First HP Soap Under My Belt

[DaleF]

Well, my first batch of soap ever, HP, is now sitting in the mold chilling and relaxing until I cut it tomorrow.

First thing I know I have to do is get me a stick blender. This batch was done completely by hand and let me just tell you, that is NOT fun.

My original plan was to make a 1lb batch of soap and see how it went. I had a hard time finding a mold to use and the one I finally ended up using was 3"x4"x12"...much bigger than I wanted and upon calculating how much it would take to fill it, my first batch ended up at a whopping 2.6lbs. Here is the recipe I used. I'm calling it my Sandalwood & Honey Soap. Real catchy huh?

EVOO 28.0 oz
Coconut Oil (76) 12.5 oz
Caster Oil 1 oz
Lye 6.15 oz
Water 13 oz

I used SoapCalc with water as weight % at 38 and a Superfat discount of 1%

Fragrance oil 1.5 oz
5% superfat consisted of the following:
1 oz Shea Butter
.7 oz Honey
.3 oz Vitamin E oil

After taking forever to actually come to trace, I was excited when the HP started to work as I have read. It meant I had done something right. Eventually after about 50 minutes, i had a crock put full of gelatinous mess that sort of looked like applesauce.

I added the fragrance oil and the additional additives and stirred it all up really well. I was really not liking the color and I think this is when I made my mistake.

I took out about a cup of soap and stirred in about a teaspoon of olive oil with a small amount of cocoa powder. I wanted to darken up this bit of soap and stir it into the rest in the crockpot. I was surprised how quickly this cooled and at this point i noticed that all of the soap was cooling really quickly.

I spooned out the soap into the mold and packed it in the best I could.

If nothing else, I was really excited when I was cleaning up and it was actually lathering really nice and I had some bubbles.

WOOHOO!! Even if this batch doesn't turn out pretty, it sure has me excited.

I'll share how it looks tomorrow after I cut it.

ps: This is really addictive.

 

[jcatblum]

HP is my new love! I hope you make many more batches! It is awesome to try new techniques. So glad your batch went well. I think all that hard work earned you a stick blender! I average 5 minutes with my stick blender bringing the batch to trace. I can't imagine doing it by hand!!!!

 

[seven]

Congrats on your 1st hp... And many more to come..

Just a quick tip for next time, use more water (like 3:1 water:lye) In hp, a lot of water evaporated during the cooking process, so you dont wanna discount your water at all. It will prevent soap quickly drying out like you mentioned.

Should've told you this in your other thread, i really forgot, sorry.

 

[lsg]

Congratulations on your first HP. Soapmaking is a lot easier and faster with a stick blender.:grin:

 

[DaleF]

Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement and thanks Seven for that tip. I'm hoping to try batch number two tomorrow so we will see how this one goes.

I was able to cut the first attempt. Still pretty soft, but I really like the lather. I think the sent could be a bit stronger, but I'm having a hard time deciding if I'm smelling the oil mixture or the Sandalwood Fragrance Oil. both are pretty earthy. My nephew likes it.

 

[Obsidian]

They looks really good, the coco colored bits are a nice touch. Welcome to the addiction

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

When did you add the scent in?

 

[seven]

Luv the coco bits, they give a nice marbling effect...

 

[DaleF]

Thanks Seven. I was really worried about the color. It really changed a lot while it cooled and hardened. That is obviously something I'm going to have to get used to.

I added the scent in after the cooking was done and it had started cooling. The temp was about 140 degrees. I thought that would be cool enough, but perhaps it was too warm? I couldn't find anything about a flashpoint on the Sandalwood FO. I actually added more than they recommend. I think maybe I'm just not sure what Sandalwood is supposed to smell like. To me the soap still has a very strong odor of Olive Oil. I like it however. It is very green and earthy scent which is what I was wanting.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I find that Sandalwood can be very mild when used properly. I have a sandalwood shaving soap from Taylors which reeks of the stuff, so Lord only knows what they put in there.