What soapy thing have you done today?

[McKherring Farm]

I played with a soap stamp on a couple of curing soap bars. I like the results on the green bar but not so much on the other. Green soap has Crisp Apple Rose FO with confetti soap scraps throughout. The other is a turmeric and activated charcoal soap scented with Orange Valencia essential oil. Both are goat milk soaps.

 

[GuacamoleSalad]

I made my third batch of soap ever! First time using fragrance and wow do I have some things to learn. Everything smells like lavender.

 

[dmcgee5034]

Been busy making soaps. There’s soda ash on them, but I’m not gonna worry about it. Scents used BB champagne and ginger ale, indigo fragrance celebration and Calacazz and JS Rosemary lemon. I am in love with ginger ale and champagne. I need this in everything! Celebration and calacazz are lush dupes and smell exactly like it too. I just hope they stick. Rosemary lemon is perfectly balanced. I used my 1lb molds for some.

That last green and yellow one is heavenly!
I am excited to use by Ginger Ale after reading your take on it.

I played with a soap stamp on a couple of curing soap bars. I like the results on the green bar but not so much on the other. Green soap has Crisp Apple Rose FO with confetti soap scraps throughout. The other is a turmeric and activated charcoal soap scented with Orange Valencia essential oil. Both are goat milk soaps.

That is a cute stamp! Love it!

 

[AliensrReal]

That last green and yellow one is heavenly!
I am excited to use by Ginger Ale after reading your take on it.

I did the clamshell swirl for that one.
Ginger ale is fabulous! It smells so dang bubbly. It’s holding up so far but it’s only been a week. I think I like champagne more as there’s a boozy and a berry note in it. It could also be used for ginger ale. They are both wonderful.

 

[GuacamoleSalad]

I tried to unmold my third batch of soap ever. Less successful than the making part was yesterday. It's well softer than the previous ones and it tried to crack. Giving it more time, but it's in the only mold I have so it's difficult to be patient!
(edited to correct spelling)

 

[AliensrReal]

I tried to unmold my third batch of soap ever. Less successful than the making part was yesterday. It's well softer than the previous ones and it tried to crack. Giving it more time, but it's in the only mold I have so it's difficult to be patient!
(edited to correct spelling)

Yeah, that’s why I got two molds when I started soaping. I’m very impatient.

 

[Shelley D]

I made my third batch of soap ever! First time using fragrance and wow do I have some things to learn. Everything smells like lavender.

That happened with my lavender slurry soap experiment ~ my poor husband The scent throughout the tiny apartment finally faded after a few days (at least that's when he stopped complaining), but now I'm finally using a bar and it smells lovely with each shower

I tried to unmold my third batch of soap ever. Less successful than the making part was yesterday. It's well softer than the previous ones and it tried to crack. Giving it more time, but it's in the only mold I have so it's difficult to be patient!
(edited to correct spelling)

Patience is the hardest part!

 

[GuacamoleSalad]

Patience is the hardest part!

Update: I have flunked patience. Unmolded it just short of 48 hours even though it's still soft. I was able to cut it, but it was messy. Now trying to figure out whether it was actually emulsified when I poured it (posted the question in the beginner thread), or genuinely my only problem is that I'm a baby who can't wait.

 

[Shelley D]

And another to check is Windy Point, also out of Calgary (as is Candora)

Windy Point is where I got that amazing dark purple clay ~ and they haven't had any more since I've been watching though

Update: I have flunked patience. Unmolded it just short of 48 hours even though it's still soft. I was able to cut it, but it was messy. Now trying to figure out whether it was actually emulsified when I poured it (posted the question in the beginner thread), or genuinely my only problem is that I'm a baby who can't wait.

I have flunked patience a couple times myself mostly when I was working with high percentages of olive oil, which takes a while to firm up in the mold. But now that I'm adjusting my recipes to include more butters, my soap batters go through emulsion and get to trace real quick and set up nice in the molds! Which is nice because olive oil takes FOREVER to come to trace also ~ it's just a slow oil to work with altogether definitely a patience tester, which I didn't realize when I started working with it Just keep experimenting and tweaking your recipe ~ you never know what you will end up with as your favorite recipe Happy soaping

 

[AliensrReal]

Steamed one of my soaps. It’s shiny.

 

[Shelley D]

Steamed one of my soaps. It’s shiny.

Wow! That really IS shiny!

 

[dmcgee5034]

Steamed one of my soaps. It’s shiny.

Beautiful!

 

[AliensrReal]

I’m pretty sure it’s the white sparkle mica from WSP that made it shine like that. I love the effect

 

[Susie]

I made a couple of batches of soap with my daughter's help today. I would have made more, but I realized I bought disodium EDTA rather than tetrasodium EDTA. So I masterbatched everything else and ordered the correct stuff.

 

[Shelley D]

So problem ~ I've been sitting here waiting for my sodium citrate to arrive and I just received a notice that I received a refund (with no explanation as to why, mind you). When I went to the website, it says they are out of stock ~ not such a shock since they were running great prices on all their sizes, including the itty bitty 4 oz size, which would have been perfect for experimenting with at first.
So my question is ~ is the sodium citrate used in soap the same kind used in food? Because that's what keeps coming up in searches. I priced some on the soap making websites but I don't want whole pounds or large quantities right off, especially since I don't make soap very often. Amazon has some 6 oz bags but they all say for food use, like as an emulsifier and such. Is that the same thing?

 

[AliensrReal]

So problem ~ I've been sitting here waiting for my sodium citrate to arrive and I just received a notice that I received a refund (with no explanation as to why, mind you). When I went to the website, it says they are out of stock ~ not such a shock since they were running great prices on all their sizes, including the itty bitty 4 oz size, which would have been perfect for experimenting with at first.
So my question is ~ is the sodium citrate used in soap the same kind used in food? Because that's what keeps coming up in searches. I priced some on the soap making websites but I don't want whole pounds or large quantities right off, especially since I don't make soap very often. Amazon has some 6 oz bags but they all say for food use, like as an emulsifier and such. Is that the same thing?

It should be the same thing.

 

[dibbles]

So problem ~ I've been sitting here waiting for my sodium citrate to arrive and I just received a notice that I received a refund (with no explanation as to why, mind you). When I went to the website, it says they are out of stock ~ not such a shock since they were running great prices on all their sizes, including the itty bitty 4 oz size, which would have been perfect for experimenting with at first.
So my question is ~ is the sodium citrate used in soap the same kind used in food? Because that's what keeps coming up in searches. I priced some on the soap making websites but I don't want whole pounds or large quantities right off, especially since I don't make soap very often. Amazon has some 6 oz bags but they all say for food use, like as an emulsifier and such. Is that the same thing?

Yes, it's the same.

 

[Zing]

Yeah, that’s why I got two molds when I started soaping. I’m very impatient.

Um, just two?

 

[Shelley D]

So ~ I bought sodium citrate ~ AGAIN!
This time from Amazon so it will be here Tuesday and I will be able to make soap next weekend! Yay!
On another note ~ I've been using a bar of that recipe I made with the lavender slurry that was originally going to be for my mom and I'm loving recipe Nice and rich and doesn't feel slimy (to me), but it might feel differently to her in her soft water, which is why I'm switching up the recipe a bit. I might still send her a bar so she can compare the two. I will have to look up the original recipe but it has three different butters in it, and I know it has cocoa and shea butters but I can't remember which one I used as the 3rd butter (it's either kokum or mango ). That lavender slurry is the bomb though! It smells divine I'm thinking I might try a different scent for this new batch ~ I wonder which way to go maybe a fresh green herbal scent with a hint of lemongrass

Um, just two?

That's what I was thinking ~ I started with 2 loaf molds and a set of 3 silicone cavity molds

 

[GuacamoleSalad]

I wouldn't worry too much at this point, Marie. Whether a soap gels or not can depend on several factors- water amount and temp being 2 of biggest ones- but it's not a bad thing if a soap does not gel. It'll still firm up and become good soap eventually, it'll just take longer than a soap that goes through the gel phase. Soaps that don't gel are quite soft and can feel much like the consistency of cream cheese for a bit. Some stay so soft that they can't even be unmolded for a 2 or 3 days after pour (depending on the recipe). Just give it some time. Time cures all soap.

How much water did you use in your batch?

IrishLass

"Time cures all soap" is a really comforting line.