Teach Soap

For CP soap. I bought a bunch of sample pigments from Bulk Apothecary and wanted to see how each one did in CP soap. Since I had 10 colors, I decided to use individual silicone molds for the soap, so I could make it all in one batch (mistake 1). I mixed the FO's and pigment together in some glycerin (mistake 2, I'm pretty sure), then added about five oz of soap into each FO/pigment mix, mixed it all up and poured it into a mold. When I got done pouring, it was very pretty. All intense colors, mostly gorgeous vibrant shades (the yellow was pretty ugly, though). Two days later, meaning today, I went to go unmold them. First off, of the 10 colors, about 7 faded or morphed (sadly, the ugly yellow remained true)! Very bummed about that, since ultramarines and oxides aren't supposed to do that, I didn't think! Secondly, it was the softest CP soap I'd ever seen, and I ended up having to put on a pair of gloves and claw the soap out of the molds, totally destroying it. Not even worth rebatching, since I'd used so many colors and FO's.

My DH is going to help me build a wood loaf mold this weekend, and I think I'm going to stop my soaping until that's done, since this attempt at using individual molds went badly. Oh no. That'll only give me time to work on perfecting my bath fizzy and sugar scrub recipes...

I am doing the exact same thing you are doing. However, I am not wasting FO since I am looking at colors. maybe that will prove to be a mistake. ALL my soaps were getting soda ash because, I think, they weren't gelling and I wasn't putting saran over the top. I am using an individual bar silicone mold. I have no trouble getting my 2LB silicone loaf mold to gel. My colors have stayed very nice. I am using pigments, mica, ultramarines. Just today I have modified my favorite wood loaf mold to make it into a small slab. Tonight I will make a batch in that set on a heating pad to see if I can get it to gel.

Hmmm, I've been using a variety of individual silicone molds without issue. If the soap doesn't gel, then I typically have to wait an extra day or 2 to unmold, but it hasn't been a big deal.

I've used the daisy brownie bites mold from Hobby Lobby for samples and I recently found a 6 well mold at good will for just a couple of bucks, it looks like a cupcake mold, except the sides go straight up and down.

Is the recipe that you used normally soft or is this a new recipe? What was the total of the soap you made? If it was a small batch, did you use grams and worked with an accurate scale? If not, it could be the glycerin that you used, or it didn't gel. Ungelled soap can take longer to harden.

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

Sounds like it didn't gel then. Ungelled colored soaps are lighter in color and stay softer longer.

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

If they are silicone individual molds you can put them on a baking tray in the oven on 170 for about 20 min and take out cover with a towel and they will come out fine the next day..

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JULIE

The Lord is my Shepard

I did some the other day in individual silicone molds. gelled it in the oven and was able to pop them out as soon as they cooled off. ( About 3 hours later ) It was a new recipie that I had never made before.