Teach Soap

Getting ready for my first batch tonight... can't decide on what recipe to use?!

I have in the house, the following:

From the supermarket:
- Olive Oil
- Avocado Oil
- Rice Bran Oil

From the soap/oil supply store:
- Coconut Oil
- Palm Oil
- Almond Oil
- Caster Oil

And I have my lye.

I have been having a play with the lye calculator to work out the best '1st timer' bar that also produces good lather (bubbles), is not too soft, but not too hard, and will be gently and kind to a newbie and not do too many funky things just to mess with my head lol.

I'm assuming I only use one of the oils I got from the supermarket? Like if I want to try an Avocado Oil bar, I wouldn't then use Rice Bran...?

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

Rice bran has similar properties to olive. Avocado and almond are both soft oils. I don't use palm, but I hear it makes for a nice bar with other oils. I always use castor for the bubbles and don't use more then 20% coconut as anything higher makes my skin feel dry. I also do a 7% superfat ( also called lye discount). I hope that helps.

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

Wizzzzzzzz my head spins LOL.

I've been studying this page for the past couple of weeks: http://www.soap-making-essentials.com/s ... -oils.html

Originally I couldn't find a recipe that DIDN'T have Palm in it, that's why I got it heh. Ironically, it was also a big part of the delay because I couldn't find where to even get it from! Now I have it, I've been reading how you don't really need it as such.

I was thinking for my first batch, using Olive Oil, Palm Oil (I have it now lol), Caster and Coconut oil.
Using the calculators, I was thinking 60%, 15%, 10%, 15%?

I figured I'd leave Superfatting for now while I get the hang of everything. I'm still not sure on what exactly that does to the soap - ie why I would want to discount the lye for other oils? I'm assuming just for extra benefits?

The Lye Calculator then tells me:
Fats & Oils

Fat Amount
(grams) % in
recipe
Castor Oil 100 10.00
Coconut Oil 150 15.00
Olive Oil 600 60.00
Palm Oil 150 15.00
Total Weight 1000

LYE: 6 134.42 grams

use approximately 250 to 375 milliliters of liquid

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

Castor at 10% can make your soap soft. I would use it at 5% and add the difference to your olive.

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

Ok - great, thanks I will make that adjustment!

Why does it say 'use approximately 250 to 375 milliliters of liquid'? Why doesn't it give me a set amount? I am just going to use water for this batch to start with...

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

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

Aah ok. So if I am not adding any colour or fragrance, just use 250ml?

What would happen if I added say, 300ml, or 350ml? Would the batch be ruined? Or would the water eventually evaporate?

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

TA DAAAAA!!



That was NERVE wracking soaping!! Am I the only one who practically held their breath for the ENTIRE duration of their first batch lol? I felt like I was back at school on a test day and everything I knew had bolted out of my brain!

I'm not sure how it will work out as a) the shaky hand meant I went slightly over on a couple of oils - and because I was measuring right into the pot, I couldn't really take them out. And b) the lye mixture didn't go clear, and didn't get as hot as I watched on Soap Queen TV's episode one. I think on that it got to like 700 degrees or something? Mine only got to 80 Celsius... it also had like white little flaky bits on the top of the water.

Nothing tonight was considered a failure however - even if the entire batch goes in the bin. I learnt SO much! I got to watch trace happen (yipee!) and see the thickness once it was reached. I actually felt like I MADE soap tonight!! MP is great, and I love being creative with it, but tonight I MADE soap!

MORE MORE MORE!!!

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

Grats! It looks nice! Now to sit and wait, and watch, for 4-6 weeks! And I hope you don't get zapped when you test it!

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

YAY!!!
The lye water may not go completely clear, but you do need to be sure that it is fully dissolved. The flaky bits could be from the water (did you use tap, filtered or distilled?) or it could be from soap residue in your mixing container. I don't use soap in mine, I just rinse it with lots of water.

Superfatting is extra oils left in the soap after the saponification process. Unfatted soap is good for laundry, but can be very harsh on your skin. I usually superfat at 7%.

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

Congrats! Looks good! Now here comes the waiting part.
If there were any undissolved flakes of lye, you could have strained it out. I notice if I wash my lye pitcher with sudsy water, next time I soap, I get little floaties on top. So I just wash it with plain water now. Little extra oils will not hurt. Rather little more oils then too much lye. I hope that you won't get a zap with those extra flakes.

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

Oh man I must have woken 50 times last night lol. I couldn't stop thinking about my soap! And if it wasn't that, I was thinking about what recipe I was going to try next, how would I later it, would I add colour, and for some silly reason, trying to teach myself what Superfatting actually was while lying in bed half asleep.

Now that I got up (at 6am lol!) and googled superfatting, I checked out my soap! It was cold to the touch and when I poked the mold, the sides came away on their own so I decided to unmold.



It just goes to show how important it is to read, read, read before you start. Because of all my reading here, when I noticed a giant fissure appear down the middle, I wacked it in the freezer straight away. If it wasn't for reading someone else's thread about that I wouldn't have known what was going on lol. It also made me think that I've watched the movie Volcano a lot recently as I instantly noticed the 'fissure', not the 'giant crack'

After popping it in the freezer for an hour, the fissure closed and I left it out overnight. I'm going to (boldly) say it was overheating as I noticed it was gelling when I looked through the bottom. Yes, I touched it lol, I couldn't help myself.

This morning it looks good, smells nice (for something with no scent) and my next question is.... when can I cut that sucker open????

*edit*
With the lye flakes - it could be because the last time I washed that class jug was in the dishwasher...

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

I would go ahead and cut it if it's completely cool.

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

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

Ta Daaaaaa!!



Not only my first batch of soap - but I also got to use the new Mitre and Cutter I bought. Oh what a weekend I am having!!

Close up:



Bad photos because I used my phone lol. Couldn't wait to get my camera out, connect it to the PC, etc, etc.

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!