4th batch, face and body

[DeeAnna]

Never judge the appearance of the soap by how ugly the outside of the loaf looks or by how homely the crusty leftover bits are. I have been (pleasantly) surprised many times when I cut an rough looking loaf and get really nice bars. It almost always happens that way -- ugly loaves usually produce decent-looking cut bars. Maybe not Michelangelo quality, but good enough for soap.

You may have poured the soap when it was a little too cool, or you may have overcooked the soap so the water content was a bit too low. But honestly, I don't think your Pringles loaf looks unusually homely -- it's about how my loaves of HP soap usually look.

If you want to work toward a smoother look to the loaf, you might want to try a cold process (CP) method.

 

[Dawni]

I am hoping for the best @DeeAnna, and thanks for giving me a bit of hope

It just looks so different from my successful HP batch, and so much like the one I messed up before this lol

I actually took it off the heat as soon as I saw a little translucency, as advised in another thread so I think it's most probably me pouring too cool.

At the very least, a small piece I tried feels nice to soap with, and has nice lather, even now... So if it doesn't end up looking nice I know that after enough curing it will feel even nicer.

I don't know why I wanted to "perfect" HP before even venturing into CP. I actually like the rustic look of HP so I really want to get it right.

 

[Magic7M]

Dawni don't get disheartened. Please try again. Your soap in the crock pot looks dry around the sides. Please try and rebatch the soap in the pictures. I am sure you will be delighted at the result. Rebatching resolves a lot of little errors in soapmaking. I am sure you will find a link on this site to give you information on rebatching.

 

[Dawni]

I did notice the sides and I didn't scrape those. The batter was a few minutes after this when I poured, only adding EOs and charcoal. Do you think my slow cooker is too hot? I'm using low, but there is an "auto" function that I have not tried.

I have read somewhat on rebatching and I will see if I need it when this cures.

My previous batch looked even uglier than this, but we smushed it all in a margarine container and use it with loofah so it actually works beautifully, just doesn't look nice.

This actually looks better lol so I'm still hoping the pringles loaf won't crumble.

 

[Magic7M]

If you are thinking about rebatching no need to wait. I have rebatched a few the moment I notice that I am not happy with something. (scale problems) I normally add a bit of liquid or oils in the grated soap and reheat until fully melted then pour into mould. I use the crockpot as well for soapmaking. Only one of mine has the low/high/auto selection. I always use mine on high from melting the hard oils right through to the end. Overcooking seems to be the general mistake when using the crockpot. The moment the soap looks almost done turn the pot off. You will get the hang of it after a few batches. Good luck and keep on soaping.

 

[Dawni]

I cut a one inch end off today and decided I'll put the rest of the loaf somewhere I can't get to it for some more days. It's still soft in the center but not overly so, like cutting into a block of cheese.

The kittens say hi and thank you lol

@lsg and @cmzaha, the burnt neem smell has toned down even just after a few days. I'm sure it will smell a lot better after some weeks, but even now two people have said they like the earthy, herbal smell lol
You were also right btw about neem accelerating trace. I got to almost too thick in less than 3minutes. I'll remember that tip from now on and probably stick blender less.

@DeeAnna and @Magic7M, I think you're right about overcooking and pouring too cool. Now I see some overcooked, dry bits even when I did not scrape the sides. I poured much earlier than my previous botched batch but next time I'll switch the cooker off even earlier than that.

The moment the soap looks almost done turn the pot off. You will get the hang of it after a few batches. Good luck and keep on soaping.

I have decided I won't go ito rebatching just yet coz I worry I might mess it up even more due to inexperience. I have noted your tips though and will come back to them when I do need to rebatch in the future.
I figure if it's only aesthetics, I can live with ugly soap lol. It does feel nice and has a decent lather which I'm sure will get better over time.
But thank you for the encouragement! I will keep doing this, it's become my me-time thing after juggling a toddler, a teenager and 10 pets the whole day lol

I'm ready to move on from this batch. Expect another call for feedback sometime soon hehehe and thanks again for all your advice.

 

[steffamarie]

Let me know how the neem smell fades...last week I made a CP batch with 5% neem and it really reeks. Tried a sliver out on my hands to check how the smell would linger and sure enough, I could smell it on myself afterwards. Not at all what I want to smell like after a shower lol

 

[szaza]

Hey Dawni! I hope your soap will help your son once cured! Don't give up hope because of aesthetic reasons. If it works if works, no matter how the bar looks
If you want hp with a runnier texture you could try keeping a portion of your liquid aside to add after the Cook and add some yoghurt (1tablespoon ppo) somehow yoghurt does miracles for HP soap. Just make sure you mix your lye in at least the same amount of water.
If you want to try smaller test batches, you could try melting your oils and stirring in the lye in a smaller container before transferring it all to the crock pot at trace. You'll lose some batter, but you can use your stick blender on much smaller recipes (I have a soaping pot in which I can SB recipes as small as 100g of oils)
Good luck and don't give up hope!

 

[DeeAnna]

... somehow yoghurt does miracles for HP soap....

I agree. I did one HP batch with yogurt and sodium lactate, one with yogurt only, and one with neither. The yogurt and SL were added after the cook, right before I wanted to put the soap in the mold. Yogurt won the contest, hands down. It made the soap softer and easier to handle. The soap was not what I'd call pourable, but real close. I agree with Szaza that 1 tablespoon ppo (1 tablespoon per 500 grams of oils) works well.

I didn't think sodium lactate made a lot of difference, but I didn't do a 4th batch with SL alone to make it a true comparison.

 

[Dawni]

Let me know how the neem smell fades...last week I made a CP batch with 5% neem and it really reeks. Tried a sliver out on my hands to check how the smell would linger and sure enough, I could smell it on myself afterwards. Not at all what I want to smell like after a shower lol

13 days since I unmolded and the smell is still there and yes, stays even after washing. My son has been using a small piece to test, but not on the face yet, and he says after a deo and body spray he doesn't really notice it. Since the soap is mostly for him, that's good enough for me haha.
I did notice though that my lather is brownish.. Maybe also from the neem? I'm assuming after a full cure it won't be but now it looks like we are extremely dirty lol

Hey Dawni! I hope your soap will help your son once cured! Don't give up hope because of aesthetic reasons. If it works if works, no matter how the bar looks
If you want hp with a runnier texture you could try keeping a portion of your liquid aside to add after the Cook and add some yoghurt (1tablespoon ppo) somehow yoghurt does miracles for HP soap. Just make sure you mix your lye in at least the same amount of water.
If you want to try smaller test batches, you could try melting your oils and stirring in the lye in a smaller container before transferring it all to the crock pot at trace. You'll lose some batter, but you can use your stick blender on much smaller recipes (I have a soaping pot in which I can SB recipes as small as 100g of oils)
Good luck and don't give up hope!

I hope so too @szaza!
It did not occur to me to mix in a smaller pot then dump in the pot. I will try that next time, thank you.
I will also try portioning out some water next time but I've not been confident enough so far.
Thanks for sending luck my way!

I agree. I did one HP batch with yogurt and sodium lactate, one with yogurt only, and one with neither. The yogurt and SL were added after the cook, right before I wanted to put the soap in the mold. Yogurt won the contest, hands down. It made the soap softer and easier to handle. The soap was not what I'd call pourable, but real close. I agree with Szaza that 1 tablespoon ppo (1 tablespoon per 500 grams of oils) works well.

I didn't think sodium lactate made a lot of difference, but I didn't do a 4th batch with SL alone to make it a true comparison.

I had one successful batch using only SL. But I have a feeling it could also be my oils in general that helped with fluidity. That and I poured even before I got to mashed potatoes, trying not to overcook. This one might have been a tad later than that and the SL did not help much.
Plain yogurt is hard to find and expensive here but it's something I've read before and would like to try at least once.
There's also the fact that my SO is vegan hehehe
Actually I should see which is more economical, the SL or yogurt.......

Here's an updated pic if anyone is interested. I need to practice using my vegetable peeler lol can you tell. Also a pic of the lather. Not sure if you can see it's brownish. I didn't use high coconut, but I did use sugar, and I wasn't expecting more than this anyway. My son uses a loofah though so he's not complaining about the bubbles on his test piece.

I can't wait til full cure! Maybe sometime before Christmas, yes? That'll put it at about 6-7 weeks.

 

[Chris_S]

@Dawni iv noticed that one of my soaps turns the shower water brown but then i used a few micas in that batch of soap so that could be why mine does that. i also had a completely failed batch and it took me a while to get the confidence and motivation but also was doing lots of research and looking round for new recipes ect to do another batch but im glad to say so far its doing well just a tad soft so definatly dont get disheartened and maybe do what someone suggested and mix it in a bowl not the slow cooker so you can do smaller batches until its tried and tested. Iv not done any hp yet is that what all your batches have been none cp?

 

[Dawni]

@Dawni iv noticed that one of my soaps turns the shower water brown but then i used a few micas in that batch of soap so that could be why mine does that. i also had a completely failed batch and it took me a while to get the confidence and motivation but also was doing lots of research and looking round for new recipes ect to do another batch but im glad to say so far its doing well just a tad soft so definatly dont get disheartened and maybe do what someone suggested and mix it in a bowl not the slow cooker so you can do smaller batches until its tried and tested. Iv not done any hp yet is that what all your batches have been none cp?

I've tried to both CP and HP a loaf each assisted and those went great lol.
I've done more HP than CP alone, one completely failed, one is nearing one month of curing but still spongy, one is in another post of mine here that might just turn out well, and I had to rebatch the one I did last night which is also posted here, for advice and suggestions. My single CP so far is a brine soap that I also posted, seems nice but is only about a week old.
I like the look of HP hehe

I'm so not done with experimenting and the people here are great help and good for your confidence issues too lol so... Good luck to us!

 

[Chris_S]

I've tried to both CP and HP a loaf each assisted and those went great lol.
I've done more HP than CP alone, one completely failed, one is nearing one month of curing but still spongy, one is in another post of mine here that might just turn out well, and I had to rebatch the one I did last night which is also posted here, for advice and suggestions. My single CP so far is a brine soap that I also posted, seems nice but is only about a week old.
I like the look of HP hehe

I'm so not done with experimenting and the people here are great help and good for your confidence issues too lol so... Good luck to us!

iv just made a 5am trip to asda to get beer goats milk and zip lock bags for more soapy experiments i was awake not that i want to be but one my cats had alot to do with it and the traffic in town is a nightmare with major roadworks so i decided early morning was far less hassle and i even just fed the cats so i can sleep past thier harrassment well hopefully. so tomorrow/today im going to at least prepare for making more milk soap and beer soap. iv been busy with writing letters to work to try make them see sense so not had time to soap so iv been making some candles instead. iv got a slow cooker iv put aside to use just for hp soap but not got round to that yet also looking at trying to make my own m+p soap found a recipe that looks relatively easy. what way does hp look different to cp when it all goes to plan?
btw how the hell do you cope with 10 pets and kids my 2 cats and a monthly visit from my 19 month old niece is more than enough for me

 

[szaza]

Plain yogurt is hard to find and expensive here but it's something I've read before and would like to try at least once.
There's also the fact that my SO is vegan hehehe

If it's available in your country you could try soymilk yoghurt, works the same as regular cow of goatmilk yoghurt in soap once you bought a small amount, you can start making your own relatively easy. Bring some (soy)milk to somewhere between 32-49°C (43°C is often suggested as being optimal) don't worry too much about the exact temperature. It has to be quite warm to the touch, but not unbearable. Add 2 tablespoons of yoghurt for 1liter of milk. Stir and insulate (I used a thermos, but you can use pretty much anything. In the old days they used a chest filled with hay) depending on your climate, you might not even need to insulate. The mixture just needs to stay above 32°C. Make sure that everything is clean, it's best to rinse the utensils etc. with boiling water before use. I also boiled my milk and let it cool down to the desired temp. After you've succesfully made yoghurt you can use your homemade yoghurt to make more I think I could repeat this 7 times for every time I used store bought yoghurt. After that it became a bit thin.
By the way I like the way your soap looks! It's rustic, but it somehow looks like a bar that's going to be really gentle on the skin

 

[Dawni]

iv just made a 5am trip to asda to get beer goats milk and zip lock bags for more soapy experiments i was awake not that i want to be but one my cats had alot to do with it and the traffic in town is a nightmare with major roadworks so i decided early morning was far less hassle and i even just fed the cats so i can sleep past thier harrassment well hopefully. so tomorrow/today im going to at least prepare for making more milk soap and beer soap. iv been busy with writing letters to work to try make them see sense so not had time to soap so iv been making some candles instead. iv got a slow cooker iv put aside to use just for hp soap but not got round to that yet also looking at trying to make my own m+p soap found a recipe that looks relatively easy. what way does hp look different to cp when it all goes to plan?
btw how the hell do you cope with 10 pets and kids my 2 cats and a monthly visit from my 19 month old niece is more than enough for me

Wow you're adventurous; I'm not even gonna try milk and beer since I can't even get just water right haha

CP is very smooth when done right. HP also can be "smooth" but never the same kind as CP. It's rustic, "rough cut" and to me it just really says handmade. That's of course a personal opinion only. You can do so many swirling techniques in CP, and I really admire those who can hehe, but you'll be limited in HP somewhat, even when done right. Search the web, there's lots of pics of both ^^

As far as the pets and kids go? I just cope. LOL... As far as I see there's not much else I can do since they're mine harharhar but kidding aside, most of them take care of themselves so I just have to really see to the babies (human, feline and canine).

 

[Dawni]

If it's available in your country you could try soymilk yoghurt, works the same as regular cow of goatmilk yoghurt in soap once you bought a small amount, you can start making your own relatively easy.....
By the way I like the way your soap looks! It's rustic, but it somehow looks like a bar that's going to be really gentle on the skin

I will see if I can find soy milk yogurt here. If I do I'm coming back to this thread and saving your instructions.. SO will be so happy if I do get to make our own for him coz this isn't a very vegan friendly place and it's a daily struggle for him.

Thank you! I actually like rustic, which is why I HP. I'm not necessarily disappointed about the outcome, but more at myself coz I seem to be repeating the same mistakes, and that things didn't go the way I planned them. Of course I will be ecstatic once this cures to be a really nice soap hehe

 

[Chris_S]

Wow you're adventurous; I'm not even gonna try milk and beer since I can't even get just water right haha

CP is very smooth when done right. HP also can be "smooth" but never the same kind as CP. It's rustic, "rough cut" and to me it just really says handmade. That's of course a personal opinion only. You can do so many swirling techniques in CP, and I really admire those who can hehe, but you'll be limited in HP somewhat, even when done right. Search the web, there's lots of pics of both ^^

As far as the pets and kids go? I just cope. LOL... As far as I see there's not much else I can do since they're mine harharhar but kidding aside, most of them take care of themselves so I just have to really see to the babies (human, feline and canine).

i tried swirls on my second ever batch and it actually went pretty well too iv attached a photo of it. the main reason i decided to try milk soap is because in england distilled water isnt that easy to get hold of cant just nip the shop and its expensive iv got some dionised water not sure if thats substitute for distilled but i decided milk soap sounded better. still yet to sort the beer out ready for a batch.

10 pets and kids to go with it sounds like absolute chaos could errupt at any moment lol my cats are beyond intense when they want cuddles i dont get much choice in the matter wouldnt change them for anything though they are adorable as im sure your furry and human babies are im so glad i can give my niece back although i have been told i connect with her on the same level and it can get a bit loud when she wants to play which is most the time

 

[penelopejane]

I was going to suggest small batches of cold process until you perfected a recipe but I see you don’t want to try it.

 

[TeresaGG]

i tried swirls on my second ever batch and it actually went pretty well too iv attached a photo of it. the main reason i decided to try milk soap is because in england distilled water isnt that easy to get hold of cant just nip the shop and its expensive iv got some dionised water not sure if thats substitute for distilled but i decided milk soap sounded better. still yet to sort the beer out ready for a batch.

10 pets and kids to go with it sounds like absolute chaos could errupt at any moment lol my cats are beyond intense when they want cuddles i dont get much choice in the matter wouldnt change them for anything though they are adorable as im sure your furry and human babies are im so glad i can give my niece back although i have been told i connect with her on the same level and it can get a bit loud when she wants to play which is most the time

If you have a dehumidifier machine you can use the water that is produced in the collection bucket instead of distilled. You do have to be careful to keep the collector claim and disinfected.
Edit. This does not work with the chemical dehumidifiers.

 

[Dawni]

I was going to suggest small batches of cold process until you perfected a recipe but I see you don’t want to try it.

I have actually.. My brine soap was just 500 grams mold capacity
I didn't realize I could mix in a small pot and dump it in the huge slow cooker after haha so my next HP batches will also be small