most interesting experience yet

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Marilyn Norgart

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just had a whole lotta fun!! made a cp with Plumeria which said it mildly accelerates. so I added just a bit more water and blended with oil at 97 and lye at 115. I kept it at a light trace to compensate for the acceleration. mixed in the color, all fine. added fragrance and it riced--so I had no choice but to stick blend and I believe I got out all the ricing but super thick trace. got the mess in the mold and under the towels to hopefully gel. I usually am very impatient and I feel I might be even more so this time
 
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just had a whole lotta fun!! made a cp with Pulmeria which said it mildly accelerates. so I added just a bit more water and blended with oil at 97 and lye at 115. I kept it at a light trace to compensate for the acceleration. mixed in the color, all fine. added fragrance and it riced--so I had no choice but to stick blend and I believe I got out all the ricing but super thick trace. got the mess in the mold and under the towels to hopefully gel. I usually am very impatient and I feel I might be even more so this time
IME if a FO accelerates, it will also promote gel, and you used a little extra water, which also tends to lend to gel, so I'm sure it will and it will probably also be lovely.

It sounds like you kept calm and just worked with what you had, which is a great trait to have in soaping. One of the things I learned long ago is not to panic if a soap goes wonky. It's going to do what it's going to do, so just go with the flow. :)
 
thanks jcandleattic--I read to use more water to keep it a thinner trace--did I read wrong? that wouldn't have made it rice would it have? and yeah it is already gelling maybe I better unwrap so it doesn't volcano. what? I posted this 20 some minutes ago and it is already almost totally gelled. I impressed myself with keeping my cool haha--maybe this soaping is good for me!!
 
My Monday soaping was a similar experience. I knew the FO would accelerate so planned accordingly. I did not plan as well when cutting it though, and waited about 28 hours... man that soap was hard! Put my multibar cutter to the test (and I did break one string). I put mine in the fridge right after getting it in the mold... I can't imagine how hard it would have been if I had left it out to gel.
 
thanks jcandleattic--I read to use more water to keep it a thinner trace--did I read wrong? that wouldn't have made it rice would it have? and yeah it is already gelling maybe I better unwrap so it doesn't volcano. what? I posted this 20 some minutes ago and it is already almost totally gelled. I impressed myself with keeping my cool haha--maybe this soaping is good for me!!
No you did not read that wrong. Extra water can help keep batter thinner or workable longer in some cases, not all. And no, water content doesn't have anything to do with ricing. That's mostly all FO/EO and sometimes other factors but never water.
I just expect all my soaps to thicken on me as I almost always use blended FO's and for some reason, blending FO's almost always causes acceleration.
 
My Monday soaping was a similar experience. I knew the FO would accelerate so planned accordingly. I did not plan as well when cutting it though, and waited about 28 hours... man that soap was hard! Put my multibar cutter to the test (and I did break one string). I put mine in the fridge right after getting it in the mold... I can't imagine how hard it would have been if I had left it out to gel.

too bad on your strings!! wow now ya have me wondering how mines gonna do--I usually only wait overnight to unmold mine if I make the soap later in the night. I have always wondered why I unmold so much quicker than it sounds like everybody does
 
I use a high water content (25%) so I could probably unmold and cut at 12 hours if I used less water. Actually... now that I think about it... I did change this recipe to 29% but I also used honey which tends to be a softer soap, so I don't think that affected my cutting experience. The last time I used this FO it was so disasterous I wound up rebatching it, so I was pretty happy that I got a good result this go around. The FO was Crafters Choice Blueberry Lemon Verbena. I hand stirred it in after getting everything to emulsion, and poured it very quickly into the mold. In one minute I was sculpting the top into lovely yellow waves.
 
I use a high water content (25%) so I could probably unmold and cut at 12 hours if I used less water. Actually... now that I think about it... I did change this recipe to 29% but I also used honey which tends to be a softer soap, so I don't think that affected my cutting experience. The last time I used this FO it was so disasterous I wound up rebatching it, so I was pretty happy that I got a good result this go around. The FO was Crafters Choice Blueberry Lemon Verbena. I hand stirred it in after getting everything to emulsion, and poured it very quickly into the mold. In one minute I was sculpting the top into lovely yellow waves.

pics?
 
Ask and you shall receive!
 

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those turned out very nice. I love the design on top. is that a personalized stamp--they just add a touch of class to soap
 
I use a very nice Plumeria that is the most realistic I ever found. Most Plumerias would give me an instant migraine. This one does accelerate, but if you work quickly it can have one swirl.
I have been using this one for at least 6 years and remains a good seller. If you happen to check it out the Autumn Leaves is a wonderful fragrance with no acceleration or discoloration. I have a hint of apple that smells delicious
http://calcandlesupply.com/plumeria-fragrance/
 
I use a very nice Plumeria that is the most realistic I ever found. Most Plumerias would give me an instant migraine. This one does accelerate, but if you work quickly it can have one swirl.
I have been using this one for at least 6 years and remains a good seller. If you happen to check it out the Autumn Leaves is a wonderful fragrance with no acceleration or discoloration. I have a hint of apple that smells delicious
http://calcandlesupply.com/plumeria-fragrance/

thanks for the suggestion. I will have to check it out--I am not big into flowery scents but thought this might be kinda fruity too--I am willing to give it another shot. I already cut it and it didn't turn out exactly how I wanted but its interesting

Can't wait to see how it turns out. One reason I HP is I don't think I can handle the "stress" of CP lol but sounds like you handled it really well.

@amd I love your stamp!

posting it in photos
 
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just had a whole lotta fun!! made a cp with Plumeria which said it mildly accelerates. so I added just a bit more water and blended with oil at 97 and lye at 115. I kept it at a light trace to compensate for the acceleration. mixed in the color, all fine. added fragrance and it riced--so I had no choice but to stick blend and I believe I got out all the ricing but super thick trace. got the mess in the mold and under the towels to hopefully gel. I usually am very impatient and I feel I might be even more so this time
The honey (sugar) will also cause the soap to get hot. I love your stamp. Good job!
 
those turned out very nice. I love the design on top. is that a personalized stamp--they just add a touch of class to soap
Thanks! I had the stamps made by Lazercutz (I think is the name of the place).

Still waiting to see how your soap turned out @Marilyn Norgart - oh! I just saw that you posted it in photos. I'll head over to look at it :D
 
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