First (Ugly) Soap!

[MorpheusPA]

Everything got here except the Neoprene gloves, so I substituted a good thick latex for that. The Lye Monster is overrated anyway--I used filtered very cold water from the refrigerator with a touch of crushed ice and had no out-gassing at all. I have no burns and still have both eyes.

The Recipe:

50% Olive Oil
40% Coconut Oil
10% Castor Oil

5% Superfat

The colorant is a tiny bit of titanium dioxide and a bit of chromium green. I put in a dash of Rain Forest FO to offset the oily smell.

Trace was FAST--in this amount, I couldn't use a hand blender so I did it with a plastic spoon (dedicated to the purpose). Light trace took perhaps 3 minutes, moderate 5 minutes, and by the time I could get in to pour it was kind of gloppy (heavy trace?) So I'm calling this my First Ugly Soap.

Here's the photo in the pot. The titanium dioxide kind of glooped up a bit, and you can see the temp is too hot. I'm waiting for it to cool to 110° at this point.

Click on either image for a larger, uglier version.



Here's the mold, ready to put to bed. I'm hopeful the gloppy bits will settle down, but if not it'll still be perfectly good, just ugly. Really, really ugly.



What I learned: I probably want to soap cooler when using that FO. Yes, I now know what light trace looks like...don't ignore that. The tare function on the scale is a miracle.

 

[mandolyn]

What's so ugly about it! That's a great looking mold full of soap! I hope we can see it cut.

 

[MorpheusPA]

What's so ugly about it! That's a great looking mold full of soap! I hope we can see it cut.

I'm desperately hoping the green calms down from its current snot color (pardon the expression, please...). Also, I'm sure there's a ton of air in the mold since banging it was not an option...it was already pretty solid when going in.

I'll photograph the cut tomorrow!

All things considered, this was a learning experience anyway. I'm calling it a pretty good first effort, barring something untoward happening today.

 

[MorpheusPA]

Update: I took it out of the silicone mold at hour 4 as it was already pretty solid (boy do those release easily and cleanly!)

I cut it at hour 8 as it was very firm to the touch. I cut a bit early, actually, and got a bit of soap mess on the miter, but no harm done. There were some air cavities, but nothing major.

The awful snotty green color is now fading...to more of a baby-puke sort of hue. Disgusting, but there it is. As it dries, I'm hoping it goes a paler green yet--I had envisioned (and put in the correct amount for MP) a hue somewhere around a very pale green.

Photos tomorrow as I cut after dark. Besides, it's going to snow like the dickens here so I'm stuck home after 2 PM or so anyway.

 

[ilovedoxies]

Hey nice mold... where did ya get it?

 

[MorpheusPA]

Hey nice mold... where did ya get it?

http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/St ... cone+Molds

It's the wee 11 ounce guest mold. I also have the larger basic rectangle and the regular loaf mold, and I love all three!

 

[MorpheusPA]

Ugly Soap #2 is in the mold and this time I didn't miss light trace.

It's 50% OO, 25% CO, 25% Palm Oil.

Either the ultramarine blue warped to gray (which it shouldn't) or the color just looks like that until it sets up. I'm hoping for the latter as the gray is really awful.

 

[Moiby]

To be honest I don't think it's ugly - but then I love green!
Don't worry yet - maybe it will change colour a bit as it cures?

 

[MorpheusPA]

To be honest I don't think it's ugly - but then I love green!
Don't worry yet - maybe it will change colour a bit as it cures?

It's changed to avocado as it starts to cure, so there's hope...avocado I can stand!

 

[Esther]

I think it's very pretty!