What soapy thing have you done today?

[Zing]

Time's up. I cut the Hanger Swirl Soap. While the colors are not what I expected, they are gorgeous.

.View attachment 44757

WOW! Great work!

I made two loaves of soap using litsea cubeba/lavender/cedarwood essential oils. It was going to be all white (TD) but at the last minute, I decided to do an in-the-pot swirl with a little of the un-colored soap, just for some visual interest. And a quick batch of lotion bars with neroli essential oil.

While our kitchen is still under construction, we do have a makeshift temporary counter and electrical outlets -- and my trusty hotplate. Days after we paid our cabinet maker 5 figures, their parent company shut them down on one of those early crazty COVID-19 stock market days. We found out in the newspaper and still have no word from the company. Our bank assures us we'll get our money back. We've lived without a kitchen since Halloween so we can handle this delay. This is soooo trivial compared to what others are facing in this pandemic so I am not complaining and will keep it in perspective.

Stay safe everyone. And as I tell my staff every day, wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands!

 

[rdc1978]

EBRU FAIL!

I had this great idea of trying to do smaller test size soaps to try my hand at some new designs I wanted to try.

I love the soaping 101 ebru soap and so I thought I'd try it with the linden lime scent I had ordered from NS.

It did warn that there would be moderate acceleration, but I figured I would just use the FO in the base or bottom part and in the colors used to make the designs I'd leave out the fragrance.

Anyways I think the fo riced immediately and so the surface was like bumpy and hard and weird.

Anyways they can't all be winners, right. The scent is gorgeous. I wish it could have worked out.

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

Well here they are. Definitely a clamshell fail lol but a nice hanger and plop swirl. And the kitchen has been restored after the disaster recovery team was deployed.

 

[Bari b]

My daughter and I uncovered and cut our second batch of soap. My daughter picked the EOs to use for scent and wanted to add paprika to color it. The orangish-colored bars are the ones we just cut. The darker bars are our first attempt from several days ago using cinnamon for color (I think we put a little too much in!). We are having fun and already have plans for more soap.

We are just learning to make soap, so are using what we have here while staying home and social distancing!

 

[rdc1978]

View attachment 44839 My daughter and I uncovered and cut our second batch of soap. My daughter picked the EOs to use for scent and wanted to add paprika to color it. The orangish-colored bars are the ones we just cut. The darker bars are our first attempt from several days ago using cinnamon for color (I think we put a little too much in!). We are having fun and already have plans for more soap.

We are just learning to make soap, so are using what we have here while staying home and social distancing!

View attachment 44839

These look great! Very natural looking! Very well cut!

 

[elurah]

I made Rosewood Cedarwood soaps on Sunday. The swirls are with kaolin clay and cocoa powder.

 

[Bari b]

I made Rosewood Cedarwood soaps on Sunday. The swirls are with kaolin clay and cocoa powder.

View attachment 44843

Those look delicious!

 

[Zen Pretzel]

I made a double batch of charcoal soap with a fragrance called old time barbershop. I've made 8 batches in the past 4 days. This is how I plan to get through quarantine.

 

[Sally Scheibner]

I just have calendula flws showing pretty orange & yellow waiting to have an oil soak for shampoo soap bars. Calendula is so smooth & nourishing on skin. Chamomile does my tummy good, not much power for me in soap. Like the colors in that passion fruit bar soap.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Well here they are. Definitely a clamshell fail lol but a nice hanger and plop swirl. And the kitchen has been restored after the disaster recovery team was deployed. View attachment 44824 View attachment 44825

I love these. The colors are so pretty!

 

[Ashleigh]

My soapy thing for today is receiving an exciting email from my website for a potential soap order from a gentleman from Malta. He just doesn't like ordering online, so i'll have to process his Visa or MasterCard and accept an order by email. He wants to proceed as soon as possible, so it's really exciting. He wants to use his own shipping company too, but I've been assured he's used it in the past so it all seems legit right?!?

In all seriousness, I hope nobody falls for these types of emails. I'm surprised my tiny little soap site even reached the scammers' radar. Should I be honoured?

 

[Elizabeth Driver]

I tried a soap coffee recipe from my soap book, with ground cinnamon, scented with peppermint. It smells like one of those chocolatey mints. I like the solid Color and ground coffee.....it got hot very fast and started to crack.....but then settled....

 

[Relle]

Could those who are posting photos, please put them in the Photo Gallery. It is not getting used as it should.

 

[SoapSisters]

I tried a soap coffee recipe from my soap book, with ground cinnamon, scented with peppermint. It smells like one of those chocolatey mints. I like the solid Color and ground coffee.....it got hot very fast and started to crack.....but then settled....

Beautiful soap!! I love the cream color and the thin, light layer on top!

 

[Adobehead]

My daughter and I uncovered and cut our second batch of soap.

I love how they look! And yes, I love how natural they are. If the cinnamon doesn't irritate your skin, it isn't too much. I am going to try the paprika and I wonder if you would follow-up post if the color holds or fades out.
Keep going, you are doing great!

I tried a soap coffee recipe from my soap book, with ground cinnamon, scented with peppermint. It smells like one of those chocolatey mints. I like the solid Color and ground coffee.....it got hot very fast and started to crack.....but then settled....

It is so pretty! The little white specks make me think it has milk in it also. You are giving me ideas!

I am still experimenting with tallow-instead-of-palm (about 25% of my formula)

and indigo for color with pachouly, bergamot and blood orange for scent. I used some previously infused olive oil with titanium dioxide in it and some locally available black clay which made the indigo fight with gray, not the best move.

I put in some calendula petals for interest and to reflect the orange smell (like the peel). I think I need to do an indigo vat and dye some fabric with it! Not sure I am helping anyone putting it in soap. Next experiment, no other coloring agent, just the blue.

I really like the hard bars with wonderfully bubbly/creamy lather I am getting. The first batches are a month old now and I have started using them.

 

[Jersey Girl]

My soapy thing for today is receiving an exciting email from my website for a potential soap order from a gentleman from Malta. He just doesn't like ordering online, so i'll have to process his Visa or MasterCard and accept an order by email. He wants to proceed as soon as possible, so it's really exciting. He wants to use his own shipping company too, but I've been assured he's used it in the past so it all seems legit right?!?

In all seriousness, I hope nobody falls for these types of emails. I'm surprised my tiny little soap site even reached the scammers' radar. Should I be honoured?

You had me there for a minute! I was like noooooooo!

 

[Elizabeth Driver]

Could those who are posting photos, please put them in the Photo Gallery. It is not getting used as it should.

That is the first I’ve heard of that.....

 

[Zing]

View attachment 44839 My daughter and I uncovered and cut our second batch of soap. My daughter picked the EOs to use for scent and wanted to add paprika to color it. The orangish-colored bars are the ones we just cut. The darker bars are our first attempt from several days ago using cinnamon for color (I think we put a little too much in!). We are having fun and already have plans for more soap.

We are just learning to make soap, so are using what we have here while staying home and social distancing!

These are great colors! And who doesn't need soap now more than ever?

My wife cut my soap I made last Sunday. After all this time, I can't cut worth anything. Curious? See https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/sundays-soap.78744/ My son begged me to be on his snapchat talking about my soap and has created a contest to name it. Yes, this is the same son who plastered my telephone number and bar of soap in a bar a half-continent away on his 21st birthday which led to numerous texts and a telephone call from an irritated bar owner. So what could go wrong?

The non-soapy thing I did was make more bird seed eggs. Curious? See https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/bird-seed-eggs.78745/

#StayBusyAndAvoidOtherUnhealthyActivities/SubstancesDuringCOVID-19Crisis

 

[Adobehead]

EXPERIMENT #7

Well, I think this has way too much titanium dioxide, I think I used 1t. ppo. Lots of glycerin rivers and interesting textural designs. I have spent 3 years getting the calendula plants to perform so I could use the petals and this lemongrass soap has plenty. I think I will do the same again without the TD, just the yellow oxide and flower petals, maybe goat's milk.

 

[Dumfrey]

I made some cream soap a while back, and it makes a passable shave cream.
I used steric, coconut, she, and sunflower.

As a test, I just put on some steric (52%) and coconut (48%) to test.
(oils are melting now)
These %s are based off the original post in the songwind thread, and also coincides with the "rough order" of the ingredient list for Proraso (classic green) shave cream.

Proraso uses some lactic acid.
Can I substitute sodium lactate in cream soap? Any one have a guess?
Does sodium lactate work in cream soap?

EDIT: Added 2% SL by total finished weight. Looks good, passed zap test. Letting it sit overnight.