Introducing ME!

[Noreen Moore]

Hello everyone! I'm Noreen! I just started soap making! I am 53 I work as an RN and have been in dire need of a hobby so I took a community ed class and made hot process soap. Then for months I watched BB videos and other youtube videos and slowly collected items like lye, immersion blender, then bought a different immersion blender... Finally a scale... But much to my chagrin not a good scale. No decimals. So... I guess 2 immersion blenders, 2 scales? Oh well... But I finally made 2 batches of cp recipes "I created" by just using soapcalc and oils and butters I had at the house. I sent the old boy to go to the laxative section of Wal-Mart to get me some castor oil! I am at a little over hour 50 on my 2 recipes of cp soap. I can tell the 2nd recipe with the castor oil is going to be superior to the first. I sliced my soap tonight. 1st soap felt greasy and had some gelling. 2nd felt quite firm and no gelling! Now the cure! Patience! It really is a virtue. Wow! A lot to learn. I was surprised at how quick from trace to oops... this sure got thick! The batter went. Wondered if it was a beginners thing or due to acceleration from the essential oil. Probably beginners thing as I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. Sigh... Oops... I did it again... And I am no Brittany Spears!
Other hobbies are taking Bob Ross style oil painting classes. I have taken 2 and I really enjoy wet on wet oil painting. Then I bought acrylic paints. Whole new learning curve with that medium. And watching more youtube videos on painting with acrylic. I really want to make oil painting a hobby... But wow! The cost of just start up! YIKES! I now understand the meaning of "starving artists" to a T!!!
Oh and another thing about myself. Bull in china shop. Not very graceful. At all. Yes I did view LOTS of lye safety videos. My teacher for hp stressed it too! I was oh so careful! Uh huh... Well somehow I managed to find a rogue piece of lye long after I was done and cleaned up and stuck that sucker to my lip. Got it in my mouth. If anyone actually reads this. I hope you didn't pee on yourself while laughing.
Here is my 2nd recipe I like so far and it has yet to cure.
Cheapest generic shortening (tallows and palm) 175 gm
Olive oil 150gm
Coconut oil (72 degree) 75gm
Castor oil 75gm
Shea Butter 25gm
Distilled H20 185gm
NaOH 68gm
Lavender EO 28gm

What a great web site! Nice to be here!

 

[IrishLass]

Welcome, Noreen!


IrishLass

 

[TheGecko]

I was surprised at how quick from trace to oops... this sure got thick! The batter went. Wondered if it was a beginners thing or due to acceleration from the essential oil. Probably beginners thing as I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. Sigh... Oops... I did it again...

I made a lot of ‘pudding’ in the beginning too until I figured out that many of the folks on YouTube are MUCH making larger batches of soap than I was and so it took longer to mix everything up.

And the temperature you are soaping at can also cause acceleration. As an example, I made a 2 lb batch of Black Raspberry Goat Milk Soap today. My lye solution was at 72F and my oils/butters were at 84F and I easily stick blended for a few minutes before I got to a medium trace. I then made a regular 2lb batch that I split to make Princess Soap and Lil Boy Blue. I initially blended to emulsion and then split the batch; added some mica, whisked it, added a little more, then added a dash of TD, couple of quick pulse with the stick blender and yes...that’s the color. Had to sort through my bottles to find the right scent...added a dash, stirred, then a dash more and poured at a light trace. These are small bars meant for children, so I go light on the scent. Now it’s time for the second part and it was much like the first except I went with a light blue shade. And since it had been sitting waiting it’s turn, it had thickened up a bit and got a little thicker after a few pulses...not quite ‘pudding’, but it was was close.

 

[Noreen Moore]

I kept my oils and lye water within 4 degrees of each other. I have read numerous times the lower the temp the better. I can tell this hobby will be a test of patience. I just couldn't wait to mix the two and have the magic begin! I will definitely wait until my temp is much cooler than the 135 I started at.
When one watches youtube videos you note people have their preferred temp. I will wait until we get down to 110 or so next batch.
Good advice!!! Keep the advice coming! I am really, really enjoying this craft AND this forum!!!

 

[shunt2011]

Hello and welcome!

 

[lsg]

Welcome to the forum. Hope you enjoy your new hobby.

 

[Relle]

I kept my oils and lye water within 4 degrees of each other. I have read numerous times the lower the temp the better. I can tell this hobby will be a test of patience. I just couldn't wait to mix the two and have the magic begin! I will definitely wait until my temp is much cooler than the 135 I started at.
When one watches youtube videos you note people have their preferred temp. I will wait until we get down to 110 or so next batch.
Good advice!!! Keep the advice coming! I am really, really enjoying this craft AND this forum!!!

You actually don't have to worry about temperature between your lye and oils, one less thing to have to do.

 

[TheGecko]

I kept my oils and lye water within 4 degrees of each other. I have read numerous times the lower the temp the better. I can tell this hobby will be a test of patience. I just couldn't wait to mix the two and have the magic begin! I will definitely wait until my temp is much cooler than the 135 I started at. When one watches youtube videos you note people have their preferred temp. I will wait until we get down to 110 or so next batch.

It's a fallacy that your lye solution and oils/butters have to be within xx number of degrees or have to be a certain temperature. I took a soaping class quite a few years ago and we were told that our lye solution and oils/butters HAD to be at 110F or within 5 degrees of that temp, but no more than 10 degree different max. Talk about stressful...watching that thermometer.

I've done the 'hot process' method where you pour freshly made lye (220F) onto hard oils/butters to melt them, then add your soft oils. I've added 80F lye solution (made and left to 'cool' in the garage overnight or I just use frozen distilled water) to 140F oils/butters. And I've made soap with 60F lye solution with 75F oils/butters.

Most temperature preference is about the soap one is making. I AWAYS soap cold for goat milk soap. For my regular soap...it's depends on what I am going to do with my soap batter; if it's a natural soap or uncolored/scented or single color/scented when I just mix and dump in a mold...heat transfer is perfect. If I'm using cavity molds or using two colors, I go lower. If I am doing multiple layers or more than two colors, I go lower still.