Filling the blog gap

It's been a while since I've written. That last batch of CP soap is really nice though it did frustrate me at the time. It's a good bar. Too bad they are so ugly from seizing. Since then I've made many batches. My house is over run with soaps! I may sell a few just to keep my numbers down and buy supplies to make more. I really enjoy soap but still haven't found the perfect recipe.
After seeing how nice the CP soap came out I'm thinking of trying again. I really want a pretty bar so it will be unscented until I figure it out. I need to do some research on mixing lye. I'm wondering if I can change the ratio to stop my soap from setting up so fast so I can try some nice swirls. I'll update when I decide what to do!

I'm so done!

Hot process all the way for me. I tried CP again. I decided to try the in the oven method. Before I even got it in the mold it was a big mess! It went to thick trace too fast, I was trying for a light trace. Then it has nearly destroyed my brand new molds. The soap didn 't set up right somehow. It's got a clear something running through it. I'll rebatch it and make it a HP.

On the upside I made a batch of lavender HP last night. I marbled it and it is beautiful! It came out just perfect! My mold is intact, my soap is intact. All is well.

cold process soap

I'm really not in love with cp soaps. I just made a batch and it was so frustrating! I don't like wondering how my soap will behave with FO. I don't like needing more FO to scent it. I don't like the globs of soap with active lye that I have to transport from bowl to mold. I don't like waiting a month and a half to use it. I really hate sitting around wonderong if the soap will be soap while it's in the mold. I have none of these issues with HP soap. I'm even thinking I could probably get it into my round mold as long as it doesn't get too cool. Hmmm, I need to figure out how to make CP easier or just give up and stick to HP.

Apple pie!

I got an order from bramble berry and couldn't wait to make soap! I made a wonderfully scented apple pie soap. It's in two layers, kind of a pink and a tan(with cinnamon flecks) on top. It smells so yummy. I really need a real apple pie now. I used my new recipe and I hope I love it so I can keep it for a while. I also bought molds. I know I love making soap so I thought it was a safe purchase. I ordered some that I know I will tire of because they are wood and I really want silicone. One step at a time. There was a buy 2 get one free deal so I took advantage. I will soon have 2 four pound molds and a 2 pound mold.

Batch 5, update batches 1 and 4

I made a batch yesterday. I added mango butters and played around with something new on soapcalc. I really like this one! It was HP so I tried a little of it this morning. I think I will keep adding butters. I bought some shae butter to mess around with as well as some fragrance oils, titanium dioxide and mica. My first batch is really nice. It's firmed up and smells wonderfully. I can't wait until the end of the month so I can use it. I was so disappointed with my 4th batch. I really need a mold and some practice. I could have been pretty but I colored too little and the little box I molded it in made it too short.

One second thought...

Maybe it's just me. I just noticed my daughter's legs. She is the ashiest kid ever. No ash! I noticed yesterday but didn't get why. No lotion, just my soap and no ashy legs. Hmmm...

Batches 2 and 3.

I have been able to use these two batches and as suspected, they are pretty drying to the skin. The recipe was wonderful for learning but will no longer be what I'm using. Batch two had honey and both were made with milk. My first batch is CP so won't be ready until later this month. It was made with water, I doubt it will be any better but we shall see! I hope this new batch of mine is better. I think I will buy a nice two pound mold and make batches of that size for a while until my recipe and method is the way I want it.

Batch four-the pretty one :-)

I made my own recipe today! It's mostly olive oil. I also added TTO for fragrance and some olive oil and lanolin for moisture. Lets see how this goes. I did something new. I added some color! I'm so excited to see what happen. I'm sure I've messed up by using food color but I don't have soap coloring yet and it was just a test batch. I used HP again, I think I may have over cooked a tiny bit and extra soponified a bit, I removed those pieces. I had the perfect box for my one pound batch, I can't wait to cut it!

Boo to small batches!

I tried out a one pound batch and I do not like them! It didn't work well with my stick blender and while it showed a nice thick trace in a couple minutes it quickly started to seperate again! I've never had that happen. I'd rather happily make 2-3 pounds than try for 1 pound or less and be annoyed.

Update on batch 4 soon to come.

Batch three

I mad a quick batch today, 5 pounds of HP milk soap. No fragrance. I made it in a square loaf. I used the same recipe as before substituting the milk for the water. I use a stick blender for the first time and I am impressed! It cut my trace time down a TON! It had been taking an hour to trace. It took around 6 minutes today. I'm sold and will never make soap again without it. It took a bit longer to cook than I expected but I was in a hurry so maybe it just felt that way. I much prefer the HP to the CP....I like to see results sooner than 6 weeks. I can't help myself. I used a mini bar of the HP batch I made before and I got clean hands and lots of white fluffy suds!! I'm so proud of myself :-)

As far as my recipe. I need to adjust it as I think it's a bit drying. I'll play around with that today.

Mini Batch two

This batch was totally experimental based on conversation I was reading. I used milk and a slowcooker. The milk actually would have gone well but when I was nearly done mixing I got a bit over confident and pour in my lye too fast. The bars turned out very nice. I popped them out of the pan but I couldn't do that very well/easily from the muffin pans I used. I will have to order some pan from a site I found if I plan to do HP instead of CP. These bars do seem much easier to store since they don't have to be laid as flat or be left alone. I put them in a little basket and will keep them there for a week or so. I may alternate between the two processes as I can see the things I woulodn't be able to so with HP(as far as making my bars look pretty). It took an hour to trace so I'm guessing that is normal. The burned milk actually doesn't look terrible. The bars are tan and not much darker than the ones I made with water. Again, I'm assuming the olive oil makes them a darker shade. I also added honey and cocoa to these bars. They are unscented but would be very pretty with the brown marbeling if they were in bar instead of button form.

I will probably make a couple more batches of milk soap for the simple reason that I have too much milk in my freezer and I need it gone! I bought a little too much on sale a couple months ago. I'd also really like to learn how to get the lye in without burning.

Batch one- bars

My bars stayed in the tubes for 24 hours. I then put them in the freezer overnight. I must say I'm pretty proud of my bars. They are not perfect but I made them! They have small specks in them. I think they are air bubbles and not lye. I read that mixing at high speeds can cause this. I had my mixer on level 8 for about 15 minutes before I read that part, oops. Now to find someplace to cure them. I'm making another batch tonight.

Batch one

I made my very first batch of soap. I used the Soap Essentials Bar II recipe in The Soapmaker's Companion. The recipe calls for 201 grams of Lye, 19 ounces of water, 21 ounces of olive oil, 16 ounces of coconut oil, 14 ounces of palm oil, 12 grams GSE and I added an ounce of eucalyptus oil for scent. For molds I used 2-12 inch pieces of 3 inch PVC that I rubbed vaseline in to prevent sticking. To keep them insulated I put them into a water cooler and stuffed a towel and some newspaper around the sides. I covered the top with another big towel.

I think I did okay for my first batch. I now see why I need to speak with others who make soap. I had so many questions and messed up a bit. I'm still not sure how this soap came out. One of the things that shocked me was the color. My bars will be yellowish. I thought it was my fast pouring of the lye mixture since I have seen white bars. I read afterwards that some grades of olive oil can produce yellow bars so maybe there is still hope! It also took much longer than I thought to trace. I stirred for about an hour. I know that GSE makes the soponification process take a little longer. I also hope that I didn't will myself to see a non-existent trace out of exhaustion. I'll know more tomorrow night. I am still hoping to be able to cut my bars and use them one day.

My mistakes and things I would change :
I learned you can not just dump the lye into the water and hope for the best. You must pour slowly while mixing or it cakes at the bottom and sticks HARD. I ruined the glass jar I bought today as well as my lye solution. It had to be remade.

Using a large pot for a smaller batch is not a good idea. It makes things much more difficult to handle. The pot I have would probably be a bit large for even a 12 pound recipe(I was using a 4 pound recipe). I will be going to find a glass bowl to use instead.

Hand mixing is hard! I partially hand mixed. I used a handheld mixer but the pot was so large I still ended up stirring. In the future I will use my kitchen aid. I will just need to find a extra bowl for it.

The lye solution needs to be poured into the oils slowly. If my soap fails that will have been part of the reason. I went more slowly than I did with the lye and water but still a bit fast.

Temperature is important! Another possibility, if my soap fails, is the temperature. After I had to remake my lye solution I grew impatient. I didn't allow the lye to cool enough and began mixing at around 115ish degrees. It should be added, according to my book, at 80-100 degrees.

The PVC pipe I bought was 5 feet. I cut it into 2-12 inch pieces and 2-18 inch pieces. Next time I will use 1-18 inch piece for a recipe this size. One pipe is only half full. I wonder if that will effect the soap?

I really shouldn't make soap at midnight. It's a process that can't be rushed.