What soapy thing have you done today?

[Kittish]

I made soap in a square ice cream container...all my other mixing bowls seemed to disappear into thin air. The strangest thing happened. It didn't trace! And I know for sure that I had everything right. It was the trusty 30% coconut 30% palm 30% olive and 10% castor. Absolutely strange. I made a batch in the same container previously and that one with 30min SB it got to thin trace. So I just poured it. That one has been a month now and it is extremely soft! It almost seems like it hasn't even saponified (not cured but not saponified). Absolutely crazy. I'm thinking it HAS to be the square mixing bowl. Anyone else exprienced this?

Really, really silly question, but are you absolutely certain you actually added your lye to it? I just can't see the shape of a container being able to prevent saponification.

 

[earlene]

lauratryingsoap, I would suspect you may have had a glitch with your scale when you measured out your lye.

A couple of weeks ago, at the checkout stand at our local Save-A-Lot grocery store, a new check-out-guy was having issues with the scale. He called over his boss to help resolve an issue where the scale said one apple weighed over pounds. My husband told me he had been watching and noticed that the guy was leaning on the check-out counter, and applying his own weight to the scale. He said the problem was that the man was so tall and check-out counters are short for the benefit of female customers and female checkers because that is who does the majority of the shopping and the majority of check-out. (He worked in retail for a good many years before we met.)

Is it possible your scale was influenced by some outside factor? Perhaps you forgot to tare the scale after placing the measuring container for the lye on it? Or perhaps it wasn't sitting on a level surface when you measured. There are so many possibilities when it comes to measuring your ingredients.

 

[toxikon]

I made soap in a square ice cream container...all my other mixing bowls seemed to disappear into thin air. The strangest thing happened. It didn't trace! And I know for sure that I had everything right. It was the trusty 30% coconut 30% palm 30% olive and 10% castor. Absolutely strange. I made a batch in the same container previously and that one with 30min SB it got to thin trace. So I just poured it. That one has been a month now and it is extremely soft! It almost seems like it hasn't even saponified (not cured but not saponified). Absolutely crazy. I'm thinking it HAS to be the square mixing bowl. Anyone else exprienced this?

Others have suggested the scale as the culprit... but are you sure you used NaOH and not KOH?

 

[shunt2011]

I made soap in a square ice cream container...all my other mixing bowls seemed to disappear into thin air. The strangest thing happened. It didn't trace! And I know for sure that I had everything right. It was the trusty 30% coconut 30% palm 30% olive and 10% castor. Absolutely strange. I made a batch in the same container previously and that one with 30min SB it got to thin trace. So I just poured it. That one has been a month now and it is extremely soft! It almost seems like it hasn't even saponified (not cured but not saponified). Absolutely crazy. I'm thinking it HAS to be the square mixing bowl. Anyone else exprienced this?

Not a container issue, more likely a measuring issue or lye issue. I would go back and check your numbers and scales.

 

[amd]

earlene, that's brilliant! My curing rack is coated steel wire and it hadn't yet occurred to me that the coating on the wires might degrade from the soap. I don't know if I'd recommend using something like the non slip shelf liner, but needlepoint mesh should work perfectly, and is easy to cut to size.

Chris decided to upgrade me to a metal curing rack - I was using restaurant style stacking dishwasher trays, which are a great size and well vented on the bottoms, but no venting on the sides so I had to rotate my tray stacks every day. I used rug canvas (M.C.G Textiles) to line my shelves. It came in a huge 54"x60" rectangle so I could easily cut it to size. I bought mine at Hobby Lobby, it was $17.99 but I used the 40% off coupon on it. You might find it by a different company or a different source (I have not looked on Amazon) for less, but I thought this was a good investment and cheaper than the needlepoint mesh that I found.

 

[amd]

I made soap in a square ice cream container...all my other mixing bowls seemed to disappear into thin air. The strangest thing happened. It didn't trace! And I know for sure that I had everything right. It was the trusty 30% coconut 30% palm 30% olive and 10% castor. Absolutely strange. I made a batch in the same container previously and that one with 30min SB it got to thin trace. So I just poured it. That one has been a month now and it is extremely soft! It almost seems like it hasn't even saponified (not cured but not saponified). Absolutely crazy. I'm thinking it HAS to be the square mixing bowl. Anyone else exprienced this?

Has your recipe been run through a soap calculator? What's the superfat? What type of lye are you using (e.g. are you buying drain cleaner at the hardware store that may not be a sufficient amount of NaOH)?

 

[amd]

Latest and greatest news from me: picked up a wholesale account. A new coffee and gift shop opening up (literally) 4 blocks from my house. Wholesale has been on my "future plans" list (probably more so as I become less excited about going to my full time job every.dang.day) and I have been researching it, but hadn't done any actual paperwork or legwork to get myself out there. I was upfront with her that I am not stocked to quickly fill a wholesale order, but I do have enough supplies to do an order of x amount, how long it would take to deliver, and what the wholesale conditions would be. Thank goodness that I keep a close eye on my real costs so that I could quickly give her the wholesale quote (she had 3 very specific soaps in mind, but would like to stock 7-10) and already had some research done and an idea of what I wanted for terms, so I didn't sound like a complete idiot. She was very happy to hear that I am willing to work with her, so I am going to put together a line sheet for her and we'll meet up next week to discuss the options I put together.

Working on my own restocks and new items for the Christmas season. I did a show the weekend before that was good sales, and yesterday picked up a $100 order from someone at that show. Delivering almost $200 in orders today, and mailing out the soap of the month club soaps too. I have a show this coming Saturday in my home town. Then I have no shows until October, but am going to try the local Saturday morning farmer's market IF I can ever get a hold of the lady who runs it. I have called every day for 10 days and she never answers her phone (and no answering machine, kind of ridiculous??).

 

[earlene]

Chris decided to upgrade me to a metal curing rack - I was using restaurant style stacking dishwasher trays, which are a great size and well vented on the bottoms, but no venting on the sides so I had to rotate my tray stacks every day. I used rug canvas (M.C.G Textiles) to line my shelves. It came in a huge 54"x60" rectangle so I could easily cut it to size. I bought mine at Hobby Lobby, it was $17.99 but I used the 40% off coupon on it. You might find it by a different company or a different source (I have not looked on Amazon) for less, but I thought this was a good investment and cheaper than the needlepoint mesh that I found.

I buy my needlepoint mesh at a thrift store for pennies. Gotta love it when someone decides to donate that stuff and the the result is I get huge bargains!

I've even seen some of the rug canvas you mention (at the Goodwill), but did not even think of putting that to use for soap making. What a good idea.

 

[amd]

I buy my needlepoint mesh at a thrift store for pennies. Gotta love it when someone decides to donate that stuff and the the result is I get huge bargains!

I've even seen some of the rug canvas you mention (at the Goodwill), but did not even think of putting that to use for soap making. What a good idea.

Great suggestion to check the thrift/goodwill stores! I always forget to look there for crafty stuff - but it's my first stop for silicone, lol.

 

[DeeAnna]

DeAnna I never used neem, please let me know what you think about it!

It will be an adventure for me too -- I've never used neem in soap either. There are some good threads here on making neem soap that are worth a read. That's what got me to thinking about trying it.

I use a commercial neem oil product as a spray for my roses and apples. I think it's a neem and insecticidal soap mixture, not pure neem, but the strong odor of neem is hard to miss. It works well as an all purpose fungicide and insecticide as long as I apply it faithfully about once per week. I figure if I can't stand neem oil in soap, I can always use it on my garden plants.

 

[annalee2003]

Made a coffee soap today. It's been a little over two years since I last made a coffee soap, so I was pretty excited!
Also used up the last of my ingredients ... Guess I gotta go shopping now, oh darn

 

[jules92207]

I finally got back on the forum and am planning to finally make some soap soon. We bought our first house a few weeks ago and I almost have all my soap supplies back in order.

Glad to be getting back to normal I hope, tired of all these boxes!

 

[lauratryingsoap]

Has your recipe been run through a soap calculator? What's the superfat? What type of lye are you using (e.g. are you buying drain cleaner at the hardware store that may not be a sufficient amount of NaOH)?

Absolutely. I used a superfat of 5%. The lye was bought from a soapmaking website, which I have used in other batches and worked out fine

 

[divinegoddessoaps17]

Witches Brew

Just finished making this soap for the fall season. This fragrance oil is from Natures Garden called Witches Brew! (Fragrance oil really starts with a "B", but it was censored!!) So I changed it to a "w". Had to get it for halloween festivals. Just fresh cut this morning - inside still a little moist.

 

[psfred]

Made another soap mold (#4, I think these things are like rabbits, leave two of them alone for a while and you have six more...). Mom likes my soap, but want smaller bars (2x3 inches seems to work for her) so I made a mold to hold 400 gr oil that's three inches wide and two deep. Seven inches long inside, so that's probably 14 small bars.

 

[Soapstars]

(Just finished making this soap for the fall season. This fragrance oil is from Natures Garden called Witches Brew! (Fragrance oil really starts with a "B", but it was censored!!) So I changed it to a "w". Had to get it for halloween festivals. Just fresh cut this morning - inside still a little moist.)

Your soaps always look amazingly Divine! Love the colour and design. Great pic too.

 

[Soapstars]

Just finished making this soap for the fall season. This fragrance oil is from Natures Garden called Witches Brew! (Fragrance oil really starts with a "B", but it was censored!!) So I changed it to a "w". Had to get it for halloween festivals. Just fresh cut this morning - inside still a little moist.

Sorry haven't got the hang of doing a quote yet!

Your soaps always look amazingly Divine! Love the colour and design. Great pic too.

 

[earlene]

I forgot the fragrance in my soap last night. It was still on the scale when I realized I had already poured the soap but it didn't smell like roses.

This morning, I checked the temperatures of the soap in the oven compared to the temperature of the soap on the counter covered only with my apron (not a towel). Both were 88° F, which is quite interesting considering the oven reached 175° before I turned it off and the room temperature at this hour is 72°. I will make a note of it and see if the two look any different after unmolding.

 

[keelsoaper]

My 1st Rebatch CP Soap

I have a few cp soaps under my belt now and decided to rebatch all of the soaps that did not turn out so well. Here is what I came up with.

 

[WyvernWench]

I swore last night that I was going to take this morning off from making a batch ... that lasted up to the moment that I cut the first bar from yesterday's Cedar Amber Hanger Swirl loaf. There is now another loaf ,sitting all wrapped up in its blanket, on the counter to cut tomorrow because I can't stand the idea of having nothing exciting waiting for me in the morning .... ah!

Cedar Amber Figure 8 Hanger Swirl

Nuture Soap Micas: Umber Brown, Ruby Red, Electric Orange, Firefly, and
Lime Appeal

Nuture Soaps: Titanium Dioxide pigment powder

BrambleBerry.com Fragrant Oil: Cedar and Amber 1 oz. / 28.35 grams

32 oz. recipe at 5% Super Fat

Water 12.16 oz. 344.73 grams
NaOH 4.57 oz. 129.69 grams

Castor, 5%, 1.60 oz., 45.36 grams
Coconut 76, 25%, 8.00 oz., 226.80 grams
Olive, 30%, 9.60 oz., 272.16 grams
Palm Kernel, 5%, 1.60 oz., 45.36 grams
Palm Oil, 20% , 6.40 oz., 181.44 grams
Soybean, 15%, 4.80 oz., 136.08 grams