Teach Soap

So my order from Brambleberry arrived and I decided to try out color and fragrance. For my first time I went with a purple soap using Brazilian clay because purple is my favorite color. I premixed 2 oz of the clay with 4 oz oil and added it at trace. I also added 5 or 6 tsp or so of shredded loofah to the base oils. For fragrance I chose their Lilac FO because (jeopardizing my man card here) I really like lilacs. This I added at trace, 2 oz, and to say "accelerate" is an understatement. It was like mixing mud. My mighty stick blender managed to get it incorporated as I frantically dumped in the color and stirred like crazy but there must be a better tactic. Help please Oh, the batch size was close to 5 lbs.

I would like to try an apple cinnamon for my next attempt using their Red Apple FO and red clay. I neglected to order anything cinnamon however. The local health food store had some EO's, actual cinnamon bark being cost prohibitive, I picked up Cassia as a substitute. Would this work? If not, it was cheap and discarding isn't a big deal. What would be a good way to add a cinnamon scent to this? I'm aware cinnamon can be tricky as it's a potential irritant.

Thanks in advance for your forthcoming expert advice!

The last time I had soap accelerate I was making two different loaves from one batch that I had separated. When the first fragrance accelerated the soap, it happened so fast I was worried that I didn't get it mixed enough and figured it was a loss. I went on to my other part of the batch that I was fragrancing with something else. When I was done I looked at the accelerated soap and it had started to gel in the bowl. So I tried mixing it and was able to finish it and get it into a mold. Not sure waiting for gel would work every time as I've only done it once, by accident.

I don't know about the cinnamon cassia, hopefully someone else has an answer. Good luck!

Cassia can be a skin irritant in soap. If you decide to use it, use only a VERY small amount.

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

When I have a seizure like that, mine will almost always gel in the pot. I think that the same chemicals that cause the seizing are actually speeding up the reaction, so it tends to get hot. You can also encourage it to gel in the pot by putting it on the stove on low heat. My stove has a simmer eye and it is perfect for this. If you don't have a simmer eye, keep a very close eye on the soap. Google hot process soap and you will see pictures of the process. When your soap gels in the pot, it might seperate. That's okay. Just keep stirring it and it will eventually come back together. It will look like Vaseline - thick, transluscent and shiney.

Regarding apple cinnamon - I think you will be fine to use the Cassia EO. However...cinnamon EO also causes seizing! So be prepared! You may want to use Hot Process in stead. Hot process is very easy and not scary. Pick up a crockpot at Salvation Army (I got mine for $3.)

I would recommend doing a smaller batch. Also, you can lower the temperate and increase the water and that will help slow things down.

What's your recipe?

Also, I like to add ground spices - clove, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg - to soaps with a spice scent. It adds an interesting look and helps boost the spice smell a bit.

I'm sure cinnamon is an irritant for some people's skin, but I've never had a complaint, and I've given a lot of soap away!

For any of you reading this thread, please follow safety guidelines on spice oils usage. Just because you have not had a problem by now doesn't mean you might not have a problem in the future. If someone would decide to sue you, you would loose and your liability insurance would drop you.

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

Something else that can help with seizing is to hold back a small amount of olive oil, blend your FO or EO with that, then blend that with the soap batter.