Those are lovely, Hendejm! Too many times, our expectations get in the way of our serendipity.
What soapy thing have you done today?
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Those are lovely, Hendejm! Too many times, our expectations get in the way of our serendipity.
Hendejm
Well-Known Member
Thanks! I realized that this soap didn’t gel at all. So it is pretty soft. I think because I soaped at room temp - that prevented gel. I’ve never soaped at 70 +/- degrees.Those are lovely, Hendejm! Too many times, our expectations get in the way of our serendipity.
It's beautiful - I like the gentle contrast, it's elegant.
I made a batch of Oatmeal Milk & Honey soap today. It was an adventure. First, once I had my honey in, I picked up the honey pot by the lid to move it out of the way and the lid came off in my hand while the honey pot landed in my measuring cup of liquid oils that was to be added to the melted solid oils. There was oil all over my kitchen counter so I had to clean that up, and figure out how much oil I'd lost, before I could continue.
Then, when the soap was just about ready to pour into the mold, my stick blender attached itself to the side of my bowl as if the two were strongly magnetic and started climbing up the bowl. In pulling it away from the side of the bowl, I tipped it up a little too much and raw batter splattered all over my spice rack and the counter... not a lot but enough to be annoying. I ignored that problem while I poured the soap, which was now in a fairly thick trace.
My kitchen is now tidied up and the soap has been put to bed. I'll be keeping a close eye on it because.... well, honey and milk. 'Nuff said, right?
Then, when the soap was just about ready to pour into the mold, my stick blender attached itself to the side of my bowl as if the two were strongly magnetic and started climbing up the bowl. In pulling it away from the side of the bowl, I tipped it up a little too much and raw batter splattered all over my spice rack and the counter... not a lot but enough to be annoying. I ignored that problem while I poured the soap, which was now in a fairly thick trace.
My kitchen is now tidied up and the soap has been put to bed. I'll be keeping a close eye on it because.... well, honey and milk. 'Nuff said, right?
Marilyn Norgart
Well-Known Member
It isn't oatmeal milk, Marilyn. There should be a comma in there; it's Oatmeal, Milk & Honey. The colour is a result of the lye reacting with the honey and milk. As soon as I added the lye to the oils and the honey, it turned that orange-y colour. The top was done when the soap was at a pretty heavy trace (which was right after I poured it) and was done with a teaspoon, just pushing the batter up from the edge with the back of the spoon.
I had to put the soap outside; it was beginning to crack. There is one upside to this cold weather - the great outdoors is bigger than my fridge.
I had to put the soap outside; it was beginning to crack. There is one upside to this cold weather - the great outdoors is bigger than my fridge.
Marilyn Norgart
Well-Known Member
how many pounds is it? the color is awesome
Oh my gracious, Ev, what a nightmare! Four events in one batch.
Sounds like you were much more cool, calm, and collected than I could have managed!! And look at your gorgeous result! The mark of a true professional.
Hmm... if I did my conversion right, it's about 5 lbs.
Chris_S
Well-Known Member
It isn't oatmeal milk, Marilyn. There should be a comma in there; it's Oatmeal, Milk & Honey. The colour is a result of the lye reacting with the honey and milk. As soon as I added the lye to the oils and the honey, it turned that orange-y colour. The top was done when the soap was at a pretty heavy trace (which was right after I poured it) and was done with a teaspoon, just pushing the batter up from the edge with the back of the spoon.
I had to put the soap outside; it was beginning to crack. There is one upside to this cold weather - the great outdoors is bigger than my fridge.
I live in an old council owned house and all the houses on this estate and most in Wigan actually have a ginnel outside of the kitchen door they have since built had roofs added i think and then theres 2 rooms for outdoor ish storage. I used to soap in the ginnel but honestly its faaaaar to cold in winter to be standing or sitting round doing nothing but its great for leaving soap in if it needs to cool in winter. Iv also got an old school larder but had to block the vents because it made the kitchen far too cold in winter.
Today didnt do much soapy except for wrapping the remaining cured soaps i had deshelved yesterday. Annoyingly the ones i used lemon and lime eo in i can smell them faintly but honestly I avnt a scooby which is lemon and which is lime lol and the colours and swirls are near identical so i just had to guess when i put temperary labels on only for gifting anyways so not that much of a problem.
OMG @Misschief ~ must be something in the soaping stars today, or we (collectively) really need to somehow appease the Soaping Gods ~ While holding aloft and trying to pour from my steel pot of cooked soap into some molds, I managed to DROP the pan halfway through, and *SPLAT* went the remaining batter on the floor! Plus one of the pot handles shattered into 9 pieces!
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Hendejm
Well-Known Member
I just made another soap tonight. It is going to be called “black and tan” after the beer although it doesn’t have beer in it. The batter performed perfectly so hopefully it will turn out well. The FO is supposed to have moderate discoloration so I added TD to the tan portion to help keep it a creamy beer foam color. We will see tomorrow morning! I’ve decided to soap at night so I’m not tempted to peak during its saponfication process. Hopefully the TD and activated charcoal play nice and don’t give me glycerin rivers. But if they do - it should be ok given the color scheme.
Yikes! Are YOU ok? Now that we've gotten that out of the way, maybe all will be well now? Fingers crossed, right?
Had Black & Tans in bars in Wales. First I'd heard of them! I think glycerin rivers are pretty, most of the time.
Hendejm
Well-Known Member
I don’t drink but I see them and I think they look pretty cool.
If it had to happen, thank soap gods it was cooked HP batter that spilled. SO came to look but I shooed him away. Everything fell and spilled Away from me, and the mess wasn't so big as it could have been, like if it spilled down between the stove and the wall... so ... a bit of luck in the midst of it. Maybe you and I were the sacrificial animals for the Forum today, lol.
Thanks for your concern!
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Marilyn Norgart
Well-Known Member
you might be better off just glopping the HP--its kinda thick to pour. I have tried that but its hard to hold onto a hot crockpot while trying to scrape it out
Marilyn Norgart
Well-Known Member
did Kiwi's rose soap have glycerin rivers--I thought it added a beautiful touch. why does it happen and what does it do to the soap?
Yes! At first I thought it was a technique that I didn't know of, and when i heard they were glycerin rivers I was blown away! The formations were so lacy and looked utterly planned. They suited her rose soap So Well!!
Some additives like TD can cause it. I think there are other reasons, you could probably search this forum.
you might be better off just glopping the HP--its kinda thick to pour. I have tried that but its hard to hold onto a hot crockpot while trying to scrape it out
I tried a technique I saw on YouTube last night, which results in a pourable rather than gloppy HP batter.
My main difficulty is that there's no room in that kitchen and not all things that are in my way can be removed, they just have to be worked around. Next time, I'll prepare our eating table in the next room with the molds, then I'll have elbow room to pour from a large pan. Or just stick with CP.
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