What soapy thing have you done today?

[The_Phoenix]

Holy hot soaping session, Batman! I was sweating the whole time I made soap. Eesh. Blech. Phooey. Ack. Murr.

I bought a bar of soap from a shop in AZ when I visited my parents a few months ago and finally took it for a spin. Bubbles humongous galore! Looking at their list of ingredients revealed why: palm kernel flakes is ingredient #1. While the bubbles were something to write home about (or, err, write about on a soaping forum), my skin isn't liking it out of the shower. I keep my CO so low that I'm not used to these bubbles. Boy, was it fun, though!!!

I made two...uhhh...interesting batches of soap. We shall see. I was so hot that I felt very unfocused and just wanted to get it over with. Plus, I was tired. Plus, I didn't really feel into it. I just wanted to make soap. Plus, by the end I was getting hungry.

 

[bookworm]

I cut some soap yesterday, I tried some new fragrances and what's amazed that they behaved so well
I made (amongst others) a Cedar and Saffron soap and a Rose Vanilla soap.
The cedar bar actually has more of a cinnamon scent to it. I wanted to try something different from the usual soap scents. I'm waiting to test it in 6 weeks to see how it turns out

 

[The_Phoenix]

I cut some soap yesterday, I tried some new fragrances and what's amazed that they behaved so well
I made (amongst others) a Cedar and Saffron soap and a Rose Vanilla soap.
The cedar bar actually has more of a cinnamon scent to it. I wanted to try something different from the usual soap scents. I'm waiting to test it in 6 weeks to see how it turns out View attachment 60134

Oh, rose vanilla sounds lovely. Where did you get it?

 

[JuLeeRenee]

Oh My - this is sooooo pretty!

Thank you

 

[MellonFriend]

I put in an order from Bramble Berry for some more FOs since they were having a free shipping deal and I do NOT pay shipping. I am starting down a path of stashing way too many FOs, I think. I've only made one batch of soap and with this order I'll have thirteen new FOs to try out. And I'm only making soap for personal use and I don't have many friends or extended family to pawn off my soap on.

I got:
Crisp Anjou Pear
Woodland Elves (couldn't pass that Middle Earthen title up!)
Southern Peach
Green Tea and Cucmber
Lush Succulent
Rustic Woods and Rum

I also got some sodium lactate to play around with and test out how I like its affects.

 

[msunnerstood]

My son is darn lucky I love him. He was showing a female friend my soaping FB page and she saw the penguin soaps I made before Christmas, which were sold out. He then promised her I could make her a custom loaf. (a small one) for her and her partners anniversary. I didnt even have any soap dough made. I love him for trying to promote my soap and I appreciate the sale but trust I have informed him the amount of work that goes into making these little buggers.

Some of them have their feet in different positions, thats intentional as they will be in different poses on top of the soap. (sliding, kicking another penguin down the soap hill etc)

 

[bookworm]

Oh, rose vanilla sounds lovely. Where did you get it?

https://aussiesoapsupplies.com.au/rose-vanilla-fragrance/

 

[Vicki C]

That's my exact issue, as well! My microwave barely fits the Dollar Store mixing bowl. The reused coconut oil pails that I prefer to use for mixing batches don't fit inside unless I take out the turntable and ring. I hate having to melt in one bowl and then transfer to another for mixing - BOO to extra dishes to wash!

Most of the new microwaves are pretty small, unless you are buying one of the fancy multi-function machines for $400+. I'm actually searching Craigslist and local thrift stores to see if someone has a large older microwave that I can pick up on the cheap to get the taller space without the fatter price.

Edited: I also prefer using the heating pad over the oven. My insulators of choice include a styrofoam cooler, an insulated food shipping box, and insulated food delivery bags.

Yes, exactly! Dollar store mixing bowls - I think we all use them! (Well, many of us.) and I think I got the heating pad idea directly from you

 

[amd]

I usually look for it once and then bookmark so I don’t have to keep searching for it before I post my entry. The thread can fall down a bit in the listing, especially early on before the entries start flying in.

The entry thread also gets linked in the main banner at the top of the forum:

My soapy thing is still prepping to make soap. Tweaking my formula a bit and comparing numbers, deciding if I want to try to use up some rarely used oils or just wait for the oils to go bad and bin them, and trying to decide new soap designs. I was hoping to get my ombre soap entry made on Sunday, but it's so stinking hot yet I'm not sure I could stand to be in the dungeon. I'm itchy to make soap, so I might suffer through.

 

[TashaBird]

So, what I thought were stearic spots are probably air bubbles. I think I’ve figured out what’s happening. It doesn’t happen when I SB to light trace, but I think it happens when I go for a thicker trace. My SB is a kitchenaid that came with a bunch of attachments. The two blade head broke, so I started using the 4 blade head. Could that be giving me more air bubbles?

 

[violets2217]

So, what I thought were stearic spots are probably air bubbles. I think I’ve figured out what’s happening. It doesn’t happen when I SB to light trace, but I think it happens when I go for a thicker trace. My SB is a kitchenaid that came with a bunch of attachments. The two blade head broke, so I started using the 4 blade head. Could that be giving me more air bubbles?

Could be the four blades, do you burp your blender? I’d always forget and would get all kids of bumps when cutting. Still do some times. I alway take my blender out of the soap too much to check trace and then forget to tap it again.

 

[ScentimentallyYours]

I used to think that I would like a trailer for that, as well. However, I realized that I would soap less if I had to walk out the door at night, in inclement weather, etc.

I've always used one bedroom as a home office; with my closed soap cabinets in there, a folding craft table against one wall, and some creative draping of blankets over one spot, it is now my soap room, as well. The blankets create an orderly background for all those Zoom meetings and online court hearings.

My Christmas wish-list includes a small microwave and a single electric burner, both of which will mean no more walking to and from the kitchen for melting oils, surfactants, and the like. And I'm so blessed that the laundry room, with a nice deep sink and good-sized counter, is next to my soap room. It's a great set-up for me.

As for my soapy thing, the day before yesterday, I made an unscented batch of soap for the large ladies' retreat order. It's still a little soft as of today, so the cavity molds may go into the freezer today. I need the cavity molds to make the last batch for this order. I'll be using these cute Amazon bags to wrap them, along with labels from OnlineLabels.com.

Instead of an electric burner, take a look at a portable induction cooktop like this one. Amazon.com: Duxtop Portable Induction Cooktop, Countertop Burner Induction Hot Plate with LCD Sensor Touch 1800 Watts, Silver 9600LS/BT-200DZ: Home & Kitchen. It will give you complete temperature control over anything warmer than 100°F. It uses less energy, and it may be safer than an electric burner in a bedroom environment as well.

I'm making a list and checking it twice... and it's way too early to get Christmas songs stuck in my head...
Starting to get into planning mode for soapmaking. This week I'll start filling my MB buckets.
Dug in over the weekend into some research on Sodium Citrate, so I've added a trial run of making my own onto this coming weekend's schedule.
Made the list of restocks and new products (fall themed scrubs and lotions) that need to get made before my first fall show in 2 weeks.
Sent out wholesale pricing lists to a couple of new clients.

Now to just have the time to do everything that I'm planning.

I saved time by buying sodium citrate on Amazon. It may be available from restaurant supply stores, too. It’s a common food additive!

 

[amd]

I saved time by buying sodium citrate on Amazon.

I'm interested in the sciency part of making my own, but if I like the resulting soap and see a difference in soap scum, I will likely purchase it when needed in the future.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

I remotely remember a discussion (don't know if it was in SMF or in another international community) about the difference between mass and weight. My state of knowledge was, as long as one does not use a scale within a lift/roller coaster/rocket, it either makes no physical (just a linguistic) difference at all, or it'll be Nobel prize worthy (complicated Einstein stuff). Not currently aiming at the latter, my head treats mass and weight just equivalent to each other.
A weird consequence: Some time ago I decided to dismiss notoriously ambiguous “PPO” as a relative unit of measurement, and joined the “total oil weight” camp. BUT I memorised it wrongly as TOM (rather than TOW, remember, mass and weight are equivalent!). And now I use either interchangeably, both on SMF, and across my private notes.

Sorry, it wasn't my intention to complicate this even further.

 

[AliOop]

@ResolvableOwl I like using TOW, as well. The SMFriend calculator allows one to input any additive as a % of oils, which I really appreciate.

 

[msunnerstood]

After a long workday, I was mesmerized by this. I almost hated to add the lye water..

 

[Zing]

Can't. Stop. Clicking. Play. Want. To. Go. To. Bed. Make. It. Stop. Please.
Seriously, what are we looking at??!!
QUOTE="msunnerstood, post: 905818, member: 27018"]
After a long workday, I was mesmerized by this. I almost hated to add the lye water..

View attachment 60151
[/QUOTE]

 

[msunnerstood]

Can't. Stop. Clicking. Play. Want. To. Go. To. Bed. Make. It. Stop. Please.
Seriously, what are we looking at??!!
QUOTE="msunnerstood, post: 905818, member: 27018"]
After a long workday, I was mesmerized by this. I almost hated to add the lye water..

View attachment 60151

I swear I stirred it for several minutes, then watched the video 8 or 9 times. Sometimes, you just gotta get lost in the metallic.
Its my oils and Tahitian teal mica from MM. I did finally add my lye water.

 

[Kari Howie]

After a long hiatus, during which I was relegated to a wheelchair due to hip pain, finally had a hip replacement, then fell on our concrete driveway and broke 3 ribs, I’m now back in the saddle. I was afraid I’d forgotten how to do this, but my first batch turned out nicely. Only problem was the Lemon Verbena FO from Nature’s Oil I used. Smells like Lemon Pledge. Very chemical.

 

[The_Phoenix]

Cut these yesterday. Had lollipop swirl challenge PTSD while making these. Wasn’t concerned with it being perfect. My best friend bought a new house so these will be a housewarming gift for her guest bathroom.

Also made these two weirdos. One on the left is Sweet Pumpkin by EBB. I MISCALCULATED…twice on the batch and had to make more soap after the first pour. It was ridiculous. Should have waited a day to make because I had forced myself to make it.

The second soap is supposed to look like snowballs. It’s not terrible but not how I had envisioned it turning out. Oh well.