SheLion
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- Jan 16, 2017
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About a month or so ago, I ordered a whole bunch of FO samples from Nature's Garden. Yesterday I decided to make some test bars with some of them. I've only made a few scented soaps and those were all with EOs so this was my first foray into the world of FOs.
The plan was to make a big batch and then split out smaller amounts to scent. So I chose 6 FOs to try (OK, stop laughing all you veteran soapers!) and got to it. When I got all my supplies out, I discovered that I only had a little castor oil left. That meant tweaking the recipe because I didn't have enough for my planned recipe. No biggie. Tweaked it, ran it through soapcalc and things are good. Weigh all oils out, put on stove to heat and while that's going on, get my lye water ready to go. Oils are heated to clear, put lye water in and start stirring.
At this point, it's important to mention a few things: 1. my recipe was over 50% olive; b. the lye water was room temp and the oils were only about 100 degrees when mixed; III. I am currently sans SB so all mixing was done by hand. (Many of you can already see where this going, can't you?)
So, lye water goes into oils and mixing commences. About 20 minutes later (after I remembered that olive oil likes to meander its way to trace but I think, how bad can it be), when it looks like emulsification is complete but I am still not in the same zipcode as even a light trace, I set the bowl to the side and decide to get my FOs ready. So I weigh out each of the 6 FOs I'm using and set them aside. I return to my soap batter and continue mixing. By hand. Every time I think I'm certain emulsification is complete, I scrutinize the edges along the bowl and they always looks a bit watery, so mixing continues. By hand. 30 or so minutes later, I'm not only certain that emulsification is complete, I'm also starting not to care due to the heady fumes from the 6 different FOs that are sitting in open containers on the counter, inches away.
(At this point, you may need a chart to keep track.)
I decide it's time to start splitting the batch, thinking that the FOs may accelerate things so it's fine that the batter isn't at trace yet. Weigh out first test scent batch. Add FO and mix. By hand. Look for trace. Not happening. Mix some more. By hand. Check for trace. Nope, nothing. Set that aside and weigh out second test scent batch. Add FO and mix. By hand. Trace not forthcoming on this one either. Set that aside and return to first test scent. Mix and check for trace. Not happening. Mix furiously for many minutes. By hand. Finally, is that light trace?! Woot! Give a few more good stirs and into the mold it goes. Grab cup with second test scent batter in it. Give it a mix. No trace. Set it aside and weigh out sample scent three batch. Mix in FO, at this point hoping for immediate trace. No. such. luck. Hand mixing continues for several minutes. Put that one to the side and return to tester #2. Give it a few good stirs and behold, there's a light trace! Into the mold it goes. Give tester #3 a stir. Not even close to trace so back to the side it goes. The batter for test scent #4 hits the scale and then I mix in the FO. Trace is not happening after a few minutes of mixing so I push it to the side and check on #3 again. Give it a bunch of stirring and have a look. It appears to actually be moving away from trace. What the heck? Push it aside in disgust and grab #4. No. flippin'. trace. More vigorous stirring. By hand. No trace, not even a little bit. Sigh, grab an empty cup and weigh out batter for scent #5. Mix in FO. By hand. Any thickening apparent? Of course not. Put it to the side and grab #3 again. Give it some stirs and check for trace. Not happening. Ugh. Push it to the side again and grab #4. Mix, mix, mix. Is that the faintest of traces? Yes it is! Into the mold it goes. Grab #5 and have a look. Not at trace yet but we're close. Mix vigorously for a few minutes and coax it to trace. Hurrah! Into the mold it goes. Weigh out the batter for the final scent, #6. FO goes in and mixing commences. By hand. Not there yet so push it aside and figure that surely, #3 is ready by now. I grab it and check. It snickers at me. Furious spatula mixing ensues. Check for trace and decide it's going into the mold regardless. Finally. Return to #6. A few stirs and into the mold it goes too. Finally.
Return to the bowl with the remaining batter in it. It is at light trace. I give it a bunch of good stirs (by hand!) for good measure and into the mold it goes. Then the whole shooting match goes into the oven, 2 hours after I started.
So what was learned here? Do not test 6 different FOs in a single go. Or at least, don't measure them and leave them sitting out on the counter all at the same time. Don't soap olive oil at room temp unless you've cleared your calendar for the rest of the day. I really need to get a new SB. :mrgreen:
The plan was to make a big batch and then split out smaller amounts to scent. So I chose 6 FOs to try (OK, stop laughing all you veteran soapers!) and got to it. When I got all my supplies out, I discovered that I only had a little castor oil left. That meant tweaking the recipe because I didn't have enough for my planned recipe. No biggie. Tweaked it, ran it through soapcalc and things are good. Weigh all oils out, put on stove to heat and while that's going on, get my lye water ready to go. Oils are heated to clear, put lye water in and start stirring.
At this point, it's important to mention a few things: 1. my recipe was over 50% olive; b. the lye water was room temp and the oils were only about 100 degrees when mixed; III. I am currently sans SB so all mixing was done by hand. (Many of you can already see where this going, can't you?)
So, lye water goes into oils and mixing commences. About 20 minutes later (after I remembered that olive oil likes to meander its way to trace but I think, how bad can it be), when it looks like emulsification is complete but I am still not in the same zipcode as even a light trace, I set the bowl to the side and decide to get my FOs ready. So I weigh out each of the 6 FOs I'm using and set them aside. I return to my soap batter and continue mixing. By hand. Every time I think I'm certain emulsification is complete, I scrutinize the edges along the bowl and they always looks a bit watery, so mixing continues. By hand. 30 or so minutes later, I'm not only certain that emulsification is complete, I'm also starting not to care due to the heady fumes from the 6 different FOs that are sitting in open containers on the counter, inches away.
(At this point, you may need a chart to keep track.)
I decide it's time to start splitting the batch, thinking that the FOs may accelerate things so it's fine that the batter isn't at trace yet. Weigh out first test scent batch. Add FO and mix. By hand. Look for trace. Not happening. Mix some more. By hand. Check for trace. Nope, nothing. Set that aside and weigh out second test scent batch. Add FO and mix. By hand. Trace not forthcoming on this one either. Set that aside and return to first test scent. Mix and check for trace. Not happening. Mix furiously for many minutes. By hand. Finally, is that light trace?! Woot! Give a few more good stirs and into the mold it goes. Grab cup with second test scent batter in it. Give it a mix. No trace. Set it aside and weigh out sample scent three batch. Mix in FO, at this point hoping for immediate trace. No. such. luck. Hand mixing continues for several minutes. Put that one to the side and return to tester #2. Give it a few good stirs and behold, there's a light trace! Into the mold it goes. Give tester #3 a stir. Not even close to trace so back to the side it goes. The batter for test scent #4 hits the scale and then I mix in the FO. Trace is not happening after a few minutes of mixing so I push it to the side and check on #3 again. Give it a bunch of stirring and have a look. It appears to actually be moving away from trace. What the heck? Push it aside in disgust and grab #4. No. flippin'. trace. More vigorous stirring. By hand. No trace, not even a little bit. Sigh, grab an empty cup and weigh out batter for scent #5. Mix in FO. By hand. Any thickening apparent? Of course not. Put it to the side and grab #3 again. Give it some stirs and check for trace. Not happening. Ugh. Push it to the side again and grab #4. Mix, mix, mix. Is that the faintest of traces? Yes it is! Into the mold it goes. Grab #5 and have a look. Not at trace yet but we're close. Mix vigorously for a few minutes and coax it to trace. Hurrah! Into the mold it goes. Weigh out the batter for the final scent, #6. FO goes in and mixing commences. By hand. Not there yet so push it aside and figure that surely, #3 is ready by now. I grab it and check. It snickers at me. Furious spatula mixing ensues. Check for trace and decide it's going into the mold regardless. Finally. Return to #6. A few stirs and into the mold it goes too. Finally.
Return to the bowl with the remaining batter in it. It is at light trace. I give it a bunch of good stirs (by hand!) for good measure and into the mold it goes. Then the whole shooting match goes into the oven, 2 hours after I started.
So what was learned here? Do not test 6 different FOs in a single go. Or at least, don't measure them and leave them sitting out on the counter all at the same time. Don't soap olive oil at room temp unless you've cleared your calendar for the rest of the day. I really need to get a new SB. :mrgreen:
Back when I had cable, I used to watch a lot of cooking shows. (Ironic since I don't particularly like to cook and henceforth am not very good at it.) One of the things I stowed away in my brain was proper whisking technique. I don't have a dedicated soap whisk but I will shortly.
