What soapy mistake have you made today?

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I used to make soap and have been itching on and off for years to start up again. So I got my, er, stuff together, and made a new mold since I have no idea where my old ones are, and today! I made my first batch of the rest of my soaping life. So exciting!
I used to use milk in almost every soap I made. I distinctly remember using half-and-half and getting wonderful creamy hard soaps. So I looked in the fridge, found I have heavy cream and not milk, and thought that would be even better.
I did take the milkfat into consideration when calculating my lye, but this was to be a high-superfat batch anyway (very high % of coconut oil), so I thought "all the better!"

If you, too, like milk soaps and if you, like me, think the "heavier" the better -- don't do it! I think the milkfat started to saponify when I added lye to the cream; it heated up more than I expected from very cold liquid, and it looked like grainy soap at heavy trace by the time the lye was dissolved. Since I'd already measured and heated my oils I figured I'd barge ahead, which was okay (but awkward and scary, because the "lye water" was so gloopy it was harder to incorporate)... until it hit heavy trace and started to set, way sooner than memory predicted for the oils I was using.

I think that if I'd just left it in the pail I was mixing in, it would have been all right, for all that it would be in an unusual "bottom of a soaping pail" shape.

For some reason, I insisted on pouring... no, spooning, it no longer poured by the time I made the decision.... into my lined mold.

Maybe it will soften and become smoother during gel phase, which I encourage and which it should be doing even now. I don't have a lot of hope for it though!

Lessons I Learned Today: milk and half-and-half are good for soaping, 100% cream is not! And also: things don't always go according to plan, so be more willing to change the plan when things go squidgy!
 
I was making a goat milk soap using BB Moroccan Mint with green and brown mica. Trying to do a Clyde slide and get it all in the mold wondering why it was so thick and didn’t fill the mold and look over and see my liquid oil in the pitcher!!
Geeze, I scrape it back in the bowl and it did add very well but now I have a solid avocado green color and who know how it will turn out!! 5 pounds worth!
 
I learned this trick from one of the seasoned soapers - put the bottle of fo(s) or eo blend inside of your mold. If you forget to incorporate it you'll see it when you go to pour your batch into your mold.
THIS IS SO SMART! I measure the FOs out into a Dixie cup, but having a bottle sitting in the mold will remind me to check. Now, I just need to remember to implement this tip....maybe I should keep a bottle of FO in my hand until I'm near my molds? ;-)
 
THIS IS SO SMART! I measure the FOs out into a Dixie cup, but having a bottle sitting in the mold will remind me to check. Now, I just need to remember to implement this tip....maybe I should keep a bottle of FO in my hand until I'm near my molds? ;-)
o_O
 
I was making a goat milk soap using BB Moroccan Mint with green and brown mica. Trying to do a Clyde slide and get it all in the mold wondering why it was so thick and didn’t fill the mold and look over and see my liquid oil in the pitcher!!
Ok it's official...the only way for us to guarantee success is to put ALL OF OUR INGREDIENTS in the mold so we can be sure we add them to the batter :p :p
 
I learned this trick from one of the seasoned soapers - put the bottle of fo(s) or eo blend inside of your mold. If you forget to incorporate it you'll see it when you go to pour your batch into your mold.
too late if doing an ITPS--I usually try to keep it next to my mixed up micas
 
Lessons I Learned Today: milk and half-and-half are good for soaping, 100% cream is not! And also: things don't always go according to plan, so be more willing to change the plan when things go squidgy!

I've made soap with heavy cream and it turned out to be a really lovely soap. I didn't add my lye to the cream, however; I added it as one of the oils and dissolved the lye in water.
 
Ok it's official...the only way for us to guarantee success is to put ALL OF OUR INGREDIENTS in the mold so we can be sure we add them to the batter :p :p
Smack Laugh.gif
 
Today I got soap on a stick.

Is my first time using Lemongrass eo for soaping, and it literally froze on me. I was pouring out my whole eo bottle at thin trace, and within two seconds of stirring with whisk it accelerated so quickly I had to just put everything in the mold.

Too bad, I was planning on doing ombre design, But only managed to spoon design the top layer. With no color is now a pale yellow soap, not too bad . But I'm not liking The grainy looking texture.

Thanks for this thread...
 
If your lemongrass EO is like my Lemongrass Verbena FO from a few months ago, it'll discolour light brown. So brown is a colour....
 
Oh noooo!


Oh my gosh I’ve done that. Except my husband said it looked like spam. It smelled great, but I ended up throwing it because it was just too ugly.

I've made rebatched soap that looks like spam too! Or some sort of raw meat concoction o_O Needless to say, I kept those for myself!
 
Today I got soap on a stick.

Is my first time using Lemongrass eo for soaping, and it literally froze on me. I was pouring out my whole eo bottle at thin trace, and within two seconds of stirring with whisk it accelerated so quickly I had to just put everything in the mold.

Too bad, I was planning on doing ombre design, But only managed to spoon design the top layer. With no color is now a pale yellow soap, not too bad . But I'm not liking The grainy looking texture.

Thanks for this thread...
Are you sure your lemongrass EO is pure? I use lemongrass fairly often and have never had it accelerate.
 
I tried pink Himalayan salt soap..I boiled and boiled my course pink salt...and boiled. I forgot the first batch on stove and actually burned it. I tried again and this time just left it too wet. Made soap anyway but the salt had a lot more water than I accounted for so I have very wet soft salt soap...but its getting harder..and it is a lustrous lovely pink....so I will see..I made minty version with eucalyptus radiata, cornmint, lavandin grosso mix of lavender and rosemary..I think its very nice.

Never going to try to reduce salt water again...I dont have the patience. The soap I did make with too wet salt did get hard, and pink.
 
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The best thing to do in that situation is to leave it and walk away for 5 minutes -- I even set the timer -- when I come back, it's going into gel and easy to stir. ;)

Another option is to add an ounce or two of cold water, stir it in until combined and pour.

Thanks Zany that’s a great tip to remember!
 
Today I got soap on a stick.

Is my first time using Lemongrass eo for soaping, and it literally froze on me. I was pouring out my whole eo bottle at thin trace, and within two seconds of stirring with whisk it accelerated so quickly I had to just put everything in the mold.

Too bad, I was planning on doing ombre design, But only managed to spoon design the top layer. With no color is now a pale yellow soap, not too bad . But I'm not liking The grainy looking texture.

Thanks for this thread...
I had a Gardenia to do that to me. I melted it down in the crock pot and poured it into a mold. It was still quite ugly! However, it smelled so good I hated to waste it. I cut it into pieces and made a mosaic soap outback of it. Still not the prettiest soap but not as bad! My sister wanted Gardenia so she will have LOTS of it!!!
 
I tried pink Himalayan salt soap..I boiled and boiled my course pink salt...and boiled. I forgot the first batch on stove and actually burned it. I tried again and this time just left it too wet. Made soap anyway but the salt had a lot more water than I accounted for so I have very wet soft salt soap...but its getting harder..and it is a lustrous lovely pink....so I will see..I made minty version with eucalyptus radiata, cornmint, lavandin grosso mix of lavender and rosemary..I think its very nice.

Never going to try to reduce salt water again...I dont have the patience. The soap I did make with too wet salt did get hard, and pink.

Wow, I didn’t know salt would burn :eek:. If you decide to try it again, you can dry damp salt in the oven. Just spread it out on a piece of parchment paper or paper towel and put it in at the lowest temp you can. You could also try evaporating most of the water off after you dissolve the salt. That would take longer, but the effort would be much lower. :)
 
Wow, I didn’t know salt would burn :eek:. If you decide to try it again, you can dry damp salt in the oven. Just spread it out on a piece of parchment paper or paper towel and put it in at the lowest temp you can. You could also try evaporating most of the water off after you dissolve the salt. That would take longer, but the effort would be much lower. :)
I Did put batch two in the oven......waiting waiting....I wont mention what I did with batch two but batch three was the one I used with the excess water. I used aloe vera juice instead of water in the soap itself and the salt...never uniformly blended in the soap--added at trace--it seemed to form aggregates thru the soap..so now I have soap with tiny pockets of salt crystals and the zap test says they are salt crystals. Interesting!
 
I ordered some micas from Nurture Soap. I guess I really liked a few colors because I got doubles of three colors. I checked my packing list - nope it says I'm supposed to have two. So then I go check my order history. Yup - I ordered two 1-oz jars of Amaranth Pink, Lemon Drop, and Berry Twist. I am a hobby soaper lol - it will take forever to use these up. I hope that micas do not have an expiration date! I'm such a dumb dumb!
 
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