What soapy thing have you done today?

[Jorah]

On Thanksgiving morning I made a batch of blueberry muffins from a box mix, and my first pumpkin pie, ever. This is the first baking I've tried since I started making soap, and I believe that my soapmaking has made me a more confident follower of recipes. I churned right through both muffins and pie, and ladling in the muffin batter certainly echoed making soap in molds. The pie didn't come out tasting great, but I don't think it was anything I did wrong! Tonight we'll have our third turkey-based supper in a row, and tomorrow will make Day Four; fortunately, I I really like turkey, and even had some for lunch today.

"But Jorah," I imagine you saying... "this isn't really about soap." True enough, but I did learn another lesson today; if you grab a bar of soap to test it, jot down what batch it is from! I was running low on shower soap, grabbed an unlabeled bar from my stash, presumably assuming that I'd remember which batch. I really like it. It's slightly too cleansing, but has the best lather I've seen from my soap yet, and isn't bothering my skin at all. But. I don't have the slightest idea what it is. So that's my learning for today. Document, document, document. Yes, it's a lesson I've had many times. Perhaps someday it will sink in.



The reddish soap is an almond oil, palm, and coconut with a little madder root. The cream soap is a four-oil/two-butter blend that I came up with, which looks promising. I made both batches last Sunday.


Kodiak brand blueberry muffin mix.


Pie made with canned pumpkin mash & a frozen crust; my mom would have been so disappointed in me.

Now that I'm finally done, I'm wondering how much longer it may take to unmold this Goliath. And not sure how I'll cut it with my 12-bar cutter! It never occurred to me how different sizing up just a bit would feel!

I love making huge batches, and hate that my custom mold has languished for months as I got back to basics. I got 40 bars out of it, the last time I used it! Partly my frustration is that prep and cleanup on a small batch is just as much work as for a big batch. I think I'm nearing the time to break it out again; possibly a 40-bar batch of lard soap? Just have to settle on the color and scent...

As for cutting with your 12-bar cutter, can't you just whack off the end with a butcher knife, then proceed as usual?

 

[AliOop]

Today's soapy things:

~ Finally cleaned up and organized my soaping cabinets, which have been an absolute disaster since they were moved about two months ago. I function so much better and am so much more motivated when things are organized! It makes me happy to look at them, too.

~ Made a new 8000G oil master batch using my recent lard purchase from Walmart, my rendered tallow from the 1/4 cow we bought last year (still haven't rendered the stuff from this year's ½ cow), and PKO and CO from @cmzaha (I'm still working through those, Carolyn!). Topped it off with a variety of liquid oils from jugs that were running low, which cleared out a lot of space in the cabinet where I store them.

~ Portioned out the master batched oils, as well as as the remaining lard, into some plastic tubs with handles and lids that I received for free from Essential Depot. They sent me this huge box of 100 of these things - for free! - when I ordered some cocoa butter from them last year. I almost sent these to the donation center, and now I'm so glad I kept them. Yes, they have the ED logo on them, but I don't really care. They are perfect for portioning out things like lard, tallow, and MB oils for storing in the freezer.

~ Made a new lye master batch, which started as a 50% lye concentration batch with tussah silk dissolved in it, as usual. Separately, I measured enough water to dilute it to 40% lye concentration, and warmed that up to dissolve the sorbitol and sodium citrate. Then I combined the two. Now I have my first lye masterbatch that is ready to go as-is for how I soap: 40% lye concentration with the additives I always use. Hooray!

~ Made a batch of soap using the still-warm MB oils and still-warm MB lye solution. I knew it would move fast, so it is a one-color batch, scented with lavender and lemon/litsea. The colorant looked horrible in the mold, kind of brickish-reddish-brownish. I just peeked at it gelling on the heating pad, and it's lavender in the center, and pink on the ungelled edges. So I guess there's hope.

 

[Marie_with_an_e]

My granddaughter Winter requested a peppermint soap so I made a batch of 50/50 peppermint and spearmint. Color is HO sunflower oil infused for a month+ with madder root powder. This is the first time I’ve used the powder, and so far, so good! First pic is freshly poured, second pic is after gel. I’m calling it ‘Wintermint’ in her honor.

 

[Shelley D]

My granddaughter Winter requested a peppermint soap so I made a batch of 50/50 peppermint and spearmint. Color is HO sunflower oil infused for a month+ with madder root powder. This is the first time I’ve used the powder, and so far, so good! First pic is freshly poured, second pic is after gel. I’m calling it ‘Wintermint’ in her honor.

I bet that smells divine! And I'm sure she will love it!

 

[AliensrReal]

Today's soapy things:

~ Made a batch of soap using the still-warm MB oils and still-warm MB lye solution. I knew it would move fast, so it is a one-color batch, scented with lavender and lemon/litsea. The colorant looked horrible in the mold, kind of brickish-reddish-brownish. I just peeked at it gelling on the heating pad, and it's lavender in the center, and pink on the ungelled edges. So I guess there's hope.

That soap looks so lovely. I love single color soaps too.

My granddaughter Winter requested a peppermint soap so I made a batch of 50/50 peppermint and spearmint. Color is HO sunflower oil infused for a month+ with madder root powder. This is the first time I’ve used the powder, and so far, so good! First pic is freshly poured, second pic is after gel. I’m calling it ‘Wintermint’ in her honor.

How much madder root did you use?

 

[Marie_with_an_e]

That soap looks so lovely. I love single color soaps too.



How much madder root did you use?

I honestly don’t remember how much powder I used in the infusion and I don’t have my notes handy, but I used 32 oz of HOSO for it. I used almost all of the oil in my batch of soap, pouring it out slowly to avoid any of the powder ending up in the finished product. I’m interested to see what the final color will look like!

 

[AliensrReal]

Chopstick swirl with OT satsuma guava. This smells really bright and fruity. I used my original recipe for this one. The fragrance did accelerate a little bit, but stayed fluid throughout the pour. Bright neon colors make me happy. No staining of the wash cloths either. I’m so glad I got the sapphire blue powder from mad micas. It is grainy, but the that doesn’t translate to the soap being grainy. The glow is the most gorgeous blue ever and I was so shocked to see the pink swirls with the glow.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I made a batch of 50/50 peppermint and spearmint.

Oopsie! Here's what EO CALC has to say about that blend.

"If all of the listed usage rates below have a green background, you are good to go! However, usage rates that exceed the maximum recommended safe usage limit for Cold Process Soap (Category 9) in accordance with the IFRA Standards are marked with a red background. If you wish to use that scent strength, you will need to reduce the amount of the marked restricted essential oil(s) in the blend until the calculator returns a green usage rate."

I entered: 50% Peppermint, 50% Spearmint in 30 oz. Oils CP:

Calculate Usage Rate - EO Calc - Essential Oil Calculator

 

[Misschief]

I just screwed up! I'm kicking myself right now. I made my usual Salt Soap (@Obsidian's recipe) and I just realized, after pouring into cavity molds, that I didn't put in enough coconut oil. In my defense, I'm just coming around from Covid but, geeez!! I should have used 800 grams of cocnut oil and I only used 500.

 

[Servant4Christ]

I haven't made anything recently, but looks like I need to. I realized yesterday that I have DOS forming on soap that's been curing for a meer 5 weeks! I had intended them as holiday gifts and now I don't dare, even with the DOS only being on less than half the bars (it's a 5lb batch.) I didn't know DOS could even happen in soap that has no SF! It's a batch of my tried and true ZNSB that I've been making for over a year now, so I'm in absolute shock.

 

[2lilboots]

I'm out of olive oil ( have been for quite a while). Trying to figure out if I am going to try a different oil ( make a new recipe) or just buy more OO. I used to buy two jugs of it every week without thinking about the cost. Now I tell myself no! So other than organizing my soaping supplies, and filling up my online carts, I haven't been making soap.

 

[AliOop]

I haven't made anything recently, but looks like I need to. I realized yesterday that I have DOS forming on soap that's been curing for a meer 5 weeks! I had intended them as holiday gifts and now I don't dare, even with the DOS only being on less than half the bars (it's a 5lb batch.) I didn't know DOS could even happen in soap that has no SF! It's a batch of my tried and true ZNSB that I've been making for over a year now, so I'm in absolute shock.

Lowering SF can help, but DOS can happen regardless due to contamination, whether that is from using tap water that has minerals in it, from contact with metals other than stainless steel, from exposure to sunshine, and sometimes, from being cured on paper or cardboard that contains an ingredient that triggers rancidity.

 

[Zing]

Oopsie! Here's what EO CALC has to say about that blend.

"If all of the listed usage rates below have a green background, you are good to go! However, usage rates that exceed the maximum recommended safe usage limit for Cold Process Soap (Category 9) in accordance with the IFRA Standards are marked with a red background. If you wish to use that scent strength, you will need to reduce the amount of the marked restricted essential oil(s) in the blend until the calculator returns a green usage rate."

I entered: 50% Peppermint, 50% Spearmint in 30 oz. Oils CP:
View attachment 75403

Calculate Usage Rate - EO Calc - Essential Oil Calculator

Wait, what? I do not use spearmint that often but I do not remember seeing such small amounts in the red zone. That really surprised me. I just tried calculating a blend with 10% spearmint, 1000 g, and it returned a safe rate of 1-2 g max!

 

[Servant4Christ]

Lowering SF can help, but DOS can happen regardless due to contamination, whether that is from using tap water that has minerals in it, from contact with metals other than stainless steel, from exposure to sunshine, and sometimes, from being cured on paper or cardboard that contains an ingredient that triggers rancidity.

0 sf. Curing on cardboard. Has aloe in the ingredients. Some of the soap did come in contact with the wood mold because it managed to seep past the freezer paper that I lined with. Other than that, not a clue.

 

[AliOop]

So hard to say... could be something in the cardboard. After one bad experience with that myself, I don't use it anymore.

Sorry you are losing that batch, especially since it was going to be gifts.

 

[Jorah]

I'm out of olive oil ( have been for quite a while). Trying to figure out if I am going to try a different oil ( make a new recipe) or just buy more OO. I used to buy two jugs of it every week without thinking about the cost. Now I tell myself no! So other than organizing my soaping supplies, and filling up my online carts, I haven't been making soap.

I'm giving a lot of thought to moving away from OO perm after I use up the gallons I have on hand now...

Wait, what? I do not use spearmint that often but I do not remember seeing such small amounts in the red zone. That really surprised me. I just tried calculating a blend with 10% spearmint, 1000 g, and it returned a safe rate of 1-2 g max!

I just went through this, and had six times the safe amount in my soap. I'm going to let it cure for six months, and if it's aggressive at that point i'll chop it into slivers and rebatch it.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Hi all!
Haven't been here for a while - the activities of daily loving took over and curbed my enthusiasm to make soap. However, went on a binge the last 2 weeks to replenish stock on the basics and try some new things. Hopefully I will soon get around to posting some pics.

Have just had an enquiry regarding macadamia oil. What is the highest percentage of macadamia oil that can be used in a soap to still have a nice bar that foams and hardens?

HI Blue! I may be the only one who noticed this but , wow! You get daily loving?? No wonder you had no time to make soap

Only had to work half day today! Made a batch of soap especially for pouring into cavity molds in Christmas shapes for a special order that came in last night and am packaging other items. I have on Hallmark type holiday movies for background and they just roll to the next one. Well, this one comes on and it’s set in New Zealand so of course I exclaim “maybe @KiwiMoose will be in this” - lol, because surely you must be as the Official Soaper of NZ….

Was that the movie where the American buys/inherits an old house in the south island and then falls in love with the builder? Love that movie. Cant remember its name. But nah - i live in the north island so I wasn't called in to appear in that movie.

 

[AliensrReal]

Anybody go into their soap curing room and just smell every soap?

 

[dibbles]

Wait, what? I do not use spearmint that often but I do not remember seeing such small amounts in the red zone. That really surprised me. I just tried calculating a blend with 10% spearmint, 1000 g, and it returned a safe rate of 1-2 g max!

I bought spearmint before the IFRA change. The usage rate is really low, but at least it's a strong EO so using in a blend will work. I think I might just get it used up in wax melts.

 

[dibbles]

Anybody go into their soap curing room and just smell every soap?

Yes, yes I do! It's not at all weird.