So, I went ahead and made this soap last night... (Also, a coloring question.)

[ars-moriendi]

I unmolded it just now and cut it into bars and tried a piece, yes I know soaps need to cure, but I just wanted to see. It seemed harsh, like drying. I've made a batch before that had something like 35% coconut oil and it did the same thing, even after a 45 day cure, it still left my skin feeling dry. I'm afraid that my new soap will still feel that way after the cure. What do you think?

I'm also curious to know what you guys use to color your soaps with? I've been using liquid colors for soaps from Michael's. I've heard about micah powder (?), and clay. What is most convenient for you? Also, does not allowing the soap mixture to reach proper trace when blending make a difference? In my soap making book, it tells me proper trace is when the mixture is a pudding consistency and when dripped onto the top of the mixture, doesn't blend back in right away.


Also, thank you very much to every one who had helped answer my questions from yesterday!

 

[Seawolfe]

I think you will be surprised how mild this soap is after a month, it's much too early to judge now, but try that scrap every week and you'll see what a good cure does.

Coloring could fill a book, search the forums for some ideas, but whatever you do make sure your color is good with cp soap. Clays are great fun.

Yes, thick trace is a bit like gravy or thin pudding. If you want to make designs or swirls, you want it a bit thinner, just after emulsion really.

And congrats on your soap!

 

[cmzaha]

My guess is, saponification is not complete. It can take up to 72 hrs before it is completely saponified. You should feel my hands after cutting some soaps I made yesterday, they feel like sandpaper. This recipe should not be harsh, with the 5% superfat and the lard percentage, although I prefer coconut around 15%, but I do not superfat very high. Lard makes a very emollient bar of soap on its own. Soap only has to come to emulsion to stay together but in the beginning it is a bit hard to recognize and certainly does not have to reach pudding state (medium trace). If you can see a very thin line when it comes off a spoon it is a good time to color. Colors from Michaels are not quality colors, you will get much better colors from a soap supplier such as Nurture Supplies or Brambleberry. ouchie the B&B word...!! B&B's lab colors are very user friendly. You dilute them down and just use a pipette for dispensing the colors

 

[Obsidian]

Fresh soap will always feel harsh or drying, a 4-8 week cure will make a huge difference. As for your other soap, 35% coconut is quite a lot for most people unless you increased the SF to 10% or so, its not surprising its drying. Put it away and try again in a couple months, it may surprise you.
If you have dry or sensitive skin, keep your coconut oil to 20% or less.

For coloring, I use oxides, micas and a fair amount of natural colorants. I suggest finding a soap supply company you like and get a couple sample packs of micas and/or oxides. Just check each individual color included in the sample to make sure its stable in CP, some colors like blues and purples can morph into weird greys.

 

[lsg]

I use 30% coconut oil with no problem. I like the sudsy lather. I have never had complaints from my customers. I think it all depends on the individual and their skin.

 

[dixiedragon]

Totally normal for your fresh soap to be harsh and drying. It will get better! Try it again at 2 weeks, at 4 weeks and at 6 weeks.

Colors - most of the soap colors at Michaels' are meant for M&P and won't work in CP. Your best bet is to just order online from a supplier who specializes in soap making. Some good ones are Brambleberry, TKB Trading and Nurture Soap Supplies. I love these 3 b/c they post pics of their products in CP soap.

If you don't want to order - or want some suggestions while you are waiting for an order to arrive -
Beta carotene capsules - 1 PPO (that's per pound oils) will give you a soft lemon-yellow color. You can add more for a darker color. (The capsule WILL NOT dissolve in the soap batter. Trust me. Snip and squeeze.)
Spirulina (health food store)
Dried parsley
Cocoa or coffee for brown. Instant coffee granules won't dissolve in the batter. Mix with a teensy bit of hot water and add to the batter.
Frosting colorants (baking section at Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc) - Get a white one containing titainium dioxide for WHITE soap, red #50 for red. The blue will probably not stay blue - it might turn purple.
Clay - the health food store might have clays in different colors. I love love love rose clay and Moroccan red clay.

 

[regansoap]

Could someone please tell me how you use dried parsley please I'd love to make a green soap - thank you.

 

[not_ally]

I wish Michael's did not sell soap kits. I think they give people the wrong idea of how good homemade soaps can be. And it is so much cheaper to buy ingredients from good places if you are going to make more than 1 batch.

 

[SplendorSoaps]

Could someone please tell me how you use dried parsley please I'd love to make a green soap - thank you.

I usually grind the dried parsley leaves until they're a fine powder (I've done it both in a spice grinder and via mortar and pestle - both worked fine). I mix it with a small amount of carrier oil and then add it to the soap at trace. I still get a few green speckles sometimes, but I think it adds character to the soap.

I wish Michael's did not sell soap kits. I think they give people the wrong idea of how good homemade soaps can be. And it is so much cheaper to buy ingredients from good places if you are going to make more than 1 batch.

The very first batch of soap I did was a melt & pour kit from Michael's. I had so much fun making the soap...and was then bitterly disappointed when I actually USED it and hated how it felt (and smelled). The best part about the experience was realizing that I wanted to actually MAKE soap (cold process style) rather than just melt down some soap that someone else had already made! Not to disrespect melt & pour artists - it's just not the soapy medium I was looking for.

 

[WickedlyNatural]

Could someone please tell me how you use dried parsley please I'd love to make a green soap - thank you.

I tried infusing coconut oil with dried parsley in a potpourri crock. I ended up using the whole bottle of dried parsley in probably 3 oz of CO and turned it off and on (because it was getting too hot) for several hours, then let it sit overnight and strained and used the next day. Either it needs to infuse much longer than that or much more parsley needs to be used because it came out so light. I used the infused co for half of my batter and the other half had plain co and you can hardly see the green swirls. My thought is that a soft oil might be better to do a true infusion over several weeks.
I read somewhere boiling water with parsley would work, but I ended up with nasty brownish green water.
Also, I've read you can just put the parsley in the soap but I'm scared of anything botanical turning brown.

 

[Obsidian]

I ground the parsley into a fine powder and added that to my soap. It gave a very, very light green and was slightly scratchy. I like spirulina powder more. Its already super fine so its not scratchy and it gives a nice bright green. Be warned that most if not all natural greens will fade to a olive green/tan if exposed to bright light.

This is my parsley and paprika salt bar. I store my soap in the dark so it retained it color well over a year

and this is spirulina in a salt soap. It changed to a nice olive green after about 4 months

 

[regansoap]

Obsidian I love the soap the pale speckled one - not quite so keen on the bottom one - no offence like. Is the bottom one a salt bar??

 

[galaxyMLP]

I used fresh (well, frozen defrosted) parsley in my soap. I blended it into the soap at trace until there were no speckles left. Then I did a HP cook. It smelled really bad and I was very afraid I had ruined my soap. The second day it got even worse! But then all of the sudden by the end of the week that bad rotten parsley smell was completely gone and my fragrance shone through! Whew! Its a very nice pale green-yellow color. Please disregard the top... I think its ugly.