1st real batch & I've already screwed up!

So I thought I was finally ready. Calculated my recipe by hand, re-checked with soapcalc. Have all my stuff ready. I had purchased way more EO/FO than I am willing to admit to:razz: so I decided to make my first batch to test scents and their effects. Prepped by labeling my bottles and brownie bite molds. Then this afternoon I am looking at my recipe again.... and decide I need more bubbles. So I search on the forum re adding sugar and see this wonderful post about adding 1/2 cup to a gal of distilled water. Wonderful I think. Label the water and remember to shake when I need it - no problem. Well, I'm in my dad's house and the only sugar other than sweet n' low is "sugar in the raw". Okay I think along the natural lines; no extra refinement. Yes I notice that it's darker- not quite brown sugar, but light brown. Assuming, hoping, IDK, I put the 1/2 cup in my ONLY gallon of distilled water. Dissolves just fine - into a medium honey color. What was I thinking??*&^%. Any person with 1/2 a brain in her head would just have quit there and gone to the store to go buy some white sugar and another gal of distilled water, but not me. I think hey lye is pretty strong stuff - surely this will affect the color of the sugar - wrong again!. So while I am cussing myself out I get my oils measured and heating in the crockpot. Before I totally blow my first mission I'm going to the store for more distilled water and a suitable container to save my brown lye water. I guess I already know my next batch will be coffee soap! BTW this is the recipe that I have come up with: 12% avocado, 5% castor, 26% coconut, 27% olive, and 15% shea and 15 % mango butters. Maybe a little high on the coconut but I'd like a hard bar. And.... I confess. 87 FO/EO.:shock: Wish me luck, I'm off to the store.

Your soap won't be near as dark as your lye water. Often additives to the lye will make really weird colors but it doesn't show in the finished soap. I would be surprised if your soap is more then just a pale tan or off white when finished.

Thanks for the info Obsidian. It's just that I want to check for color changes as well as A&D with the EO/FOs, and if my control sample is already a honey color it defeats my purpose. Back from the store new lye batch coming up.

Well you sure adventurous -- way to dive right in! Maybe I'm just having brain fog after a long day at work -- but what do you mean by 87 FO/EO?

Oh I'm exhausted! Though I had some downtime waiting for my oils to cool down, once I got going I was moving. CaraBou I thought my total count of EO/FO was 87 to mix- turned out it was only 81..... I'm amazed no ricing or seizing with any of them. By the time I was finished I was at a pretty thick trace - since my process was to portion out soap into each container and then add FO/EO, I had a few extra so not wanting to waste any soap I played with a few of my micas. (I haven't tried any colors yet). I promise to take pictures, but right now I'm going to bed.

I use raw, organic sugar in my lye water. Never had a problem. I only use white sugar if I'm making a white soap.

So after a four hour nap I went to check on my new beauties. Still way to soft to unmold but I had to check. I'm homesick and after two weeks I really miss my hubby and my boy, (cat) Jeepster. But I can't leave with the HUGE mess I've got. The house smells .... overwhelming but I feel a great sense of accomplishment. I'm also looking at my honey lye water strongly considering a lemongrass soap with some of my newly infused lemon oil and non-color changing blue poppy seed infusion; (I had to try). Pamielynn, I am totally happy with using organic sugar and once I see what my control base looks like I am looking forward to comparing it to the raw sugar. If there is any color difference, I just didn't want it (sugar color) to modify my results for color changes with my EO/FOs. Hopelessly addicted and loving every minute of it.

Cindy2428 said:

CaraBou I thought my total count of EO/FO was 87 to mix- turned out it was only 81.....

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Does this mean 87 grams and 81 grams of FO/EO? As in weight rather than count?

No count. 81 different smelling little beauties

Cindy2428 said:

No count. 81 different smelling little beauties

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:-o girl you crazy!

Cindy2428 said:

No count. 81 different smelling little beauties

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No wonder you're tired!

Well it's almost 11:00 and cleaning a 1/3rd of the way done. Froze my soaps this afternoon so I could unmold them. Took a 4hr nap this afternoon and I still feel like I pulled an all-nighter - too old for that. Seawolfe, yes I think I am crazy.... about soap I took some pictures this morning with my phone. No way to upload yet. Time for some dinner and then back to scrapy, scrapy lol