Teach Soap

Hi, I've probably made 5 or 6 batches with no problem, so I thought I'd try my hand at swirling. Oh, boy!

I added my FO and divided up the soap, poured the uncolored in the mold and by the time I got color in the other batch, I almost couldn't get it out of the bowl. It was really THICK, so I had to kinda plop in on and try to swirl it. The finished product doesn't look BAD, just not what I was going for.

I think my problem was that I stick blended too much and it became almost thick trace. I poured in lye/water at about 115 degrees and didn't seem to stick blend that long, maybe 2-3 times at about 20 seconds each (stirring with blender in between).

I'm thinking that when you do swirling, it needs to be a thinner trace, is that correct? Thanks in advance for all your help. I love this forum, it's so helpful and informative.

Shelia

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Shelia
Newbie still learning.....

You need a thinner trace and a non-accelerating FO.

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

Thanks. I thought that might be the problem, just wanted to make sure. I used tea tree EO.

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Shelia
Newbie still learning.....

Now, I have another problem, same batch. It's really soft. I made it Sunday and today being Tuesday, I figured it would be good to cut. Wrong. I almost couldn't get it off the freezer paper (shiny side toward soap, right?) Here is the recipe (Anne Marie's Shampoo bar)

8.89 oz Castor
11.11 oz Coconut
8.89 oz Olive
11.11 oz Palm
5.611 oz Lye
13.2 oz Water
1.5 oz Tea Tree oil

I SF at 6% and it was a 2.5 lb batch.

Is the shampoo bar supposed to be that soft? Or, did I go wrong somewhere??? And, the tea tree seems really strong (almost burns my eyes).

Thanks,
Shelia

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Shelia
Newbie still learning.....

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Laura<3

I haven't run that recipe through soap calc, but from the looks of it, it has a lot of f castor, which will make for a softer soap.

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

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

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

Thanks for all the help.

It didn't gel. I "put it to bed" but it didn't gel at all. I did run the EO thru the calculator on BB and it seems high. It is starting to harden up now after I finally got it cut and off the paper. So, maybe it will turn out ok after it cures.

Thanks everyone,
Shelia

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Shelia
Newbie still learning.....

Shelia,
I prefer not to gel my soaps. It can take longer for ungelled soaps before they start to harden.

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

Thanks Soapbuddy,

It seems to be getting harder now that it's cut. I've read that the soap looks creamier when not gelled. I've had some gel and some not. The gelled look almost clear.

This forum is so helpful. Thank you all.

Shelia

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Shelia
Newbie still learning.....

Soaps are hardening up really good now and FO has calmed down quite a bit.

Shelia

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Shelia
Newbie still learning.....

I've tried this soap again.....here is the result. It still didn't gel, but it looks MUCH better. Almost got the swirling right this time....yeah!


by , on Flickr

Shelia

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Shelia
Newbie still learning.....

Shelia, I love that color!

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