Teach Soap

I decided to start making my soaps from scratch.

First Batch
I made several mistakes with the first batch, such as not enough fragrance and not enough pigment. Also when I cut the first batch of soap I cut the bars 4 oz. but I prefer the bars to be 4 oz once they're cured.

Second Batch
The color turned out great! The soap still doesn't smell like the melt and pour soaps I made. I added 18ml of fragrance to 4.5 pounds of soap. I used OMH fragrance (BB) which I know isn't an overly strong fragrance.

Can someone please tell me if I added enough fragrance? The soap has an unusual light smell. And do I need to cut the soap 4.5 oz to get 4 oz bars once they're cured?

Thanks!

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Dusty W

I would cut the bars into 4.5 ozs. I can't guarantee you that you will have exactly 4 oz. bars when they cure, since different recipes or water amount will give you a different outcome.

To 4.5 lb.s of soap, I would have added about 2.5 to 3 ozs. of OMH. So 18 mL. is not enough.

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

Thanks soapbuddy!

I figured I needed to add more fragrance because the soap didn't smell good at all. I'm going to attempt my third batch of soap tomorrow so this will definitely help.

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Dusty W

You're welcome.
If I may make a suggestion, resize your batch for a smaller recipe, like maybe 1 lb. That way you don't waste your ingredients.

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

Soapbuddy has covered everything. But to add my thoughts, I use 100ml of fragrance (or essential oil) in a 10 pound mix with most scents.

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Jackie


Beautifully Handcrafted Soap

Third Batch
I added 2.5 to 3 ozs of OMH and the soap definitely smells better. I added less titanium dioxide in this batch and didn't like the results compared to the first batch.

The only other problem that I had was the freezer paper wrinkled just a little bit. I can live with the wrinkled area, but I would like to achieve a smoother log of soap. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it.

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Dusty W

If you don't like the wrinkles, you can bevel them off. But it is handmade soap I would leave it as is.

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

Update:

It's been 4 weeks, so I tested a bar. The bar of soap lathered very well! I believe the soap needs to cure for another week or two because the soap didn't glide over the skin as well as the melt and pour soap. I've used other CP soaps and my bar of soap didn't feel the same. The OMH fragrance has held up very well, so far. Also the soap seemed to be hard, but felt a little soft once it was used...kind of like a bar of melt and pour.

After testing the bar of soap, my skin feels more dry than when I use the melt and pour.

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Dusty W

Some fragrances do change in CP soap as opposed to MP. If the soap seems drying, I would do a higher superfat, or give it another couple of weeks.

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

I'll give it a couple more weeks, and then, go from there.

Thanks so much!

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Dusty W