Jumping off from Zany's 'No Slime Castille' to Bastille varieties

[Dawni]

I don’t think the sticking had anything to do with zeawater. The bars unmolded great last two times I used it.

Maybe it's the almond oil? Technically you now have additional superfat concentrated on the edges, when the original recipe called for none. Maybe it just needed longer time in the mold?

Ok so I wasn't doing much and decided to consolidate all the info I've posted from the other thread here, just in case it could be useful for other HPers..

I can't remember if someone mentioned it in this thread but I have a question regarding the salt.

What would happen if more were used? Not so much to make it a brine soap (well now that got me thinking more) but just more, like a teaspoon or two? And since I mentioned it, what would happen if we used this water for a soleseife?

Also, has anyone tried it with the olive oil "replacements?" like canola and rice bran? Just wanted to know if you can feel any difference with this faux seawater..

Next question is if anyone tried the faux seawater with regular recipes? Like say one with butters or animal fats..

Oh btw, the main reason I'm posting is to share an update of the soap posted here that uses this recipe, albeit slightly tweaked one. It's hit the one month mark tonight and though I usually hide my soaps so they cure a minimum 2mos, this one I wanted to try.

It feels lovely on the face! The only time I can remember my face feeling this soft after washing was with my rice soap. I tested only a small pebble sized piece and there's no sign of slime at all and it lathers well with small tight bubbles.

Definitely a winner!

Edited loads, please read again

My red sandalwood soap used it (other soft oils). I did want to see if it would harden up. It had no hard oils (except coconut), animal fats, butters or waxes. I don't think I noticed sheen, nor was there much difference in unmolding. I'll try to take more notice when I'll use the faux seawater next.

I am gonna make notes for you regarding hardness after my rice soap cures around a month, to see how it compares to the other one at the same age. This soap only used sea salt but more than normal (less than brine though) while the sandalwood used a salt that I'm not sure is sea salt.

Has anyone else tried playing with the amounts of salt and baking soda?

I made soap today, but I added half a teaspoon more salt, and lessened the baking soda by about 1/4 a teaspoon and wow.... Traced in 5 seconds with the SB, when I planned on mixing only til emulsion. Also, soap set after just an hour in the mold. After about another 20mins I was worried I won't be able to cut, so I did.

I'm sure the kaolin clay helped accelerate, and probably the amount of salt combined by even just that lil bit of baking soda changed some properties. Thought I'd mention it in case anyone wanted to try it...

I'm here with some other "findings" hehehe

I now have three batches using the faux seawater that have been curing more than 6 weeks, give or take a few days apart for each.

Please crucify me if you wish, but after testing these on my face I tried them on my toddler's right leg, where he has a spot of dry skin the size of my thumbnail. Remember, Asian, tiny hands

Anyways, the first soap I made that followed the recipe almost to a T, had olive, coconut and castor, with a bit of almond oil is more drying for him than my sandalwood soap. The dry spot looked like a rough white rash. That other soap has the olive oil amount split between olive, rice bran and avocado oils, and considering it also has more coconut, that dry spot isn't white at all, just rougher than the rest of his skin, but not overly so like with the mostly olive oil soap.

Go figure. I am not learned enough to say whether it's the combo of oils, if it's the sandalwood powder lol, or if my baby's skin just doesn't like olive all that much.

Now that you mention it, it could be that a combo of other oils are milder than 85% olive, in the beginning?

I should note that. I tried it after 6wks to check for slime but I have a feeling the olive oil I have isn't slimey to begin with? Time to make a Castile without the faux seawater I think, for comparison in the future.

My stormy soap was made CP with this more salt less bicarb water. The brownie soap I posted was HP also using this water. Trace times were more or less the same. The HP took longer to harden up and unmold, but that could be due to the clay and charcoal in the first one? I don't know really...

But yes, updates will be posted. I will compare them to previous soaps I made using exactly the same recipes, except for the additional salt and less baking soda. I have to go make a few more notes on all of them.....

I hope someone can make sense of some them lol

 

[Dean]

My stnd bars w/o zeawater are orangish-ylw...about the color American cheese. I dropped the carrot juice a little to try take it out of the cheese realm. This was the first time I made colored soap with zeawater. It unexpectedly came out with no hints of orange...not even a golden yellow...just a pasty light ylw. Do you think the baking soda can affect the color that much?

 

[Dawni]

My stnd bars w/o zeawater are orangish-ylw...about the color American cheese. I dropped the carrot juice a little to try take it out of the cheese realm. This was the first time I made colored soap with zeawater. It unexpectedly came out with no hints of orange...not even a golden yellow...just a pasty light ylw. Do you think the baking soda can affect the color that much?

My guess is the salt and baking soda combined? My high salt soaps never keep their color either, even when I tried mica. My first try using this faux seawater had honey colored bars which faded to an almost sandy yellow. The sandalwood is fading from wine colored to bleh lol

 

[Teresa408]

Thanks saltedfig!

I’m normally too impatient so I was trying my best not to mess up the corners. I guess I was too patient!

Here’s one of my bars that actually unmolded and sliced up perfectly. For once, I’m not sharing a mistake! Haha.

Here’s my T salt, tsp soda, tsp sugar bar. It’s really plain because I made it for my mom’s super allergic skin. It’s olive and coconut 90/10 with 5% SF. I poured this soap 2/15 so it’s just about 6 weeks old. It feels rock hard, very smooth and silky, and rinses clean. In the picture is about the most bubbles I could get. It made smaller bubbles more easily. For me, it didn’t feel quite bubbly enough. Next time, I will increase the coconut oil to 15 or 20% and increase the sugar to 4 tsp. Any other suggestions welcome!

Oh! I have a question. I haven’t used sodium citrate yet, but I intend to (at 3% I think) because my water is really hard.

Has anyone used salt and baking soda and sodium citrate together? Is there any adjustment needed in the baking soda or salt for adding the sodium citrate?