What soapy thing have you done today?

[Dean]

Lather tested my two day old 10% CO bar. Surprisingly sufficient lather! Will be going with that percentage from now on to combat winter dryness.

 

[Dawni]

I have some ratanjot roots soaking in my lye water to see if I can extract any color from it... I read somewhere that it has to be powdered before any color shows but let's see.

If all goes well I'll be posting part two of the natural colorant series I started.

Looks like part two will have to wait coz I didn't do my research first. Or rather I did, then promptly forgot what I had read lol I was able to extract color - a latte brown instead of purple like when done properly.

So I infused some roots in coconut oil instead..

 

[DWinMadison]

Here’s my current go-t0 recipe: Coconut Oil (76 deg) - 23%, Palm Oil - 20%, Walmart GV Shortening(tallow/palm) - 20%, Olive Oil -20%, Safflower/Avocado or Grapeseed Oil - 8%, Castor Oil - 9%

SoapCalc.net scores it like this:

Soap Bar Quality Range Your Recipe
Hardness 29 - 54 43
Cleansing 12 - 22 17
Conditioning 44 - 69 53
Bubbly 14 - 46 25
Creamy 16 - 48 34
Iodine 41 - 70 59
INS 136 - 165 152


Granted I’m a guy, and I don’t have particularly sensitive skin, so I may not be the best judge based on practical use (i.e. it gets me clean and doesn't cause a rash) but if you score by middle-of-the-road stats, I think this is a pretty darned impressive recipe.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

When does the experimenting end?

"Dead and buried" comes to mind...

 

[DWinMadison]

Master batched my oils last night to fit my mold with the insert in. The insert reduces the mold volume by exactly half. So, each container makes half of the full mold giving me option of large or small soap batches without refiguring or remeasuring. View attachment 36897

So, here's a question about master-batching (that always sounds so "dirty":/ ) oils. Do you melt them all and pour them into individual containers as I did there, or measure them out into the containers oil-by-oil? I found using the all-in-one melt method, I ended up a few grams short by the last container..nothing significant, but I did short each container by a gram or so to even them out. I thougt it would be less messy as I could pour them all instead of spooning, but not so much. Maybe I'm just a slob. Professional, high-volume soapers would just put them all in a vat, keep them warm and pull what they need for a batch, but I would have no way to warm them back up in bulk. I can pop 1 or 2 Qt. containers in the microwave for a minute or two and be good-to-go. Anybody have a good/better/best practice to share?

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Anybody have a good/better/best practice to share?

I use 60 oz fats for most batches. I weigh out and melt fats for 4 batches at a time max. So, 4 X 60 oz. = 240 oz. I add an oz or two of fats to that amount (240 + 2 = 242 oz.) to cover the amount lost in divvy-ing up so I don't come up short filling the last container.

TIP: Also saves time trying to scrape those miniscule last bits of fats from container to container.

 

[jcandleattic]

Not yet, because I'm at work (BLEH) but later today I will be cutting these - https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/what-i-did-today.73979/

 

[jcandleattic]

I tried copying them a few months ago cuz I had some paraffin laying around--the scent on mine don't last very long though and I tried using crayons for coloring. maybe now that I have micas and better scents I should try again

Mica will look pretty in the wax until it's melted the first time, and then it will sink to the bottom and when cooled be a blob on the bottom of the wax melt.

Crayons are not a very suitable coloring agent for wax as it's not made of pure paraffin but a specialized pressed wax, and has pigments instead dye, which will also separate out of wax and end up sinking to the bottom, and if made in candles, could end up clogging the wick.

Just thought I'd chime in. Sorry if it's unsolicited advise that's not wanted.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

Mica will look pretty in the wax until it's melted the first time, and then it will sink to the bottom and when cooled be a blob on the bottom of the wax melt.

Crayons are not a very suitable coloring agent for wax as it's not made of pure paraffin but a specialized pressed wax, and has pigments instead dye, which will also separate out of wax and end up sinking to the bottom, and if made in candles, could end up clogging the wick.

Just thought I'd chime in. Sorry if it's unsolicited advise that's not wanted.

oh no I am happy you posted--yes the crayons sank to the bottom when it melted and its good to hear micas would do the same. I wasnt impressed and I have friend who sells scentsy--but with all my soap laying around I don't really need any extra scents

 

[jcandleattic]

oh no I am happy you posted--yes the crayons sank to the bottom when it melted and its good to hear micas would do the same. I wasnt impressed and I have friend who sells scentsy--but with all my soap laying around I don't really need any extra scents

You can use your soap scents in wax. I've never had a problem with that, and now I will only buy skin safe scents so I can use them interchangeably.

 

[amd]

Friday I made donut shaped bubble bars scented with Jelly Donut FO. I popped them into the freezer for an hour to get them out of the mold and let them dry in front of a fan. Kids were mad at me because the basement smelled like donuts but there were none to eat. Saturday morning I mixed up some M&P with mowrah butter (I am out of cocoa butter otherwise I would have used that) and made a "glazed drizzle" over the donuts so I could package them for my niece's birthday party that afternoon. She wasn't as impressed with her 6-pack of donuts and told me next time to make them into ice cream scoops. Dang kids! The FO should turn brown because of the vanillan content, but so far it hasn't turned.

Sunday I didn't have to work (thanks to the lovely blizzard we had) so I made soap instead. Finally got the batch of DB red to black ombre soap that's been in my head done. Cut it this morning and beveled and stamped over lunch. I've been playing with less water in my lye solution, and I'm surprised that even lowering 2-3% how much quicker it unmolds and needs to be cut. That's not a complaint!

 

[DWinMadison]

Cut the first batch with 1) newly constructed mold with insert to create small 6-bar batches 2) master-batched lye and 3) master-batched oils.

. Result: 6 perfect bars @ 3.5” x 2.5” x 1” with two 1/4” end nubs. The colors are not a mistake, unless an intentional one. The camera doesn’t really do justice. I chose yellow and white, because the scent is a combo of Crafter’s Choice “Clean Cotton” FO and tea tree EO. (I thought the FO was a bit “perfumery” by itself). The FO was a leftover, so I figured better to risk that than a good EO on what could have been a complete failure. Hopefully, they will whiten more as they cure.

Dear moderator, In retrospect, probably should have posted to photos, but it IS the most soapy think I did today. Sorry.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

Cut the first batch with 1) newly constructed mold with insert to create small 6-bar batches 2) master-batched lay and 3) master-batched oils. View attachment 36925View attachment 36926. Result: 6 perfect bars @ 3.5” x 2.5” x 1” with two 1/4” end nubs. The colors are not a mistake, unless an intentional one. The camera doesn’t really do justice. I chose yellow and white, because the scent is a combo of Crafter’s Choice “Clean Cotton” FO and tea tree EO. (I thought the FO was a bit “perfumery.” by itself). The FO was a leftover, so I figured better to risk that than a good EO on what could have been a complete failure. Hopefully, they will whiten more as they cure.

Dear moderator, In retrospect, probably should have posted to photos, they It is the most soapy think I did today. Sorry.

very pretty!!

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

Friday I made donut shaped bubble bars scented with Jelly Donut FO. I popped them into the freezer for an hour to get them out of the mold and let them dry in front of a fan. Kids were mad at me because the basement smelled like donuts but there were none to eat. Saturday morning I mixed up some M&P with mowrah butter (I am out of cocoa butter otherwise I would have used that) and made a "glazed drizzle" over the donuts so I could package them for my niece's birthday party that afternoon. She wasn't as impressed with her 6-pack of donuts and told me next time to make them into ice cream scoops. Dang kids! The FO should turn brown because of the vanillan content, but so far it hasn't turned.

Sunday I didn't have to work (thanks to the lovely blizzard we had) so I made soap instead. Finally got the batch of DB red to black ombre soap that's been in my head done. Cut it this morning and beveled and stamped over lunch. I've been playing with less water in my lye solution, and I'm surprised that even lowering 2-3% how much quicker it unmolds and needs to be cut. That's not a complaint!

I started with the BB lye calculator and just started goofing with some other ones. I have always wondered why I seemed to unmold a lot faster than others--I found out from the other calculators that I was using less water.

 

[msunnerstood]

I've seen some really pretty ones on Instagram and figured next time I order supplies I should order soy wax for both soap and wax tabs but then I have nothing to pretty them up with yet lol

Please show us when you're done?

I have some ratanjot roots soaking in my lye water to see if I can extract any color from it... I read somewhere that it has to be powdered before any color shows but let's see.

If all goes well I'll be posting part two of the natural colorant series I started.

Here is an example of some. there are the break apart ones, scent shots and banana nut muffin ones.

 

[Dawni]

Here is an example of some. there are the break apart ones, scent shots and banana nut muffin ones.

View attachment 36934

So cool.. Now I really need to do more research on these. Thank you!

 

[Meena]

Posted the cuts of last night's swirled HP here -> https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/cut-the-hp-soap-i-made-last-night.73998/

 

[Meena]

Here is an example of some. there are the break apart ones, scent shots and banana nut muffin ones.

View attachment 36934

I've never heard of wax tabs and don't know what you do with them, but these are lovely!
I really like your style and the things you make.

 

[msunnerstood]

I've never heard of wax tabs and don't know what you do with them, but these are lovely!
I really like your style and the things you make.

You melt them in a warmer and they make the room smell good.

Thank you!

 

[Zing]

Cut the first batch with 1) newly constructed mold with insert to create small 6-bar batches 2) master-batched lye and 3) master-batched oils. View attachment 36925View attachment 36926. Result: 6 perfect bars @ 3.5” x 2.5” x 1” with two 1/4” end nubs. The colors are not a mistake, unless an intentional one. The camera doesn’t really do justice. I chose yellow and white, because the scent is a combo of Crafter’s Choice “Clean Cotton” FO and tea tree EO. (I thought the FO was a bit “perfumery” by itself). The FO was a leftover, so I figured better to risk that than a good EO on what could have been a complete failure. Hopefully, they will whiten more as they cure.

Dear moderator, In retrospect, probably should have posted to photos, but it IS the most soapy think I did today. Sorry.

Super cool! Love the photos and I bet it smells awesome! So jealous of your mold-making skills -- I'm proud of myself when I hang a picture!