Teach Soap

I made soap the other night using a funnel pour in a column mold. The total weight of soap batter (not just oils) was about 23 oz. To half of this, I added 1 tsp cocoa powder; to the other half, I added kaolin clay. I read that cocoa powder can smell odd when used in large quantities, so I only used 1 tsp--but it still smells funny! I even used essential oils (cedarwood/lavender/patchouli blend), but the cocoa powder seems to be overpowering everything. What's worse, it doesn't smell like cocoa but has an odd, almost paint-like odor. Did I add too much? Will the smell dissipate over time? How much do you all use to color your soap?

It will dissipate over time but I use 1 tsp per 1.5 pounds...try using less and then adding if you need to. You can also use unsweetened dark chocolate to color. Very little is needed.

If you cut or unmold your soap too some, some recipes will have a funny smell which dissipates. Give it a few days, you should be fine.

What a relief, thanks! This soap is to be my mom's Christmas present so I'm glad it'll work out.

That's a lot of cocoa powder for that size batch. I hope the soap doesn't bleed what it's used.

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

It may bleed but it is cocoa so not a big deal..it rinses away. I make a chocolate sugar scrub that is a favorite of friends and customers but it is a brown messy sinfully nice scrub in the shower but it looks like you are bathing in brownie batter....but it rinses away clean and leaves a wonderfully light lingering chocolately scent on your skin.

I've had cocoa powder stain the grout between my tiles in the shower before. That said, it was due to a box exploding over me, so probably a wee bit more than used in soap lol

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

I'm so sorry Coolah - but something else exploded over you??

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

_________________
Lisa
“What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul” ~ Yiddish proverb

Don't panic yet let it come to cure... try a small piece in a couple of weeks and see if it bleeds...then check again a cure end.

_________________

Dawn

LOL. The only bothersome thing about my life is the constant cleaning of big mess!! I always feel like i'm cleaning, yet my house never seems clean.

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