What soapy thing have you done today?

[ackosel]

I made my first salt soap today. I used 85% coconut oil, 10% annatto-infused olive oil, 5% castor oil, 100% goat milk as a water replacement, 50% salt and a 16% superfat. I left it unscented. I guess I didn't stir the salt in well enough because there were a few little clumps when I poured. Hopefully, that doesn't ruin the soap. It'll be interesting to see if/how the color changes as it cures!

 

[ewhitake]

Met this man who stated that a relative gave him some donkey soap. I am just guessing that would be donkey tallow.? Any thoughts on this one?

He may have meant donkey milk. It’s really good for the skin and sold in powder form. I’ve used it and really like the results.

 

[Firefly24]

He may have meant donkey milk. It’s really good for the skin and sold in powder form. I’ve used it and really like the results.

I had never heard of donkey soap at all. I'll have to check out the powder. Thank you~

 

[ackosel]

This morning I started some hot oil infusions of annatto powder, paprika powder and indigo powder. I also ordered some Himalayan rhubarb powder and alkanet powder. Oh, and I'm getting a mold with dividers on Friday... My sunny yellow salt soap is fading to a very pretty pastel yellow color 24 hours later.

 

[Cinnamon Square]

I have had a disappointing unmoulding today

Made soap yesterday, a recipe I've done before and familiar with and is usually pretty slow-moving. But for some reason yesterday when I added my lye solution to my oils everything started to thicken immediately. Not quite soap-on-a-stick but pretty much went to thick trace consistency and stayed there. I didn't then risk doing the swirl I'd planned in case it thickened so much I couldn't work with it, so went with a single colour and went gently with the stick blender until I thought I'd got emulsion although it was pretty hard to tell.

Thought I'd got away with it after I'd poured it into the mould, no signs of separation, all looking good, just not the colour I'd planned.



Unmoulded and cut today and, nope, not got away with anything...



I obviously didn't blend to emulsion as those white bits are nice big clumps of lye all through the middle of the soap. Going to have to bin this whole batch and start over.

I'm annoyed with myself mostly because there's a decent amount of cocoa butter in this recipe and with the prices as they are right now it's painful to have to throw all this away!

 

[bookworm42]

@Cinnamon Square you could always rebatch it. That way it doesn't go to waste.

 

[Cinnamon Square]

Oh that's an idea @bookworm42. I've never rebatched before, I didn't realise you could do that with soap where there's clumps of lye, but thinking about it properly then rebatching would cook it properly

 

[bookworm42]

@Cinnamon Square I've never done it either but Its worth a try. Especially with the cocoa butter! Just be sure to wear gloves when you chop it up.

 

[Cinnamon Square]

Off to find rebatching vids on YouTube...

 

[Soaped]

@Cinnamon Square I don't think rebatching with lye still on the soap is safe as you can never be fully sure that the lye crystals will dissolve properly in the rebatch process.

 

[Cinnamon Square]

Thanks @Soaped, yeah the rebatching lye heavy soap videos I've found so far don't show any soaps where there are still clumps of crystals, so unsure whether I'll risk it.

More research needed, but in the meantime I'll do a fresh batch at the weekend!

 

[ToniO]

Thanks @Soaped, yeah the rebatching lye heavy soap videos I've found so far don't show any soaps where there are still clumps of crystals, so unsure whether I'll risk it.

More research needed, but in the meantime I'll do a fresh batch at the weekend!

Maybe if you use a lot of water when you rebatch, it might turn out ok? I guess you could always try it and chuck it if it doesn't work!

I use a lot of kokum butter in my soaps and since I make goat milk soaps, I soap quite cold. If my lye solution is a little colder than normal, it'll start to solidify quite quickly. I wonder if this happened with yours?
When this has happened to me, I'll usually put down the blender and mix it with a large spatula. It'll give me a small grace period!

 

[Servant4Christ]

I watched a video that showed how to test my stickblender to see if the internal seal is broken, causing more air bubbles.... Mine failed miserably. No WONDER I've been getting so many of those tiny bubbles and white specks no matter what I do; Short of hand stirring, I didn't stand a chance! I just ordered a new Cuisinart Smart Stick and can't wait for it to arrive.

 

[dmcgee5034]

I’m on my second Cuisinart from Costco, @Servant4Christ - I took the first one back for just this reason…. So, test the new one, too…

 

[Gal Magen]

I'm looking for a recipe for healing atopic dermatitis using soap and cream formulas

Today I learned about oil infusions

 

[ewhitake]

I had never heard of donkey soap at all. I'll have to check out the powder. Thank you~

You're welcome!! Here's a search string for you

 

[GuacamoleSalad]

I watched a video that showed how to test my stickblender to see if the internal seal is broken, causing more air bubbles.... Mine failed miserably. No WONDER I've been getting so many of those tiny bubbles and white specks no matter what I do; Short of hand stirring, I didn't stand a chance! I just ordered a new Cuisinart Smart Stick and can't wait for it to arrive.

Interesting! Would you share this video?

 

[Servant4Christ]

Interesting! Would you share this video?

 

[Shelley D]

Thanks @Soaped, yeah the rebatching lye heavy soap videos I've found so far don't show any soaps where there are still clumps of crystals, so unsure whether I'll risk it.

More research needed, but in the meantime I'll do a fresh batch at the weekend!

You can always cut out those lye chunks and rebatch the rest but if you do a re melt, and add a bit more liquid of choice, it may even put

 

[Servant4Christ]

I’m on my second Cuisinart from Costco, @Servant4Christ - I took the first one back for just this reason…. So, test the new one, too…

Thank you! I definitely will. If you don't mind me asking, which model did you purchase? I noticed there are at least 3 different types of shaft bells on the Cuisinarts I've looked up.