Comprehensive guide of techniques?

[tersh79]

Hi everyone! Aspiring soap maker here. Still in the "read EVERYTHING" phase, although I'm assembling all my tools and ingredients... I think this weekend might be the weekend I try my first simple batch!

But I'm already dreaming big. After seeing tiger swirls and column pours and peacock swirls, I'm dazzled by all the pretty soap!

I'm wondering if there's any sort of "comprehensive guide" to all these different techniques? A sort of dictionary? Maybe even a wiki page? Something with pictures of their techniques and the end result? I've seen some soap and gone "wow! I wonder how they did that!" but I don't know what the technique is called so I don't know how to look it up - hoping to find something similar visually to learn all the terms first, instead of the other way around.

So far I've been finding loads of stuff just on Youtube, when I know what to search for, but there are things I don't even know what they are called let alone what to Google. I'd like to do some "window shopping" and see what different results can happen by doing things slightly differently.

Any suggestions to websites, blogs, resources, etc. to see techniques in action? Thanks everyone!

 

[kazmi]

Tersh, the best thing I can suggest is make a few small plain batches first. You need to learn the basics before you can even know how a batter will react adding a colorant or FO. or what a light, medium, or heavy trace is, and what oils will slow trace, etc. You can read and ask questions here. Everyone here is VERY helpful. If you are a visual person like me you can watch some soaping101 videos on youtube. She has many that will show you techniques but just remember she makes everything look easy but not all are the first time or second or even third time! Like adding honey and maple syrup to layer a soap can overheat which she doesn't warn you about. Ask me how I know :-( If you see a soap pictured here don't hesitate to ask the poster what technique was used. Everyone will be glad to answer. Good luck on your first batch this weekend!! and we'll want to see pictures!

 

[roseb]

Ditto what Kazmi said. I'm on my fourth batch and am still just working on my basic recipe. Too much to learn just making basic soap. I haven't even started to think about different techniques. Make a few small batches to see if you even like the recipe you are using. It might not be what your body needs. Sorry to be a wet blanket, but this is an art form....with a big learning curve. So much fun though...welcome to the madness!

 

[lsg]

The Soap Queen videos are good also.

 

[nebetmiw]

Besides this forum which has all the information you need. try Soap teach website and the Miller soap site. It will be a few months just working on a recipe that you like. Take your time there is no rush lots to learn and play with.

 

[tersh79]

Thanks Kazmi. I'm the kind of person who's always planning things 100 steps ahead of myself - like the mantra swirl soap for a friend's wedding in September. It helps me pick a goal so I have a priority of things to learn to get there. Baby steps, I guess I will post pics when I can!

 

[tersh79]

Thanks Roseb. Good point about not liking the basic recipe I end up using. I'm planning on making a basic coconut oil and olive oil bar first thing. We'll see how it goes!

 

[dagmar88]

Thanks Kazmi. I'm the kind of person who's always planning things 100 steps ahead of myself - like the mantra swirl soap for a friend's wedding in September. It helps me pick a goal so I have a priority of things to learn to get there. Baby steps, I guess I will post pics when I can!

I hate to sound discouraging; but soap needs to be cured and you need to have a decent tried and true recipe.
I would not feel comfortable handing out soap when I'm not sure how it's going to behave over time.

 

[Sihir]

I'm wondering if there's any sort of "comprehensive guide" to all these different techniques? A sort of dictionary? Maybe even a wiki page? Something with pictures of their techniques and the end result? I've seen some soap and gone "wow! I wonder how they did that!" but I don't know what the technique is called so I don't know how to look it up - hoping to find something similar visually to learn all the terms first, instead of the other way around.

I saw that there was a pre-order for a book from Brambleberry about 31 unique cold-process soaps. I'm debating ordering it since I'm still enjoying making basic, unscented castile soap and don't feel ready for colors, clays, swirls, and making different batches all at once yet, but it will probably be a good tool to have eventually! Plus there are some fun extras that come with the pre-order and the end of August isn't that far away!

 

[judymoody]

Thanks Roseb. Good point about not liking the basic recipe I end up using. I'm planning on making a basic coconut oil and olive oil bar first thing. We'll see how it goes!

That's a good idea - try 30% coconut to 70% olive oil with 8% superfat and see how you like it.

Another good well-balanced basic recipe is 25% CO, 25% PO, 45% OO, and 5% castor.

A good batch size for beginners is 1.5-2 lbs which should give you 6-8 bars of soap (it will fit nicely in the 8 inch silicone loaf molds which are so popular). It is big enough to cushion against small measurement errors but not so big that you risk wasting a lot of materials if things go wrong.

I also highly recommend a good scale that measures in both grams and ounces. And goggles and gloves.

Enjoy!

 

[100%Natural]

One of the best sources for techniques is the Soaping101 channel on YouTube. Take her actual recipes with a grain of salt, but the techniques you can learn from her are well worth sitting down with a coffee and spending some time watching.

When you formulate a higher OO recipe be sure to realize that you will need a longer cure time in order for the bars to harden up. The higher the OO, the longer the cure time.

 

[tersh79]

That's a good idea - try 30% coconut to 70% olive oil with 8% superfat and see how you like it.
Another good well-balanced basic recipe is 25% CO, 25% PO, 45% OO, and 5% castor.

A good batch size for beginners is 1.5-2 lbs which should give you 6-8 bars of soap (it will fit nicely in the 8 inch silicone loaf molds which are so popular). It is big enough to cushion against small measurement errors but not so big that you risk wasting a lot of materials if things go wrong.

I also highly recommend a good scale that measures in both grams and ounces. And goggles and gloves.

Enjoy!

Thanks! I will try the first one for sure.
I have hesitations about Palm Oil because of the environmental issues. I'd rather try recipes that avoid it first and see.
I do have a good kitchen scale - bought it a few years ago and love it. So much better pie crusts measuring out by weight than volume
Thanks for your reply! I appreciate it

 

[tersh79]

I saw that there was a pre-order for a book from Brambleberry about 31 unique cold-process soaps. I'm debating ordering it since I'm still enjoying making basic, unscented castile soap and don't feel ready for colors, clays, swirls, and making different batches all at once yet, but it will probably be a good tool to have eventually! Plus there are some fun extras that come with the pre-order and the end of August isn't that far away!

Looks awesome!! I might not pre-order but I'll be keeping an eye out for it in the future. Looks like exactly what I was looking for.

 

[Relle]

Thanks Kazmi. I'm the kind of person who's always planning things 100 steps ahead of myself - like the mantra swirl soap for a friend's wedding in September. It helps me pick a goal so I have a priority of things to learn to get there. Baby steps, I guess :smile: I will post pics when I can!

I hate to sound discouraging; but soap needs to be cured and you need to have a decent tried and true recipe.
I would not feel comfortable handing out soap when I'm not sure how it's going to behave over time.

I agree with Dagmar, I wouldn't be making soap for a friends wedding and handing them out. When you get more experience maybe, you haven't even made your first batch.

 

[tersh79]

So I made the 30/70 coconut and olive oil soap! Take a look: http://imgur.com/a/Ipdm6#0

I think it came out pretty good! Next I'm going to try a coconut, olive, castor, and sunflower oil batch. Thank you for the suggestion!

Sent from my Xoom using Soap Making mobile app

 

[danahuff]

The best compendium I've seen are YouTube videos. Aside from Soap Queen, try Celine (Soaperstar on YouTube) and Holly (Missouri River Soap Co.). There are a lot of great soapers who made videos demonstrating their techniques. For that matter, I make them, too, but I'm not in the same league as Celine or Holly.