Teach Soap

My first batch is in the mold. I have no idea how it's going to turn out, as I ran into problems.

1. My walmart digital scale shuts off way too quickly (that's what I get for buying local and not reading reviews first). I will need to buy something better before I soap again.
2. Measuring lye on printer paper when it is humid is a bad idea, some of the lye sticks to the paper in places that don't even look wet (my lye was in flake form).
3. When making a 1 lb batch, a 1 gallon pitcher is probably the worst vessel for mixing your lye water.
4. Castor oil is REALLY thick, should have just poured it directly into the soap "pot."
5. Louann coconut oil is 76 degree coconut oil. We have no AC, and accuweather says it's 81 outside, since we have no AC, and I was soaping in the kitchen, it's a bit warmer in there. Louann comes in canisters from which oil doesn't pour well.
6. My soap pot was much too big for my batch size, should have gone much smaller.
7. I need to soap somewhere other than my kitchen counter, it's too high for me.

All in all, the only one of my ingredients that when in at exactly the right amount was the coconut oil. My 7% super fat is probably not 7% anymore. I doubt the batch is lye heavy as I lost way less than a gram of sodium hydroxide. Not all of the castor oil made it in, some of it stuck to the glass I measured it in, when I measured it, it was exact, but I ended up with extra olive oil, don't know for sure how much because that's when my scale decided to shut off. All I can say is, I'll have to wait and see. I'm not discouraged as this truly was a learning batch, and now I know what to look for.

What I love about soaping is the experimenting. Who cares if it's not perfect? Who cares if you can't ever replicate it? Just play with it and enjoy. No recipe is exact, nor do we follow it exactly. Soaping is like the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books we used to read as children. The worst part about soaping is all the wait and see. You have to wait at least 24 hours before you unmold, then you have to wait 6 weeks to use it.

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

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

*hugs RedwoodGate* I like newbies like you.

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

*hugs Coolah back* Thank you

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

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

You should pick up some silicone spatulas to help get every bit of oil from your measuring vessels. I like cheap ones! They work great and are actually pretty sturdy. The wood doesn't get in the batter for me, so I don't worry about that. If you choose you could get plastic handles. My scale was around $40 from Bed bath ad beyond, in the kitchen department. Seems they don't offer it online so I can't get you a link, but it is a salter 11 lb glass scale that measures 1g. Its a great scale! As for counter height... I use the kitchen table! I lay down some freezer paper to protect the surface first. I find it is a great height to work at!

My advice is to check out the $1 section at Target. I've gotten some great stuff there for soaping! My mixing bowls for example, and my 1 litre plastic containers that I use for measuring my oils before I mix them in said $1 bowl. They look kind of like an ice cream bucket only are heavier plastic. The silicone spatulas easily remove every trace of oil too!

We'll need pictures of your first batch by the way! *cheers!

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Walmart is a great place to look too. I currently have three 1-gallon MainStays HDPE pitchers. I now have master batches of lye solutions cooling in them for storage. One for the 35%, one for the 48%, and then I have an empty one so I can measure my larger amounts of water at a time. I got a bunch of 1 quart plastic measuring cups for $1 each, they each hold at least 2lbs of my lye from Essential Depot. They have larger glass measuring glasses - like giant shotglasses but they look like little beakers - great for measuring out FO - for $2 each.

Hubby is glad we don't have a Target. I would die and go to Target Heaven if we got a target closer than an hour's one-way drive.

We also have a Kitchen Collection store. They have all SORTS of silicone scrapers and spoonulas and stainless steel utensils. I actually got an ice cream scoop for a freaking PENNY because they had changed the price to a penny to do a closeout in their computer system and do a tax writeoff because they weren't selling, but they forgot to take them off the shelves There they have a bigger selection, so you could match your spatula with your usual batch size, etc.

I would get a scale from BrambleBerry or Old Will Knot. Good quality, good customer service.

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