First soaps (4 days later)

[Shalisk]

I wont say they are perfect. But figured I would share my first attempt with you all. (Pictures coming at some point)

It was a basic soap, olive oil, castor, coconut, 37.5 37.5 and the rest the other, I wanna say it was mostly castor and olive (Yes yes, I know, I didnt write it down )

They came out of the molds pretty well after 24 hours, and today I checked them and they seem to be drying oddly (Outside is a bit more white but goes back to a creamy yellowish twords the middle) and they are soaplike on the top and sides but bottom is still a bit soft (not too soft)

I am wondering if this is because I let them dry on paper towels

one cracked, one is going to , and the third non test bar looks just fine

Thoughts on what caused the cracking or odd drying?

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

What do you mean by "soaplike"? I have always heard that castor is best at no more then 10% of your total oils or it gets sticky if I remember right.
My soaps do seem to turn a brownish or yellowish on the outside as they age, but not after a few days. I think it's due to the temp changes of being stored in an unheated garage. Not sure why yours would do that after only a few days. Where have you had it setting since unmolding it?
You will want to write down your recipes. Once you find one you like you will want to be able to make it again or if you don't like it you will want to know what recipe it was. Can you post pictures?

 

[Shalisk]

Soaplike. You know. Like soap o.o;

I am still working on creative descriptors.

Soaplike; Hard, dry-ish-not-wet-looking, feels like any bar of soap would feel?

I had them stored in the extra room, on paper towels, that rooms temp ranges from if I had to guess 67-72 (We did hve a snow storm so it may have dropped a little more)

And once I take new pic of how they are now ill upload them (If i figure out how )

And well, I worked with what I had for oils, and I am still in the learning phase of various oils and combonations;and given that there are all sorts of sites with all sorts of suggestions, including how much oils to use, there you go.

The pictures :

First : What they looked like 18-24 hours after pour (Fresh out of mold)
Second: Top of them after 3-4 days (Maybe 5)
Third: The bottom.

Sorry for quality and lack of note taking...lets just say I had a very pestering room mate who likes to be involved in EVERYTHING so note taking and such was...simply near impossable.

 

[haksaktiawan]

is that overheated and partial gel ?

I have a coconut milk soap that has different color in the middle but it fade away after 48 hrs

 

[Shalisk]

It may be worth noting, that I used a M+P's mold so there was no way for me to wrap it to help trap heat to be fair, so it may not have finished proper. :/ Like I said room mate tends to make my life hard sometimes

 

[houseofwool]

It looks like you have partial gel. That is a cosmetic issue only.

 

[shunt2011]

Looks like partial gel to me as well.

 

[Shalisk]

So this problem would have been avoided had I been able to wrap and insulate it properly correct?

Its also cosmetic only and thus will be good for personal use in 2-4 weeks?

 

[Tmgm1215]

I have some of those molds also next time after you pour in the batter, wrap top with Saran Wrap then a towel.. I lie the towel down then put the molds in the center then wrap. Just don't move them for 24 hours so you don't end up with a big mess.

 

[haksaktiawan]

partial gel is just an aesthetic issue, your soap still safe to use, there's no problem if that aesthetic issue doesn't bother you :smile: but, I saw one of your soap was cracked, is it crumbly?

 

[Shalisk]

partial gel is just an aesthetic issue, your soap still safe to use, there's no problem if that aesthetic issue doesn't bother you :smile: but, I saw one of your soap was cracked, is it crumbly?

Sorta, its cracked from when I moved it, I am going to handle them a bit more in a day or two,

I am trying to find somthing to put my ED silly-cone ( ) molds in so I can cover and insulate them properly when I make my next batch

They cracked when I took them from the mold (too soon i think)

My test bar I cut and set on a angle, and it crumbled a bit, so yeah :/ its usable but meh, I didnt expect much from a first batch Especially one so tiny