Teach Soap

I made my first batch! It is scented with a Rainforest fragrance, so I did a green swirl....naturally, my first time I didn't get the pigments mixed all the way because I was afraid of seizing and stopped too early so I got the dreaded speckles lol. AND, I didn't get the swirl all the way to the bottom. Dang lol. Though, I do like the way it looks with the marbling just on the first 1/2" of it. Dad's going to make me a jig and a mold to make a loaf and cut them all the same size size I hand cut these and ended up with overly large soaps and edges that had to be cut off lol. I'm still excited, and can't wait to try it and see how the recipe turned out!:)

Although I'd like some hints on how you guys get yours to look so great and what I could have done differently hehehe

Congrats on your first batch! I'll be doing my first this weekend, hopefully I'll be successful also.

Honestly it's not as scary as it sounds! I was terrified...but by measuring out everything beforehand and keeping it on the counter, plus wearing longer rubber kitchen gloves it turned out great! A hint, if you don't want to deal with lye fumes, set a table in front of an open window and mix it on there. I did that, and there were NO fumes that I smelled whatsoever. I loved using a stick blender too...I turned it off and mixed by hand after 30-40 sec. with the mixer....my soap traced in like, 5 minutes:) I enjoyed it a lot, now I'm just waiting for dad to make me a loaf mold so I can make another batch. It's rather addictive hehe
Mandi

Congrats! I might get the guts to try it someday.....But right now , sticking to M&P...


But your first try is beautiful.... Love the colors....

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Deb.....


If you blow in a dogs face he gets mad....take him for a car ride ..and he sticks his head out the window....

Very cool soap. i am fairly new to this too and totally in love with it, i have been playing around with CP and MP. if you are ever looking for a great soaping book pick up smart soapmaking by Ann Watson, it's a super short book, but my favorite by far, there are a few recipes and some great tips. I recently purchased a fairly inexpensive mold which is made of PVC pipe (i really wanted to make round soaps) i am taking it for a test drive this weekend.

Happy soaping!

Erin

Congrats on your first batch. It helps to dissolve your color in some oil or glycerin. I presume you used a green oxide?
If you pour at a thinner trace and pour your swirl color from higher up, then swirl, you should be able to get the color all the way to the bottom of the mold.

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

Perfect timing for St Patties Day! Good for you!

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~bytheSEAsoap~ Mella bythesea, bythesea, bythebeautiful sea

海の皂

I love the colour, frozenfire98. I wouldn't worry about the spots. I'm sure I'm not the only soaper who has had unexpected results which turn out just as good, even though not what was wanted. That's half the fun of soaping
They look like marshmallow squares - yummy

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Suzanne
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= ... 1135479737
http://stuffandnonsense-essebee.blogspot.com/

Thanks guys! I feel better now lol I did use a green oxide...took out about a cup of soap, poured at a light trace but I don't think I held it up far enough. I think the biggest problem was that I grabbed the wrong mold, I thought it was the one he made me from the measurments in the soapmakers companion for a 5lb batch, so I thought a 4lb would still fit fairly well. Apparently that was the OTHER one, the one I grabbed must have been smaller. I think had it not been so high up in the mold I might have gotten a swirl throughout, but it was almost to the top of the dang mold:)

I created the recipe myself using soapcalc, so now I'm anxiously waiting until I can try it out in 4 weeks and see how it works lol. Anyone else get so impatient that they peer at their soaps every day? Hehehe. I'm trying to formulate another recipe from the oils that I have since I can't get any more freebies till May when my supplier gets a new shipment in (blah lol) and don't want to run out of the biggies. Maybe you guys can help?

Aiming for a hard bar with fluffy/thicker lather. I'd like the "mains" to be soybean, coconut, and palm....I've got like 3 gallons of soybean, 5lbs of coconut, 5lbs of palm, 1/2lb each of mango/shea/cocoa/avocado butters, 20oz of peanut, olive, and sunflower, 16oz each of rice Bran, jojoba, and sweet almond, plus 2lbs of beeswax and stearic acid.

so far, no matter what I add or change, it seems like it will be either too soft, not bubbly enough, or too harsh. I know you guys have said not to rely on soapcalc's interpretation too much, but I'm not quite at the point where I know what each oil will do once it's saponified. Anyone have any ideas for a 4lb batch using those oils listed? Any help would be appreciated bunches!:)

Mandi

Are you able to get some castor oil? That would help with bubbles.

I would do something like this:

Castor Oil 1.3oz. 4.06%
Cocoa Butter 1.5oz. 4.69%
Coconut Oil 5.5oz. 17.19%
Olive Oil 7.7oz. 24.06% (you could recalculate this for rice bran instead)
Palm Oil 7.8oz. 24.38%
Soybean Oil 8.2oz. 25.62%
Total Weight 32 ozs.

8-12 ozs. of liquid
4.4 oz. of lye for approx. 5% superfat.

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

I actually believe I have a little more than an oz left of it....I could get it around here, I just don't know where. Didn't see it at walmart, but maybe I was looking in the wrong place:) I'm going to write that down and try that next, thanks soapbuddy!
Mandi

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

I just looked on walmart.com...but they only have 2oz. *pout* I need lots, this is the beginning of an obsession! LOL

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