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MsHarryWinston

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Yesterday I made my second batch of soap. This time it was with a loaf mold. I made a peppermint pumice foot scrub soap. Here are some things I learned. Adding peppermint to goats milk soap makes your soap smell like mint chocolate chip icecream. Which actually makes sense since I heat the milk with lye then put it in the freezer to avoid gel.

Embedding pink Himalayan salt along the top is completely impractical for exfoliation. There just isn't enough hold to use it as a scrub surface, but it's pretty. Unfortunately you also run the risk of dragging it through your soap when you slice it. Maybe I should cut the loaf upside down to avoid that next time?

I managed to avoid partial gel! Wooohoooo! That's really my only soap making fear, especially since I jumped in with goats milk from the start. I know I'll have to keep my eye out for ash and DOS but right now partial gel is my big fear.

Swirls and layers aren't impossible and to not sell myself short. I look at some of the amazing art you guys produce and think, "my god I don't think I could ever do that". But my in the pot swirl worked, and it's nice and understated like I wanted and I even have a thin dark green layer on top that I embedded my pink salt in.

It's not the prettiest soap ever. But it's all mine and I'm super proud of myself. Hopefully my formula doesn't suck! Guess I'll find out in 6 weeks.

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You should be proud - that is lovely soap. I've only been soaping for about a year, and still have plenty of flops, but when you cut into a loaf and find something wonderful (planned or unexpected), that feeling never gets old.

ETA: I also meant to mention that turning the loaf on it's side while cutting helps to avoid dragging bits and scratching your soap. One of the reasons I don't put 'stuff' on the top of my soap.
 
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Congratulations! Isn`t it fun?
I like the grean color, looks delicate and clean:)
 
Thank you very much.

Btw this is foot scrub soap, not body scrub. It's rather pumice heavy as well. It's meant to be a work bar not a gentle buffer.

Yeah, the salts are actually for my bath salt mixtures not my soap but this was a good way to learn things like: how hard would it be to create a thick scrubby layer on the top? Would a thick scrubby layer even practical? Would I be able to slice through a salt layer or would it mangle the soap? It's what I had on hand so I used it. And I learned that it's totally not practical. I don't like the look enough to buy fine ground pink salt for these soaps and slicing through it is a pain in the butt, lol.

Sprinkly bits on top of soap look pretty but always seem so impractical to me. Yes lavender buds on top look lovely but all I can think of is "wow that's going to make a mess". But you know what they say, don't knock it until you try it. But after trying it myself now I still think pretty but impractical. I doubt I'll be using it like this again.

I like the idea of having crisp clean soaps with delicate swirls in muted colors. So I think that next time I will simply swirl the entire bar and then maybe have a very lightly textured top.
 
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Aw - the salt does look pretty too - I wish we could find rounded large grained salt.

Congratulations on a lovely soap!! It looks wonderful. Be nice for mechanics greasy hands too I'd imagine.
 
Thank you! And I actually do have a mechanic/gardener soap planned. It's got pumice, activated charcoal and a few scent killing essential oils that will hopefully smell delicious.
 
"It's not the prettiest soap ever. But it's all mine and I'm super proud of myself. Hopefully my formula doesn't suck! Guess I'll find out in 6 weeks."

I'm celebrating with you!! Congratulations - great feeling isn't it?

Now make more!!!
 
Aw - the salt does look pretty too - I wish we could find rounded large grained salt.

Congratulations on a lovely soap!! It looks wonderful. Be nice for mechanics greasy hands too I'd imagine.
San Francisco Salt Company used to carry a fantastic pearl salt that I loved to use, it was just like smooth pearls, came in extra fine to large grain. It was a naturally tumbled salt. Apparently when they sold it out I purchased the last 50 lbs because a few minutes later I went to buy more, after thinking about it, it was out of stock never to be seen again, I almost cried when they discontinued it. this salt comes from Lake Assal in Africa
 

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