Teach Soap

I recently bought this mold (second hand). I didnt think to ask the lady why she was getting rid of it. Now I am beginning to wonder if I made a good decision. I have made 2 batches in this thing, using only one of the sleeves each time. It came with a quick liner which I have gotten good at using. The first batch I made before I went out of town and the soap sat in in for about a week before my husband pulled the soap out and cut it for me. I just pulled out a batch that I made yesterday. I immediately went into quiz mode with my husband about what the soap looked like when he pulled it out of the mold. Todays batch is extremely wet, it seems/smells like my FO and is the same color as the one I used. The freezer paper was soaked and pulled off like wet newspaper, leaving the plastic lining just sitting there wrapped around the soap. It seems that the one I made 2 weeks ago, did the same but wasnt as bad in terms of moisture pooling, especially since it sat for a week before being pulled out of the mold.

The other side of the coin is that I have started using the fragrance calculator to determine how much FO to add. I always feel like I am not adding enough and the scent is fading so I resorted to the FO calculator. Then when I put it in, it seems like soooo much.

I used 2 very different recipes so not sure what the deal is here. I am concerned if this is going to be an ongoing problem due to the mold or if I am not using the right amount of scent and its leaking out.

So my question is this...Has anyone else used this mold, have you experienced this situation with the mold? Or do I need to be reducing the amount of OO that I am adding to account for the extra FO when doing larger batches?

_________________

Dawn

Hi Dawn,

Some specifics would be helpful to figure out what is going on. Fragrance usage typically ranges between 3-6% of oil weight (roughly .5 to 1 oz per pound of oils). How much are you using? Also, could you provide details about your soap recipe including the fragrance you used and how much? And have you cut your soap yet? Does it zap or have lye pockets?

I suspect that because this mold has very little surface area exposed to the air that your soap "might" have overheated and caused some separation. Or perhaps the fragrance oil is a heater or problematic in some way and is weeping out of your soap. But that's just a guess.

At the fragrance rates listed above, you shouldn't have to adjust your base oils to compensate.

I got a PM from another poster here that said they got rid of their mold for the very same reason. I used two different recipes.
Avocado Oil 1.36oz 03.6%
Castor Oil 1.36oz 03.6%
Coconut Oil (Fractioned) 5.43oz 14.3%
Grapeseed Oil 5.43oz 14.3%
Olive Oil 21.71oz 57.1%
Shea Butter (Unrefined) 2.71oz 07.1%
5% Lye (Sodium Hydroxide) Amount 5.1oz
Ounces of liquid recommended 12.3 oz
Ginger Ale FO 1.19 oz

and...

Castor 4oz
Olive 32 oz
Grapeseed 16oz
Shortening 16 oz
Coconut 8 oz
%5 Lye Discount 9.93 oz of Lye and 24.35 oz of water
I used the BB fragrance calc on this one for the scent and used the 5 oz recommended which was the middle of the scale and twice what soapmaker calls for.
On the second one I expected to have problems as it led me to post this.


Neither batch was insulated. It seems that I am going to have to keep putting this mold on top of the AC vent in my kitchen. I checked the temp of the air coming out of it and it was arround 67 degrees. (No I dont keep my house that cold LOL). Heck I might get some small freezer packs to tape to the side or put in the empty slots. Can you imagine the heat if I filled all 4 cavities?

It was suggested that I get some SL and I have some on order so for now I will use my other molds and work with my MP till my bramblebox comes in.

_________________

Dawn

btw I have cut both of them and they look ok and no zapping.

_________________

Dawn