Teach Soap

In my attempt to *finally* make a pretty bar of soap, I bought a mold with a little bit of detailing, and some soap colorant. The mold is a hard plastic 8-cavity mold with the cancer awareness ribbon on it. I left the soap in the mold for about 30 hours, till it was firm to the touch, but could not get it to come out. I even stuck it in the freezer for a bit. In the end, my husband put it in a hot water bath, which resulted in it coming out, but instead of the ribbons shape being visible, it's just a wavy, indistinct top. In the past I've use pliable molds which released easily. With the rigid plastic is it better to line them first? What do you normally line them with? Will Olive oil work?
Also, I used a Bramble Berry colorant- Red Velvet. It is designed for high olive oil content recipes, or soaps that cure to a yellowish green. I didn't dilute it, and was looking forward to a vibrant color. The best word I can use to describe the color is "fleshy". Not exactly pretty. I was using a new recipe, which had some olive oil, but not alot. Anybody know if this is a normal result? Or what you would get if you used this color on a whitish soap? Still working towards that pretty soap, but enjoying gettin' clean with the ugly ones!
Thanks in advance for any input!

I use wooden loaf molds (lined with freezer paper) for my CP soap. But, because my hubby refuses to throw anything away, we do use 3D molds for any excess soap left over from the batch. I have had good luck getting the soap out of the 3D molds and they look very pretty.

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HEAVENLY SCENT SOAPS

If you line it, you won't get the ribbon impression. For these type of molds, it's best to start with a harder recipe.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

What was the recipe? Would love to look at it and see if we can make it harder, and more detail oriented for you.

Sometimes, with the individual molds, it takes longer to get the soap out than with a big loaf mold.

Also, with the individual molds, sometimes the soap doesn't go through gel phase, leaving the Labcolor a bit bereft and not reaching its fullest potential (blog post here: http://soap-queen.blogspot.com/2008/02/ ... batch.html, photo below). In a nutshell, it's the same recipe, similar usage rate - but one went through full gel phase and the other didn't so heat & usage rate could also affect fleshy versus red.

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Happy Soaping!

Anne-Marie
blog: www.soap-queen.blogspot.com
supplies: www.brambleberry.com

Thanks for the help! The recipe was:
14oz water
5.4 oz lye
12 oz coconut oil
4 oz palm oil
2 oz cocoa butter
8 oz olive oil
6 oz castor oil
4 oz avocado oil (the recipe called for jojoba, but I realized too late I was out, so substituted )
4 oz wheat germ oil
1 oz lavender EO
12 drops Red Velvet colorant

Would it make the soap slide out of the mold easier if i "greased" it lightly with something like olive oil before pouring, or would that just get absorbed into the soap? Thanks again!

I would recalculate that recipe without jojoba or avocado. If you have to use wheat germ oil, be aware that it has a very short shelf life and is prone to DOS. Don't grease your mold with another soapmaking oil; it would saponify with the rest of your oils. You could try adding a small amount of salt to your lye water or add sodium lactate to make a harder bar. If you need to grease your mold you can use a little vaseline or mineral oil. It does not saponify.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I like avocado oil in soap, but it's sticky and has a long cure time, IME - I wouldn't use it with an individual mold. I'd probably drop the castor a bit, too.

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Thank you all very much! I'll try it again with a harder recipe and report back!

Would love to hear how your new soap turns out. Be sure to keep us posted! =)

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Happy Soaping!

Anne-Marie
blog: www.soap-queen.blogspot.com
supplies: www.brambleberry.com