SoapEh
Well-Known Member
I'm hoping some of the experienced soapers can help out with this one, I have some questions about working ahead.
Because I have rheumatoid arthritis, I tend to tire easily; I definitely don't have the stamina of a typical person my age (42). Hobbies are really good for RA, provided whatever you're doing doesn't make your body hurt more or take so long that you end up exhausted.
What I'm wondering is if it's okay to mix up batches of oils ahead of time and store them in Mason jars -- I've been measuring out, say, 4.5lbs of a recipe that's made up of five different oils/butters, and then once it's melted just enough to mix evenly I'll split it into three 1.5lb jars to make 3 future 2lb batches of soap. I guess it's a tiny version of master batching?
Is it okay to mix up micas ahead of time as well? I find it labour intensive to mix colours, in that I have to get out all the micas, choose some, open them, prep an area (micas are messy), get out the little containers, the oil, do the mixing, put everything away...
I got the idea to buy tiny bottles at the dollar store, each holds about 1oz, and mix up a whole bunch of colours at one time. This way I only had to prep the area once, and then I could sit down and just go to town, mixing colours.
The bottles have lids that screw on tightly and I used castor oil, mixing each colour as a very thick paste.
My thought is that they'll sort of be like a colour platform I can use when I'm soaping; an easier medium to start with than the mica powders.
AFAIK it's okay to masterbatch ahead of time as long as everything is clean and used within a reasonable amount of time... anything I am missing here, or should watch out for? Thanks
Because I have rheumatoid arthritis, I tend to tire easily; I definitely don't have the stamina of a typical person my age (42). Hobbies are really good for RA, provided whatever you're doing doesn't make your body hurt more or take so long that you end up exhausted.
What I'm wondering is if it's okay to mix up batches of oils ahead of time and store them in Mason jars -- I've been measuring out, say, 4.5lbs of a recipe that's made up of five different oils/butters, and then once it's melted just enough to mix evenly I'll split it into three 1.5lb jars to make 3 future 2lb batches of soap. I guess it's a tiny version of master batching?
Is it okay to mix up micas ahead of time as well? I find it labour intensive to mix colours, in that I have to get out all the micas, choose some, open them, prep an area (micas are messy), get out the little containers, the oil, do the mixing, put everything away...
I got the idea to buy tiny bottles at the dollar store, each holds about 1oz, and mix up a whole bunch of colours at one time. This way I only had to prep the area once, and then I could sit down and just go to town, mixing colours.
The bottles have lids that screw on tightly and I used castor oil, mixing each colour as a very thick paste.
My thought is that they'll sort of be like a colour platform I can use when I'm soaping; an easier medium to start with than the mica powders.
AFAIK it's okay to masterbatch ahead of time as long as everything is clean and used within a reasonable amount of time... anything I am missing here, or should watch out for? Thanks