Today I made some hilariously ugly soap...
I was trying to do a Lazy Susan swirl, but two of the colours ended up getting thicker too fast, so I have some very unfortunate brown lumpy bits in it. It's in the oven now at a super low temperature; I was hoping that it might melt and spread out a little bit but that doesn't seem to be happening. I'm kind of disappointed since I really liked the EO mix for the scent: patchouli, bergamot, lemongrass and a hint of cinnamon. I think I'll call the fragrance 'spice market'. Don't know what I'm going to do with this clown vomit though.
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I also read through about half of the Soaping 101 liquid soapmaking video? thread last night and decided to give it a go, so I've spent a lot of today fretting and diluting, but I think I'm going to end up with exactly what I wanted, so that's a nice surprise! (documented at the end of that thread, for the curious)
These are lovely. I am organizing a quilt for my son and wife’s first baby, friends are contributing and the colors are grey with a spot of color in the middle of each square. I had an idea to make a confetti soap as a thank you, sort of in the color scheme and pattern of the quilt. Your gray soap is inspiring me!Here are some results from my experiments changing confetti proportions and size, as well as color schemes. I like the grey one where the confetti is 15% of the total batch weight the best. The green soap has a bit more, maybe 25% of total batch weight and seems “overcrowded”. I think a higher proportion of smaller chunks would work better at 25% confetti. The one on the right is my “exotic” color scheme and was layered using my new mold with one divider. I‘m happy enough with the layering, the proportions and the size of the confetti, but I’m not sure what I think about the contrasting colors. All of this confetti is from different parts of my first wrecked ring attempt.
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ETA: I forgot to mention that all of these soaps were made at 40% lye concentration and using a lard (50%) based recipe, with the “melted” oils in the high 70F range and the lye water a bit cooler. Even though the oils were not clear when I added the lye water, there are no stearic spots apparent. BUT, the lard and CO were melted clear before I added the liquid oils - RBO and/or OO and/or HO sunflower. I avoided castor so as not to push my luck. I got bold enough to try BB’s Grapefruit Lily, a notorious accelerator, in the grey soap and had no acceleration. In comparison, I haven’t been able to produce similar results when I start my palm-based recipe with the oils below 95F or my soy wax-based recipe below 120F.
That looks great! You’re sweet to make them a quilt and clever to pick the grey/neutral background since it goes with everything. I look forward to seeing your soapThese are lovely. I am organizing a quilt for my son and wife’s first baby, friends are contributing and the colors are grey with a spot of color in the middle of each square. I had an idea to make a confetti soap as a thank you, sort of in the color scheme and pattern of the quilt. Your gray soap is inspiring me!
Here is the beginning of the quilt.
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Cinnamon EO contains eugenol, which will accelerate your batter and make it get thick very fast.
You may be pleasantly surprised with the result when it’s cut.
Love your soap' beautiful! thank you so much for your soaping temp's & process.Here are some results from my experiments changing confetti proportions and size, as well as color schemes. I like the grey one where the confetti is 15% of the total batch weight the best. The green soap has a bit more, maybe 25% of total batch weight and seems “overcrowded”. I think a higher proportion of smaller chunks would work better at 25% confetti. The one on the right is my “exotic” color scheme and was layered using my new mold with one divider. I‘m happy enough with the layering, the proportions and the size of the confetti, but I’m not sure what I think about the contrasting colors. All of this confetti is from different parts of my first wrecked ring attempt.
View attachment 54510
ETA: I forgot to mention that all of these soaps were made at 40% lye concentration and using a lard (50%) based recipe, with the “melted” oils in the high 70F range and the lye water a bit cooler. Even though the oils were not clear when I added the lye water, there are no stearic spots apparent. BUT, the lard and CO were melted clear before I added the liquid oils - RBO and/or OO and/or HO sunflower. I avoided castor so as not to push my luck. I got bold enough to try BB’s Grapefruit Lily, a notorious accelerator, in the grey soap and had no acceleration. In comparison, I haven’t been able to produce similar results when I start my palm-based recipe with the oils below 95F or my soy wax-based recipe below 120F.
Brilliant Idea' Love the Heart Shape Design In Your Soap!I‘ve been planning to make a wood box for my new silicone mold, but I’ve only gotten so far as to sketch it out on the plywood. Here’s the interim solution I came up with to keep the sides of the mold straight.
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Thats awesome. also it's so hard to be patient! you're not alone.I tried an end piece of my first soap (from a kit) today, after 2 weeks of cure I couldn't wait any longer to see what it's like!
The scent is great, the soap lathers nicely but not excessively and my hands feel squeaky clean after use, which translates to slightly dry skin. I now realise it's a pretty high CO soap, so that isn't surprising, but I'm hoping it'll get a little milder after the full cure time.
I ordered a batch of sample size FOs a couple of days ago, which have apparently shipped but there is no indication of when they're going to arrive. I thought I was a fairly patient person, but soap has taught me that I'm not nearly as patient as I thought! Lol.
I‘ve been planning to make a wood box for my new silicone mold, but I’ve only gotten so far as to sketch it out on the plywood. Here’s the interim solution I came up with to keep the sides of the mold straight.
View attachment 54552
Yep! These legos are 20+ years old.Love it! Hmmmm now to dig out that massive box of LEGO I have stored somewhere.
Great solution! I love the soap...does this design have a name?I‘ve been planning to make a wood box for my new silicone mold, but I’ve only gotten so far as to sketch it out on the plywood. Here’s the interim solution I came up with to keep the sides of the mold straight.
View attachment 54552
Wow, that's going to be some awesome favours!My daughter got engaged last week so now we’re planning a wedding. I figured I’d make some favors for her and here’s the prototype that I just made to test. View attachment 54567 The embeds are M&P. Should I avoid gel so they don’t melt? I’ve never really put M&P embeds on top of a cold process soap before. Need some advice!
I call it a minimalist top swirl, to match what I’m hoping is a minimalist swirl on the interior of the soap.Great solution! I love the soap...does this design have a name?
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