Teach Soap

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I am Lora

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

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Linda

I learn so much when I can't leave well enough alone!

If you run your recipe through SoapCal and print it you get w very nice spread sheet. It gives you lots of information on your soap plus it has space at the bottom for notes., I usually make the same recipe so I print out a bunch then put the particulars for that batch like fragrance, soaping temp, color, funky stuff that happens, date in the notes section. I don't need to waste time making a sheet in Word when I could be soaping.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

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

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

*slaps Hestey*

Ok... must haves for me include:
* The recipe with space beside each item (I have mine in a table) where I can mark down a tick if it's right on, or the correct weight if I go over a gram or two.
* Lye Temp
* Oil Temp
* * Combined Temp
* FO / EO Name and Amount. This is important for me as I blend fragrances, so I need to write down say FO 5g, FO 7g, FO 10g...
* Affected Trace and I have Yes / No already there so I can just circle, then space if I need to write more
* Colours Used. Important to also include if it's a Mica, Liquid, etc
* * Stayed True? Ie did it morph, change, etc
* Swirl / Pattern. In case I want to redo that soap again

Then I have a section with lines where I can include anything else I need. And at the bottom I have 'Date Made' and 'Date Ready'.

I'll take a photo of my sheet and post a copy for you when I charge my camera...

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

Mine has a born on date, name, temps, time to trace, coloring, fragrance, goodies added, molds I used, how I did the top, a space for issues, after pour treatment, cutting notes (how many hours, what I cut with, what I found inside etc), cost per oz (do not use this as much since I have the soapmaker program), my notes after cure.
If someone wants a copy of this just PM me your e-mail and I will forward it off to you. It is in a word document and you could adjust as needed. I get two notes on 1 page, cut it in half and staple it to the recipe I have printed out.

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

Hahaha thanks ladies! What about including when you added the fragrance and/or colorant (whether it was before race, after trace, in the mold, etc.) Also, what about including the consistency of the batter (or even the temp) when you pour it into the mold? How long you let the soap set up prior to unmolding and the texture/consistency of the soap after cutting?

Not sure if these things are important or not...they just popped in my head.

Um... colour and fragrance not so much for me as it's the same every time pretty much. Unless I'm working with a particularly tricky fragrance, and then I just mark it down in the extra notes section.

Consistency of the batter depends on the type of swirl / pattern / look I am wanting, and I can tell by the note I make on swirl, etc how thick my batter would have been. For example I know a spoon swirl will be a thicker batter than a fine swirl. And a layered soap will be thicker again.

My soaps go straight into the freezer every time and are unmolded 24 hours later. So I don't need those notes personally as it's always the same depending on the mold I am using. I know my Nizzy mold is treated differently to my crafters choice molds... but always the same way with each.

You'll find your notes will grow or decrease depending on what you find you need on them.

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

LOL ok Susie you gave me a "Doh" moment! Why didn't I think to write down the mold I used? That certainly would have helped a time or two.

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Linda

I learn so much when I can't leave well enough alone!