What soapy thing have you done today?

[VonnieDeak]

Made soap for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Supposedly (tried it and it works great) lemongrass essential oil is great for arthritis so I made coconut oil superfatted 10 % with shea butter, castor oil and aloe vera gel into a soap and I am now waiting for it to set. Made my whole kitchen smell awesome!!!
I am also waiting on an order of unscented organic shampoo/body wash base and conditioner base to mix with lemon verbena all natural fragrance oil from Bulk Apothecary. So I have two projects going.
I couldn't help but try the aloe, castor, shea and coconut oil soap with lemongrass. I want to see if it helps my arthritis that seems to be crippling me with pain. The soap seems to be turning out really good in the molds. Here is the recipe just in case anyone wants it:

10 oz. coconut oil (92 degree)
4 oz. castor oil
2 oz. shea butter
8 oz. aloe vera gel (chilled)
2.34 oz. lye
1 oz. lemongrass therapeutic essential oil (high amount to combat the arthritis)

Also is a great mosquito repellent.
Can't wait to see how the bars turn out of the mold. Got to wait 24 hours, though.:bunny:

 

[Zany_in_CO]

10 oz. coconut oil (92 degree)
4 oz. castor oil
2 oz. shea butter
8 oz. aloe vera gel (chilled)
2.34 oz. lye
1 oz. lemongrass therapeutic essential oil (high amount to combat the arthritis)

Hi Vonnie, Quick question, the way I read this, you used Aloe Vera Gel to make the lye solution, yes?

 

[Mighty Mama]

Soaped up a storm this morning and then did some research on master batching oils and lye. Time to start getting more streamlined with my production as orders are picking up!

 

[VonnieDeak]

To Zany_in_CO

Hi Vonnie, Quick question, the way I read this, you used Aloe Vera Gel to make the lye solution, yes?

Yes, you can substitute Aloe Gel instead of the water to get a more conditioning soap. I added the castor, shea butter and aloe vera mixed with lye to cut down on the coconut oil's harshness when using so much. So far so good. They are curing perfectly and smelling wonderful!!!

 

[earlene]

Today I removed the soap wafers from the freezer paper on the cookie sheet & placed them on one of my air-ventilation friendly drying trays and put them under a fan to encourage more drying. They're ready enough to use in the challenge soap, but the base can use a bit more drying time, too, so they're both under the fan.

Before that, I removed the very thin base from the slab mold and flipped it over so the top will become the bottom. I wasn't sure I was going to do that but went for it because I like the former top and the bottom looks like tie-dyed fabric without much design. Hubby said this morning that on first glance (the top) looked like Monet's Water Lilies. Well, at least until he next walked by the actual Monet's Water Lilies print that I have hanging on the wall. In any case, way better than a nondescript tie-dye shirt look.

I'll continue with the rest of the soap layers in a couple of hours or so since I want a bit more drying time for these two.

I also put in an order for NaOH. ED is having a free shipping offer and a 40% off sale right now, so I was able to save quite a lot on this order. Happy me.

I also used up all my masterbatched lye yesterday, so have to make some more.

 

[Saponomancer]

Made a large batch of liquid soap paste

 

[MySoapyHeart]

Just found out that my scale is broken, so I can`t make soap untill I get a new one.

Great.

And I just got a new oil from Natures Garden too...and is smells soooo good, too!

Siiigh!

 

[earlene]

MySoapyHeart, I feel for you!

My scale has an AC adapter that sometimes acts up. I'll go to turn on my scale and it doesn't turn on. The first time this happened I thought my scale was broken. But then I thought I should at least try to plug it into another outlet and it worked. Then I plugged it back in at the original outlet & it worked. So now when that happens, I move the plug to another outlet & it works. I'm guessing I need to get a new AC adapter, but it keeps working this way, so I haven't done as yet.

But I do have to replace my smaller scale for the 0.01g measurements & so I am trying to choose between two tempting models right this very moment.

 

[MySoapyHeart]

MySoapyHeart, I feel for you!

My scale has an AC adapter that sometimes acts up. I'll go to turn on my scale and it doesn't turn on. The first time this happened I thought my scale was broken. But then I thought I should at least try to plug it into another outlet and it worked. Then I plugged it back in at the original outlet & it worked. So now when that happens, I move the plug to another outlet & it works. I'm guessing I need to get a new AC adapter, but it keeps working this way, so I haven't done as yet.

But I do have to replace my smaller scale for the 0.01g measurements & so I am trying to choose between two tempting models right this very moment.

Thanks!
Mine is a simple one, but has been very trustworthy. It doesn`t have an adapter, just batteries that I changed just now. I set it on the bench, a completely level surface, and it fluctuates between 5 to13 grams up to 28 with nothing on it! It is like it is constantly weighing the air, lol.

I can`t seem to get a break, out computer is acting up too. But old things tend to make troubble, even if you take good care of them.

Good luck choosing models, I know after I started making soap I am even MORE picky about quality than I used to be.

After all, weighing lye vs. weighing minced meat... the outcome is very different if the scale ain`t up to par : P

 

[VonnieDeak]

Aloe Vera/Shea Butter Soap again...

I loved the way my last batch turned out so I decided to make some more aloe vera/shea butter soaps. This time with sunflower oil and coconut oil with the aloe/shea and castor oil. I had bought a soap online that had sunflower in it and loved it so much thought I would use it in my soaps. The soap looks great and is curing as we speak. Need to make this more often. Oh! And the scent this time is lemon/grapefruit essential oil. LOVELY citrus is scenting my whole kitchen now! Anyway here is my recipe for the aloe vera/shea soap for anyone who wants to try it:

coconut oil 10 oz.
sunflower oil 2 oz.
castor oil 2 oz.
shea butter 2 oz.
aloe vera gel 6 oz.
lye 2.15 oz.

You may want to cut the coconut oil in half and use olive in it's place if you have dry skin. I have super oily skin with very hard water so I can appreciate a large percentage of coconut in my soaps. I am so proud of myself for making this recipe because it makes a great soap that I had to share!!! Again I mix the aloe with the lye for the lye solution substituting aloe vera gel for water (just in case you missed the thread between Zany_in_CO and myself). I think I found a new favorite soap recipe with the aloe and shea butter along with coconut.:bathtub:

 

[earlene]

Unmolded & cut soap. Took some photos, then had to put the camera on the charger before I can finish with the photos.

Cleaned up some soaping bowls, etc. (left from yesterday's soaping session.) Added yesterday's soaping towels, apron, etc. to a load of laundry.

Trying to decide if I want to make more soap this weekend and what recipe to use. Thinking of repeating some recipes I had fun with last year.

 

[Sharryn]

Today I made my 2nd goats milk soap, fragranced with Gardenia. I worked fast and was able to do a 2-color ITP swirl of yellow and green. Can't wait to cut that puppy tomorrow! The worry is that the batter started to become lumpy at the bottom of the pot, but it poured okay. Photos tomorrow!

 

[earlene]

It may not seem soap related, but I submitted a claim to have my mobil phone replaced and it will come within a week. Hopefully, I'll be able to take photos of soap with my replacement cell phone again soon. It stopped working for taking photos while we were on our recent road trip, and it was really annoying because I had forgotten to take my regular camera with me. At the same time the phone stopped recognizing the microSD card and I lost all the photos on that card when my phone somehow caused the card to become 'corrupt.' Soap pictures were on the card as well as many travel pictures that I had not yet transferred to my computer.

It will be nice to be able to take pictures with my phone again!

Today I also brought down some soap I made last year that I could not find any photos of in my computer, so I took some photos and remedied that situation. Then I realized there are some others I should memorialize in digital photography, but not today.

 

[Viore]

I made soap again after a few month's hiatus. Aqua Spa soap, with a blue and green ITP swirl. The green portion thickened up on me, so I don't know if it swirled in the mold or just made glops. We'll see after cutting it tonight or tomorrow!

 

[earlene]

I'm so excited! I opened deliveries from Amazon two days in a row with soaping supply orders.

Yesterday the Salad Shooter and Badger mini-paint stirrer for mixing colorants. The Badger looks like it's going to be way better than the one I've been using, better quality and all. The Salad Shooter is brand-new and not used; I've never seen a used Salad Shooter in any of the many thrift stores I've searched in various states, so I decided I'd go ahead and get buy a new one. And a digital scale with 0.01 gram accuracy because I had to replace the one I ruined spilling EO all over.

Today a new small loaf mold with removable sides. It says it's a 3-pound loaf mold, but it sure seems small for 3 pounds. I'll have to try it out, maybe for the June challenge if a loaf mold fills the bill. And some specimen cups (like we used to collect specimens in the hospital) that I intend to use to keep micas in. The 'zips' in the mica bags have been failing lately, so I needed containers to transfer my micas into and didn't want to invest a huge amount of money in containers. I have always liked specimen containers for purposes such as this, but of course as a retired nurse, I don't have access to them anymore and besides, that would be stealing.

So anyway, I'm super excited about using my new items and want to plan my next soaping project!

 

[soaperwoman]

I have been soaping for 4 months now and have made over 120 soaps, each a different recipe. Just took a very ugly loaf of kelp soap and cut it up and made two pretty loaves of kelpy and kaolin soap. Pureed tomatoes for tomato and basil soap and pureed a papaya for well papaya soap, then I put some soap icing on some soapy doughnuts and put some poppy seeds on some soapy bagels and then I made a meatloaf cause my husband has gotta eat. I average 4 or 5 soaps a day and then go live my life. Oh! I had my first real volcano of all things with tea! Can't even imagine why tea would do that. It was just plain black tea leaves, so weird! Surprised the heck out of me but I always mix on my stove top so no damage. (Gotta admit, I thought it was kinda cool).

 

[earlene]

Soaperwoman, you are a force to be reckoned with! So much soap in so short a time!

Today I worked on plans for my peacock swirl soap. Looked around for and found a smaller box to use as my slap mold. I don't need to make 10 or 15 pounds of soap at a go every time I need to use a slab mold, so decided it's time to downsize from the boot box. A box bottom that held small cans of mushrooms was perfect. It's a sturdy cardboard box bottom and will do very nicely for my next project. If it turns out that I like this size, it will help me decide on a permanent slab mold.

In any case, I also planned a test batch in my new 3-pound loaf mold first. I resized the recipe and gathered materials so I can do that tomorrow morning. I plan to try this with my recipe that I really like the resulting soap, but I haven't made this recipe again in over a year, so need to do a test run for swirls. The last time I did it was a simple ITP swirl, long before I started trying all this fancy stuff. Figured I'll give the peacock swirl a go at the same time just for practice. If all goes well, great, if not I'll have soap I know I really like.

 

[biarine]

I just made my 100% Castile liquid soap today.

 

[duckinatub]

HAPPY SATURDAY FROM DUCKY!!!! Here smells amazing... Come over

 

[earlene]

My husband fooled me this morning. He put his laptop away, cleared the DR table and disappeared like he normally does when he goes to get ready for work. So I began getting his lunch ready, then started getting my stuff out so I could make soap. Then he comes back into the kitchen still in his p.j.'s to pour himself another cup of coffee and make toast. Dang, now I have to wait at least another hour or more before I start making soap. Had to clear the surfaces for his food prep and come back to the living room and chill some more. Plus the automatic clock in the kitchen is an hour off, messing us both us in regards to what time it is. Guess my I'll be soaping late today as he goes in later today.

I won't know until Monday or Tuesday, but he might be gone for 5 or 6 days later this month to work at another airport. If so, I won't have to work around his schedule and can leave my soaping stuff out and start and finish whenever I feel like it while he's gone. That might be fun for a while.