What soapy thing have you done today?

[dmcgee5034]

I am soooo excited today!!! Today my first batch is FINALLY ready to try! That was the longest 6 weeks of my life - lol. I have been dying to see how any of my batches came out, as you can imagine. I used a bar tonight for the very first time, and I loved it! Woo Hoo! I have 2 friends that are each getting a bar tomorrow with a QR code to a surverymonkey to give me their honest feedback.

I think my next batches look better, but these are Batch 1 - my very first ever CP soap….

Goat Milk Soap

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Today my first batch is FINALLY ready to try! That was the longest 6 weeks of my life - lol.

 

[Zing]

After a few years full of various life challenges, I finally got back to soaping and picked up a slab mold and splitter. I've really missed soaping, but also missed being here at the forums. You all provide so much knowledge and inspiration.
Moving on, we poured into the new mold last night for the first time. Made with Palm, Almond, Coconut, Castor, and Shea. Pot swirled with green purple clay, scented with Lavender EO. Hoping it's ready to split and cut tonight. Will post pictures, promise.
Also ordered some pull swirls (due to arrive this Sunday) to use in our cylinder molds. I think my first pull with be a red and white peppermint soap.

Welcome back!

 

[Zing]

LOL! Yesterday I gave a favorite coworker who resigned a gift bag of soap, lotion bars, and lip balms which she did not open at work. Later I get a text and she's all agog. The logo on my labels include my name but she texts "Are you the Zing of Zing's Soaps?" I replied, uh who the heck do you think?!

 

[AliOop]

I am soooo excited today!!! Today my first batch is FINALLY ready to try! That was the longest 6 weeks of my life - lol. I have been dying to see how any of my batches came out, as you can imagine. I used a bar tonight for the very first time, and I loved it! Woo Hoo! I have 2 friends that are each getting a bar tomorrow with a QR code to a surverymonkey to give me their honest feedback.

I think my next batches look better, but these are Batch 1 - my very first ever CP soap….

Goat Milk Soap

Those look great! Besides Zing’s hint, I will also admit that I and many others start testing our soap right away.

I take one of the end cuts and try it out once per or so week during the cure period. That shows me how it changes over time, and also relieves some of that impatience.

 

[melonpan]

I've been doing some prep work today to prepare for my first soaping session in my new apartment, hopefully tomorrow. Prep work as in, gluing pieces of cardboard together to fashion a mold divider (my previous one somehow got misplaced and lost in the move) and a slanted holder for my mold that I can't wait to try!

 

[AliOop]

Today I made rice water from the scrapings out of the bottom of the rice pot. After soaking them overnight, and blitzing the rice with the SB, the milky rice water was strained off. I hope to make rice soap this week, but since my last batch of rice water went bad after sitting too long in the fridge, I'm taking no chances and froze them into (r)ice cubes.

 

[dmcgee5034]

I lined a mold for the first time today. I have a nice wooden box that I’m repurposing that came as part of a corporate thank you gift.
I also made a batch of cranberry fig scented CP soap for the holidays.

 

[pinpointpete]

I cut 11lbs of soap this evening.
6lbs of patchouli
3lbs of lavender
1lb of lavender/powder
1lb of hand soap no FO , different recipe from ones above.

 

[janesathome]

Sigh. Perhaps today I shouldn’t have been allowed to work unsupervised. Here’s my sad story, and a question:
For starters - the lye batch that I prepped yesterday had become crusty at the bottom of the container. I have prepped lye with salt and sugar in advance before with no problems - but THIS time I added citric acid and let it sit 20 hours. Is it a no-no to add the citric acid to lye solution ahead of time? I was able to stir out the crystals that had formed, with a little distilled water. Will be carefully testing this soap for sure.

Next problem: I planned on adding a bit of organic oat flour to the soap. I normally add it to the EOs, along with my kaolin clay. Grabbed the bag of oat flour, added a teaspoon to the EOs, and took a closer look. I had added organic unbleached WHEAT flour!! . I had already pulled the oat flour from the cupboard and set it next to my EO cup - but absentmindedly forgot and went back to my flour cupboard, took the identical looking bag of wheat flour and without looking at the almost-identical label (because I Knew What I Was Doing ) - stirred it in.
I immediately started to search the net for any reference to wheat flour being used in cp soap but came up empty. Was going to toss the EOs and clay and start over BUT I had used up the last of 2 of my EOs and was running out of time to create a new blend and get that soap done. So I decided to just try out wheat flour along with the oat flour.
Sooo, expert soapers - what do you think? Has anyone else used wheat flour in soap? Might this unplanned experiment work out, or should I just pitch it once it gets unmolded tomorrow? Fortunately it was just a 500 gram batch - but I do hate to waste my lovely ingredients.
I think for my next batch I will revisit my processes; it seems I was a bit overconfident today!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

DOUBLE POST. DELETED.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Perhaps today I shouldn’t have been allowed to work unsupervised.

I know what you mean. I have days like that too...

 

[janesathome]

DOUBLE POST. DELETED.

I know what you mean. I have days like that too...

Well, the soap unmolded just fine, but I wasn’t really expecting that to be a problem. Just don’t think “organic wheat flour” will add a lot of label appeal so maybe this will be strictly a batch that I don’t give away.
I’m still wondering, though, if citric acid should be added to lye solution JUST BEFORE soapmaking or if my adding it the day before is an issue. Maybe I need to start a new conversation for attention and any thoughts.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I’m still wondering, though, if citric acid should be added to lye solution JUST BEFORE soapmaking or if my adding it the day before is an issue. Maybe I need to start a new conversation for attention and any thoughts.

Here's my "Go To" source for all things soapy:

CITRIC ACID, CITRIC JUICE - @DeeAnna 's Soapy Stuff

 

[janesathome]

Here's my "Go To" source for all things soapy:

CITRIC ACID, CITRIC JUICE - @DeeAnna 's Soapy Stuff

Thanks, @Zany_in_CO!
I used @DeeAnna ’s article to get me started using citric acid this month - and FORGOT her recommendation to add the CA into the oils. (See realist note re me needing g supervision in the soap lab )Will do that from now on… lesson learned!
I’m so grateful to have experienced soapers to help we newbies

 

[janesathome]

That should have read “previous note”

 

[AliOop]

Well, the soap unmolded just fine, but I wasn’t really expecting that to be a problem. Just don’t think “organic wheat flour” will add a lot of label appeal so maybe this will be strictly a batch that I don’t give away.
I’m still wondering, though, if citric acid should be added to lye solution JUST BEFORE soapmaking or if my adding it the day before is an issue. Maybe I need to start a new conversation for attention and any thoughts.

I don't think it's wise to add much to lye solution ahead of time, other than tussah silk. When I've tried that before, stuff precipitates out, as you experienced.

When I make my CA + sorbitol solution ahead of time, I refrigerate it if I won't be using it within a few hours. Otherwise, it becomes fertile ground for growing stuff, long before you can see it or smell it to know that it's gone bad. You can certainly do the same with your CA + salt + sugar solution. The worst that might happen is that you have to reheat it just a tad to get stuff to redissolve. It's so much easier and safer to do that without any NaOH in the mix.

By making a separate additive solution, in addition to the lye solution, you can easily blend the additive mix into your oils, before adding the lye solution. If I'm adding goat milk powder, I first stick blend it into the CA + sorbitol solution, and then blend it again into the oils. If it is a single color soap, I also include the EO or FO in that mix. That way, I don't forget to add it in later.

My soapy thing today: It really started yesterday, with rendering/cleaning several pounds of lard and tallow. After adding some ROE, the cleaned fats and other oils were mixed up to replenish my master-batched oil bucket. Because I was trying to use up some leftover bits and bobs, there were eleven oils in the mix of 17,000+ grams.

It should have been pretty quick process, but SoapmakingFriend was being quite difficult. After entering all 17 oils and hitting Save, the calculator erased everything and said, "Enter amounts to see the results." It did this TWICE. The third time, I clicked SAVE AS instead of Save - and thankfully, that worked.

 

[janesathome]

That should have read “previous note”

I don't think it's wise to add much to lye solution ahead of time, other than tussah silk. When I've tried that before, stuff precipitates out, as you experienced.

When I make my CA + sorbitol solution ahead of time, I refrigerate it if I won't be using it within a few hours. Otherwise, it becomes fertile ground for growing stuff, long before you can see it or smell it to know that it's gone bad. You can certainly do the same with your CA + salt + sugar solution. The worst that might happen is that you have to reheat it just a tad to get stuff to redissolve. It's so much easier and safer to do that without any NaOH in the mix.

By making a separate additive solution, in addition to the lye solution, you can easily blend the additive mix into your oils, before adding the lye solution. If I'm adding goat milk powder, I first stick blend it into the CA + sorbitol solution, and then blend it again into the oils. If it is a single color soap, I also include the EO or FO in that mix. That way, I don't forget to add it in later.

My soapy thing today: It really started yesterday, with rendering/cleaning several pounds of lard and tallow. After adding some ROE, the cleaned fats and other oils were mixed up to replenish my master-batched oil bucket. It should have been pretty quick process, but SoapmakingFriend was being quite difficult. Because I was trying to use up some leftover bits and bobs, there was a total of eleven oils in the mix of 17,000+ grams.

After entering all of them and hitting Save, the calculator erased everything and said, "Enter amounts to see the results." It did this TWICE. The third time, I clicked SAVE AS instead of Save - and thankfully, that worked.

@AliOop THANK YOU so much for the great tips! I will make these changes for all my upcoming soaps. I just started using citric acid and although I wasn’t sure if I could add it to the lye solution ahead of time, I. Oils r find any advice on line re timing - so did add to a double batch of lye one day; used half right away and - as you know - the next day was my “should have gone back to bed” day.
Everything you suggested makes perfect sense. (Well…apart from massive amounts of pre blended oils! But that’s just because I would never have the nerve to do that!)
Thanks again and I will think of you when I follow your process. Next soaps will have to wait a couple weeks; I’m headed off to the wilderness for a couple weeks of camping, Canadian style!

 

[AliOop]

@janesathome Camping sounds lovely - enjoy!

It may sound like a lot to make a 17,000g masterbatch of oils. However, at 1000g per batch, and usually making 2 batches per month, that's only ~8 months worth of oils that are premixed. With an extremely full-time job, family health issues, and more, having MB oils and MB lye solution ready to go makes all the difference in the world for me to fit soaping into my life. Now I can soap when I only have one hour available, rather than two, or three.

 

[Zing]

I had a soapy day. I made a double batch of my signature soap, Spring Clean. Ran into a small glitch and discovered Mrs. Zing was using all the soup pots for canning applesauce. Um, priorities??!! Also labeled a special order ready for delivery -- sale!

Mrs. Zing and I spent several days in a remote cabin away from screens so have to catch up here. The owner had dozens of homemade soap to use which was awesome to look at designs and colors. I do have to say, though, I like mine best!