]

Ack! Unmolded a sticky mess. Ironic that I brought up false trace in the video. I haven't had that happen before, but it appears that I did this time. So I remade the soap. This time I did the swirl and realized I had left out the essential oils. :roll: So I poured the soap back into my bowl and added the EO's. Then I put the soap back in the mold and did the swirl again. I must say making this soap has been an adventure. How ironic the first video I do results in a failed soap. However, the technique I used is sound. I just needed to do it longer.

 

[chicklet]

Isn't it a rule that if you post a video showing soap being made then you have to also post the cutting video? Just kidding! Are you sure it didn't trace? You stick blended it quite a while, really. Did it gel? Have you used that mold before? I don't know why I'm so determined to figure out what happened - you've already moved on and aren't worried about it. Just my nature, I guess. I do like the green swirls you did - I'm so bad to color too much for swirling. It looks like you used made just the right amount of green.

 

[Badger]

Dana,
That sounds completely like something I would do. Thank you for sharing the video and sharing your experience with us. I am planning on trying a Castile soap today or tomorrow (most likely today ). I am sorry the soap on the video did not come out right, I am concerned that I will have the issue of coming to false trace with the Castile, but we shall see

 

[danahuff]

Isn't it a rule that if you post a video showing soap being made then you have to also post the cutting video? Just kidding! Are you sure it didn't trace? You stick blended it quite a while, really. Did it gel? Have you used that mold before? I don't know why I'm so determined to figure out what happened - you've already moved on and aren't worried about it. Just my nature, I guess. I do like the green swirls you did - I'm so bad to color too much for swirling. It looks like you used made just the right amount of green.

Honestly, I'm not sure what happened. False trace is my guess. I soaped it warmer today and it already looks better than the other soap did at the same stage. It looks more "solid."

I do not think it gelled. I checked it several times, and I never caught it going through a gel phase. I have used that mold lots of times. It is harder to get soaps to gel in that mold because it's a slab, but I can usually unmold the next day without a gloppy mess like I had today.

This second batch is looking better. I think it is a rule that you have to post a cutting video. :mrgreen: But I was not posting that ugly soap on YouTube.

However, I made a coffee and cream one today, and remade the failed Rosemary Mint, so I will make two cutting videos tomorrow.

 

[danahuff]

Dana,
That sounds completely like something I would do. Thank you for sharing the video and sharing your experience with us. I am planning on trying a Castile soap today or tomorrow (most likely today ). I am sorry the soap on the video did not come out right, I am concerned that I will have the issue of coming to false trace with the Castile, but we shall see

Olive oil can be a bear. If you soap it a little warmer, it is better. Also, you'd be surprised how much it helps to add just a little bit of palm. The Marseille-style soap I made traced in no time, even with 72% olive, just because it had a little bit of palm.

 

[Badger]

Thanks for the suggestion, I am sort of stuck making no soap right now as my scale died :-( I now know better then to get a cheap scale... just have to figure out how to get another one.

 

[danahuff]

Thanks for the suggestion, I am sort of stuck making no soap right now as my scale died :-( I now know better then to get a cheap scale... just have to figure out how to get another one.

I went through a couple before I found this one, which I really like. Bonus: It has an AC adapter (sold separately, naturally), so no battery worries. Plus I can keep it on as long as I want. The auto-off feature can be disabled.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NE0FU2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Badger]

I ended up getting the one that was available through WSP, which is actually the 7000g version of that scale. I usually would go through Amazon, but I can't pay with Pay Pal on Amazon... I am using low finance here ;-) The one at WSP comes with the adapter also, I hope it has the ability to turn off the auto-off feature. I actually had my scale shut off while I was in the middle of pouring something when I was making my soap the other day and it was really a pain.

 

[danahuff]

I ended up getting the one that was available through WSP, which is actually the 7000g version of that scale. I usually would go through Amazon, but I can't pay with Pay Pal on Amazon... I am using low finance here ;-) The one at WSP comes with the adapter also, I hope it has the ability to turn off the auto-off feature. I actually had my scale shut off while I was in the middle of pouring something when I was making my soap the other day and it was really a pain.

I had the same issue with a scale I bought at Walmart. I think you will be happy with this scale. I don't think there is a huge difference between mine and yours aside from total weight recommended. It's also nice to switch modes. I use grams for soaping, ounces for weighing bars, and pounds/ounces for weighing packages. Works great!

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

Olive oil can be a bear. If you soap it a little warmer, it is better. Also, you'd be surprised how much it helps to add just a little bit of palm. The Marseille-style soap I made traced in no time, even with 72% olive, just because it had a little bit of palm.

If you're going for a true Castille recipe: Soaping warmer (115 - 120* ish) and using a water discount helps a lot with Olive Oil...try maybe 30% water to oil ratio...or 2:1 water to lye.

 

[melstan775]

If you're going for a true Castille recipe: Soaping warmer (115 - 120* ish) and using a water discount helps a lot with Olive Oil...try maybe 30% water to oil ratio...or 2:1 water to lye.

I did pure olive oil for my first soap and it traced in about 3 minutes at room temp. I seem to trace really fast, where other people swear it takes at least five minutes. I don't know if I'm lucky or unlucky that way. Is it possible to blend just to the point of emulsification and let it set up on its own?

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

I did pure olive oil for my first soap and it traced in about 3 minutes at room temp. I seem to trace really fast, where other people swear it takes at least five minutes. I don't know if I'm lucky or unlucky that way. Is it possible to blend just to the point of emulsification and let it set up on its own?

Yes...a lot of soapers blend just to emulsification/light trace so that they can pour off to do lots of different colors or intricate swirls before it starts setting up too much.
I get trace pretty quick even with high Olive Oil soaps, but I soap 110-120* unless I'm using an accelerant. Also, I usually work with a 2:1 lye solution, so that helps.