Yin Yang soap help

[Traumabrew]

I am planning a yin yang soap. I have a 3 inch pc pipe with a s shaped divider. I was planning on doing charcoal for the black side and a sea salt and kelp for the other side (using a bit of titanium dioxide to whiten it up). By making only half of the soap salt, will that cause problems for my activated charcoal side? Should I just make it all salt? Any input would help. My concern is that the salt side will set up faster than the non salt portion.

 

[HowieRoll]

This reply is based off exactly one experience, so take it with a grain of... sorry, couldn't resist.

Anyway, I used dividers once for a salt bar batch that was done in a loaf mold, and had trouble when it came time to remove the dividers. The soap really "dragged" up the side and ruined the design of what was sure to become an award-winning batch (ok, not really).

And there you have it. You may not have that issue at all, but since the divider goes farther down in the pipe than it does in a loaf mold, I wonder if that might not give you the clean design you would want in a yin-yang soap?

 

[Traumabrew]

Just attempted it as a full salt bar, both sides that it is. And just like a plan in combat, soap making doesn't survive forst contact. Amazingly, i did not suffer acceleration. That was the highlight. The mold i made and the dividers didnt seat well so the soapbatter was comingling even as i tried to pour both at the same time. When i went to pull the divider out, it was stuck to the pvc pipe liner i inserted to make soap removal easier. Finally got it out and being frustrated I forgot that I was using a flexible sheet of plastic twisted into an "s" shape so when it came out, it sprung open splattering my kitchen with soap batter. Kinda looked like O.J. Simpson was trying to make soap here. My nic3, formerly clean kitchen walls look like I was trying to imitate Jackson Pollack. So, time to wait and see what a beautiful disaster I have.

 

[bathgeek]

I hear the concerns with the divider and want to ask: could you make this soap in two stages to avoid the issue of dragging the divider and losing that crisp S shape? Just make one color first, unmold the next day by only removing the divider, and then pour the next color in to complete the circle.

 

[HowieRoll]

Oh, my. Well, you certainly paint a vivid (and, if I might say, sorrowfully entertaining) picture of what happened! I wish I had a count of how many batches were masterpieces in my head prior to starting, only to have a circus of things go sideways and end up with soap nowhere close to how the vision started out.

Although I am sorry to hear it did not work out, I think I'd be inclined to try it again without the salt to see if that makes any difference. Plus, you learned some important life lessons with this batch so now you will be starting it as a much wiser person.

 

[penelopejane]

^^^^
Yes, yes and unfortunately (been there and done that) yes.
I am an artist in my mind!

Best advice is try, try and try again. Hopefully you have some family you can keep in soap supplies for years with all the "didn't quite make it" soaps.

Traumabrew I think you need the same recipe both sides without salt so do this method. They both have to set equally.

 

[Traumabrew]

Ok, so this is what I got. Oddly, this soap is still quite soft and is very grainy. It does not appear as if the salt is dissolved in the soap.

I really like the couple of soaps that have that stylized "M", but I do not think I can not replicate that effect.

 

[HowieRoll]

Wow - the 'M' is super cool! I feel like I've seen a logo that looks very similar to that before, so if you could find the company maybe you could sell it to them for several dollars.

As for the soap's consistency, would you care to share your entire recipe so maybe we can troubleshoot? When you said you were adding salt, my mind immediately went to a soap where you add a certain percentage of the oil weight (like 25-100%) in fine grain salt, and where typically coconut oil is used in high percentage with a high superfat. But I suppose I should clarify if that is what you were doing?

 

[Traumabrew]

My recipe was 80% coconut oil, 10% pumpkin seed oil and 10% hemp oil with a 20% SF. Total of 40 oz oil and used 30oz (75%) fine pink Himalayan salt added at trace. Used 2 Tbsp activated charcoal to black side and 2 tsp kelp powder to "white" side (more pale green than white). I added 3 tsp sodium lactate to lye solution. 2.5 oz cedarwood EO with 1 oz eucalyptus EO.

 

[Cellador]

When you add that much salt to the soap, it won't dissolve. It's essentially a salt bar - sounds like a nice recipe
I think they look nice.

 

[SaltedFig]

They do look quite spectacular!

(Although you might like to swap the pink Himalayan salt out for ordinary salt, as Himalayan pink salt causes micro-cuts to skin)

Even though salt bars have crystals, they end up feeling smooth and almost stone like. Salt bars need a long cure, but they are worth it!

 

[navigator9]

Oh, I feel your pain. I've watched videos like this one, [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l17vlhVq8PE[/ame], and been in awe of her perfectly pristine yin yang soaps. She makes it look so easy. Piece of cake, I thought to myself. Here are the best of my sad examples. I couldn't even get the black right, so there's one solid gray, two so so bars, and one that's kind of OK. Mine had oatmeal, but I don't think that was the problem, although when trying any somewhat involved technique, I think it's best to go as simple as possible with the recipe, at least until you've got the technique nailed down. I love yin yang soaps, and I will try again, but I sure wish Youtubers would give us some idea of how many failed batches they had to go through before they were able to produce such perfection. It might give the rest of us some hope. I think that this is one of those techniques that takes more than one attempt to get the hang of. At least they prove to us that it IS possible! Wishing you better luck next time.

 

[Seawolfe]

Yeah it should be grainy with that much salt, and they are a little sticky at first but you cut them at the right time - if you wait to long you cant cut them and they crumble. Thats actually a really nice batch of salt soap. Now let it cure a good long while in a nice dry place (salt soap might "weep" while curing if the humidity is too high). +1 for using just fine plain salt, save the fancy salts for sprinkling on top or making bath salts or dinner

 

[HowieRoll]

I am intrigued by the pumpkin seed oil, especially as it's not an oil that comes up super often on this forum. Maybe it's because it's fall and almost Halloween, but I now have a strong urge to find some to try!

There are a couple things I'd like to add, just in case you weren't already aware (and if you were, feel free to tell me to pipe down), but 2 Tbsp of activated charcoal in 20oz of oil is likely to make for a gray lather and possibly some staining on washcloths. It did make for a beautiful, deep black, though! Awhile ago I read (on the LovinSoap blog) that 1 tsp/ppo makes for a gray colored soap, and 1.5 tsp/ppo (=1/2 Tbsp) makes black, and it seems to be pretty true, at least from my experience.

The other thing is that it looks like your essential oil usage was at almost 9% ppo, which seems a little on the high side. A usage rate of up to 5% ppo (total, not for each oil) is more typical, with some oils needing to be used at a much, much smaller percentage to stay within the safe zone (i.e. clove, cinnamon, etc.). There is an online EO calculator that I love to use from Modern Soapmaking, which can be found here, where you can put in the EOs you want to use and it will calculate how much of each one, taking into consideration their max usage rates. At the top there is a Search Blends tab, too, where she has generously shared a lot of great EO combos.

Anyhow, sorry for rambling and I hope if you try the yin-yang again you will share your results!

 

[Primrose]

Can I piggy back on this question and just ask for clarification as a couple people have said salt bars need a long cure - how long?

 

[dibbles]

Can I piggy back on this question and just ask for clarification as a couple people have said salt bars need a long cure - how long?

I love salt bars and would say a minimum of 4 months for cure. I wait until they are at least 6 months old. Here is a post I did showing the difference in lather between a 5 week old bar and one that is 7 months old. It is so worth waiting for.

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=62723&highlight=cure+time+doubters

 

[Primrose]

Oh wow! I had no idea ... excellent to know, as I made my first salt bars a few days ago

 

[penelopejane]

Can I piggy back on this question and just ask for clarification as a couple people have said salt bars need a long cure - how long?

I cure mine for at least 6 months.
They can be weepy before that.

 

[jcandleattic]

Can I piggy back on this question and just ask for clarification as a couple people have said salt bars need a long cure - how long?

Also, (as dibbles shows with the link how much better they are the longer they cure) they will also last much MUCH longer with a nice long cure as well.

 

[SaltedFig]

About 8 months for mine (still quicker than the Castiles ...).

Sometimes we get impatient and start using them from 3 months, which is a bit of a waste, because the difference really is worth waiting for.

Can I piggy back on this question and just ask for clarification as a couple people have said salt bars need a long cure - how long?