Teach Soap

NEVER! You hear that April?

Ugh! Just finished cleaning up an epic failure - the worst session thus far (batch #18). Oh - it was going to be SO AWESOME - a three color funnel pour into a cylinder mold. I researched the FO (NG Indian Sandalwood) - no reports of accelerating trace.

Well - it may not have traced on other folks, but I found myself abandoning my funnel plans pretty quick. I blended to emulsification - then divided up for color. Stick blended colors then....GLOP. Oh I can hardly wait to see the airhole-ridden, muddy mess that awaits me.

So far, I have not been able to go below 70% olive oil (or total combo with castor oil) in a recipe without things moving too fast (this was 52%). OR I am stick blending too much to get color blended in - but I don't see that I am stick blending any more than what I have seen in dozens of videos. I could use a whisk, but that would take longer to mix the colors - maybe better despite this?

Lye strength is 28% - hardly too strong. Lye/water @ 100F; oils at 110F

To add insult to injury - I used some shea butter. Fingers crossed its one of those batches that ends up better than you think. Glad I keep so many random empty plastic containers around - I'll have a soap that looks like its a cross between a hockey puck and a poop.

For swirling with colors, I tend to use a whisk instead of the stick blender. You can mix the colors with a little bit of glycerin first.

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

I have never had that fo accelerate on me. But my oils & lye are at room temp.

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Genny

You guys are all correct - I gotta remember to use the whisk. I can get away with using the stick blender with a high olive oil recipe and and a known FO....but otherwise, I'll manually stir next time. I'd rather have some color not fully blended in than have to glop soap batter into a cylinder mold.

With that high of an OO content how long does it take for your bars to cure? Just wondering how high you can go before the 4 to 6 weeks is not enough. Right now all mine contain 50% OO

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

I let my 100% olive oil soap cure at least 6 months, and anything 70% and 90% cure at least 3 months.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

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

[quote="ljm1180
With 100% OO, it's not so much about the hardness. A long cure (at least 6 months) makes it a MUCH nicer soap. You can use it at 8 weeks, but it won't be very nice.[/quote]

My early soaps are getting to that 6 month point - and I can tell the difference. I figure, the first bar used out of a batch may not be at its peak...but by the time you've cycled through trying other batches and return to using earlier bars...the rest of the batch is well cured.

Returnign to the original subject - I exiled the disaster mess to a far flung room until I am good and ready to try and pry Indian Sandalwood Poop soap out of a column mold.

April, I've used BB's Indian Sandalwood Cybilla and it behaved pefectly with no discoloration. It also smells wonderful... Just in case you ever want to try your complex soap again.

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