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nutterly_uts

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Learnt first hand how changing a recipe and adding scent changes how it behaves!

Added a little bit of a new ingredient and added some FO and color tonight and just made it into the mould. Attempted hanger swirls in purple but the purple has gone green and the swirls ..who knows what they'll look like!! Smells amazing and is aptly a scent called trick or treat so if it is green I'll cope :D
 
Blue food coloring gives the most incredible mauve in my salt soaps. I had no idea what I was doing back when, but now the salt soaps HAVE to be that color, according to my son. Who is apparently selling my soap to his friends... Yes, we had a long talk about this when I found out. He understands now that if he is selling my soap, he also has to purchase the insurance and business license.
 
Learnt first hand how changing a recipe and adding scent changes how it behaves!
Having someone tell you about something, or explain how it works is good, but experiencing it for yourself makes the lesson stick. The same way that mistakes are good teachers. You mess up badly enough and have to throw away a whole batch of soap, and chances are you won't make that same mistake again! And this is why keeping good notes is so valuable. Unfortunately, our memory is not always as good as we think it is, so notes come in very handy when trying to reproduce or not reproduce certain results. :)
 
Having someone tell you about something, or explain how it works is good, but experiencing it for yourself makes the lesson stick. The same way that mistakes are good teachers. You mess up badly enough and have to throw away a whole batch of soap, and chances are you won't make that same mistake again! And this is why keeping good notes is so valuable. Unfortunately, our memory is not always as good as we think it is, so notes come in very handy when trying to reproduce or not reproduce certain results. :)

That it exactly. I know what people have said but until I saw for myself how quickly it went from no trace to thick cream to custard to wallpaper paste in a matter of what felt like seconds, I didn't realise how much it changes what you do. I don't think I've ruined the batch and the little bits that have come off the soap do feel good in water (and I know its still raw soap but I was curious) so I think this batch might be spot on for the oils - just not very good for scent (it seems to have faded a lot but then again I didn't use the amount recommended as I didn't have enough of it).
I shall cut it in a mo and see how well it swirled (or didn't)
 
Are you adding your FO to your oils and mixing before you add your lye water? That can help you to have a little more control of what's happening. This is what I do...add FO to warmed oils and stick blend until mixed. Then add lye water, but don't turn the SB on, just stir with it instead and watch closely. If the whole thing goes really opaque all of a sudden, you may not want to SB at all, just stir instead and watch closely. If it just gets a bit cloudy but has a big layer of oils sitting at the top, try alternating SBing in bursts and stirring until you reach desired trace. This method is especially helpful when using a FO you haven't used before and are unsure about how it behaves. Fingers crossed for your swirls! :)
 
I added the FO to the pot once I'd combined the oils and lye. I shall try your method next time - just need more lard :D

I'm pretty happy with how this soap has turned out all things considering. There is a bit of a swirl in the bar and some on the sides so this batch gets a thumbs up from me! I'm going to re-order the FO I used too as it smells amazing although not as strong in the soap as I'd like - only used 10ml of FO in a 1.8kg batch (and that was another oops - I told Soap Calc I wanted 1.2kg but put that figure into the oils bit!)

I did have one oops - after loading my soaps into the crate for curing I turned round and washed my hands- at this point the dog pinched a soap and started munching. Lesson learnt - no dogs until the soap is in the crate up out the way. She seems totally fine post munch and obviously didn't get much (any?) zap .. guess where theres no sense theres no feeling!

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Nutterly, they are beautiful. Reminds me of the colors I got the first time I used a blue colorant that morphed to purple. It stayed morphed, and I was pretty happy because I actually like the purple which is about the same shade you have there.
 
I'm really pleased with them. I really like the purple so I need to remember to order more from the supplier- I've already ordered more of the FO as I LOVE it

Dog is fine. Little brat :D Am glad she's ok cause I'm rather fond of her naughty self!
 
I really likethe purple once it did its thing so I must order some more :)
I've already got a plan for my next batch (or batch after -will see) so am off to post a thread for ideas on how to create it :D
 
I dont really understand the different between micas and dyes in terms of how they perform and change the soaps
 
Nutterly, when you look at a website for soap colorants, it helps when they show pictures of how the colorant responds in CP soap. Some include such pictures, and some don't. Some will include in their description if it is suitable for CP soap. If it doesn't do either, it would seem risky to purchase as you just have no way of knowing.

Here are two links about different types of colorants and what you can expect when used in soap.

https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/how-to-get-vibrant-colors-in-soap/
https://www.soapqueen.com/bramble-berry-news/back-better-ever-labcolors/

The second one addresses the morphing issue a little bit.
 

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