What soapy thing have you done today?
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I know sugar is a heater and accelerator, and that's ok. Lol, I had jitters the night before the day I made this soap, knowing all the things that I was planning to do would make pulling off an ombre harder. I was tired when I posted and didn't list them all out, my only point was that it probably isn't a badly-behaved FO. I really wanted all of these elements even if it meant I'd have to move faster, but I'll post more about that once I've cleaned up the bars and posted them to the gallery.Remember? Sugar or anything with sugar is a "heater" and tends to not only accelerate but also turns the soap to tan or brown. Probably not a good addition to an ombre soap with multiple colors.
Interesting! I've read about Slippery Elm bark being used as an antioxidant to extend the shelf life of oils. I've never tried it. If you don't mind my asking, where did you pick up that tip? Do you have a link you can share?
ETA: Nature's Garden has it, althought it doesn't specifically mention its antioxidant property, it's worth a read. Who knew? Certainly NOT me!
https://www.naturesgardencandles.com/slippery-elm-bark-class.html
Scroll down to "Bath and Body Products"
Slippery elm bark info came from a link in a post I can't find, and probably also Google. But yes, it is supposed to inhibit rancidity in oils and butters, and I believe it also has the stuff in AVJ that makes more bubbles. A recommended ratio that I can't for the life of me find the source for was 1:128 SEB: oils/fats, and heating the oils and butters with the bark for a few minutes before removing the bark was all it took. I paid a small fortune for it on Amazon, but I was impatient and didn't look for it elsewhere.
A bit of soap that didn't get colored indicates my soap is coming out tan, probably due to cider+sugar+SEB.
Making soap with puréed lychees. Check out the colour the lye solution went!
I soaped today! It's colored with cocoa powder and scented with peppermint. Both my wife and I had to restrain ourselves from licking the batter. I know the cocoa scent will not survive saponification but it smelled like chocolate cake while pouring! I also had little square nubs left over from my epic disaster awhile back so it may be my first extra-large 'confetti' soap. Everyone's toasty under their towels for the night.
I have 2 more holiday-themed soaps to do, hopefully this week in order to get them a-curin'.
I have 2 more holiday-themed soaps to do, hopefully this week in order to get them a-curin'.
I haven't had lychees in forever. Now I'm hungry. And that color is beautiful -- so curious what the batter will look like. Fun fact: did you know lychees are in the soapberry family?
I absolutely love lychees!
I played with some soap dough that I’d been meglecting and learned a few things.
my vacuum sealed jars kept the dough soft with no lumps! And the ones wrapped in plastic wrapped and kept in plastic tubs, are way to hard to work now. Maybe I can try soap carving.
Also, that’s a mountain of dishes!
my vacuum sealed jars kept the dough soft with no lumps! And the ones wrapped in plastic wrapped and kept in plastic tubs, are way to hard to work now. Maybe I can try soap carving.
Also, that’s a mountain of dishes!
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Curious to see if any of that amazing color comes through in the end!
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
DITTO.
I did not know that. Interesting. That must be where I got my desire to make soap!
Me three!
I doubt it. I coloured it anyway. Strange that it goes from white to that colour though innit?
Okay, back up there, Friend. You have red lye solution, and then what?
LOL - I added it to the oils, mixed it (it went a dull mustard colour), split the batter into two - coloured one half pink and the other half green, poured it, and voila!
Is this the link?
Slippery Elm Bark is sometimes available in some health food stores in the area where they sell bulk herbs. That's the way I used to buy it, taking it from a jar & weighing out the amount I wanted.
It has become quite expensive over the years, I notice. And it's been some time since I actually used any (not for soap.) You could buy the tree for less than some places charge for a pound of the bark!
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Angie Gail
Well-Known Member
I made three batches over the weekend and they are all Winter/Christmas scents. The yellow are White Tea and Pear (from Nurture Soaps), the blue are White Christmas (from WSP), and the green are Christmas Splendor from Bulk Apothecary. The green ones are going to be 'Elf Poop'!
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Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
ETA: Slippery Elm Bark powder, $10 for 1/4 lb.
https://www.herbco.com/p-272-slippery-elm-bark-powder.aspx
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Zany, I keep saying, "Next time I am in California, I am going to Monterey Bay Spice Company."
After I retired from my hospital job, I worked for a few months in a clinic in Watsonville, but never noticed this company. Now I live 2000 miles away and want to go there just for tea and herbs!
I don't see a link in there. I agree it's expensive, but I bought it to experiment with, and it's not going to stay good forever.
The link is embedded in the word
ERROR CORRECTION: this is the word the link is embedded in. Also notice the word 'this' is also slightly different color (in this case, purple.)
Incidentally when I bought slippery elm bark at health food stores, it was pieces of the inner bark, not the powder. In that article, it talks about heating the bark in the oil and it seems to me it would be easier to remove from the oil than powder. Which did you use, bark pieces or powdered bark? Just curious. If it works to prevent rancidity, it sure would make for a more 'natural' (allowing for the unclear meaning of the word) soap.
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I tried tapping all of the words in there, link included. The browser just asks if I want to cut, copy, paste, or Google them.
The powder I use mostly settles to the bottom, so I pour the oil off the top, lose some of it to the bark powder, and calibrate my lye accordingly. A little powder always makes it through, but it dyes your oils a reddish-brown anyways, so I wouldn't recommend it if you're going for a bright white anyways.
The link is actually in the word "this": Is this the link?
I'm very interested in this as well, so I thank you @GemstonePony for sharing this, including the info about the color change. I would love to hear more about your results.
I'm very interested in this as well, so I thank you @GemstonePony for sharing this, including the info about the color change. I would love to hear more about your results.
Oh, hey, it is! Sorry @earlene ! That was one of my sources, but I know there was another one from somewhere around here in addition to Google. Eventually, I plan to include it in some comparison trials, and I'll post about those when I do. For now, I'm mostly focusing on Christmas stuff.
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