Smooth and Silky looking šŸ§¼

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Cal43

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What gives CP bars that smooth and silky look? Iā€™ve seen some bars that looks soo smooth. They also have the look of a chocolate bar. Iā€™ve tried a few recipes but that ā€œlookā€ not happening for me yet. Is it the higher amount of of liquid oil? Tell me your experiences and tips please.
 
Maybe you can share some pictures of what you consider to be smooth and silky looking soaps?
 
Maybe you can share some pictures of what you consider to be smooth and silky looking soaps?

For example, This Kiwi Moose soap pic

They look so beautiful and smooth. Mine comes a bit rough looking. It also had tiny holes. Could it be the recipe, the mold or just me? (No offense will be tAken itā€™s it me) šŸ˜‚
 

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Ah, well I'll let KiwiMoose chime in on the recipe, I think she might use soy wax, but I'm not sure.

The tiny holes in your soap could be air bubbles. That's easy enough to fix by modifying your stick blender technique - burp the blender bell (although if burping yourself helps you feel better go for it) before running it, tapping down your mold often when pouring the soap, or extreme may be searching for a new SB. I had one that just did not have a nice bell on it and no matter what I did, I had air bubbles. I also learned that I had to tamp down my mold more often than I was doing. If you use a wire cutter it may be contributing to the bumps/bubbles you see on your soaps. I've found that steaming my soaps will give them a nice smooth (and shiny!) look. Sometimes just wiping the soaps off with a nice microfiber cloth after they've cured will do wonders for their appearance.
 
Tiny holes could also be "silicone rash" (search the forum), if you're using a silicone mold.
My molds are wood, lined with parchment paper

Ah, well I'll let KiwiMoose chime in on the recipe, I think she might use soy wax, but I'm not sure.

The tiny holes in your soap could be air bubbles. That's easy enough to fix by modifying your stick blender technique - burp the blender bell (although if burping yourself helps you feel better go for it) before running it, tapping down your mold often when pouring the soap, or extreme may be searching for a new SB. I had one that just did not have a nice bell on it and no matter what I did, I had air bubbles. I also learned that I had to tamp down my mold more often than I was doing. If you use a wire cutter it may be contributing to the bumps/bubbles you see on your soaps. I've found that steaming my soaps will give them a nice smooth (and shiny!) look. Sometimes just wiping the soaps off with a nice microfiber cloth after they've cured will do wonders for their appearance.

What do you mean by a bell on the SB?
 
If you plane your soaps, they get that smooth look. The thin blade of the planer seems to smooth everything out. I love using it though it creates more soap scraps.
I made a short video on it, in case you care to watch. But there is plenty others where you can see before and after:
 

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