armadalesoap
Active Member
I really hoped this would have looked better. I need your thoughts on how to become a better soap maker.
It's not terrible but...
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I'm at work and I watched without sound so forgive me if any of this is mentioned
The white looks like glycerin rivers, you must have gelled the soap. As far as the colors not turning out how you'd like...it seems like you have the right idea about adding more, but they look good to me.
As Marsi says, we don't really know what you're going for.
It seems to me like you may have swirled much more than you intended. Pouring from the pot into the mold is usually sufficient for me to get a good swirl (unless the soap is SUPER thick...like almost set up thick....then I might swirl in the mold).
The white looks like glycerin rivers, you must have gelled the soap. As far as the colors not turning out how you'd like...it seems like you have the right idea about adding more, but they look good to me.
As Marsi says, we don't really know what you're going for.
It seems to me like you may have swirled much more than you intended. Pouring from the pot into the mold is usually sufficient for me to get a good swirl (unless the soap is SUPER thick...like almost set up thick....then I might swirl in the mold).
Lovely result. Self-deprecation may be normal, but I suggest you stop it in your videos. It is not necessarily a helpful self-talk, either. Be kind to yourself. And very well done video, BTW. It's fun, right?
I really like you it turned out. More AC may darken the soap, but will also lead to greyer lather as you use the soap, so decide which you really want. Black mica &/or a discoloring Fragrance (with vanillin) may be a good choice if you want a darker color.
What was wrong with your Stick Blender; I notice you mention it wasn't working correctly.
Suggestions regarding mixing mica & other powdery additives: Use a face mask/respirator to protect your lungs, particularly when handling the powder, particularly if it's going to disperse into the air like the pink did when you started stick blending. Pre-dispersing your powdery substances (micas, etc.) in oil or water (depending on what is recommended by the vendor/manufacturer) will help prevent a cloud of nano particles dispersing in the air you breath.
You may have over-blended the pink portion of the soap, although I only watched the video once, so I may have misread what I was seeing. It looked a little gloppy while you were pouring, so I thought it might be from that, but again, I didn't peer closely at the screen, so I may have misread what I was seeing.
Not knowing your goal, I am not sure why you were disappointed, though. I think the soap looks quite lovely.
I really like you it turned out. More AC may darken the soap, but will also lead to greyer lather as you use the soap, so decide which you really want. Black mica &/or a discoloring Fragrance (with vanillin) may be a good choice if you want a darker color.
What was wrong with your Stick Blender; I notice you mention it wasn't working correctly.
Suggestions regarding mixing mica & other powdery additives: Use a face mask/respirator to protect your lungs, particularly when handling the powder, particularly if it's going to disperse into the air like the pink did when you started stick blending. Pre-dispersing your powdery substances (micas, etc.) in oil or water (depending on what is recommended by the vendor/manufacturer) will help prevent a cloud of nano particles dispersing in the air you breath.
You may have over-blended the pink portion of the soap, although I only watched the video once, so I may have misread what I was seeing. It looked a little gloppy while you were pouring, so I thought it might be from that, but again, I didn't peer closely at the screen, so I may have misread what I was seeing.
Not knowing your goal, I am not sure why you were disappointed, though. I think the soap looks quite lovely.
I really think the colors are quite pretty. when using AC for black it takes a Lot of AC and your batter will need to start out as a really shiny black. If you add in some black mica to the AC it will be easier to accomplish a true black, but you can get it with AC. I always used AC for black swirls but never had true black with my charcoal bars, it would have required too much AC so I settled for dark charcoal color with my charcoal facial bars. Too much charcoal can lead to slightly scratchy bars.
Your soap lather will always be colored when you use the bars but it does not stain although I never recommend laying colored lye soap bars on porcelain sink counters. My soaps were labeled with a warning indicating such.
Your soap lather will always be colored when you use the bars but it does not stain although I never recommend laying colored lye soap bars on porcelain sink counters. My soaps were labeled with a warning indicating such.
There's nothing wrong with them - they look great!
Do you have to use the lye-in-oils method? Why not melt the butters before adding the lye water - way quicker and you won't be prone to having the batter half set up on you when pouring ( I can see the clumps going in which may have affected the look you were going for?)
Do you have to use the lye-in-oils method? Why not melt the butters before adding the lye water - way quicker and you won't be prone to having the batter half set up on you when pouring ( I can see the clumps going in which may have affected the look you were going for?)
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