What soapy thing have you done today?

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I made my first mango butter soap. The price of cocoa butter is forcing me to reformulate one of my soaps. So I did two test batches to also test Alkanet root infused castor oil at the same time. One batch at 3.5% and the other at 7% Alkanet infused.

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Gel'd and still zappy

The original cocoa/shea butter soap:

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Today I learned I like the smell of pine tar. I only hand mixed it, will be interested to see whether it's fully incorporated. From lye pour to mold pour in 1 min 35 sec.
Update: it was not fully incorporated! The appearance is mottled and I got my first positive zap test (did not enjoy) from one of the lighter spots close to the surface. Guess now I get to learn how to rebatch!
pine tar first draft.jpeg
 
Not at all. Whatever I'm drawing up never really gets that high up the tube. The only issue I've had so far is at the tip end. It's quite fine and that can be a weak point. I've had one break at the tip. Apart from that, though, no other complaints. They're lab grade.
I remember using those in the lab back when I first started. They do break easily. We never reused them, just tossed them after one use. With them being so thin at the end, do you ever have trouble with liquids/oils that you're pipetting being too thick?
 
Yesterday I masterbatched.

Haha, made you look. 😜 I know, I know, that's the oldest and most tired joke in the (soaping) world, but it lives on in my house, as my fifty-going-on-twelve-year-old husband laughs every time I say "masterbatch." Double entendres then ensue. We are children.

But anyway, this was my first attempt at masterbatching oils. I found these neat 2-gallon buckets on Amazon that have screw-on lids to keep them airtight without having to mess with those awful, hand-destroying lids you normally see on this type of bucket. Today I used said oils to make my husband's GM/orange/patchouli/ylang ylang soap since he was running low. I decided to also try the heat transfer method for the first time. I added my hot lye solution (180 F) to my RT oils (78 F), and after a little hand-stirring, the temperature was 106 F. About what I was going for, but apparently too hot, because man did it accelerate! I might've also been a little heavy-handed with the stick blender, and it's also a touch warm in the house (76 degrees F, we haven't turned on the A/C yet). But I wasn't adding any color or doing any designs, so just getting it into the mold quick and popping it into the freezer worked fine. I think it'll be all right, but I just wasn't ready for that!
 
Chiming in for the first time on this thread! :)

I'm making soap for a couple of upcoming Weddings and have been wracking my brain on how/what to do with getting names/dates on the soap. Two days ago a friend of mine solved my dilemma! She recommended waterslides! I've never thought about waterslides on soap, but looks like others have done it successfully so going to give a try. Spent part of the day today helping my friend design (she is the creative one) and making soap to put it on! :)

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I remember using those in the lab back when I first started. They do break easily. We never reused them, just tossed them after one use. With them being so thin at the end, do you ever have trouble with liquids/oils that you're pipetting being too thick?
Honestly, I don't used them all that often. I haven't had any issues so far, though. I buy the plastic pipettes 300 at a time and I prefer those.
 
Chiming in for the first time on this thread! :)

I'm making soap for a couple of upcoming Weddings and have been wracking my brain on how/what to do with getting names/dates on the soap. Two days ago a friend of mine solved my dilemma! She recommended waterslides! I've never thought about waterslides on soap, but looks like others have done it successfully so going to give a try. Spent part of the day today helping my friend design (she is the creative one) and making soap to put it on! :)

View attachment 77300
@Kcryss, scoured this site and YouTube but didn't find much about water slide decals on soap. Really curious about the details. Any info you can share, or site to refer to? Thanks!
 
@Kcryss, scoured this site and YouTube but didn't find much about water slide decals on soap. Really curious about the details. Any info you can share, or site to refer to? Thanks!
I only found a few people who had used waterslide decals on soap, but nothing showing or saying anything specific. I've not tried it yet, I am waiting impatiently for my paper to arrive. The friend who suggested it and then made the decals for me does a ton of crafting, including acrylic resin so she uses waterslides a lot.
I just did a quick search on google and found just one little short with someone putting waterslide decals on soap, but they didn't say anything. Just basically showing it can be done.


I just found this link. Someone mentioned using candlewax over the image after applying to soap. The candlewax keeps the pic from coming off during the first use of the soap.
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2349372/how-do-you-put-pictures-decals-on-soaps

Not really finding the sites I came across yesterday. Still, going to give it a try in a couple of days. I can't imagine why it wouldn't work. Then again, who knows? I might be back to square 1 again for both weddings. lol
 
Chiming in for the first time on this thread! :)

I'm making soap for a couple of upcoming Weddings and have been wracking my brain on how/what to do with getting names/dates on the soap. Two days ago a friend of mine solved my dilemma! She recommended waterslides! I've never thought about waterslides on soap, but looks like others have done it successfully so going to give a try. Spent part of the day today helping my friend design (she is the creative one) and making soap to put it on! :)

View attachment 77300
WSP has soap embed paper that dissolves.
Chiming in for the first time on this thread! :)

I'm making soap for a couple of upcoming Weddings and have been wracking my brain on how/what to do with getting names/dates on the soap. Two days ago a friend of mine solved my dilemma! She recommended waterslides! I've never thought about waterslides on soap, but looks like others have done it successfully so going to give a try. Spent part of the day today helping my friend design (she is the creative one) and making soap to put it on! :)

View attachment 77300
WSP has soap embed paper that dissolves. Haven’t tried it yet but it sure sounds interesting.
https://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/products/water-soluble-embed-paper-for-soap.aspx
 
@Kcryss, Thanks for sharing! Very curious to see how it works out for you and hope it goes well!!!
Thanks! I just received the paper today so will be getting a few printed, protected and sliding them on ... :)
WSP has soap embed paper that dissolves.

WSP has soap embed paper that dissolves. Haven’t tried it yet but it sure sounds interesting.
https://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/products/water-soluble-embed-paper-for-soap.aspx
Oh, you're right! I even have some of the embed paper. I bought it originally to make tiny soap strips for travel, camping etc., just never got around to doing it yet. The to-do list just seems to grow without every shrinking. lol I might have to give that a try if the waterslides are a bomb. Thanks for the suggestion!
 
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