MrJuggles
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- Dec 5, 2010
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I've made several batches of simple soaps over the years, so much so I'm quite comfortable with the process. I really don't try anything fancy and just melt a few fats/butters, add the essential oil, lye, mix and pour into molds. It's served me well as I'm really not trying anything too technical.
However, now I would like to try something a little different and I was hoping for some guidance and/or tips.
I have a couple of silicone molds that are shaped like the Star Wars Death Star, supposedly for ice cubes, but I've never used them for that. A few years ago I made some really runny and was able to pour it in the hole at the top and the soap came out fine. But that was a few years ago. I was hoping to make a few more now with some exfoliant in and activated charcol (so it goes black) as well an essential oil to give it a nice smell.
My questions are this, how would I make it a little runnier? Would it be a case of mixing the lye at a higher temperature and leaving it longer to set?
When I use the Lye calculator, how do I work out the right amount of exfoliant grain and activated charol to use, so not only is it gritty enough, but also very black. I will be using 1lb of Olive oil and 1lb of avocado butter, this is more or less what I've used for my other soaps and it's always been fine. However, now I'm worried of how the consistency will differ with the extra ingredients.
Finally, if it's just a bar of soap, are fragrance oils bad? Or should I just stick with essential oils?
I've included a few pictures for reference, they are 1) The Death Star Soap I made a few years ago that was fine 2) My current round of soap that's just curing and I'm happy with 3) The molds for the Death Star Shapes I want to pour the mixture into.
Thank you in advance for any ideas you may have, and if I've missed anything important off my synopsis then please ask me and I'll reply.
However, now I would like to try something a little different and I was hoping for some guidance and/or tips.
I have a couple of silicone molds that are shaped like the Star Wars Death Star, supposedly for ice cubes, but I've never used them for that. A few years ago I made some really runny and was able to pour it in the hole at the top and the soap came out fine. But that was a few years ago. I was hoping to make a few more now with some exfoliant in and activated charcol (so it goes black) as well an essential oil to give it a nice smell.
My questions are this, how would I make it a little runnier? Would it be a case of mixing the lye at a higher temperature and leaving it longer to set?
When I use the Lye calculator, how do I work out the right amount of exfoliant grain and activated charol to use, so not only is it gritty enough, but also very black. I will be using 1lb of Olive oil and 1lb of avocado butter, this is more or less what I've used for my other soaps and it's always been fine. However, now I'm worried of how the consistency will differ with the extra ingredients.
Finally, if it's just a bar of soap, are fragrance oils bad? Or should I just stick with essential oils?
I've included a few pictures for reference, they are 1) The Death Star Soap I made a few years ago that was fine 2) My current round of soap that's just curing and I'm happy with 3) The molds for the Death Star Shapes I want to pour the mixture into.
Thank you in advance for any ideas you may have, and if I've missed anything important off my synopsis then please ask me and I'll reply.