What soapy thing have you done today?

[BobbiOh]

I went to Big Lots and bought the last the jars of coconut oil they had, it worked out to $.19 per ounce. (And a Christmas inflatable gnome and some Red Lobster biscuit mix)

 

[bookworm42]

Red Lobster biscuit mix

I love that stuff! So tasty!

 

[Humblegoat]

I did my first rebatch today. I crock pot rebatched my patchouli bacon soap and colored it with activated charcoal to cover the bacony-ness. I decided I really, really don't like crock pot rebatching. I would have tried doing it in the oven, but my oven's broken right now. I'm pretty sure the bars will be a bit shriveled and deformed from too much water, but at least it doesn't look like bacon now! And I've been wanting to make a charcoal soap, so it was a good opportunity. Definitely a good learning experience, and I'm grateful that this is the first loaf I've had to rebatch. It's only my 2nd failed loaf in almost 4 years! I'm very happy about that.

Oh no! Not the bacon soap! I was making lettuce and tomato!

I cleaned 200 and eleventy million soap utensils, pots, pans and bowls. I may have fudged the numbers there. I think there was more. Felt like it anyway . Cleaning up because the Mother-In-Law is coming to stay. She will be doing her not so subtle inspection. Kill. Me. Now.

I feel you. I clean the kitchen up and then make soap and trash it! How can I use so many cups and pitchers and bowls and spatulas and more bowls and…

How did I miss these?! They are gorgeous!

It took a little while, but I'm now officially caught up on the last 3-4 pages of this thread. Does that count as soapy?

Thank you . I like mold work, but I sell more bars. So focusing on bars and learning new techniques.

 

[Cindy D.]

@Humblegoat have you tried using soap made in the tube mold as an embed in a loaf mold yet?

 

[Humblegoat]

@Humblegoat have you tried using soap made in the tube mold as an embed in a loaf mold yet?

No, tell me more!!!! Do you mean a pull through? How would I get a disk small enough? Make it myself? Have you? Do you have pics? I’m getting excited about the possibilities here!!

 

[ewhitake]

Unfortunately nothing soapy today. Got back from Europe on the 23rd, hosted Christmas and promptly fell ill
Feeling better today. I’ve been going over my inspiration notes. Maybe soapy things tomorrow

 

[dmcgee5034]

No, tell me more!!!! Do you mean a pull through? How would I get a disk small enough? Make it myself? Have you? Do you have pics? I’m getting excited about the possibilities here!!

@Cindy D. - do you mean something like this, but with a round pull through soap? I can’t find the exact photo and maker of one that I’ve been admiring. I’d like to do this some day, too.

http://elomar-pasitoapasito.blogspot.com/2010/04/mini-serie-otra-de-circulos.html

 

[MrsZ]

My soapy thing for today was talking myself out of buying more fragrance oils. I spread the ones I already have out on a shelf where I can see them and realized I have 40 bottles of unopened fragrance oils! Granted they are all 1 or 2 oz bottles, but still!

 

[Humblegoat]

@Cindy D. - do you mean something like this, but with a round pull through soap? I can’t find the exact photo and maker of one that I’ve been admiring. I’d like to do this some day, too.

http://elomar-pasitoapasito.blogspot.com/2010/04/mini-serie-otra-de-circulos.html
View attachment 80414

My soapy thing for today was talking myself out of buying more fragrance oils. I spread the ones I already have out on a shelf where I can see them and realized I have 40 bottles of unopened fragrance oils! Granted they are all 1 or 2 oz bottles, but still!

Oh no! I may have a similar problem

 

[scmorgans]

My soapy thing for today was talking myself out of buying more fragrance oils. I spread the ones I already have out on a shelf where I can see them and realized I have 40 bottles of unopened fragrance oils! Granted they are all 1 or 2 oz bottles, but still!

I know the feeling MrsZ! I fear to count all the fragrance bottles. I just know I have 29 different soaps I make......!

 

[ackosel]

My soapy thing for today was talking myself out of buying more fragrance oils. I spread the ones I already have out on a shelf where I can see them and realized I have 40 bottles of unopened fragrance oils! Granted they are all 1 or 2 oz bottles, but still!

Oh dear! I need you at my house to talk me out of stuff! I just ordered more essential oils (staples for me) and added titanium dioxide and a sampler pack of "matte pigment powders" from Bulk Apothecary. I've never used TD or pigment powders (I assume those are micas), so here's to new experiments in 2025!

 

[Tammyfarms]

My soapy thing for today was talking myself out of buying more fragrance oils. I spread the ones I already have out on a shelf where I can see them and realized I have 40 bottles of unopened fragrance oils! Granted they are all 1 or 2 oz bottles, but still!

Isn’t that about “normal”?

Oh dear! I need you at my house to talk me out of stuff! I just ordered more essential oils (staples for me) and added titanium dioxide and a sampler pack of "matte pigment powders" from Bulk Apothecary. I've never used TD or pigment powders (I assume those are micas), so here's to new experiments in 2025!

I also just ordered more EO’s along with a few by other staples. I don’t even want to count how many bottles I have a goal this year is to use up some of what I have in hand. Of course, I *needed* these new EOs as they are part of my shower steamer project.

I have some pigments but haven’t used them yet. I’m trying to remember which you tube person uses them but it’s not coming to me. They mix the pigment with a little oil on a flat, smooth surface and use a pallet knife to make sure it all mixes well. That’s the main reason I haven’t used my pigments yet, micas are so easy to incorporate into oil.

 

[MrsZ]

I have some pigments but haven’t used them yet. I’m trying to remember which you tube person uses them but it’s not coming to me. They mix the pigment with a little oil on a flat, smooth surface and use a pallet knife to make sure it all mixes well. That’s the main reason I haven’t used my pigments yet, micas are so easy to incorporate into oil.

Is the person you are thinking of Tree Marie? She seems to use a piece of glass and a palette knife for all her colorants.

 

[ackosel]

Isn’t that about “normal”?

I also just ordered more EO’s along with a few by other staples. I don’t even want to count how many bottles I have a goal this year is to use up some of what I have in hand. Of course, I *needed* these new EOs as they are part of my shower steamer project.

I have some pigments but haven’t used them yet. I’m trying to remember which you tube person uses them but it’s not coming to me. They mix the pigment with a little oil on a flat, smooth surface and use a pallet knife to make sure it all mixes well. That’s the main reason I haven’t used my pigments yet, micas are so easy to incorporate into oil.

So pigments are different from micas? I have seen a couple people mixing colorants on a piece of glass with a pallet knife. I think one of them is Lisa from I Dream in Soap. Uh-oh - now I "need" more equipment?

Does anyone know if pigments are more "natural" than micas?

 

[ClaudiaO]

No, tell me more!!!! Do you mean a pull through? How would I get a disk small enough? Make it myself? Have you? Do you have pics? I’m getting excited about the possibilities here!!

https://www.amazon.com/Echodo-Colum...=round+soap+molds&qid=1735575734&sr=8-36&th=1

Cindy D. could have meant a mold like this.
There are also heart, square, star molds etc. The round one would be good for a moon embed. Could also maybe use a small diameter (1") pvc pipe lined with freezer paper?

 

[Cindy D.]

@Cindy D. - do you mean something like this, but with a round pull through soap? I can’t find the exact photo and maker of one that I’ve been admiring. I’d like to do this some day, too.

http://elomar-pasitoapasito.blogspot.com/2010/04/mini-serie-otra-de-circulos.html
View attachment 80414

Yes, like that.

 

[Cindy D.]

So pigments are different from micas? I have seen a couple people mixing colorants on a piece of glass with a pallet knife. I think one of them is Lisa from I Dream in Soap. Uh-oh - now I "need" more equipment?

Does anyone know if pigments are more "natural" than micas?

They use the pallet knife because the pigments and oxides have larger particles and you need to break them up with the pallet knife. They can leave specks in the soap if not.
I use a scrap of plexiglass. Pallet knives are also handy if you have air bubbles you want to fill in after cutting your soap.

 

[MrsZ]

On the note of more equipment, I see many YouTube soaper's using what appears to be a glass rod for swirling. Is it actually glass? I would like to get one, but glass isn't supposed to be safe for soapmaking so I wasn't sure.

 

[bookworm42]

@MrsZ I just use a plastic chopstick. You can get a bunch for really cheap in just about any medium. Then if they break it's easy/cheap to replace.

 

[MrsZ]

@MrsZ I just use a plastic chopstick. You can get a bunch for really cheap in just about any medium. Then if they break it's easy/cheap to replace.

That's what I usually use too. I need to find some that are not very tapered. Mine are quite tapered and I feel like that isn't quite as good for the designs I use them for.