Teach Soap

I tried to make a Halloween loaf of soap last night. It was 7 layers (each layer was very thin--just 4 ounces of soap) and I used the smallest loaf mold that I could find. I alternated black, orange, black, green, black, purple, black. When I unmolded this morning, some of the layers had separated. I've done layered before but only 3 layers at the most, not this many. I sprayed rubbing alcohol between the layers. Not sure what I did wrong. Do you think I used too much alcohol on the ones that separated or not enough? I'm thinking maybe I could salvage it by gluing the layers together with some clear glycerin soap but I'm not sure that would work. I hate spending all of that time and money for it to be trashed. Thanks for any advice you can give me. I'm fairly new to soaping.

One other thing I forgot to mention is I used the same brand of soap for all of the layers. It wasn't Brambleberry but something I picked up at Hobby Lobby. BUT (and this might be the problem) I alternated white base and clear base. The orange, purple, and green were too dark on the clear base and the black looked grey with the white base, so I alternated white base (for the colors) and clear base (for the black). I did this was one other layered soap I made and it was fine, so I just assumed it would be fine for this too. Is this a no-no?

Is it possible that each layer cooled off too much? Can you remelt or is that not an option at this point?

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

Yes, I guess it is possible that some of it cooled off too much. A few of the layers weren't cooled off enough and kinda seeped through when I poured the next layer. So then I really let them cool for a while (maybe 10-15 mins.). Do you think that could of been the problem? That would also explain why it's just some layers and not all of them.

Oh and I forgot to say, it is too late to remelt anything at this point. Oh well. Do you think I could "glue" it together with clear m&p?

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

Hi, chrissy! I'm so sorry your layered soap separated, what a bummer! The good news is that there's no need to trash the soap - you can always remelt it. I have "glued" dried soap together before with clear base, but when I do it, it's usually to glue a small accent piece on top of a bar (like a soap lime wedge on top of my lime soap, for example). I don't know if it would work for putting your layers back together, but it might be worth a try.

If you sprayed well with alcohol between layers, then I agree with soapbuddy that it probably cooled too much. You want the layer to still be warm but have a thick enough skin on it to support the next layer. The way I check to see if a layer is ready is to gently blow on it. If I see ripples, it's not ready yet. And I usually pour around 115-120 degrees to avoid melting the layer below.

It should be fine to alternate white base and clear base as long as you use the same brand of base. I do it all the time. Different brands set up at different rates, so that's why they say to use the same brand for the whole project. The base you find at the craft store isn't as high quality as Bramble Berry's, in my opinion, and it seems to set up faster.

If you have the patience, you could try to cut the layers apart, remelt, and remold. I've done that before.

Good luck! I hope you can salvage it.

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- Jenny -
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Thanks jrose (and thank you soapbuddy). I actually am about to place an order with BB so hopefuly using their higher quality bases will help. I think I am going to try to glue it back together. How do you know what temp your soap is? Are you using one of those temp gun that Ann Marie uses on Soap Queen t.v.? Can you buy them through BB?

BB does sell a laser thermometer: http://www.brambleberry.com/Mini-Temper ... P4848.aspx. I have a Ryobi infrared laser thermometer that I got at the Home Depot for about $30. You can use a meat or candy thermometer, but the laser thermometers are so much nicer and fast!

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- Jenny -
My soapy blog:
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Here's a suggestion so you don't waste the soap - cut it up into chunks, or shred it, or use a cheese slicer for thin strips and use those as embeds in another loaf. I do this a lot with my leftover or unsold soaps.

Connie

Thanks Connie for that great idea. I think I'll try to get creative with it. And I'm going to order one of those heat thermometer guns too.