Wow! I was wondering what it would look like with 6 neons dropped in ~ so cool!
What soapy thing have you done today?
- Thread starter FlybyStardancer
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Fabulous drop swirl!
Such pretty and vibrant colors, @Kaybrantley - well done! 
I got tired of my clutter of tiny FO sample bottles and mostly empty larger bottles taking up space in my supply cabinet. So I took 6 different, but similar-smelling FOs, from my stash and threw them all in a batch of soap. Some were from Candle Science, some from Nurture Soap, and some from Fragrance Buddy. Usage rates were about the same. End result: a great-smelling soap! I surprised myself!
Sometimes you just have to throw it out and start over! It's like getting a parking ticket. I have to pay them off as soon as possible and then forget about them or I get really mad (they're never my fault of course!).The recipe called for 49.94g lye and 101g water. I used my master batch and added the water. When I realized my mistake and threw out the batch, I recalculated on soapcalc to see what my lye should’ve been. It should’ve been twice as much and way less water. Whatever I did you could see by looking at the batch that it wasn’t gonna work. So I just threw it out and started again. The next batch came out perfect
Most of my bars are cut with the soap equipment 1 1/4" soap cutter. They're bigger than normal but I figure ppl can cut them in half if they want a smaller soap. It's also a nice hold for me to rub on a washcloth.
Yeah, I've made that mistake before! These days, I just pour water into the new molds to figure it out and write down the amount in my notebook. My most recent mistake had me looking at the total oils in soap recipe for fill amount rather than the whole total (oil, water, lye) and I was left scrambling for small molds to quickly pour the extra!I tried out my new tall and skinny mold with dividers from Workshop Heritage. Didn’t bother to go to the website to see what the capacity wasand tried to figure capacity out on my own and seriously miscalculated.
. Oh well, tomorrow is another day!
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Made my first vegan, palm free soap 2 weeks ago. Tried a sliver today and I was surprised at how nice it was! I have really sensitive skin and usually stick with the goat milk but had some customers ask me about making a vegan soap, so I switched up my recipe. I subbed a homemade oat milk for the goat and subbed out a bunch of other stuff instead of the palm. Olive oil, D. Water, Babassu Oil, Coconut Oil, Kokum Butter, Oat Milk, Castor Oil, Cupuacu Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Black Currant Seed Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil, Squalane*, Hibiscus Seed Oil*, Sodium Citrate/Lactate/Gluconate, Argan Oil*, Helichrysum Extract (oil)*, Calendula Extract (oil)*, ROE, no essential oils and I never use f/o (allergies). It smells creamy and clean. It lathered up beautifully and felt very delicate on the skin. Can't wait to see how it ages! This will probably be a keeper. *additives - added after trace.
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Both are pretty bit that drop swirl is amazing!
Your recipe looked great is yummy but, and I’m a relatively new soaker, are your additives added after adding your lye? What’s your supper fat?
Yes, I added them after the oils and lye reached trace. At the same time I'd usually add my essential oils but I decided my first vegan soap would have no essential oils (some eczema sufferers can't do certain e/os).
Super fat was 6 but I went over the oil additives by 4 grams for a full sized log of soap.
It was my first time using cupuacu butter (I usually only use kokum butter) and I really like it. I think that's what adds the creaminess.
I always freeze the wet wood of my silicone soap mold beforehand and throw the soap in the freezer for a half a day to stop it from gelling (and soap milk soaps with all ingredients under 100F, lye can be cooler and oil warmer to average both @93F). It goes from the freezer to the fridge for two days, I unmold it and then leave it out on my log cutter for a half a day before I cut (my soaps usually start out quite soft, even with 28% liquid). It might be a little overkill but it just works for me so I stick with it!
I did mess up the top by putting cling film over the soap after 10 mins but the top was very high and soft and got messed up, hence the funky redo!
I also added the oat milk to the main oils but the lye still colored it a bit. Next time I might add the oat milk to the additives and see if it makes a difference.
I'm not a fan of Lavender either but Holly Soap Making does an eo blend of Lavender and Peppermint. I tried to replicate it and almost made myself sick!! I wonder if there is a Lavender gene just like there's a Cilantro gene. You either love the smell or you hate it!
Oh and what soappy thing did I do today? Cut my 3rd attempt at a Ghost Swirl with a batter recipe of my own choosing. I'd made two on Tuesday, one 33%/50% lye concentration. The one I cut today was 30%/44%. This soap I had to put into the fridge before it was hard enough to cut. I live in Northern CA and it's in the triple digits here. Air is on but I think it's just to hot for that particular loaf. :-( I did some lurking on the forum, got an idea for another couple of soaps, and thought about ordering more scents (Like I don't have enough!) Anyone need new bottle of peppermint eo?
God, this is addiction!!
My sensitive skin likes oat milk better than goat's milk also ~ I haven't tried kokum butter in soap yet though
so now I have another experiment to look forward to 
I use Kukom in lotions. Love it. Need to also try it in soapMy sensitive skin likes oat milk better than goat's milk also ~ I haven't tried kokum butter in soap yet though
What size bottle?I'm not a fan of Lavender either but Holly Soap Making does an eo blend of Lavender and Peppermint. I tried to replicate it and almost made myself sick!! I wonder if there is a Lavender gene just like there's a Cilantro gene. You either love the smell or you hate it!
Oh and what soappy thing did I do today? Cut my 3rd attempt at a Ghost Swirl with a batter recipe of my own choosing. I'd made two on Tuesday, one 33%/50% lye concentration. The one I cut today was 30%/44%. This soap I had to put into the fridge before it was hard enough to cut. I live in Northern CA and it's in the triple digits here. Air is on but I think it's just to hot for that particular loaf. :-( I did some lurking on the forum, got an idea for another couple of soaps, and thought about ordering more scents (Like I don't have enough!) Anyone need new bottle of peppermint eo?
God, this is addiction!!
2- 4oz bottles from CandleScience
Oh my! I was thinking a small bottle
(not that I wouldn't use those sizes!), but I have about 37 grams of tussah silk I'm willing to part with since I never use it ~ but I seriously doubt it comes close in value to your two 4 oz bottles 
Kokum is really high in Stearic Acid which helps with creamy stable lather and a nicely solid bar. I also use it for stable rich lather in my shave soap. (And my skin and face creams, lip balms, etc., I love it!!) But I'm also loving Cupuacu Butter these days for it's moisturizing creamines.My sensitive skin likes oat milk better than goat's milk also ~ I haven't tried kokum butter in soap yet though
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