What soapy thing have you done today?

[Peachy Clean Soap]

I cut the soap I made for my son. Funny at how the black looks like a drop swirl when I did an in the pot swirl for both. I told him that the one on the right looks like him when he is grumpy
View attachment 57507

Thats so Cool . I don't see a grumpy face' I see a abstract face w/ sunglasses. Art is perceived through the eyes of the beholder.

 

[Angie Gail]

Today no soaping' i've managed to do some research between cleaning the house' came across an interesting topic of "Colloidal Oatmeal" at first I thought I can purchase oatmeal & grind it my self to a fine powder. but after research realized its process is micronised to a specific particle size. It also needs to to be processed so the startch is modified so it can disperse into creams, lotions & bath products w/ no clumps or lumps. I had to order some of this skin soothing stuff. . I ordered form " Making Cosmetics " I'm going to make a bar soap for sensitive skin & use Colloidal Oatmeal w/ no added color or scent. .

I make a goat's milk and colloidal oatmeal soap and it's really nice, smooth, and creamy (it's the pic in my avatar). I get my oatmeal from Brambleberry and it's easy to work with.

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

I make a goat's milk and colloidal oatmeal soap and it's really nice, smooth, and creamy (it's the pic in my avatar). I get my oatmeal from Brambleberry and it's easy to work with.

Oh thats wonderful & good to know BB carries it too, do you scent your soap?.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Lol, does reworking some of my soap recipes to exclude RBO based on the the oils I have on hand count as a soapy thing?

Not long, and people around here are counting apologies for having done nothing soapy today as a soapy thing they have made today

soy wax - seems we have a national shortage ( I blame covid)

Who knows, maybe the busy soapmakers are to blame…

interesting topic of "Colloidal Oatmeal" at first I thought I can purchase oatmeal & grind it my self to a fine powder. but after research realized its process is micronised to a specific particle size. It also needs to to be processed so the startch is modified so it can disperse into creams, lotions & bath products w/ no clumps or lumps.

I don't think this clumping/dissolution issues are too troublesome with soap, regarding how rude we're treating the batter anyway. I had good success with just soaking rolled oats 1:5 in water and SBing them into oat “milk” (bran sifted off with a tea strainer), I've seen this somewhere on YouTube IIRC. It's impressive how this “oat milk” will get a pudding-like texture when lye is added, not unlike medium trace (but still without oils added!). Tested the CP soap I made that way just yesterday (shy of four weeks curing time) and it already gave a lovely lather and felt very smooth on the skin.

Actually today, I lost patience with the last semi-solid lumps of soap paste still swimming undissolved in my Décadence LS after months. Sifted them off, dissolved in hot water, and pleased myself with a decadent footbath with a slight poppy odour.

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

Not long, and people around here are counting apologies for having done nothing soapy today as a soapy thing they have made today


Who knows, maybe the busy soapmakers are to blame…


I don't think this clumping/dissolution issues are too troublesome with soap, regarding how rude we're treating the batter anyway. I had good success with just soaking rolled oats 1:5 in water and SBing them into oat “milk” (bran sifted off with a tea strainer), I've seen this somewhere on YouTube IIRC. It's impressive how this “oat milk” will get a pudding-like texture when lye is added, not unlike medium trace (but still without oils added!). Tested the CP soap I made that way just yesterday (shy of four weeks curing time) and it already gave a lovely lather and felt very smooth on the skin.

Actually today, I lost patience with the last semi-solid lumps of soap paste still swimming undissolved in my Décadence LS after months. Sifted them off, dissolved in hot water, and pleased myself with a decadent footbath with a slight poppy odour.

Oh This is interesting' as well as the scent' I'll be trying / following your footsteps & using it in a bar soap. .

 

[TashaBird]

I’ve got a pull through soap column in a bucket with a heating blanket wrapped around it. Usually I’d just leave it in there for a day, heat turned off after a few hours. How long do you think it has to stay in the heated bucket to ensure gel phase?

 

[Ladka]

I bevelled and tidied all the bars of the last three batches (made for this month's challenge). I will have to check the printouts, they will very likely be completed with the addition of pictures and final observations. (Plus half of one sheet got soaked with oil I'm preparing for cream making uhg!)

 

[earlene]

Waiting for my challenge soap to come down in temp. It went into the oven about 9 hours ago, but surface temp is still above 100°F. If I'd forget about it for awhile, and stop thinking about it, that would be best. I really don't want to cut it tonight. But I sort of do.

After making the soap, I was so tired out that I fell asleep right after turning on Midsomer Murders. Apparently I had a 2 and a 1/2 hour nap. I hope I am able to get to sleep at a normal time tonight. Maybe I'll try again to watch that episode I missed. And have a snack. I totally missed dinner.

So something interesting: I misplaced my two Soap Making Adventures notebooks with all my formulas, dates soaps made and notes for everything soapy for the past 6 years. One day I went to get them to look something up and they weren't where I keep them. So I searched, but they were no-where to be found. I concluded that if I stop looking they will turn up, because that's usually what happens when I loose stuff (not always, though.) Periodically over the past 2 months (I think that's how long its been, maybe longer, I'm not sure) I've taken up looking for the missing notebooks, and feared I had accidentally dropped them into the trash or something. But I just couldn't find them.

Well, as a side note, Kitty Baby has been trying to climb down behind the couch cushion that is part of the couch back. It's hilarious watching her hind legs and kitty butt sticking up while she tries to get down between the couch back and the cushion, like she's chasing a rabbit down a hole. It's happened a few times. Not once did it occur to me she might be after something I have been looking for.

A couple of days ago, while cleaning the leather, I found my missing soaping notebooks behind the cushion she's been trying to climb down behind. Next time she does that, I'll make sure to check out what she's after because it may be something I forgot I misplaced! Yeah, I do sometimes put something up in that little grooved area between the couch back & the cushion top, but this is the first time said items 'disappeared' into the depths of the couch.

Happy me! Well, I had already started the 3rd notebook, which is why I had 'temporarily' put those two where they got lost. I had been transcribing some of the important stuff like, how to make my EDTA solution, how much a drop of ROE weighs, stuff like that. At least now when my hand is better, I'll be able to label the soaps not yet labeled. I was concerned about that, because they are an important part of my soap labeling methodology.

 

[Quanta]

Today, my dad helped me modify my mini mixer. I got tired of it eating through AA batteries like there's no tomorrow. He made a D cell size battery box (out of cardboard, of course) for it and I made a wooden dummy battery with terminals which are connected to wires from the battery box. With D cells instead of AAs, it should last quite a bit longer before the batteries run down. I have to use alkaline batteries with it because rechargeables start out with a much lower voltage which defeats the purpose. He did tell me what kind of power supply I'd need if I want to plug it into the wall, so I will want to do that eventually.

So, equipped with a mixer that can handle a tiny batch of soap, I made a mere 173 grams of oil into soap for a fragrance test. I used a lard, olive, coconut and castor recipe. I then divided the batter into three tiny pitchers, and added fragrance to each. I am looking for a good vanilla cake scent, and I wanted to compare these three. I have others that I'll test later. None of these accelerated or riced or did anything funny, besides Buttercream Cupcake which seems to have discolored slightly. We'll see what color each is when I unmold. I am expecting all three to turn brown by the end of curing, and how dark each gets is part of what I'm testing. In a day or two I will make another batch that is the same except with VCS added. My goal is to make cupcake soaps that smell like real cupcakes. I'm going to make chocolate ones too eventually.

The only other soap I made today was a batch of hot process soap from a recipe that I had made before. But that first batch was my first batch of proper HP soap (only HP before that was shaving soap) and I overcooked it. However, the soap was still fantastic, probably one of the best that I have made yet. It was by far the ugliest (made in cavity molds, so each one had that "puffed rice cake" look on one whole side ) but as far as lather and the way it feels and everything, it is awesome. So today I made that recipe again and I made enough that I ended up with one short loaf, plus two and a half bars in a cavity mold. I tried something new with coloring in the loaf mold, we'll see how that turns out.

 

[TashaBird]

Got my rainbow pull through into my heated bucket this morning just in time for an appointment I had. As the day rolled on I decided to make another soap using a new experimental pull through disc. I suspect the openings aren’t big enough, but I’m curious to see how it turns out, and what I can learn from it for future designs. I used Golden States Warriors colors. (It’s a sports ball team. )
It’s taken every ounce of will I have not to try and cut that rainbow soap today. I’m literally going to bed early to try and stay away from it.

 

[Zing]

I hear ya! I'm almost out of soy wax - seems we have a national shortage ( I blame covid).

Hmm, yeah, go ahead and blame "COVID," yes, that's right "COVID" if that makes you feel better, Friend. I know it's hard sometimes to look yourself in the mirror....

I turned my curing mechanics' soap, always a simple pleasure.

I'm also printing and labeling soap (my least fave part of the process). Mrs. Zing's birthday is tomorrow and we are having a par-tay! Like in our house, with vaccinated friends, wicky wicky what??!! She loves her birthday -- last year was a drive-by honk your horn thang. No one has seen our house since our renovations that happened pre- and during the pandemic. We are pawning off excess inventory giving away Mrs. Zing's jams and jellies, and my soap.

 

[msunnerstood]

Hmm, yeah, go ahead and blame "COVID," yes, that's right "COVID" if that makes you feel better, Friend. I know it's hard sometimes to look yourself in the mirror....

I turned my curing mechanics' soap, always a simple pleasure.

I'm also printing and labeling soap (my least fave part of the process). Mrs. Zing's birthday is tomorrow and we are having a par-tay! Like in our house, with vaccinated friends, wicky wicky what??!! She loves her birthday -- last year was a drive-by honk your horn thang. No one has seen our house since our renovations that happened pre- and during the pandemic. We are pawning off excess inventory giving away Mrs. Zing's jams and jellies, and my soap.

Happy Birthday, Mrs. Zing!!!

Labeling soap is also my least favorite thing.

 

[Angie Gail]

Oh thats wonderful & good to know BB carries it too, do you scent your soap?.

I do use FOs mostly from WSP and a few from NS and BB.

 

[GemstonePony]

Japanese Cherry Blossom attempt #3 in the mold, not gelling it this time to see if the FO doesn't weep as much or yellow as much. This time I added Aloe Vera Gel, which I haven't done for a while. And I ended up soaping way cooler than normal, and there were flakes of something in my soap. Maybe lint, maybe stearin clumped and saponified first, maybe this time the FO riced instead of straight up accelerating even though I blended it into the oils to start, maybe somehow this time the lye didn't dissolve even though the lye solution was blended to incorporate TD- late night soaping with a tired brain is just... The best... Anyways, good night, y'all. Figuring out what on earth I have created will have to wait until tomorrow... Well, later today, now.

 

[Tara_H]

I washed up from the naturally coloured OPW, which just happened to be my lowest superfat yet, at 2%, and omg the difference! Instead of grease and a ring of mica sticking to the side of the sink, there were massive amounts of bubbles! All this just from the bit of soap residue; I'll definitely be adjusting my other recipes to match.



The more I learn about superfat the more I'm getting the impression it's basically like covering your hands with a thin layer of oil or lotion before washing them - which, yes, will reduce the stripping effect of the soap, but isn't it better to just formulate the soap to be less stripping to begin with?

Just now I made a definitely-not-challenge-entry OPW, I'm quite excited to see how it comes out. The colour palette is inspired by this picture:


I think I got just the trace I wanted, and I made an embed for the moon from soap dough.


CPOP'ing now, with any luck it will be ready to cut by this evening.

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

I’ve got a pull through soap column in a bucket with a heating blanket wrapped around it. Usually I’d just leave it in there for a day, heat turned off after a few hours. How long do you think it has to stay in the heated bucket to ensure gel phase?

Tasha I have found the Round Columns as in the PVC Pipe heat up & hold the heat in' depending on the the width of & hight plays into how long to apply the heat. Truly it's a guessing game' sorry I cant be more percise & give you a definitive answer. What I do is wrap my column w/ heating blanket on medium heat' which is setting in a cupboard or ice chest I'll check & fell the tube often' when the tube starts heating up' I'll turn off the heat & keep it covered. It's amazing how hot the PVC Pipe can get.

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

Hmm, yeah, go ahead and blame "COVID," yes, that's right "COVID" if that makes you feel better, Friend. I know it's hard sometimes to look yourself in the mirror....

I turned my curing mechanics' soap, always a simple pleasure.

I'm also printing and labeling soap (my least fave part of the process). Mrs. Zing's birthday is tomorrow and we are having a par-tay! Like in our house, with vaccinated friends, wicky wicky what??!! She loves her birthday -- last year was a drive-by honk your horn thang. No one has seen our house since our renovations that happened pre- and during the pandemic. We are pawning off excess inventory giving away Mrs. Zing's jams and jellies, and my soap.

Happy Birthday To Mrs. Zing' .

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

I washed up from the naturally coloured OPW, which just happened to be my lowest superfat yet, at 2%, and omg the difference! Instead of grease and a ring of mica sticking to the side of the sink, there were massive amounts of bubbles! All this just from the bit of soap residue; I'll definitely be adjusting my other recipes to match.

View attachment 57575

The more I learn about superfat the more I'm getting the impression it's basically like covering your hands with a thin layer of oil or lotion before washing them - which, yes, will reduce the stripping effect of the soap, but isn't it better to just formulate the soap to be less stripping to begin with?

Just now I made a definitely-not-challenge-entry OPW, I'm quite excited to see how it comes out. The colour palette is inspired by this picture:
View attachment 57576

I think I got just the trace I wanted, and I made an embed for the moon from soap dough.
View attachment 57577 View attachment 57578 View attachment 57579

CPOP'ing now, with any luck it will be ready to cut by this evening.

Love them BUBBLES' pretty colors too.

 

[TashaBird]

Tasha I have found the Round Columns as in the PVC Pipe heat up & hold the heat in' depending on the the width of & hight plays into how long to apply the heat. Truly it's a guessing game' sorry I cant be more percise & give you a definitive answer. What I do is wrap my column w/ heating blanket on medium heat' which is setting in a cupboard or ice chest I'll check & fell the tube often' when the tube starts heating up' I'll turn off the heat & keep it covered. It's amazing how hot the PVC Pipe can get.

That’s similar to what I do, except I leave it on for longer. I don’t have them insulated much, just wrapped in a blanket. The second soap is still warm this morning though!
I think I might over do the heat sometimes.
But so far so good this morning. Only the cut will tell...

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

That’s similar to what I do, except I leave it on for longer. I don’t have them insulated much, just wrapped in a blanket. The second soap is still warm this morning though!
I think I might over do the heat sometimes.
But so far so good this morning. Only the cut will tell...

Yes the PVC Pipe really heats up. Stunning Soap & Vibrant Colors