Picture and a question

[Carly B]

So, I am starting the soaps I am making for my son's wedding. The lovely Glendam made me a soap stamp in a design
the couple requested--they fell in love through their love of dogs, so yeah....My question is about the corona. I thought it
was initially soda ash, but it's not. I like the effect, but I don't know what's causing it. Partial gelling? This is one of four
soap fragrance/color combos I'm doing (all coloring and fragrance are from Nuture, so I trust them). Any ideas?

Anyway, given that I needed to make about 130 soaps and hand stamp them and package them, I took the easy way out
(hangs head in shame) and when BB had a 20% off sale, I bought their Lots of Lather Quick mix.. Lye water 2:1, 5% SF,
no additives.

 

[lsg]

It could be partial gel.

 

[AliOop]

I thought the same - looks like partial gel to me. It's a bit different bc you also have somewhat of a rind, but I've had that happen with cavity molds.

If you want to ensure even gelling, put the molds on a heating pad set to high for 1-2 hours, and cover with a towel, or turn a box upside down over the top of them. I actually put mine inside the insulated food bags from Whole Foods delivery. However you choose to insulate, the heating pad method is the best I've found to ensure even gelling and color in my cavity molds.

BTW, these look great, and I love the stamp you chose! What did you decide regarding packaging?

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I took the easy way out (hangs head in shame) and when BB had a 20% off sale, I bought their Lots of Lather Quick mix.

There's absolutely no shame in using a pre-mix for a project! It makes terrific sense to me! Good for you!

I've seen that result a few times over the years. I think it may come from soaping too cool or not thoroughly mixing in additives (mix for one full minute) before the pour, or using a natural (infused oil) colorant. My best guess is it will even-out over time during cure.

I ❤ your soap stamp! Good job @glendam!

 

[Carly B]

I thought the same - looks like partial gel to me. It's a bit different bc you also have somewhat of a rind, but I've had that happen with cavity molds.

BTW, these look great, and I love the stamp you chose! What did you decide regarding packaging?

Thanks. I had initially bought self-sealing cellophane bags, but they didn't have a gusset and did not work with the soap. I ended up getting the bags below---the bride wants to put an announcement card in with the soap, so they should work fine. They allow a bit more flexibility than the smaller cellophane bags.

By the way, I sent the soap picture to the bride and she loved the soap. *Whew*