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diamondkitten

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Joined
Apr 10, 2017
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Hello everyone!

I am a complete newb, I've only made 6 batches of CP soap, a few bath bombs and my favorite thing EVER, homemade body butter.

I got a big jar of activated charcoal and went a bit bananas with some of my soaps.

The blue/black is scented with Cucumber Melon and Pine Tree, The brown/black stripe is scented with Mocha, (Both of these soaps use cocoa and shea butter) the half and half black/brown bar is a face soap, with Brazilian Gold Clay and Vitamin E.

The non-black soap was just my first attempt at a checkerboard. It's BBW Mango Mandarin. It's soy/coconut/castor oil.

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I like the checkerboard soap. Looks fun!

On a side note, why not introduce yourself in the Introduction Forum?
 
Good Call! I just did. I think I completely skipped over that forum. I've been lurking for a few weeks.
 
It's fun to experiment, isn't it?!

They are all great soaps, and I have to say, I keep staring at the top black/blue one and they make me feel like I'm standing in a cliff side cave, staring out into vibrant blue Mediterranean Sea waters on a beautifully sunny day. It's a nice daydream of wishful thinking as to where I would rather be right now! :)
 
That's a great image! I like to think of a cool mountain top spring when I look at them, because of the mountain-ee fresh scent!
 
I do think that is ash. Although I'm still figuring out exactly what ash and gel phase are... well pretty much everything that happens after I pour the soap into the mold. Would an alcohol spray fix that? All 6 of my batches have worked out. They're a bit softer than the soy/coconut soap that I had made in a class, but I used a higher superfat percentage as well as used shea & cocoa butter. I poured the soap into a silicone loaf mold, and put it in a shoebox, under a yoga mat. I've done 4 batches at 110F, and 2 batches with room temperature pre-mixed lye. I've shower tested them all and am REALLY happy, but I've never used homemade soaps before so I don't have anything to compare.

I've also tried to make a pumice/tea tree face bar, but the pumice i bought was too fine, and now I just have a grey, spear minty bar.
 
Wiki article on Soap
The batch is then poured into molds, kept warm with towels or blankets, and left to continue saponification for 12 to 48 hours. (Milk soaps or other soaps with sugars added are the exception. They typically do not require insulation, as the presence of sugar increases the speed of the reaction and thus the production of heat.) During this time, it is normal for the soap to go through a "gel phase", wherein the opaque soap will turn somewhat transparent for several hours, before once again turning opaque.

After the insulation period, the soap is firm enough to be removed from the mold and cut into bars. At this time, it is safe to use the soap, since saponification is in essence complete. However, cold-process soaps are typically cured and hardened on a drying rack for 2–6 weeks before use. During this cure period, trace amounts of residual lye are consumed by saponification and excess water evaporates.

During the curing process, some molecules in the outer layer of the solid soap react with the carbon dioxide of the air and produce a dusty sheet of sodium carbonate. This reaction is more intense if the mass is exposed to wind or low temperatures.

I think gel phase issues might be caused by poor insulation during the initial 24h of saponification.

The sodium carbonate ash is caused by the soap curing and pulling carbon dioxide
out of the air. Don't know how to fix it or avoid it completely but spraying with isopropyl alcohol helps.
Not sure to be honest, I hope to find answers here.
 
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