What soapy thing have you done today?

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Latest loaf came out crumbly. Pic is a semi-non crumbly piece. I used citric acid 1% total batch due to hard water so don’t know if it was the rose clay or CA that made crumbly. Probably the clay. I was attempting to go dark rose to dark brown. The scent was chocolate with oats & honey. HOWEVER, I mixed FO & then changed scent @ last minute. I don’t smell the chocolate so my dark brown layers may not actually darken. Smells, today anyway, like “fake🍒”. The brown dots are my dumb attempt & incorporating cocoa. I mixed with a skosh of glycerin & that was a mistake. Oh well, just means I get to try & try again.
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Latest loaf came out crumbly. Pic is a semi-non crumbly piece. I used citric acid 1% total batch due to hard water so don’t know if it was the rose clay or CA that made crumbly. Probably the clay. I was attempting to go dark rose to dark brown. The scent was chocolate with oats & honey. HOWEVER, I mixed FO & then changed scent @ last minute. I don’t smell the chocolate so my dark brown layers may not actually darken. Smells, today anyway, like “fake🍒”. The brown dots are my dumb attempt & incorporating cocoa. I mixed with a skosh of glycerin & that was a mistake. Oh well, just means I get to try & try again.
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I like the brown dots - it gives it a bit of interest.
 
My mom got me a second hand lazy Susan and I had a first attempt (and fail!) at a spin swirl. It's mint and raw sugar by crafters choice.

I had read that kaolin clay mixed into the fragrance oil overnight can help the scent to stick. Has that worked for anyone? I almost feel like it may have accelerated the batter, but that's crazy right?
 

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My mom got me a second hand lazy Susan and I had a first attempt (and fail!) at a spin swirl. It's mint and raw sugar by crafters choice.

I had read that kaolin clay mixed into the fragrance oil overnight can help the scent to stick. Has that worked for anyone? I almost feel like it may have accelerated the batter, but that's crazy right?
That doesn’t look like a fail to me. 🥰
 
My mom got me a second hand lazy Susan and I had a first attempt (and fail!) at a spin swirl. It's mint and raw sugar by crafters choice.

I had read that kaolin clay mixed into the fragrance oil overnight can help the scent to stick. Has that worked for anyone? I almost feel like it may have accelerated the batter, but that's crazy right?
Your soaps are breathtaking! Sooo pretty!
 
Sorry, technobabble. FFA = free fatty acids, i. e. the constituents that were bonded to glycerol in oils/fats. When in alkaline solution, they are the carriers of the cleansing action of soap (with sodium/potassium), or precipiptate as soap scum (with calcium/magnesium). With acids, they precipitate out and float on top of the water phase.
FFA is a common abbreviation in the oleochemistry world (judging quality/age/rancidity of oils), but not so much in the hobbyist soapmaking community (NOT YET!!!).


I've taken another pic with the focus not on the point pattern (why is it there at all? To keep fruit flies from mistaking it for a cave and smashing their heads against the glass?), but the inside. I myself was unsure for a moment if the door indeed was shut:
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The miraculous world of fast lens speed. 🤓
I’d love more details about how to use CA to clean my oven glass. Let’s just say I bake a LOT of bacon!
 
I’d love more details about how to use CA to clean my oven glass. Let’s just say I bake a LOT of bacon!
🤣
I don't know if citric acid itself is useful for cleaning the oven. But if you throw it into LS or a solution of bar soap in some water, you get FFAs that can assist said cleaning in the way I described above. Then the ceran cleaner spatula did most of the mechanical work. Got it from a hardware store for a few bucks.
 
I've been soaping for about a year but recently I feel like I am taking backwards steps instead of progressing. I mainly follow recipes from what I think are reputable sources and stick with the ones that have worked. My most recent batches have either come to trace really fast or have not held fragrance (that I hve also used in the past) well. I am experimenting with color, too, with varying results.

So I'm discouraged a bit. Looking to new recipes. I found one on BB that the author insists she uses all the time with great results. It calls for small amts of hemp seed oil and wheat germ oil. I read on this forum that WGO is caustic. Also, the recipe calls for 16 oz of olive oil, which I find heavy. Can I substitute 8 oz of canola for half the olive oil? I am afraid of experimenting too far afield. The more I read and soap, the less I know, it seems.....

The best thing you can do is learn about the oils and create your own recipe based on what you learn. Using someone else's recipe is a fine way to go, but its so much more rewarding when you come up with it on your own. Play with recipes using a soap calculator and watch the numbers. It's so much fun that way!
 
Trying something new! Got these in the mail this week. Kinda excited to try them out! Fingers crossed 🤞 I’ve never made such a small batch that I can remember. I have an idea! But I didn’t want to buy melt & pour for the embeds because I’ve never used it before. So using my normal CP recipe…We will see how I do!
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eta: I’m becoming a big fan of soaping very cool. As impatient as I am, I managed to soap at a low 80 degrees and everything stayed fluid and I think got in all the nooks and crannies. Hoping the colors stick! Nurture Soap recommend soaping at 76 degrees to keep the coral reef mica it’s beautiful orange color…
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