Planning First Soap

[MorpheusPA]

Now that I, at 41, am being allowed by my mommy and spouse to handle lye (!), I'm tentatively planning my first CP soaping experience.

I'm looking at 75% OO, 25% CO, 5% superfat, perhaps a dash of fragrance (I like Rain Forest myself), and a touch of chromium green. Single color, nothing fancy, and minimal amount.

I ordered the following mold: http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/Pr ... uctID=7643

Actually, I got it for MP but it looks like it would work for CP as well (if not, correct me please).

My only question there is that it only holds 11 ounces. Well, 2x8x1.25 = 20 cubic inches, at 0.58 ounces per cubic inch water at STP, is 11.6 ounces. Oil is around 0.9 density, so it's really 10.44 ounces.

Is that sufficient to soap with, or should I use my 40 ounce mold? I'd rather not waste 2 pounds plus if (when) I mess up the first time, but I wasn't sure about measuring accurately for a rather minimal 11 ounces (particularly after you subtract space for the water).

 

[jennikate]

For a first batch you should be ok be very precise on the measuring. Smaller the batch more precise you need to be. You might want to do scent or color not both till you get a little more cp experince.

 

[countrygirl1]

Hi,

Not that I am any expert, but with such a high percentage of olive oil just be aware that it may take quite a while to trace. I made a similar recipe as my second batch and it took about 1 1/2 hours to reach trace, and that was after overheating my stick blender.

A simpler recipe that traces quickly may be an easier start for a first attempt.

Cheers

 

[tamarajane]

There's a wallly world recipe on here that is very simple. Let"s see if I can find it.

 

[tamarajane]

http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewto ... art+recipe

Here it is! Glad you're going to make soap! Stand up for you! We're with you!

 

[tamarajane]

Go to soapcalc. It can resize your batches for you. It's fun to play with, and it will teach you properties of oils. There is also a mold calc sticky on the forum too.

 

[MorpheusPA]

http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1902&highlight=pauls+walmart+recipe

Here it is! Glad you're going to make soap! Stand up for you! We're with you!

Thanks! It's a bit more complex than I wanted to play with the first time, but I guess the game plan can be:

1) Gently heat all oils in a stainless pot to around 110 or so.
2) Take pot out to the garage with me.
3) Mix lye and wait for that to cool to 110 or so, give or take.
4) Do initial mix in garage
5) Bring inside 3 steps to laundry room for final mix and molding

At least #1 means all the solid at room temp stuff will melt, and I won't miss anything...

 

[wookie130]

Just giving you the heads up that a lot of folks have had trouble unmolding with the WSP molds...people have had better luck unmolding these babies if their soap reaches a full gel...so do what you can to insulate this, unless you're using any milk in your recipe.

At this price, I would give it a shot, however. What I would do, is when you're ready to unmold it, pop it in the freezer for an hour...that may help in the release.

You're definitely wise to do a small recipe for your first batch...that way, you're not wasting precious oils and supplies on a botched batch!

And, with that much olive oil, as you're effectively making a bastille soap, you will seriously need to cure the heck out of your soaps once they're cut. Not that you couldn't go with the regular cure time, but castille/bastille is truly at it's best once it's cured for several months...at a year, it's TO DIE FOR! I'm a firm believer in aging castille/bastille for as long as you can stand it.

I have my own Wally World recipe...and I'll share it with you. Honestly, it's my second favorite recipe EVER, and it makes wonderful soap. This will make 1 lb. of soap, and you won't have the painfully long cure time of a castille:

4 oz. coconut oil
6.4 oz. olive oil
4.8 oz. lard
0.8 oz. castor oil
2.25 oz. lye
6 oz. distilled water

All of the oils can be found at Wal-Mart. Castor is in the pharmacy, and the other 3 are usually in the cooking oil/baking aisle.

Here's how the numbers look with this soap:

Hardness - 39
Cleansing - 17
Conditioning - 56
Bubbly - 22
Creamy - 27
Iodine - 58
INS - 153

So, basically, it's a nice hard, conditioning, well-balanced soap, and cheap to make, too!!!

Have fun, and good luck!

 

[jadiebugs1]

i doubt there'll be any issues unmolding from this, it's a SILICONE mold. Just make sure it has hardened enough before unmolding. I was just eyeballing this mold yesterday, lol!

Also, making such a small batch of soap, even OO will trace in a reasonable amount of time with a stick blender. I do it all the time. I make 100% OO batches that are less than two pounds (enough to fill two tall pringles cans, lol!) and it traces in about 5-10 minutes. Batch size has a great deal to do with it.

Good luck, but most importantly.....have fun!! Let us know how it goes 2.

 

[MorpheusPA]

i doubt there'll be any issues unmolding from this, it's a SILICONE mold. Just make sure it has hardened enough before unmolding. I was just eyeballing this mold yesterday, lol!

It's a beauty, but somebody just reported cracking issues. We'll see...mine's holding up fine, but never sees a dishwasher.

I also have the (tiny) guest loaf and the four rectangle bar mold. I love those too.

Also, making such a small batch of soap, even OO will trace in a reasonable amount of time with a stick blender. I do it all the time. I make 100% OO batches that are less than two pounds (enough to fill two tall pringles cans, lol!) and it traces in about 5-10 minutes. Batch size has a great deal to do with it.

I figured that SB-ing 11 ounces was going to be at least 5 times faster than SB-ing sixty.

Update: I have my SB. I have Neoprene gloves. I have chemical proof googles. I have coconut oil. I have old clothes. ...The palm oil and lye, now that's on order, but should be here next week sometime. I'll pick up a stainless pot at the store, and some grade A olive while I'm there. Probably a pitcher for the lye, too, in a good thick plastic.

Anybody have suggestions on the pitcher, BTW? I don't want to eat through it...and don't want to use glass.

Good luck, but most importantly.....have fun!! Let us know how it goes 2.[/quote]

 

[gekko62]

http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1902&highlight=pauls+walmart+recipe

Here it is! Glad you're going to make soap! Stand up for you! We're with you!

Thanks! It's a bit more complex than I wanted to play with the first time, but I guess the game plan can be:

1) Gently heat all oils in a stainless pot to around 110 or so.
2) Take pot out to the garage with me.
3) Mix lye and wait for that to cool to 110 or so, give or take.
4) Do initial mix in garage
5) Bring inside 3 steps to laundry room for final mix and molding

At least #1 means all the solid at room temp stuff will melt, and I won't miss anything...

Lye gets reallyreally hot when you mix it,so if you do that first,by the time oils are measured & melted it'll have come down a ways.

Any reason you couldn't move the whole op either to the laundry or the garage?Wandering about with a pot of raw soap does have it's drawbacks,believe me :roll:

Bottom line,have fun. Seeing trace for the 1st time is a wonder to behold!

 

[tamarajane]

I use a stainless steel frothing pitcher (like at coffee shops) to mix my lye in. It has a handle that stays cool and it cools down pretty fast too. I feel safer using it than using plastic or glass.

 

[MorpheusPA]

Lye gets reallyreally hot when you mix it,so if you do that first,by the time oils are measured & melted it'll have come down a ways.

Any reason you couldn't move the whole op either to the laundry or the garage?Wandering about with a pot of raw soap does have it's drawbacks,believe me :roll:

Bottom line,have fun. Seeing trace for the 1st time is a wonder to behold!

You have an excellent point...into the garage it goes.

 

[MorpheusPA]

I use a stainless steel frothing pitcher (like at coffee shops) to mix my lye in. It has a handle that stays cool and it cools down pretty fast too. I feel safer using it than using plastic or glass.

Another excellent point...I just looked up what that is (I don't drink coffee) and the shape is great and the pour spout is handy.

I'm sure our local Wegmans' will have one...they have everything else!

 

[ewenique]

I do small batches in my kitchen. Mix the lye into the water under the stove vent so the fumes don't get me, and the lye into the oils in a plastic pitcher set in the kitchen sink. Mostly OO soaps trace within 10 minutes using a stick blender and cool temps, in my experience. Have fun!

 

[honor435]

more castor to that recipe would bring the bubbly number way up. I use 3 oz per 2 lbs of oils.

 

[MorpheusPA]

Good idea, Honor...I do have a (small) amount of fresh castor oil lying around.

Actually, I'm retentive. Here's my list of oils, so any recipes should be suggested now...

Olive oil (tons)
Grapeseed oil (tons)
Castor oil (about 4 ounces on hand)
Coconut oil 76 (around 12 ounces)
Palm oil (tons)

 

[Stryda71]

I remember my first batch I read stuff for weeks beforehand I was so nervous - but trust me after you will think wow so simple. A few batches later you will be like a pro and addicted liek the rest of us or not?

It helps to know a couple of things

1. lye takes ages to cool when yo mix it it is going to jump up to around 266 degrees and depending on the surrounding temp will take a while to cool so you can do your oils after that.

2. Leave your gloves & goggles on all through once you mix that soap - don't forget to leave them on for clean up as well or the soap mix will burn your hands unless you are cleaning up 24 hours later. At some stage you will get a burn from lye we all do the sooner and least hurtful the better. I got it from popping the wodden spoon I was using in my mouth to hold it forgetting I had touched the end with my gloved hands

3. I started with the stove but now I just melt my coconut oil in the microwave (stop start for around 2-3mins) and mix into cool liquid oils this usually is enough to take their temps up to around 110 degrees (temp is important but not super precise)

4. the most important thing is use a soap calculator to work out your lye to oil mix. I superfat between 6 & 8% depending on what I am making.

5. IMHO use the stick blender - trace is obvious - you've seen the photos you've watched the vids on youtube, you've read the books - you will recognise trace when you see it and you can afford to over trace don't worry.

 

[MorpheusPA]

I remember my first batch I read stuff for weeks beforehand I was so nervous - but trust me after you will think wow so simple. A few batches later you will be like a pro and addicted liek the rest of us or not?

Or, it's obvious that I'm radiating a bit of nervousness about this, eh?

The list is great! So I'll plan to mix the lye first while I work with the oils, keep everything on for safety, use the stick blender on reasonable-temperature oil, and print out from SoapCalc. And yep, I've seen other people's trace so many times I can't even count.

Thanks once again!

 

[Stryda71]

You know the what the hardest part is.... waiting the 4 weeks to use it.

Let you in on a little secret you can sneak a peice at about a week - it may be pretty soft though - the 4 weeks cure time is primarily to dry the soap and therefore let it harden - some soaps I cannot wait to try so I sneak a little bit in a week and le the rest go the 4 weeks or longer. once you have a few batches under your belt your are going to be hard pressed to use the soap you have and will be giving it away to get rid of it so you can justify making more.

When you choose your oils don't be scared to mix em up but stick to a couple of rules for the sake of your skin - try and keep coconut oil to no higher than 30% of the total oils it is very drying of you skin. And try to keep a solid oil in your recipe to make trace easier. I like to use coconut & shea butter together with olive oil and ricebran oil - but grapeseed oil makes a nice soap to and being in Aus palm oil is hard to come by. As long as you use a soap calc each time you should be okay.

I didn't know better and hadn't read any info when several weeks into my soap making I thought I will make a castille soap = using 100% olive oil. Well nearly an hour it took to look like what I think was trace.. blew up my stick blender in the process and in the end I just gave up and poured it into a mould hoped for the best. It took two days to harden (unheard of in the books) apparently common for castile soap - but when it did I had to cut it quick smart because it is the hardest longest wearing soap around. I still have a few bars and the one in my bathroom I cannot seem to wear it out - but I am in no real hurry to make it again..lol can't afford to keep buying stick blenders.