Teach Soap

Depends on the day Most days aren't humid here no. I'm south end, it's more the north end that gets humidity.

We get the fluctuating weather. I had the air con on two days ago, now I want the heater on. I hate Melbourne lol.

With the Water = grams thing. I wasn't sure of that, so I did the mls = ounces = grams conversion. So instead of putting in the 230grams of water, I put in like 226 or something. But if anything that would have made the soap dry and crack rather than remain moist, right?

I've checked the soap this morning, the one I mangled out of the mold, and it feels very similar to the very first batch I made. So I'm thinking that I will try again, same recipe, and use my Crafters Choice mold now that it's free and see what happens.

I'm actually wondering if this whole time it's just been the use of Lard +/or Goat's Milk causing my problems. As soon as I dropped the lard and went back to Palm Oil, it feels the same. So, as mentioned previously, perhaps I should just leave my Lard mixes for a week before unmolding?

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

I would leave it in the mold for a week. You have nothing to loose by trying it this way.

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

I left my lard batch (Mad Scientist) for about a day, but mine is only a little over an inch deep. It was still quite soft on the bottom and it was about a 99.99% gel, two small little areas didn't gel. I'll be leaving the next one for 2 days to try and harden up the bottom some. If my mold hadn't been lined it would have stuck badly too.

_________________
~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Coolah, try brushing the inside of the mold lightly with mineral oil.

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

You used your soap after 4 days?! That's a little bit short, should be 4-6 weeks for cure!

_________________
~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Regular oil will not work in brushing your mold because the oil will saponify. Mineral oil will because it does NOT saponify.

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

Oh right, okies. Hrm, can I get Mineral Oil from the supermarket?

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

Its usually in the section for constipation, and sometimes with the baby stuff.

_________________
~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Aah okies. I'll have a looksie when I go to the shops next!

I'm going to do my next back in the Crafter's Choice mold, so hopefully that will also help too.

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

Not that this really matters but 1gm of urine is also 1 ml (thats back from my days as a pediatric nurse).

Coolah, I am wondering if it isn't the molds more that anything. I have had times when my molds misbehaved. And it was never the first time I used the mold. I had a batch of gingerbread boys that stayed in the mold for over 2 weeks.... then had to freeze, run HOT water over them and presto out they came. My bear mold had similar issues... would get a broken leg alot of the time. That is when I started spreading vasiline in these molds before the pour... now no more broken legs
I use salt in nearly every batch of soap I create... does it make a difference?? not sure but it can't hurt.
I must say you are making this journey interesting.

_________________
Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

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

I couldn't find Mineral Oil at the Supermarket. I looked in the section that has the bottles of Glycerine, Calamine Lotion etc, and I looked in the baby section. The closest thing I thought it me was Gripe Water as that looked like it had a lot of Oils from natural sources.

I have Vaseline here already, so I'll give that a go perhaps.

Oh, but I DID find Wax Paper AND Freezer Paper!! They're just cheapo home brand stuff, but I grabbed it to check it out. I ended up getting some of Nizzy's Molds, so I figure I can always use it on those if I need to.

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

Baby oil in the grocery store is most likely mineral oil (with scent added).

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

Aah ok. I'd really like to think I won't have to resort to the extra steps lol.

I've found a really nice Lard recipe that, after running it through the software, appears to create (what I consider) a perfect bar! I just need to wait until my supplier down the road opens up so I can get some Beeswax from them. They're back next week...

The recipe even says it makes a nice hard bar. I'm hoping with that, and using the right mold (my crafters choice is now clean and ready for another beating, going to ditch the $10 tester molds), and SHOULD I need it, the Freezer Paper I just found at the store, I should be good to go.

The one thing to come out of this is I have learned SO MUCH!! I reckon I have learned 10 times more this way as it's had me googling and researching different things than I ever would have if it had all been smooth sailing.

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!