What soapy thing have you done today?

[AliOop]

I had to get a loaf cutter because I am so bad at cutting - it’s the same with homemade bread - ridiculously uneven slices of toast. It’s like I have a blind spot for cutting evenly. And.. the first pull through soap I made ended with a smashed soup can and shards of pvc soap mold all over the soap room. Not pretty. Now I line with a flexible cutting board!

This is the first time I've ever had trouble getting my soap out of the PVC mold, but apparently, I just hadn't left in the freezer long enough. Still trying to get the measuring cup out of the end of the mold, though. Turned that ridiculousness over to the DH to see what he can do with it.

I do have a loaf cutter, but I don't have a log splitter for my slab mold. To create loaves from the slab (which can then go onto my loaf cutter), I have to cut by hand. It's never pretty!

I've been making hot process soap for a little over a year but yesterday (and again today) I made my first batches of cold process soap. It's the same basic recipe I normally use (goat's milk and colloidal oatmeal soap) but with a 10% water discount. I poured the first batch in the new goat soap mold I got from Bramble Berry and the batch from today in molds shaped like Texas. It's going to be very hard to wait the day or two before unmolding them. It's fun though and nice to work with thinner batter for the more intricate molds.

Congrats on trying CP! I also started out with HP and did that for years. When making cold process, instead of using a water discount (from the Water as Percent of Oils setting), it's much better to use the Lye Concentration setting or the Water:Lye Ratio setting. Your results will be much more consistent as you increase and decrease batch sizes.

 

[msunnerstood]

Its killing me not to make soap but im waiting for my new molds to arrive. I use silicone loaf molds for HP with no issue but using them with CP, I lose 2 bars every time because soap seems to stick in the corners. I bought two molds with removable sides.. should be here Friday.

 

[Catscankim]

Also killing me to not make soap. I cleaned my kitchen to have inspectors etc have to come through. It is killing me lol. I forgot to buy some stuff...so I had a limited supply of lard/olive oil. So tonight I made a half-recipe and tried my hand at soap dough. I have now a bunch of little cups of different colors that I have no clue what I am going to do with later.

I really have no clue what I am doing with the soap dough if it turns out ok. I watched a video, and figured I would make a batch (500g oils).

It was fun. I got my soaping "out of me" and tried something new. I have six small cups of (hopefully) different colored soap dough LOL

 

[Vicki C]

This is the first time I've ever had trouble getting my soap out of the PVC mold, but apparently, I just hadn't left in the freezer long enough. Still trying to get the measuring cup out of the end of the mold, though. Turned that ridiculousness over to the DH to see what he can do with it.

Yes - I watched so many videos of people just pushing their soaps right out of pvc, looked simple enough. Mine was absolutely like cement and was never going to budge. I don’t know what I did wrong but I’m afraid to have it happen again. Good luck retrieving the measuring cup!

 

[Angie Gail]

This is the first time I've ever had trouble getting my soap out of the PVC mold, but apparently, I just hadn't left in the freezer long enough. Still trying to get the measuring cup out of the end of the mold, though. Turned that ridiculousness over to the DH to see what he can do with it.

I do have a loaf cutter, but I don't have a log splitter for my slab mold. To create loaves from the slab (which can then go onto my loaf cutter), I have to cut by hand. It's never pretty!


Congrats on trying CP! I also started out with HP and did that for years. When making cold process, instead of using a water discount (from the Water as Percent of Oils setting), it's much better to use the Lye Concentration setting or the Water:Lye Ratio setting. Your results will be much more consistent as you increase and decrease batch sizes.

I did the lye calculator using Lye Concentration at 33% and then did the water discount. Was that correct?

 

[Angie Gail]

Here's the goat mold soap I used for my first CP batch compared to the same mold with HP (left - as if that's not obvious). I made my second CP batch yesterday in my Texas shaped mold but I'll have to wait a while yet to unmold that one.

 

[Nibiru2020]

I added clearing agents to my slightly cloudy liquid soap made on Feb. 4th... probably caused by fragrance oils. Added 3% of batch weight of glycerin, isopropyl alcohol and sugar dissolved in boiling water. Liquid soap was reheated to 150° F prior to adding clearing agents, now soap is being sequestered for a week to see how things go.

 

[AliOop]

I did the lye calculator using Lye Concentration at 33% and then did the water discount. Was that correct?

It would be better to choose a lye concentration or water:lye ratio that works for you, rather than discounting off the numbers in the calculator. Otherwise, you have defeated the purpose of using the soap calculator to figure accurate numbers for you. If you aren't paying attention, you also could accidentally end up using less water than is required to dissolve your lye.

I'm not very good at this kind of math, but instead of discounting 10% off the 67% water, you could just use a Water:Lye Ratio of approximately 60:40. That's a pretty saturated lye solution, but if you are comfortable with it, that's what matters. Hopefully someone like @DeeAnna can confirm that or correct that math, as needed.

 

[Angie Gail]

Thanks AliOop! I made a small 16oz batch with the water discount and it amounted to less than an ounce of water (3.88oz down to 3.50oz) so it probably didn't make a big difference. I'll try the next batch with the whole amount from the 33% lye concentration calculation.

 

[DeeAnna]

@Angie Gail and @AliOop -- "Water discounting" suggests there's some official starting point (aka "full water") from which to take the discount.

There isn't any consensus on what that starting point is, although many people assume it's the common default of "38% water as % of oils."

There's also no agreement about how to do the math of discounting. You see this confusion in Ali's answer in Post 19857 -- If you decide your starting point is a 33% lye concentration, then does "taking a 10% discount" mean you multiply the lye concentration by 0.1 (33 X 0.1=3.3) and subtract that answer from the lye concentration (33-3.3=29.7)? Or does it mean you subtract 10 from the lye concentration (33-10=23)? Or do you add the "discount" instead, which seems at odds with the meaning of the word "discount."

Honestly, this is just too confusing and also not very helpful.

My recommendation -- Just choose a lye concentration or a water:lye ratio and that's all you need to do. If you do one batch at 33% lye conc and the next at 40% lye conc, then just say that and you will communicate your point clearly. No need to make it more complex than that.

So for example, if you want to soap at 33% lye concentration (aka 2:1 water:lye ratio) for one batch and at 40% (1.5 water:lye ratio) for the next batch, then that's sufficient. No need to talk about "water discount" or "full water".

I don't read this thread regularly, so if you want me to respond, be sure to use @DeeAnna to get my attention.

 

[Ellacho]

So impressed. I have a sandalwood rose FO that’s just waiting for me to learn how to pipe roses.

Thank you! I have been trying to pipe roses since 2013 (on and off) but I wasn't getting any better. I wasted many soap batches so I finally took an online bean paste flower class last year. I am still learning how to pipe it better .

 

[Ellacho]

My recommendation -- Just choose a lye concentration or a water:lye ratio and that's all you need to do. If you do one batch at 33% lye conc and the next at 40% lye conc, then just say that and you will communicate your point clearly. No need to make it more complex than that.

I don't read this thread regularly, so if you want me to respond, be sure to use @DeeAnna to get my attention.
[/QUOTE]

Hi Deanna, I always love your recommendations !

 

[The_Phoenix]

Phew! That went much better than yesterday. Batter was the perfect fluidity. Not bad for my second attempt ever. Used popsicle sticks and chopsticks to sit in-between the silicone lining and the wood mold to prevent batter from leaking into the nearby cavities. The cardboard worked well but the fit along the bottom could have been tighter. That was fun!!!

 

[The Park Bench]

I had to get a loaf cutter because I am so bad at cutting - it’s the same with homemade bread - ridiculously uneven slices of toast. It’s like I have a blind spot for cutting evenly. And.. the first pull through soap I made ended with a smashed soup can and shards of pvc soap mold all over the soap room. Not pretty. Now I line with a flexible cutting board!

A loaf cutter is on my short list. I just need to decide which one

 

[Adobehead]

Here’s 4 of today’s 4.

You are an Ace!

 

[msunnerstood]

I learned a very hard lesson today, NEVER use blue mica in bath bombs.
On a positive note, my new soap molds came today!!

 

[violets2217]

So I just got my new shampoo bar press/mold and 3 oz individual round silicone molds for my condition bars. I just wanted to try them out and made a small 2 bar batch of each! They are humongous, at least they seem to be. 1 more ounce sure makes a difference. But now I have a question.... maybe I should post somewhere else... I poured my conditioner bars too soon and the mica settled to the bottom. Can I re-melt and re-pour them? And if I do re-melt them do I need to add more preservative?

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I’m just anxiously awaiting my new jumbo extruder discs. I want to do something new and fun for my 100th (documented) batch.
Here’s 4 of today’s 4.

Truly impressive! I love the different designs for the pull through and your layering is perfect.

Do you use extruder discs for soap dough?

@The_Phoenix - that’s a gorgeous color combination and your swirls look wonderful!

 

[The_Phoenix]

@The_Phoenix - that’s a gorgeous color combination and your swirls look wonderful!

Thank you! I feel pretty happy with it. The hardest part was choosing colors. I didn’t think I’d enjoy making intricately designed soaps. It was actually quite relaxing.

 

[Misschief]

So I just got my new shampoo bar press/mold and 3 oz individual round silicone molds for my condition bars. I just wanted to try them out and made a small 2 bar batch of each! They are humongous, at least they seem to be. 1 more ounce sure makes a difference. But now I have a question.... maybe I should post somewhere else... I poured my conditioner bars too soon and the mica settled to the bottom. Can I re-melt and re-pour them? And if I do re-melt them do I need to add more preservative?

Yes, you can remelt them and repour. Just melt until they're just soft enough to mix everything, not so hot that your preservative is compromised.