What soapy thing have you done today?

[Vicki C]

I needed more foaming LS at a few sinks, so I pulled out some LS paste from the fridge, weighed it into a bowl, and microwaved it for a few minutes with some distilled water. Normally I preheat the water in my electric kettle, but my soap things are all packed away as we remodel over the next couple of months. Anyway, after a few minutes of alternating between stirring and sitting, the paste was completely diluted. A 4:1 water-to-paste ratio is perfect for the foamer bottles that I have. It's a little thin while the mixture is still warm, but I can't resist washing with warm foamy soap, lol. When the diluted LS cools off, it comes out of the foamer like a very light shaving soap.

BTW, I make this using the same masterbatched oils that I use to make bar soap - just with KOH instead of NaOH. Even with 0% SF, it's not completely clear, because the FAs in this recipe will not produce a clear LS - and I 100% don't care. It's non-drying on the skin and foams like a dream.

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Gorgeous - another project on my list of things to try!

 

[Barefoot Farm Girl]

I tried a pull thru design yesterday and cut it today. Had issues with 2 colors going gloopy, so I now know it’s the cheep micas not me. A few of them came out kinda cool, I see a horse head in one and a cartoon face in another one. I did have a lot of fun with this one.
ETA: I do think these are the ugliest soap I’ve ever seen, I would definitely win if we did an ugliest soap challenge

 

[AliOop]

Gorgeous - another project on my list of things to try!

It's so fun to make LS! And it is nowhere near as intimidating as made out to be by the first LS books that I read (one by Catherine Failor, and one by Jackie Thompson).

I highly recommend the Ultimate Guide to Liquid Soap by Ashley Greene. It's an e-book available from her website.

ETA: I typically make CPLS, which means blending to the sticky paste stage, covering, and letting it sit for a few hours - no cooking required!

I also make a 50% KOH solution, then add 2 parts glycerin for the rest of my liquid. So the final ratio is 2:1:1 (glycerin, water, KOH).

The glycerin speeds up trace and makes for a much milder LS than using 100% distilled water. HTH and hope you give it a try soon!

 

[Misschief]

It's so fun to make LS! And it is nowhere near as intimidating as made out to be by the first LS books that I read (one by Catherine Failor, and one by Jackie Thompson).

I highly recommend the Ultimate Guide to Liquid Soap by Ashley Greene. It's an e-book available from her website.

ETA: I typically make CPLS, which means blending to the sticky paste stage, covering, and letting it sit for a few hours - no cooking required!

I also make a 50% KOH solution, then add 2 parts glycerin for the rest of my liquid. So the final ratio is 2:1:1 (glycerin, water, KOH).

The glycerin speeds up trace and makes for a much milder LS than using 100% distilled water. HTH and hope you give it a try soon!

I second this recommendation. I usually make the 30-minute LS. Start to finish in less than an hour.

 

[dmcgee5034]

I keep thinking about making LS but for some reason I’m nervous about it. I need to get over it and quit buying LS from BBW. Thank you for the book recommendation, @AliOop - maybe that’ll get me over it. Fingers crossed.

Delivered a batch of soap to a friend who orders for her DH. He ran out of his special 8th & Ocean soap and picked up some (gasp lol) Irish Spring to hold him over. According to my friend, he promptly told her to see if his soap was ready because he couldn’t continue using “peasant soap”

I made soap yesterday and cut it today. I got Versace Eros FO from WSP, since it’s DHs favorite cologne.
I used BB orchid mica and did an ombré on the bottom, a line of BB pewter silver mica in the middle that I poured perfectly straight and flat then didn’t give time to set up, and then an ombré top layer with BB blue slushie mica. Pretty cool how the FO discolored to yellow faster in the blue section and hasn’t yet in the purple section.

 

[not_ally]

I used BB orchid mica and did an ombré on the bottom, a line of BB pewter silver mica in the middle that I poured perfectly straight and flat then didn’t give time to set up, and then an ombré top layer with BB blue slushie mica. Pretty cool how the FO discolored to yellow faster in the blue section and hasn’t yet in the purple section.

I love the colors and discoloration in this, it looks like a surreal (but oddly serene) cosmic landscape. Beautiful serendipity.

 

[Barefoot Farm Girl]

I keep thinking about making LS but for some reason I’m nervous about it. I need to get over it and quit buying LS from BBW. Thank you for the book recommendation, @AliOop - maybe that’ll get me over it. Fingers crossed.

Delivered a batch of soap to a friend who orders for her DH. He ran out of his special 8th & Ocean soap and picked up some (gasp lol) Irish Spring to hold him over. According to my friend, he promptly told her to see if his soap was ready because he couldn’t continue using “peasant soap”

I made soap yesterday and cut it today. I got Versace Eros FO from WSP, since it’s DHs favorite cologne.
I used BB orchid mica and did an ombré on the bottom, a line of BB pewter silver mica in the middle that I poured perfectly straight and flat then didn’t give time to set up, and then an ombré top layer with BB blue slushie mica. Pretty cool how the FO discolored to yellow faster in the blue section and hasn’t yet in the purple section.
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What a beautiful soap!

 

[AliOop]

I keep thinking about making LS but for some reason I’m nervous about it. I need to get over it and quit buying LS from BBW. Thank you for the book recommendation, @AliOop - maybe that’ll get me over it. Fingers crossed.

Delivered a batch of soap to a friend who orders for her DH. He ran out of his special 8th & Ocean soap and picked up some (gasp lol) Irish Spring to hold him over. According to my friend, he promptly told her to see if his soap was ready because he couldn’t continue using “peasant soap”

I made soap yesterday and cut it today. I got Versace Eros FO from WSP, since it’s DHs favorite cologne.
I used BB orchid mica and did an ombré on the bottom, a line of BB pewter silver mica in the middle that I poured perfectly straight and flat then didn’t give time to set up, and then an ombré top layer with BB blue slushie mica. Pretty cool how the FO discolored to yellow faster in the blue section and hasn’t yet in the purple section.
View attachment 77914

That is seriously beautiful - well done!!

 

[Vicki C]

It's so fun to make LS! And it is nowhere near as intimidating as made out to be by the first LS books that I read (one by Catherine Failor, and one by Jackie Thompson).

I highly recommend the Ultimate Guide to Liquid Soap by Ashley Greene. It's an e-book available from her website.

ETA: I typically make CPLS, which means blending to the sticky paste stage, covering, and letting it sit for a few hours - no cooking required!

I also make a 50% KOH solution, then add 2 parts glycerin for the rest of my liquid. So the final ratio is 2:1:1 (glycerin, water, KOH).

The glycerin speeds up trace and makes for a much milder LS than using 100% distilled water. HTH and hope you give it a try soon!

This is super helpful - thank you!

 

[Zing]

Ermagerd, I've been away too long, sooo many pages to catch up on and so little time. Mrs. Zing is leaving for two weeks, like the longest we've ever been separated. She's joining her sister and her husband who organize an annual habitat for humanity-esque type of work/volunteer camp. So I re-labeled my mechanic/gardener soap "habitat for humanity-esque work camper soap" plus several other soap bars and lotion bars. And in the process I discovered that a certain someone -- named @Sting -- used up all my cigar wrapping paper but saved me 10 Avery labels. Sheesh, some people's kids....

And the road to a certain place is paved with good intentions and I've been needing to soap here for many days. Recently I did brew coffee with distilled water for a batch of mechanics' soap -- yay! And then today Mrs. Zing said I'm tossing this. Because it's green. Boo.

 

[KimLynn]

Met a soaper at the local Farmers Market today. She has a really pretty dipped soap and lots of other nice soaps. She had one scented with a FO that she said was from WSP but the name was too inappropriate to call her soap. I had a cart ready to check out there anyway, so I hope it’s the *** on the Beach FO I added to my order - even tho I do not need another FO. I am now on self imposed FO time out until 2025.

I, too, am on an FO buying hiatus, until I seriously cull my current stash. The struggle is real!

I’ve been crocheting soap scrap bags out of 100% cotton yarn to give to friends when I ask them to beta test my soap.

 

[SideDoorSoaps]

Trying to melt my coconut oil outside because of this heat wave…it’s been out there for 5 hours and it still hasn’t melted all the way! It’s currently 91 in north central Pa. I left my palm out a couple weeks ago and it melted nicely.

Me thinks this is not actually 76 degree coconut oil lol

 

[KimLynn]

Trying to melt my coconut oil outside because of this heat wave…it’s been out there for 5 hours and it still hasn’t melted all the way! It’s currently 91 in north central Pa. I left my palm out a couple weeks ago and it melted nicely.

Me thinks this is not actually 76 degree coconut oil lol

I’m in Middle Georgia and my coconut oil has been melted and clear in my garage for over two weeks. It’s only June!

 

[Shelley D]

Trying to melt my coconut oil outside because of this heat wave…it’s been out there for 5 hours and it still hasn’t melted all the way! It’s currently 91 in north central Pa. I left my palm out a couple weeks ago and it melted nicely.

Me thinks this is not actually 76 degree coconut oil lol

Sometimes that glob in the middle is soft enough to mix into the part that's fully liquid ~ coconut oil is funny like that

 

[Barefoot Farm Girl]

I’ve been crocheting soap scrap bags out of 100% cotton yarn to give to friends when I ask them to beta test my soap.
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Oh how cute!!!!

 

[SideDoorSoaps]

Sometimes that glob in the middle is soft enough to mix into the part that's fully liquid ~ coconut oil is funny like that

It melted just enough to get through the hole and I plopped into the bucket. It got really melty at 95 degrees and hour later!

 

[dmcgee5034]

Glad to see you back, @Zing and good luck during your 2 weeks with the sweet Mrs Zing away. How nice to have sent your soaps to the crew at camp.

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

@SideDoorSoaps My mind sees strange things: They look like preserved brain specimens in a laboratory

 

[Snappy]

I tried a pull thru design yesterday and cut it today. Had issues with 2 colors going gloopy, so I now know it’s the cheep micas not me. A few of them came out kinda cool, I see a horse head in one and a cartoon face in another one. I did have a lot of fun with this one.
ETA: I do think these are the ugliest soap I’ve ever seen, I would definitely win if we did an ugliest soap challenge

Some of them look like little planets!!

 

[justsomeguy]

I continued testing olive oil replacements.
I made soap using high oleic sunflower oil, sorbitol, sodium gluconate, sea salt, baking soda, ZCS, and WSP dragon blood fragrance oil. Oh, and Alkanet root infusions and Himalayan rhubarb infusions. In the pot swirl.

My inner artist is awake

Being a recovering stick blender abuser I'm sure I poured at to thin a trace (look at all those bubbles). the soap does what soap does