I bought a Bud multi-bar cutter a few weeks ago and it never gets old with the one and done.
What soapy thing have you done today?
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I tested a soap I have that is 3 weeks old. Good lather, smells pleasant enough, should be ready in another 3 weeks but I think it will shine after week 12 is up
Some people suggest putting the measured fragrance container in your soap mold. That way if you forget to add it, you will see it sitting in your mold before your pour and can add it in at the last minute. I mix my fragrance oil in directly in with oils before I add the lye solution. I don't wait for trace. If I'm only using one color (which is 90% of the time now) I mix the color in with the batch oils too. Then I just blend and pour.I have done that, sadly more than once.I will have carefully measured out my EOs, set it to the side, finish my soap, then see my fragrance pitcher sitting to the side and go, "Oh fiddlesticks, can't believe I did that."
Anyone have any suggestions? I'm trying to be more methodical, but tend to get focused on the trace, color etc. and forget about the fragrance, even though I have it measured out and sitting on the counter with my soaping things.
Here's a pic of the leftovers from the Black Tie Marble batch, which is in the mold. I purposely make my batches somewhat larger now so that I can make a few small bars like this. I have customers who really like the smaller bars because they fit better in the hand.
Today I put beer on to boil for soap and forgot about it. I came up out of the basement and asked hubby if he lit the woodstove, then I realized it was my beer 
UGH I'm on the second round of bar keepers friend and foil trying to get it clean.
Thank goodness it is good stainless and will clean up eventually.
UGH I'm on the second round of bar keepers friend and foil trying to get it clean.
Thank goodness it is good stainless and will clean up eventually.
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Have you tried boiling some water, Bar Keeper's Friend, and some dish soap? Most times, it's worked for me and saved my hands from heavy scrubbing.Today I put beer on to boil for soap and forgot about it. I came up out of the basement and asked hubby if he lit the woodstove, then I realized it was my beer
UGH I'm on the second round of bar keepers friend and foil trying to get it clean.
Thank goodness it is good stainless and will clean up eventually.
Happy Anniversary! Making soap is a great way to celebrate.Celebrating my second soaping anniversary. Roughly speaking anyway. I started soaping with M&P, then did a rebatch soap kit from Brambleberry. My first true CP soap attempt was a BrambleBerry recipe (high in CO and way to cleansing for me) - but I cannot find the dated recipe sheet from that batch but I am fairly certain it was in March so I'm just calling it today for simplicity. Anyhoo, I created a new recipe using HO Sunflower instead of olive oil. I use high percentages of olive oil in most of my recipes so I'm very curious how this will turn out with the sunflower oil. I was going to celebrate my soapy anniversary by making a castile soap - but got distracted when I was YouTubing "single oil soaps" and watched Holly- Kapia Mera make both a castile soap and in another video a 100% Shea butter soap. So I made my Bastille recipe with sunflower in place of the OO and added a little shea butter. I only made a 1-lb batch, scented with Lavender Citrus from EOcalc but it sure felt good to make soap again!
I have a soapy closet in my new house and it was so much easier to work with all my ingredients and equipment organized! I'm still tempted to try a Castile soap. Mainly just so I can cross it off my bucket list. Maybe I will - I can put it to bed in the soapy closet and just forget about it for the next 9-12 months. Or maybe I can kill two bucket list birds with one stone and hot process the castile. Hmmmm....back to the Tube
@runnerchicki Happy Anniversary!
Been soaking and scrubbing. It is alclad so it will come clean eventually
Cover the bottom with baking soda - be generous and make sure all the burned spots are coated. Add a couple inches of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for a while. The burned stuff should just float to the top. What doesn't float to the top should scrape off easily with no effort. A stainless steel scrubby will take care of any stubborn spots (if there are any). I have used this home remedy MANY times and it has never failed me.
Edited to add: after the simmer - turn off the heat and let the water cool to room temp. The extra soak time helps too.
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This is a cheaper method that also works. But you might want to set a timer in case you get a little distracted. I know soaping is fun and the glorious plans we make with our calculators of choice but focus is sometimes necessary in order to walk that path to [soapmaking] glory. I'm sorry, I seem to be thinking of killer rabbits.
Made this soap with a new fragrance oil - Blackberry and Bay. I also included some lemongrass EO. I did a random drop swirl and then used a chopstick.
rdc1978
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I tried to use a recipe that was both slow moving and would unmold without a fuss. It's sitting in my oven right now, and I'm hoping for the best.
In my mind the soap looked a lot more striking, but I'm sure I'll love it if I look at it long enough.
It's scented with tobacco and bay leaf from brambleberry, so I wanted the colors to be a little more masculine.
I'd like to know more about how to put colors together, can anyone reccommend a book or website?
Dumfrey
Well-Known Member
Here are the cut bars from my first real color test. Wile it came out very well overall, lessons learned.
First, I need to get a spray bottle of alcohol. Bad soda ash on top.
Second, need to not be lazy and heat my oils better. Soaped at 100, and lots of white (stearic?) spots in the color. Also, no gel.
But mostly, it was just good to get back to making soap!
First, I need to get a spray bottle of alcohol. Bad soda ash on top.
Second, need to not be lazy and heat my oils better. Soaped at 100, and lots of white (stearic?) spots in the color. Also, no gel.
But mostly, it was just good to get back to making soap!
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I used one of my salt bars yesterday. The lather was smooth and bubbly (not what I expected, never having used one in the past). It made my face feel tight, an unexpected, but pleasant feeling. I read some articles that say salt bars makes you skin golden and glow. I hope that's true, but not glow in the dark.
I can see more of these in my future.
shawn ford
Member
Shaved, wrapped and labeled 14 lbs of castille and 14 lbs of walnut scrub. I finally caved and shave the soap ash off my soap. It takes off up to almost an ounce off each bar, but people just dont like it. I suppose I can use all the shavings to make laundry soap. I have tried all the methods for removing soap ash, shaving is the quickest and easiest.
Adobehead
Well-Known Member
I found that, too and will eagerly read your thread. I am out of milk cartons, so here are my 4 experiments. The last one was an amazing denim color until I introduced the EO blend which included Blood Orange, Pachouly and Geranium, all dark oils. The Bergamot is clear. So, finding delicious non-coloring EOs will be the next task. The tallow sub for Palm seems great so far. The soap is usually poured about 4 PM and I unmold the following morning. Hard like a rock.
one ounce off of every bar? It sounds like so much! Sometimes i put a layer of saran wrap on the top of my slab mold and it prevents the ash from forming. I smooth it out with something flat. I would love to see a photo of this, i guess it is a little late. That is a LOT of soap!
Laurel
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When I made yesterday's soap, I used the heat transfer method for the first time. This particular batch is mostly hard oils and I ended up having to heat it a little to make sure all the oils melted before adding the liquid oils. It went fine but that batch is still not ready to unmold, after almost 24 hours. Usually, I can unmold this particular recipe at about 12-18 hours. I guess I'll have to wait until tonight to check it again.
I used one of my salt bars yesterday. The lather was smooth and bubbly (not what I expected, never having used one in the past). It made my face feel tight, an unexpected, but pleasant feeling. I read some articles that say salt bars makes you skin golden and glow. I hope that's true, but not glow in the dark.I can see more of these in my future.
@ShirleyHailstock, I just tried some salt bars that have now cured for six months. They are indeed delightful! This batch has coffee grounds in it, so I’m keeping a bar at the kitchen sink for a deodorizing soap that doesn’t dry out my hands. May also try one in the shower if I can tear myself away from my favorite GMOH lard bars that are my current shower fave.
Regarding the glowing skin, I have trouble sleeping if there is light in the room, so I hope my salt bars do not cause me to glow in the dark, either!!
I unmolded and cut two soaps. One was my first 100% Olive oil soap. I used a 40% lye concentration and I was able to unmold it in about 18 hours. It was so hard I could barely cut it. Thought I was going to break the wire on my soap cutter.
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