What soapy thing have you done today?

[AliOop]

Not bad at all. My wife loves it. With the struggling I forgot the fragrance. Will definately try again with fragrance or essential oil.

You could probably whip some FO into it now.

 

[tomahtashi]

It depends on the way you have prepared the colorant. Some are infusions so they go in with the oils, some are added to hot lye water before it cools to room temp and some are rehydrated and added at trace. It honestly depends on which one you are using and how to get the best out of that particular plant.

Got it, would you say it's more trial and error to get the color I'm looking for? Like if I'm looking for a light purple, I'd have to see how it comes out at each of those stages

 

[curlycoat2]

Got it, would you say it's more trial and error to get the color I'm looking for? Like if I'm looking for a light purple, I'd have to see how it comes out at each of those stages

Yes that is the fun part. Everyone's recipe is different and you will also see color differently to me. Pastels are hard to get in plant colorants because of the fading that will occur over time. Always start 1 - 2 shades darker than you ideally want to allow for the fading part.

 

[Geetika]

they look so
yummy

 

[justsomeguy]

Finally infused tumeric powder into HO sunflower oil and castor oil (152° for 18h) after getting over covid.

 

[Jorah]

I have been working on finishing and outfitting my new soap workstation, so I forgot to post about this at the time (about a week and a half ago); I made a batch of hide glue! "What on EARTH does that have to do with soapmaking?" you may very well be asking! But it's my year of soapmaking that made this so easy. You use water, non-iodized salt, and gelatin (yes, like Knox!). You mix it, keep it at 135°f for a few hours, cool it overnight, then reheat for another two hours. That's it. If you're interested, you can find it in the free PDF version of the book American Peasant, in the Glue chapter, book published by Lost Art Press. Hide glue is used traditionally (and now) in woodworking. It has many features that help it be competitive even now in an age of lab-made glue.

When I get running selling my soap (soon, I hope) I may try selling a few bottles of this stuff to see if there's a market for it.

 

[curlycoat2]

Finally infused tumeric powder into HO sunflower oil and castor oil (152° for 18h) after getting over covid. View attachment 78283

you can just add turmeric straight to your batter as well no need to infuse - rehydrate with warm to hot water and add it in at trace. Its very fine and not exfoliating at all. I dont infuse it

 

[justsomeguy]

you can just add turmeric straight to your batter as well no need to infuse - rehydrate with warm to hot water and add it in at trace. Its very fine and not exfoliating at all. I dont infuse it

This is good to know. I don't really like adding things in the batter. I'm gonna have to move past that though. I just have visions of the stuff scratching the bejusus out of me

 

[ewhitake]

Second experiment in making a dup of a mass market, high priced soap. This one is red, I used paprika infused olive oil, French red clay and a little mica for a tomato red color.
Just hoping I didn’t over due it with the mica and clay. Knowing me…I probably did

 

[KimLynn]

I made my first “spoon drop” or “spoon plop” soap today in camo. I was pleased with the colors (all botanical/“natural”), but may have *slightly* overdone the eucalyptus in my EO blend. The soap smells like Vicks VapoRub. I’m hoping it calms down during cure.

 

[AliOop]

Great camo effect there!

 

[dmcgee5034]

Fantastic @KimLynn - I love the camo look with the pink/purple. Well done!

 

[Elise]

you can just add turmeric straight to your batter as well no need to infuse - rehydrate with warm to hot water and add it in at trace. Its very fine and not exfoliating at all. I dont infuse it

If I do that, I get more of an orange color than a yellow. Do you think it's because it varies from one turmeric powder to an other ?

 

[Firefly24]

This is a Himalayan Pink Salt soap. I’ve made this once before and somehow I messed it up. I wanted to see if I could do it again without the mistake. Whether I corrected my mistake or not, the top sure looks pretty.
View attachment 78099

This is very pretty!

 

[Shelley D]

Made a small batch of toothpaste to try. Taste not bad, but definately too gritty for my taste and I miss the foam and bubbles.

It takes getting used to, that's for sure ~ for me, I make mine with coconut oil and a blend of the charcoal, clays and a smidge of baking soda, plus a few drops of EOs, so it was the coconut oil I had to get used to. It was also a switch due to "need" over "want to", as I was having reactions to fluoride and getting rashes around my mouth. I tried natural fluoride free toothpastes from the store but they just didn't taste good or feel good in my mouth. At that point I figured if that's how it's going to be then I'll just make it myself. Now I'm rash free and used to the difference. In fact, I recently tried some "regular" toothpaste just to see how it was and I almost gagged so, there is hope ~ just stick with it!

 

[Shelley D]

you can just add turmeric straight to your batter as well no need to infuse - rehydrate with warm to hot water and add it in at trace. Its very fine and not exfoliating at all. I dont infuse it

Are y'all talking about regular turmeric powder, like from the spice rack ~ or do you need something special for soap?

 

[Shelley D]

This is good to know. I don't really like adding things in the batter. I'm gonna have to move past that though. I just have visions of the stuff scratching the bejusus out of me

The funny thing is, I've wondered that too. But for the most part I use a washcloth and once I lather the washcloth I don't feel anything I add to the soap. The 2 things that I could have felt would have been fine loose leaf green tea (out of tea bags) and whole lavender buds soaked in an oil & EO slurry then hit with the stick blender for a few pulses. The tea bits were pretty tiny, I could see them but couldn't feel them at all. The lavender buds I could feel with my fingers but once I lather up and start washing I don't feel the bits at all that's some strange soapy magic right there!

 

[Shelley D]

Second experiment in making a dup of a mass market, high priced soap. This one is red, I used paprika infused olive oil, French red clay and a little mica for a tomato red color.
Just hoping I didn’t over due it with the mica and clay. Knowing me…I probably did

Can't wait for the pictures!

 

[Shelley D]

Fantastic @KimLynn - I love the camo look with the pink/purple. Well done!

Ooo! There's an idea @KimLynn doing a girl's camo soap in girlie camo colors! I have a friend who makes purses and she did a custom pink camo purse for a girl who said she wanted it "over the top pink camo" Girls love camo too!

 

[justsomeguy]

Are y'all talking about regular turmeric powder, like from the spice rack ~ or do you need something special for soap?

Yup. Regular ole spice tumeric from the pantry/cupboard/spice-rack