Teach Soap

Having perfected some wonderful colors and fragrances for the cold process soap I hope to sell, the last stumbling block before finalizing packaging is the shape of my soap. I am using 3 loaf molds -- a standard single mold, a quad, and one of the gorgeous baltic wood molds with the dividers. Greasing the sides and bottoms of the molds and THEN lining them with wax paper works to give me three perfect, smooth sides (ie the bottom and both sides) on my bars.

But I cannot figure out how to make that fourth side--the top--perfectly smooth! I pour the soap into the mold and try to smooth it with a spatula and it STILL ends up wavy. Should I be pouring enough so it's almost overflowing and then scrape the excess off the top?

I am at my wits' end. The current wavy-ness I am getting on the top is causing a LOT of waste, and there is only so much hand-milled with the scraps that I can stand to do. : (

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Sounds like you need to pour at a thinner trace.

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

Wouldn't that be too easy?

: )

Thanks!

If you're using a spatula to smooth the top, the soap is at a too heavy trace. Try the consistency of thin gravy.

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

yep, nicer tops with thiner pours. But I like the uneven, rustic looking ones too, so you could just embrace the tops and save yourself worry

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

I often finish my top with a cake comb.

You can try tapping the mold on the counter to smooth out the top. It's what you do for cake and such. I think if you combine that with a thinner trace you might get a nice smooth top.

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<3 SoapyJoes

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

You could get a vertical mold. BB has one. Then all of your sides will be perfectly straight.

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www.lovinsoap.com

What great suggestions! You all rock. Thanks!

I have put saran over the soap then taken a piece of cardboard and level the raw soap. It can be done the other way around also. Level with cardboard first then cover.