What soapy thing have you done today?

[Misschief]

Today's soapy thing was a 30-bar batch of mechanic's soap, which is my riff on @earlene's famous Blacksmith Soap, using my MB oils and her ratios of borax and pumice. Instead of dual lye, I add sorbitol and use aloe vera juice to dissolve the borax. You can tell how thick it got by the end of the pour by all the soap residue around the cavities. I was scraping it in, smacking it down and leveling off the tops as best as I could. Thankfully, our mechanic doesn't care how it looks; he only asks that I never let him run out of this stuff. Scented with pink grapefruit EO and d-limonene, it smells great!

View attachment 75783

PS - @dmcgee5034 you can see the soapy gift from DH in the background - the single burner hot plate that I've been wanting for awhile now. And of course, I used the new SB and scale which he urged me to open and use so many weeks ahead of time.

Looks fantastic! I've been meaning to make Earlene's Blacksmith soap but still haven't gotten to it.

 

[AliensrReal]

Sane people: It’s best to test a fragrance oil before doing intricate designs. That way you will know how it works.

Me: I don’t feel like testing fragrances so I’m going all in baby! Let’s use a new fragrance oil to make kaleidoscope soap! What could possible go wrong?!

My second kaleidoscope soap is awful. But it’s going to glow in the dark so I don’t care how it looks as long as it glows! The WSP Yuzu accelerated trace so it was at thick trace by the time I was finished. Yeah, I’m starting to think that maybe the sane people are right. I’m not entirely convinced yet, but they may be on to something.

 

[Misschief]

Sane people: It’s best to test a fragrance oil before doing intricate designs. That way you will know how it works.

Me: I don’t feel like testing fragrances so I’m going all in baby! Let’s use a new fragrance oil to make kaleidoscope soap! What could possible go wrong?!

My second kaleidoscope soap is awful. But it’s going to glow in the dark so I don’t care how it looks as long as it glows! The WSP Yuzu accelerated trace so it was at thick trace by the time I was finished. Yeah, I’m starting to think that maybe the sane people are right. I’m not entirely convinced yet, but they may be on to something.

Whatever you do, don't use lime EO in soap. Just sayin'.

 

[AliOop]

@Misschief I waited awhile to try it, as well, because the original recipe requires a lot of steps outside my normal routine.

After finally making the recipe once as written, I decided to experiment with my own oil blend, and also to skip the dual lye in favor of my usual sorbitol. The results which just as good per my users. That led me to believe that it is the combination of borax and pumice that makes it work so well - not the specific oil blend nor the dual lye.

I do believe that the d-limonene and various citrus scents add a bit of degreasing power, but regardless, most people seem to like citrus smells. Would love to hear if you give it a try, either the original or your own take on it!

 

[AliensrReal]

Whatever you do, don't use lime EO in soap. Just sayin'.

I will put that into my consideration book as well.

Translation: I’m gonna do it as now I need to see why.

Side note: glow in the dark powder does accelerate trace as well.

 

[katili]

Today I made an unscented and uncolored Bastille (75% olive oil, 22% coconut oil, 3% castor oil, 7% super fat) that I'm excited to try out in many weeks, and an experimental small batch of a recipe ChatGPT created just for fun that's 25% palm oil, 25% coconut oil, 18.75% sweet almond oil, 18.75% rice bran oil, and 12.5% shea butter. I'm still learning the properties of.. well, everything, so I've got no idea what to expect from it haha.

 

[Misschief]

I will put that into my consideration book as well.

Translation: I’m gonna do it as now I need to see why.

Side note: glow in the dark powder does accelerate trace as well.

Hint: instant soap on a stick

 

[KiwiMoose]

Hint: instant soap on a stick

I use it quite often and haven’t noticed that. Will look back on my notes..

 

[Arimara]

Does Looking at M&P that you separated a few weeks ago count?

 

[AliensrReal]

Hint: instant soap on a stick

I use it quite often and haven’t noticed that. Will look back on my notes..

It seems there’s a conflict in opinion. This means I should investigate for myself.

 

[Tammyfarms]

Whatever you do, don't use lime EO in soap. Just sayin'.

Good information to have! I have a lime blend in a slurry. Was going to split the batter and do a thin layer of brown then a layer of light green, like key lime pie. With this information I will modify that to a thin unscented brown layer and fragrance in the green which will be added at the very end. Thank you!

 

[AliensrReal]

Today I made an unscented and uncolored Bastille (75% olive oil, 22% coconut oil, 3% castor oil, 7% super fat) that I'm excited to try out in many weeks, and an experimental small batch of a recipe ChatGPT created just for fun that's 25% palm oil, 25% coconut oil, 18.75% sweet almond oil, 18.75% rice bran oil, and 12.5% shea butter. I'm still learning the properties of.. well, everything, so I've got no idea what to expect from it haha.

Let us know how they turn out. You’re doing it the smart way. I’m sure you will like the soaps. I love almond oil in soap even though I’ve never used it myself.

After all that, here it is. Almost never does soap turn out exactly as I envision it, but this time it did. I am very happy with it. Yellows can be tricky, and I thought it might be of interest to see the difference between gelled and not gelled. Usually colors pop when going through gel phase - but not yellow or sometimes orange. In the individual cavity molds, the one on the left did not go through gel phase and the one on the right did.

That is gorgeous. How did you split the batter 50/50 for yellow and white?

 

[dibbles]

That is gorgeous. How did you split the batter 50/50 for yellow and white?

Thank you I split my batter 40% white/60% yellow. Starting with white I poured 4 passes (2 each way back and forth along the mold). Then added a thin stream of yellow to the white, counting 1, 2, 3. Stir to mix and repeat until the mold was full. It's tedious, but gives a pretty seamless ombre.

 

[AliensrReal]

Me: I want to make a black and white soap.
*sees orange colored fragrance oil*
Me: That’s the scent I’ll use!!
* when it turns the white batter light tan*

 

[katili]

Let us know how they turn out. You’re doing it the smart way. I’m sure you will like the soaps. I love almond oil in soap even though I’ve never used it myself.


That is gorgeous. How did you split the batter 50/50 for yellow and white?

My experimental loaf was a little crumbly by the time I cut it, but I think it will be nice once I can use it. The red oxide turned into a really nice color, though I probably could have used a touch more since it's as little pinker than I intended. The bastille is so lovely and creamy already! I made it for my son with sensitive skin, I really hope it works well for him.

After I posted I also made a batch with salt and sugar with blue indigo, but the FO is discoloring it a bit so it's a little more seaweed and a little less ocean hehe.

 

[AliensrReal]

My experimental loaf was a little crumbly by the time I cut it, but I think it will be nice once I can use it. The red oxide turned into a really nice color, though I probably could have used a touch more since it's as little pinker than I intended. The bastille is so lovely and creamy already! I made it for my son with sensitive skin, I really hope it works well for him.

After I posted I also made a batch with salt and sugar with blue indigo, but the FO is discoloring it a bit so it's a little more seaweed and a little less ocean hehe.

I like the soap and the colors. Nice job!

 

[Savage Daughter]

Yup, it's like hollering 'FIRST DIBS!' but in a workplace-acceptable tone.

Ahhhh....bugger the workplace-acceptable-tone I say But sure, if that floats yer boat, workplace-acceptable-tone-away

Would you like me to PM / DM you if I decide to get rid of them? Have not decided yet...

 

[Savage Daughter]

Am really lovin' the Abyssinian oil in my new and improved lotion bars! Am feeling just a titch disloyal to my mmmeadowfoam seed oil....

I use both together in whatever I am making because they both lend their own very nice properties to an end product.

Bakuchi seed oil is also rocking my world at the moment....

 

[Savage Daughter]

Am really lovin' the Abyssinian oil in my new and improved lotion bars! Am feeling just a titch disloyal to my mmmeadowfoam seed oil....

I use both together in whatever I am making because they both lend their own very nice properties to an end product.

Bakuchi seed oil is also rocking my world at the moment....

 

[AliensrReal]

So my disaster kaleidoscope wasn’t completely ruined. Counting to three did create more layers. I tried the squeeze bottle technique with the long tips and since the stencil stem was in the middle it just made it difficult to use the squeeze bottles. I’ll stick to pouring the batter half way down the stem. I did lose quite a bit of soap (3oz maybe?) in the squeeze bottles, but I was able to get some of it out with my spatula and then I just got tired called it the day. I couldn’t get the rest out as my spatula wasn’t long enough, but I am ordering a longer one to make sure I get every last bit out. Overall, not too bad. The learning continues!