Antler Anxiety

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I got myself all excited to make a soap with an antler design in it -- attached to a caribou even. Okay, Jeneelk got me all excited to make it. Anyway, I drafted a design, figured out the stages, and set about to make it happen. Not long into it I figured out it was not going to work -- it was just too intricate. So I quickly thought of Plan B, which was just to make something pretty with the colors I had.

Apparently my sights were set too high, as I didn't even get soap in the end. At this point, I have two molds with a very soft substance in them. I am so bummed because I was trying out new micas and I probably just wasted them. I haven't thrown anything out but I am just sick about muddling it all together into a crock pot to see if I can salvage it. I envision a brown mess, exactly what I don't want!

I always use soap calc and I was really careful about weighing and back/re-weighing for accuracy. My oils combo was nothing special, nothing I'd expect trouble from. But a few things were different. I don't have much experience with micas and had never used either of the two I used here. But they both had good CP reviews. They were Hot Pink and Electric Blue from the Conservatorie, at about 3/4 tsp per 500 g of oils. There is also some orange (or yellow) in one of the batches from beta carotene capsules. (And before you say it, yes, this was going to be a very colorful caribou). The fragrance was overall 6%, with about 60% of that coming from lavender EO and the other 40% from an FO I've never used -- Truly Patchouli from Soapalooza.

Another difference was that I tried to force ful gell in a way that I have never tried before. I pre-heated the oven to 170, turned it off, then about 10 minutes later put the soap in. About a half hour later (before going to bed), I put the oven light on for good measure. When I got up this morning and cracked the oven door, I was pleasantly surprised that the oven was warm. I took that as a sign that the soap was 'doing it's thing' and just left it alone for several more hours.

When I checked on it again (17 hrs total) I noticed it was still warm, and it dawned on me that it was probably the light doing that. I didn't realize the light would have such a great influence on temperature. Anyway, both batches were both dry to the touch but unnaturally soft and squishy underneath! Horrified, I closed the oven door, turned off the light, and left them there like monsters lurking in the closet.

Eek! What happened to my soap?? What happened to my micas?? As if it wasn't enough that I couldn't personify my alter ego into a bar of soap, I apparently can't even make soap!

They are still in the dark oven. Tomorrow after work I'll have to do something. But what? HP, really?? Fingers are crossed that pink + blue + orange = something very pretty. That's all I'm asking for. Oh, and of course, SOAP.
 
I am certainly still too new at soaping to be much help but I would just leave them alone for a few days myself. Not in an oven, just somewhere safe and dry. Wait and see if they firm up enough to unmold. Maybe everything is fine!
 
Eek! What happened to my soap?? What happened to my micas?? As if it wasn't enough that I couldn't personify my alter ego into a bar of soap, I apparently can't even make soap!

OMG, I should start by apologizing for laughing - but in the most positive way, as this sentence reminds me of so many times that my soap was used as weed killer when I threw a gloppy batch outside in a fit. (Swearing all the while that I would never make soap again.)

Since you were trying CPOP for the first time, did you use a wood or silicone mold? After several attempts using a silicone loaf mold for OP, I realized it didn't turn out as well (though not horrible) as a wood loaf mold. It tended to be soft and sticky, but did firm up later.

I'm not clear as to how long you left the oven on. I leave it on for about an hour, then turn it off and leave the loaf overnight. I then let the loaf sit out for a day or two before unmolding. It seems if I shorten the time on an OP soap, it comes out sticky.

I can't help you at all with the antlers. :roll:
 
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maybe take the soap out of the oven and leave it for a day or two? I tried CPOP once, and hated it. the whole thing over heated and I had a separated mess that got thrown into the rebatch pot right away. maybe yours is just waiting to cool down to harden? I hope that's the case. I had to rebatch a hidden feather swirl b/c of lye pockets (first time lye pockets) - that one hurt me the most b/c it was SOOO pretty! then.....I grated it. so sad.....

I hope yours hardens as it cools. keep us updated!
 
We make plans, but soap always has a mind of it's own! Grrrrrrrr.......doesn't it make you mad when you plan so precisely and then it all goes......poof? I'd only be guessing, but maybe it's possible that the oven light kept the oven warm enough so that instead of gelling your soap, you cooked it? Could it be HP? (Not familiar with it, since I've never tried it myself) Maybe once it all cools down, you'll at least have useable soap. Fingers crossed.

For me, what works is......preheat the oven at lowest setting, with the molds inside while I soap. Pour the soap immediately into the warmed molds, put them back in the oven, turn it off, and leave it overnight. There are always so many variables.......recipe.....the fact that I soap at room temp, so my oils are pretty cool......and my particular old oven. I've given this a lot of thought lately after reading posts about soapers who have so many problems with CPOP. There are many variable involved.......does the recipe have any sugar or honey in it, what is the actual temp of the prewamed oven, how warm are your oils when you soap, how long have you prewarmed the oven.......just dozens of differences that can affect the outcome. I do it the same way all the time, and have success, but maybe if I changed any of the things I do, it wouldn't work for me either, who knows?

Hopefully yours is salvageable. Kudos to you for attempting something so involved, and better luck next time!!!
 
Okay, now I don't know whether to be more embarrassed by the thought I couldn't make soap or that I didn't recognize that it wasn't done saponifying! Just joking of course, I'm always learning. But you guys were right, it just needed more time. The two loaves were both solid when I got home tonight, 40 hours after pour. Well, almost solid anyway. The hot pink mica in the main loaf is weeping, especially where it meets the cocoa powder pencil line. But they are crocodile tears: not zappy, and taste mostly like regular oil with slight lavender flavor. Also, the pink soap is very soft, kind of mushy in fact.

I didn't even try cutting the smaller overflow loaf -- I'm calling its bluff and will give it a chance to be all it can be now that it knows that I know the situation isn't as dire as once thought. How's that for soap psychology?? I also only cut about half of the main loaf, which is the minimum that has to be cut on my Bud-like cutter since a couple strings broke. I knew I didn't replace those strings for a reason -- and now I know what that reason is! It seems to me like soap will more effectively self mend while it's in one big piece than if it's been sliced into bars. I don't know if that's true or not, but now I can test it.

And just to clarify, I pre-heated the oven about 10 minutes, turned it off, and then put the soap in the oven about 10 minutes later. I turned the light on 1/2 to 1 hour later. In my previous attempts with CPOP, I left the oven on for about an hour after putting in the soap. I really thought I'd have a better chance of success if I didn't keep up the sustained heat, but it was still a close call in my book! Towel insulation usually works well for me but this time I got more aggressive because I was worried that my batter was cool to start with with since I had to change gears midstream with the failed antlers.

For your further entertainment, here are the crocodile tears. Don't feel sorry for the crying bar, it gave me quite an unnecessary scare! It should not be rewarded in any way lest it start a new trend.

Thanks for your help, everyone!

P1020437.JPG
 
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