What soapy thing have you done today?

[Savage Daughter]

Aside from errands I need to do, I'm going to moderate my soapy to-do list to avoid disappointing myself (or further exhaustion), to something like organizing my soap workshop area, trying to design a loaf-cutter I've been dreaming about, and perhaps making the last (?) two batches in my honey-soap experiment. I'm trying to learn moderation of self-expectations, but it isn't easy: I'm wired to over-commit myself and then rake myself over the coals. It's a self-destructive loop.

Yes, this I understand very well. I have been learning to organize my days in such a way that I can get a decent amount done without over-committing to anything. Working in IT for 30 or so years has resulted me operating under a reversed schedule compared to what most people function within, so it's not uncommon for me to be bevelling, polishing & labeling soaps from 2-5:AM, then working all day the next day on job / outdoor work / side businesses. Today was fencing, then sitting down & taking a break & reading the form posts. Pace myself!

As part of our study on DOS causes and prevention, I was thinking about the guitar wires on my various cutters, and looked to see what they're made of; the spares I bought online are steel wrapped with nickel, and nickel is listed as one of the culprits, so I'll be seeking to replace them with pure stainless strings; another live-and-learn item in my soap education.

THAT! Oh wow, that is not something which had occurred to me! I will have to remember this when I run out of the spare strings which came with my cutters.

My wife's gotten fully into the swing of things and is now interested in making shower steamers and has been seen pricing bath bomb presses. Yesterday she shared a link to a recipe for shower gel! It appears that our house will be bath-products-focused for the next while.

It is a beautiful thing when a couple, married or not, begin coming together on something like this, as insignificant as it may seem

Tree Marie has a good video on mini drop swirls and includes links in her YouTube post. I think this is what you’re looking for?

I just finished watching that video, thanks so much for sharing I love her method of mixing colorants, which could be very helpful when I'm using things like indigo powder, chlorella, various clays. Had never considered doing things that way before. One of the few creative supplies I don't have is a palette knife!

The video also surprised me as I never would have guessed that this would be the way to go about getting this type of design. I had visualized a completely different process, to say the least! I would have completely buggered it up had I not watched the video first Will have to give this a shot, with my own spin of course, at some point.

 

[2lilboots]

I had two days off so I made 4 batches of soap. I had ordered several Fall, Christmas, and assorted fos and wanted to try them out. I am thrilled with three of them, but the one I made using NG Christmas Cabin was a total dud. It was originally going to be my entry for the shapes contest, but due to discoloration it just looks crappy. Now that I have a large selection of fos, oils, and colorants, I am planning my soap recipes for my days off in the future.

 

[Jorah]

I've been reading up on the basics (not at all unlike me, sadly, to do a new hobby for a few months then study the basics) and feel like I'm 'getting' water percentages a bit better. This post from Auntie Clara is very good: Lye Calculation Using a Saponification Chart - Tutorial and this awesome post from Classic Bells: Water in soap | Soapy Stuff

 

[dmcgee5034]

I wanted to post an update on my discoloring FO experience. I used NS First Love which discolors to brown.

Here’s the right after the cut (again), and today which is a month later.

Pretty cool!

 

[SSC Oregon]

Just going to be playing catch up on this awesome thread.
End of summer, prep for fall craziness here. But I still wonder how my soapy friends are faring

 

[Tammyfarms]

Tree Marie has a good video on mini drop swirls and includes links in her YouTube post. I think this is what you’re looking for?

What an interesting technique. Will have to try that- and repurpose those little packing bags.

 

[Shelley D]

I finally did it ~ I made a slurry! And yes, I do feel proud of myself! This will be for a soap recipe I'm creating for my mom, but I wasn't sure how to cut down the slurry recipe to use in a 1 pound soap recipe so I will just have to make a nice big batch
And would you look at that rich purple color! It almost looks like the chocolate syrup that was originally in that bottle

 

[Tammyfarms]

I made a batch of soap for a dear friend who is in North Carolina. She loves OMH which gives me a headache. It will cure outside in our shop where I cure all my soap. As soon as it is cured enough to travel it is out of here. I planned to do a wall pour and then swirl it with a chopstick. I watched *so carefully* for emulsion but all of a sudden it was at light trace. Added color and realized that I hadn't mixed up enough so I ran inside and grabbed more color. By the time that was added, the batter was at medium trace and thickening quickly. Ran back inside and grabbed a gear tie, plopped the batter in layers into the mold, used the gear tie to swirl the soap and then a chopstick. It was supposed to be purple, teal and natural. The purple layer might be a dusty purple instead of dark purple I wanted. Teal was ok but I would have liked darker. It is in an insulated box with a heating pad gelling. Will find out tomorrow how it looks. Hoping that I don't need to rebatch. Couple of lessons learned, 1) mica is cheap, mix way more that I think I will need, and 2) when I think my batter isn't quite at emulsion it probably is.

 

[Tammyfarms]

I finally did it ~ I made a slurry! And yes, I do feel proud of myself! This will be for a soap recipe I'm creating for my mom, but I wasn't sure how to cut down the slurry recipe to use in a 1 pound soap recipe so I will just have to make a nice big batch
And would you look at that rich purple color! It almost looks like the chocolate syrup that was originally in that bottle

That is a beautiful purple! May I ask what's in your slurry?

 

[Shelley D]

That is a beautiful purple! May I ask what's in your slurry?

I followed the method by mentioned by @QuasiQuadrant it has lavender EO, castor oil, dried lavender buds, and dark purple clay (like the kind they use to make those pretty clay Japanese tea pots). I'm going to let it marinate a little while before I make the soap ~ I'm waiting for a few ingredients to come in the mail anyway.

 

[Savage Daughter]

I followed the method by mentioned by @QuasiQuadrant it has lavender EO, castor oil, dried lavender buds, and dark purple clay (like the kind they use to make those pretty clay Japanese tea pots). I'm going to let it marinate a little while before I make the soap ~ I'm waiting for a few ingredients to come in the mail anyway.

I'm interested to hear how it goes for you

I finally did it ~ I made a slurry! And yes, I do feel proud of myself! This will be for a soap recipe I'm creating for my mom, but I wasn't sure how to cut down the slurry recipe to use in a 1 pound soap recipe so I will just have to make a nice big batch
And would you look at that rich purple color! It almost looks like the chocolate syrup that was originally in that bottle

That's awesome I hope it works out well for you! How large is the batch you're making??

I tend to mix exactly the amount of essential oils / colorants that I use in a batch, rather than more than I will use in a batch. That way I know I am getting exactly the amount of essential oils I want in each batch of soap.

Just wanted to say that in case you wind up being disappointed in the strength of your fragrance due to there being less essential oils in it

 

[Shelley D]

I'm interested to hear how it goes for you



That's awesome I hope it works out well for you! How large is the batch you're making??

I tend to mix exactly the amount of essential oils / colorants that I use in a batch, rather than more than I will use in a batch. That way I know I am getting exactly the amount of essential oils I want in each batch of soap.

Just wanted to say that in case you wind up being disappointed in the strength of your fragrance due to there being less essential oils in it

It's funny because I usually make 1 pound batches of soap (or between 454 - 500 grams depending on the recipe), but then I realized that your slurry was intended to be added to the soap batch in its entirety and I panicked because *math* and *over-stressed brain* and I was trying to use this as my calming thing at the time and i couldn't figure out how to reduce the slurry to match a 1 pound batch of soap. So I looked at your calculations and thought, yes, I would love to do this batch in that size because it will look pretty and should smell divine Ironically, the recipe I found for a CO, OO, SB soap also included a doubled and tripled variation so I printed out the tripled version of the recipe. I noticed that the grams said 1362 (printout recipe) instead of 1360 (Quasi's slurry recipe reference) and then I realized that was most likely the difference of the slurry that will be added so I made my notes on my recipe printout for later so I don't forget Ultimately, this will be 2 colors with that lovely purple swirled throughout but I haven't decided how fancy I'm going to get with the swirls ~ I may try layering the colors when I pour, who knows I guess we will all be surprised when the time comes! I'm actually thinking of making a vanilla bean slurry for plain color part of the soap so
*Edit to add: that slurry jar isn't full, it just appears that way because I had shaken it and the jar was coated. It only has a little bit ~ see new pic

 

[Savage Daughter]

It's funny because I usually make 1 pound batches of soap (or between 454 - 500 grams depending on the recipe), but then I realized that your slurry was intended to be added to the soap batch in its entirety and I panicked because *math* and *over-stressed brain* and I was trying to use this as my calming thing at the time and i couldn't figure out how to reduce the slurry to match a 1 pound batch of soap. So I looked at your calculations and thought, yes, I would love to do this batch in that size because it will look pretty and should smell divine Ironically, the recipe I found for a CO, OO, SB soap also included a doubled and tripled variation so I printed out the tripled version of the recipe. I noticed that the grams said 1362 (printout recipe) instead of 1360 (Quasi's slurry recipe reference) and then I realized that was most likely the difference of the slurry that will be added so I made my notes on my recipe printout for later so I don't forget Ultimately, this will be 2 colors with that lovely purple swirled throughout but I haven't decided how fancy I'm going to get with the swirls ~ I may try layering the colors when I pour, who knows I guess we will all be surprised when the time comes! I'm actually thinking of making a vanilla bean slurry for plain color part of the soap so
*Edit to add: that slurry jar isn't full, it just appears that way because I had shaken it and the jar was coated. It only has a little bit ~ see new pic

You can definitely calculate it for your own batch size, with no problem. Just divide & all that good stuff 1 kg is 2.2 pounds, for reference. EDIT #2: 1kg is 1000 grams. Half of that is 500 grams, which is roughly a pound. Hope that's of some help. I am often having to calculate ounces into grams because I prefer more precise measurements.

I would suggest looking back at the post where I gave the example - or even print it out - and breathe / settle yourself internally before doing your math. I understand that level of stress. Learning to trust yourself in all situations is very important, not to mention understanding that you WILL make mistakes. I make them, everyone makes them. It's part of the learning / experimenting process.

I usually double & triple check my calculations, because even a missed / insufficiently pressed button on the calculator - make sure you're looking at the calculator display when punching things in - can give you a very skewed number. I have done that myself before. Hence the double / triple checking which has saved me grief in several situations.

EDIT: Forgot to say, that's what my slurry looks like too after combining / shaking, but of various different colors, depending on the natural colorant I'm using. Give it another good shake before dumping into your soap & scrape that jar as clean as possible to get all the beauty out of it

Good luck

 

[Shelley D]

You can definitely calculate it for your own batch size, with no problem. Just divide & all that good stuff 1 kg is 2.2 pounds, for reference. EDIT #2: 1kg is 1000 grams. Half of that is 500 grams, which is roughly a pound. Hope that's of some help. I am often having to calculate ounces into grams because I prefer more precise measurements.

I would suggest looking back at the post where I gave the example - or even print it out - and breathe / settle yourself internally before doing your math. I understand that level of stress. Learning to trust yourself in all situations is very important, not to mention understanding that you WILL make mistakes. I make them, everyone makes them. It's part of the learning / experimenting process.

I usually double & triple check my calculations, because even a missed / insufficiently pressed button on the calculator - make sure you're looking at the calculator display when punching things in - can give you a very skewed number. I have done that myself before. Hence the double / triple checking which has saved me grief in several situations.

EDIT: Forgot to say, that's what my slurry looks like too after combining / shaking, but of various different colors, depending on the natural colorant I'm using. Give it another good shake before dumping into your soap & scrape that jar as clean as possible to get all the beauty out of it

Good luck

I'll have to go back and look over the whole thread. I wasn't sure how to calculate how much slurry for the smaller soap batch, nor how to to divide down the slurry since it was only a small amount in itself. I just got excited about making slurry Not that I'm the least bit upset about making a large batch of soap either, because now I get to keep some after I send some to my mom and few other people I love this addiction, I really do!

 

[Tammyfarms]

I followed the method by mentioned by @QuasiQuadrant it has lavender EO, castor oil, dried lavender buds, and dark purple clay (like the kind they use to make those pretty clay Japanese tea pots). I'm going to let it marinate a little while before I make the soap ~ I'm waiting for a few ingredients to come in the mail anyway.

Sounds wonderful! I have a slurry sitting also. It is another that follows @QuasiQuadrant’s instructions, I used orange EO and some chai tea that has a heavy ginger flavor. Will be interesting to see how it turns out.

 

[Shelley D]

Sounds wonderful! I have a slurry sitting also. It is another that follows @QuasiQuadrant’s instructions, I used orange EO and some chai tea that has a heavy ginger flavor. Will be interesting to see how it turns out.

That sounds wonderful as well! I love ginger

 

[Savage Daughter]

Sounds wonderful! I have a slurry sitting also. It is another that follows @QuasiQuadrant’s instructions, I used orange EO and some chai tea that has a heavy ginger flavor. Will be interesting to see how it turns out.

Real chai tea?? THAT is exciting! I love blending my own chai spices

My next batch is going to be made using whole spices, for sure, very strongly decocted using my distilled water, along with essential oils. I also have medicinal mushroom extracts which I discovered were polluted with maltodextrin that I won't be using internally, so they are being used in soaps. My old, shrivelled ginger root will also be great to use for this! I miss many scents I experienced in Indonesia, so will likely play with things in this arena. I miss the smell of harvested vetiver root so much! Absolutely amazing! Not to mention the locally distilled patchouli essential oil, our frangipani trees, fresh jasmine blossoms in the market, whole spices, vanilla beans, whole nutmegs still in the shell....maybe this is inspiration for the pot luck meal I need to make for tomorrow as well, and which I am absolutely unmotivated to get to...Indonesian-spiced tapioca pudding made with coconut milk, from scratch....this ain't your supermarket tapioca pudding!

Love reading other people's inspirational posts!

 

[Tammyfarms]

Real chai tea?? THAT is exciting! I love blending my own chai spices

My next batch is going to be made using whole spices, for sure, very strongly decocted using my distilled water, along with essential oils. I also have medicinal mushroom extracts which I discovered were polluted with maltodextrin that I won't be using internally, so they are being used in soaps. My old, shrivelled ginger root will also be great to use for this! I miss many scents I experienced in Indonesia, so will likely play with things in this arena. I miss the smell of harvested vetiver root so much! Absolutely amazing! Not to mention the locally distilled patchouli essential oil, our frangipani trees, fresh jasmine blossoms in the market, whole spices, vanilla beans, whole nutmegs still in the shell....maybe this is inspiration for the pot luck meal I need to make for tomorrow as well, and which I am absolutely unmotivated to get to...Indonesian-spiced tapioca pudding made with coconut milk, from scratch....this ain't your supermarket tapioca pudding!

Love reading other people's inspirational posts!

Those Indonesian fragrances sound wonderful and many you mentioned make me think of Hawaii. Your Indonesian tapioca pudding sounds yummy!

 

[Savage Daughter]

Those Indonesian fragrances sound wonderful and many you mentioned make me think of Hawaii. Your Indonesian tapioca pudding sounds yummy!

Thank you for the inspiration I needed for my next batch of pull-throughs & smaller loafs! I have been hemming & hawing about this for over a week now

I sincerely hope to be in Hawaii next winter for a conference, so am very much looking forward to checking out all of the local plants, traditional plant medicine, spices & so on. Super exciting!

My pudding ended up staying home with me because once made, I didn't think that most Western people would like or appreciate it very much. The coconut sugar turns the coconut milk brown & caramelized looking, which tastes beautiful, but for the 'uninitiated' who are used to everything like that being white, they wouldn't have gotten it...at all

Oh well, more Indonesian spiced tapioca pudding for me

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Honestly, they never have this when I need it.