Teach Soap

I just finished my first soap! I didn't go by any recipe though. I wanted to get a feel for it before I began something more complicated.



I wanted to make a clear and a white layer and I just received my first order from BB yesterday. I don't know how I was able to wait until today to dive in.

I used Sleigh Ride Fragrance on my white that I understand will turn to a tan color and Gingersnap FO on the clear that will become dark brown. But to give it a bit of color in the meantime I colored the clear with Copper Sparkle Mica. I think these colors will look amazing together. They (and the kitchen) smell wonderful on this warm fall day!

I wasn't prepared for just how fast I needed to pour the first layer (white) until I saw how it was not flowing to all the areas in the brownie pan mold. I was wanting to do some swirling designs in the soap but figured I hadn't prepared enough soap base to make it work well, so just decided to keep layers this time.

All in all, I'm happy with the outcome and will, I think, be happy with the color changes when they occur too.

Can anyone advise about how long it will take for the colors to change? The bases are both LCP.

Lately I've been living on the net watching all of Ann Marie's wonderful videos over and over.

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

You don't need a "recipe" for MP soap base. If you have a quality base, all you need is a small amount of soap safe color and a small amount of a fragrance. I agree with Coolah. Make sure that you know how much of the fragrance to add. Not all are added at the same rate.

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

I know very little about MP (really ought to get into it more) but I wanted to say your fist batch looks great! Congrats! I am with the others though, be sure to weigh your oils. They can cause skin irritation if used at too high of a strength.

_________________
Lisa
“What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul” ~ Yiddish proverb

The ratio varies according to the safety and strength of the fragrance. On "average" for a 16 ozs. of soap, you will need 3.5 grams of fragrance.

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

You're welcome. I would suggest getting a small scale, like a jeweler's scale to weigh out tiny amounts.

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

Generally where you purchased the fragrance oils from will tell you a usage rage. Bramble Berry also has a fragrance calculator you can use here: http://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Fragr ... lator.aspx Will tell you how much to use.

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

Congratulations on your first soap!! It looks super nice! The rate of colour change varies due to several fastors; I've found that even humidity and temperature affect it! Usually you will see the first bits of change within a few days, and after a couple of weeks it will be the final colour. Embracing the discolour is one of the hardest aspects when it comes to fragrances! Congratulations on embracing it right off!

_________________
~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Michele - Congrats on your first soap. Looks beautiful.

I have a labeling tip for using fragrance and essential oils. On each bottle, I write in black permanent marker the % of fragrance to use (I use the medium strength measurement for labeling), taken from the BB calculator. So, I know if I'm making 16 ounces of soap, and the percentage on the bottle says 2%, I can easily do the math. That way, I don't have to keep looking them up each time I reach for a bottle.

I also put a RED dot on each bottle that contains vanilla (two dots if it's very, very vanilla).

In a really funny moment a few weeks ago I made 2 pounds of gorgeous two-tone eggnog soap bars. I completely ignored my two red dots since I was in a hurry. Three days later, looking for the finished soap among the piles that I had wrapped but had not yet labeled, I didn't see it. I tore my apartment apart. Every room, every closet, every drawer, every bag and box sitting on the floor. Not finding it and racing out to meet a friend for lunch who had asked me to bring her my chocolate mint soap, I grabbed a bar of what I thought was the chocolate mint. Realized several days later the "chocolate" soap I gave her was the now not-so-gorgeous eggnog soap I had been looking for days earlier. Forgot to add the vanilla color stabilizer! Smells great, but sure does look like chocolate.

Welcome to the world of soaping.

Connie

Well done on your first soap, sounds like you had fun with it!! And your photography is great...really sets them off!! I am based in Europe (Ireland) so we are required to have a safety assessment in order to sell anything. My guidelines for fragrances is a maximum amount of 2%. I have always used this amount and the scent is usually fine...not to little and not too much! Regarding discolouration, I used a blueberry fragrance that discoloured....it took about two weeks to turn a dark tan colour. Great scent, but it looked yuck!!

Have fun with your soaping anyhow, there's lots to learn!!!