What soapy thing have you done today?

I had some down time last night (it's been a heavy social week since Friday both at work and personal life, so my introverted little heart needed the quiet) so I shut myself in the soap lab. I am still trying to figure out the layering for the vday soap, so I didn't make that one. I did make a batch of Dead Sea Mud Soleseife. It was planned to be a natural colored soap, but I had a lot of play time with it so I decided to split off a bit and add TD and do a hanger swirl with my new hanger tool. Love love love my new hanger tool, so much easier than the gear tie. My drizzle top isn't as good as I would have liked. Going back in time I would have swirled the lighter green before I added the gold. I think that would have given it less of a "slapped on some soap on top" look. Smells amazing with Orange, May Chang, and Eucalyptus EO (with just a touch of dark Patchouli to help anchor). Because of the mud and EO's I think this one will hang out until Saturday before I try to unmold. What do you think of my makeshift mold holder? Hahaha I need to remember to ask the hubby to make me a box. He picked up some more wood for molds for me, so maybe he'll have some left over.


I also fixed some of the strings on my cutter. I had one that was slightly out of line and was bugging my OCD, and I had broken another one when I was trying to cut a really really old bar of soap to share with my niece. (Note to self: use the knife next time).

Saturday will probably be the vday soap, then I can't decide if I want to do the clover and willow soap, or the charcoal soap. I have recipes printed out for probably five soaps, so I have spur of the moment options.

If my husband has his way, there won't be any soap making around here until after the holidays. He's in cleaning mode and has declared, in no uncertain terms, that we have too much STUFF and I'm not allowed to contribute to the clutter until everything is cleaned up, tidied up, and the busy holiday season is over. Hmph!

We'll just see about that. (although I do need to clean up my spare bedroom/soap storage room... badly.)

@KiwiMoose That sounds like an exhausting "break" lol!! I can't wait to see how your soap turns out!

@amd I think that your soap looks lovely - I'm imagining the way it'll look cut, and me holding the soap in hand, wondering how the pattern looked on other bars, lol!

And @Misschief I totally understand!! I moved up to the kitchen yesterday, from my basement "studio" space, and made bath bombs, then had everything out to try my hand at body butter - the look on my husband's face said it all, haha!! Then, we actually ended up watching Expedition Unknown, and I made body butter this morning.. with promises that the kitchen would not look like it exploded when he got home!!

Bored so off to make some soap no idea what ill be making what scent or anything so its going to be called the mystry soap at least til i decide what it shall be lol

Just broke in my first silicone mold with a batch of my beloved orange soap. So nice not to fuss with cartons and paper. Looking fwd to unmolding tomorrow.

Also made some diluter to thin moisturizer into a mild facial cleanser.

Just made an apple candy scented soap unfortuatly all was going perfect until i added the fo and while doinf one colour the rest had near enough turned to soap and gone solid must have been the fo because used the same recipe and method as i did the other day with the sweet orange fo

Umolded my orange bars this am. Came out of the silicone mold almost perfectly. One stuck a bit. Read online that the mold should be coated with mineral oil before filling. Will give that a try next time.

Today, will dry shreaded carrots to make infused oil for swirling in color. Think it will work?

Dean said:

Umolded my orange bars this am. Came out of the silicone mold almost perfectly. One stuck a bit. Read online that the mold should be coated with mineral oil before filling. Will give that a try next time.

Today, will dry shreaded carrots to make infused oil for swirling in color. Think it will work?

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I never use anything to coat my silicone molds. You shouldn’t have to. It may just need to sit a bit longer. You can also add salt or sodium lactate which helps make it harder to unmold. Sometimes it will depend on the hardness of your recipe to start with.

Cut the apple soap i made last night and it ended up so much better than i expected. Think ill be keeping thats fo for candles and melts from now on because that annoyed me that i wasnt able to do what i planned with it.
Alsi got a text saying my soap stamp has arrived in england so should have that next week sometime

^^^
What Shari said. I've never used anything on my silicone molds either.

Would love to make some soap today but for some reason I'm just absolutely knackered. I slept well last night and for plenty long enough but I've been ready for a nap for the past 3 hours...and it's only 11:20. So maybe I'll nap and then soap. I also have to clean my entire house because it's looking ROUGH. Sigh. The trials and tribulations. ;P

I'm making a small (500 grams of oil) batch of liquid castile soap this morning.

Hello everyone! Well, I finally set down and created my first batch of soaps. I used a honey mp with a blend of grapefruit fragrance and citrus essential oils. It was scary and exciting to create my own soaps for my first time. Everyone seems to love them and the way each one smells. I know as time go by, I will get better at this, but I’m so excited. Figuring out the right measurements seem confusing, but I’m getting the hang of it. I’m blind and I realized single molds work better for me at this point and pouring from smaller containers with a spout so as not to waste any of my product everywhere. I took photos and I’m already getting people putting in orders for soaps. Seems overwhelming, but I’m so happy!

@Dean - Here's my Orange and Cardamom soaps unmolded this morning.
Everyone - I messaged Dean as the 'Soy Wax King' to tell him my 20% soy wax soaps were taking longer than I thought to harden, and thus unmold. They needed 36 hours in the molds, and actually were still a little soft, so ideally 48 hours would be better. NB - I've only ever used silicone and I never coat it.

KiwiMoose said:

@Dean - Here's my Orange and Cardamom soaps unmolded this morning.
Everyone - I messaged Dean as the 'Soy Wax King' to tell him my 20% soy wax soaps were taking longer than I thought to harden, and thus unmold. They needed 36 hours in the molds, and actually were still a little soft, so ideally 48 hours would be better. NB - I've only ever used silicone and I never coat it.

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Beautiful! Bet the fragrance combo is lovely. U gonna sell them with ur NZ magic rocks?

If I’m the Soy Wax King then @earlene is the Queen Mother of Soy Wax cuz she converted me.

I’m soaping at 51-54 hardness now. My bars were ready to leave the mold next day. Maybe increase the hardness/SW next time?

shunt2011 said:

I never use anything to coat my silicone molds. You shouldn’t have to. It may just need to sit a bit longer. You can also add salt or sodium lactate which helps make it harder to unmold. Sometimes it will depend on the hardness of your recipe to start with.

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Thanks. The soap was hard. The bar mold has very sharp “creases”, not rounded at all. Wonder if that made it stick a tiny bit.

shunt2011 said:

I never use anything to coat my silicone molds. You shouldn’t have to. It may just need to sit a bit longer. You can also add salt or sodium lactate which helps make it harder to unmold. Sometimes it will depend on the hardness of your recipe to start with.

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When the experanced soapers here say sodium lactate or salt makes it harder to unmold it means the soap is harder sooner to unmold easier not more difficult to unmold.

Dean said:

Beautiful! Bet the fragrance combo is lovely. U gonna sell them with ur NZ magic rocks?

Maybe next year Dean

I’m soaping at 51-54 hardness now. My bars were ready to leave the mold next day. Maybe increase the hardness/SW next time?

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My new SW soap recipe is 49 hardness, but as stated my bars pictured^ took at least 36 hours to unmold.

Dean said:

Thanks. The soap was hard. The bar mold has very sharp “creases”, not rounded at all. Wonder if that made it stick a tiny bit.

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My new silicone mold also has sharp edges that honestly looks to me that I have to spend a lot of time with my potato pealer compared to when I was using milk cartons lol Maybe you needed to wait a wee bit longer to unmold?

@KiwiMoose those are so cute! So smooth too.. I'm jealous, I've been eyeing those moon cake molds (two bottom left) but I figured I have enough hehe

SoapmakingFriend wasn't working for me yesterday so I infused some oils (turmeric and moringa for color, and clove and cinnamon) instead, to use in my future soaps and did some calculations for a balm (not soap, I know, sorry) I want to make for the older people in my family.

I made a big batch of next year's lump of coal CP soap (combined brine/salt with charcoal, coconut water, beeswax, honey and jojoba).

(And tried something new, so it'll be curious to see how it turns out)

SaltedFig said:

I made a big batch of next year's lump of coal CP soap (combined brine/salt with charcoal, coconut water, beeswax, honey and jojoba).

(And tried something new, so it'll be curious to see how it turns out)

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Tell me more! That sounds interesting.