So what are YOUR soapy secrets?

[mzimm]

I visit "My Preciouses" on the curing rack several times a day, but if anyone comes in while I'm there, I pretend I came for something else.

I adore my family members, but when I'm soaping I hate them. Especially if they speak. Being asked, "Hi Mom, how's it going?" as they walk in is just sooooo inconsiderate! Can't they see I'm on the verge of solving world hunger?

On the other hand, when I'm not soaping, I'm liable to insert soaping into any and every conversation with any unsuspecting soul who unwittingly opens the door to it, and would proselytize the meanest character to the marvels of soaping if only they let me talk long enough.

 

[LisaAnne]

That I have a hard time following directions to a tee. My measuring, weighing and safety is all in order. But to follow a swirl technique exactly is very difficult for me. Everything inside me fights it. That's why this month's challenge is so important to me. I'm afraid when that hanger goes into the soap I won't be able to control myself. I couldn't on my last effort.

 

[grassyriver]

Not a juicy secret but I have a FO that I asked my husband to give an opinion on. He hated it OOB and said it smelled like marshmallows. He was really repulsed by it. Well I soaped with it and months later a bar made its way into our shower. After using it he raved on and on about how awesome that soap was and how amazing it smelled. He would never admit it but some of his favorite scents are the girly ones.

I also soap barefoot.

If I soap in long sleeves I WILL get soap batter all over the sleeves. If I soap in short sleeves I never get it on myself.

I have a crazy amount of soaps in my shower. I just love testing them all but it's really getting ridiculous.

 

[TBandCW]

I'm luv'in this thread! My one (of many) obsessions: I love the head coverings that the doctor (Loretta)uses in NCIS New Orleans. I was using a hair net, looking like the cafeteria lady, and thought her surgical hats (whatever they are called) were so cool looking! I searched high and low, finally got into town (Reno), found a surgical uniform supply store and ordered one. Now I look so cool (in my world

) when I'm making soap!

 

[Swampy]

I learnt the hard way always to wear safety glasses,not from making soap but from making Superhot chillie sauce out of the worlds hottest chillies(Carolina Reapers)
I was stick blending a batch and some flew into my eye.Probably the most painful and uncomfortable experience I have ever had.
Glasses for soap,glasses for chillie sauce.I like my eyes.

 

[dibbles]

I try to get my soaps to gel, because I can unmold them sooner and I am impatient. When they don't gel I usually unmold them too early, because I am impatient, and invariably leave at least a corner behind. I also will cut softer soaps too early (just to have a peek), and one peek leads to another... I know better and swear I won't do it again. But then I do.

I want my soap colors to make sense with the fragrance.

No matter how hard I try to be a 'neat' soaper, I almost always manage to get soap batter slopped on the mold and usually the table too. I am in awe of those who can make a batch of soap and hardly have a single wayward drip.

 

[Navaria]

I'm loving all these! I see myself in so many posts lol. BF starts a very strict diet Sunday and we went grocery shopping tonight to prepare for it. Of course I had to walk through the kitchen department and see if there was anything I just had to have! And then I got 2 big jugs of Great Value olive oil (my fave to use) he looked at it and said "I don't think that's on my diet" lol

Also, I may be the only one but I'm not that crazy about salt bars. They don't impress me much.

 

[jblaney]

My trick to making TD with no specks, the only thing that has worked for me:

Put 2 cups oil soluble TD into a fine mesh strainer over a container of 3 cups warm oil, push through with a spoon. This takes about 10 minutes or so. Stick blend for 3 minutes, scraping it often. Put mixture into a food processor and process for about 2-3 minutes, scraping it a few times. I put this into a plastic squirt bottle and shake before using. If I miss one step I get specks. This works so well that I can add this to soap batter and not stick blend it and it mixes in perfectly. I don't like water soluble TD since it makes my soap brittle.

 

[snappyllama]

Y'all are cracking me up.

I soap in frog slippers while wearing a 1970's-inspired flower apron and green onion goggles while wearing plaid flannel pajama bottoms in a clashing color (everything clashes with the apron). Hawt!

I never weigh my oils into separate containers either. If I do a small over-pour (about 5-10ish gms), I just reduce another oil. I got bored one day and determined with my SF for any batch size I make, I'm okay.

I always weigh my oils in the same order. I like to match my spatula color to my batter color.

 

[Navaria]

<Giggle> I can picture you in my mind. Girl, you're a hot mess! I don't measure my oils separately either. My hard oils go in one container to be melted. The others go right in my soaping bowl. The only one I ever have trouble with is olive oil. I think because the container is so big. I have a syringe the came with one of the kids' medicines that is used strictly to suck the extra olive oil out of the bowl and squirt it back into the bottle. If I go a bit over on another liquid, I just look at it as extra superfat lol.
But the matching your spatula to your batter? That's funny stuff right there!

 

[Navaria]

My trick to making TD with no specks, the only thing that has worked for me:

Put 2 cups oil soluble TD into a fine mesh strainer over a container of 3 cups warm oil, push through with a spoon. This takes about 10 minutes or so. Stick blend for 3 minutes, scraping it often. Put mixture into a food processor and process for about 2-3 minutes, scraping it a few times. I put this into a plastic squirt bottle and shake before using. If I miss one step I get specks. This works so well that I can add this to soap batter and not stick blend it and it mixes in perfectly. I don't like water soluble TD since it makes my soap brittle.

I picked up some 4 oz containers with screw on lids tonight to mix my TD in. I'll have to try this method and hope I can make it work. Thanks!

 

[KristaY]

Y'all are cracking me up.

I soap in frog slippers while wearing a 1970's-inspired flower apron and green onion goggles while wearing plaid flannel pajama bottoms in a clashing color (everything clashes with the apron). Hawt!

I never weigh my oils into separate containers either. If I do a small over-pour (about 5-10ish gms), I just reduce another oil. I got bored one day and determined with my SF for any batch size I make, I'm okay.

I always weigh my oils in the same order. I like to match my spatula color to my batter color.

Snappy, the next time I'm in Denver hanging with my kiddos I'm SOOO contacting you for a soaping session. AND I'm bringing my camera. I'm ROTFL picturing you in all that garb. I've gotta get pics to share with the SMF fam! BTW, I'm not as OCD as you with the spatulas ~ all mine are black & white from Ikea, ON PURPOSE so they don't clash!

PS - Will I be able to pee at your place???

 

[newbie]

I am massively disorganized and a slob, including when soaping. Because I am a professional slob, it is pretty easy for me to work in this environment. I have never made a soap without making a huge mess. I've ruined two kitchen countertops because of soaping so I now put some plastic down before I put my kitchen cloths, because I always dribble and it was soaking through the cloths. I will have to replace the counters before I can sell my house.

I'm another one who weighs all my oils into the same container and I always weigh them in the same order. It is probably the only spot of organization in my life. I rarely over-pour.

Even though I have separate soaping bowls, spatulas and utensils, I would still somehow manage to make food that tasted just like soap. Even guests would say so. I really don't know how that happened, but it hasn't happened in a while.

 

[shunt2011]

^^^^this is exactly me to a tee.

I am also a stringent scraper. I too soap in bare feet and either a tank top or short sleeves.

 

[MySoapyHeart]

DYING here people!! : D

I have been baking as long as I can remember. I have baked for friends parties, wedding receptions, for big family gatherings etc. I have made every cake under the sun that you can think of, big or small.

So my soapy secret are simply that, I make my soaps the way I bake. No, don`t worry, I don`t taste the soap batter. Anymore...

But I think soaping and baking has a lot of the same principles and "secrets" to them. And you can be creative on so many levels. Which is why I think I enjoy it so much.

Here are my take on secrets, that aren`t really secrets at all, just similarities to how I try to make things go as planned and with a nice result when I bake. Nothing revolutionary here, just how I do it.

1) Preparation is key! Lay out your ingredients, weigh things carefully, use clean utensils, have papertowels or clean rags on hand & take hygiene very seriously. Remember, people will be exposed to your end product - wether it is a cake or a bar of soap. Let us give them a good and pleasant experience.

2) Don`t overwork the dough if you want a nice soft cake!
(as in don`t stickblend your soapbatter into oblivion, sometimes less is more)

3) Use good ingredients and no skimping on quality. This will make everything so much better in the end
(i.e fresh eggs and real butter / or for soap - good oils that aren`t rancid or smelly butters)

4) Take your time and TRY and do things in the right order.

If you stress, or you are really short on time, this is not the time do it. Save it for another time if you can, it will make everything go so much smoother and your experience will be more fun.

5) All the fancy stuff in the world won`t make a good cake/soap. Seriously.

Focusing on learning the basics, and nail the simple things first and foremost, then work your way up to things that are more elaborate. A simple recipe done well can often be sooo much better, than something intricate done not so good. Any chef will tell you this is true.

6) Follow the recipe.

Yes, sometimes you can play along with some ingredients, (vanilla/no vanilla, color/fragrance /no color/fragrance etc)
But in the whole - let`s stick to the plan, shall we?

Adding things in a carefully balanced recipe will make things unbalanced!

Know what you are doing before you start to add and subtract ingredients that may affect the batter in a negative way - this goes for cakes as well as soaps.

This is how I always have done it since I started to bake over 30 years ago, and I just found it aplickable to soaping too. So no secrets really, but anyway...

 

[navigator9]

I am massively disorganized and a slob, including when soaping. Because I am a professional slob, it is pretty easy for me to work in this environment. I have never made a soap without making a huge mess. I've ruined two kitchen countertops because of soaping so I now put some plastic down before I put my kitchen cloths, because I always dribble and it was soaking through the cloths. I will have to replace the counters before I can sell my house.

I'm another one who weighs all my oils into the same container and I always weigh them in the same order. It is probably the only spot of organization in my life. I rarely over-pour.

Even though I have separate soaping bowls, spatulas and utensils, I would still somehow manage to make food that tasted just like soap. Even guests would say so. I really don't know how that happened, but it hasn't happened in a while.

Newb, your organizational difficulties are the result of finishing off two bottles of wine before you soap! (You forgot to hide the bottles.) :-D

 

[Navaria]

I visit "My Preciouses" on the curing rack several times a day, but if anyone comes in while I'm there, I pretend I came for something else.

I adore my family members, but when I'm soaping I hate them. Especially if they speak. Being asked, "Hi Mom, how's it going?" as they walk in is just sooooo inconsiderate! Can't they see I'm on the verge of solving world hunger?

On the other hand, when I'm not soaping, I'm liable to insert soaping into any and every conversation with any unsuspecting soul who unwittingly opens the door to it, and would proselytize the meanest character to the marvels of soaping if only they let me talk long enough.

I read your post to BF and he said I could have written that one myself lol. Especially the "inserting soap into any conversation" part! I'm really, really bad at that. My friends/family now know more about making soap than they ever desired to know lmao

 

[dibbles]

I am massively disorganized and a slob, including when soaping. Because I am a professional slob, it is pretty easy for me to work in this environment. I have never made a soap without making a huge mess.

Newbie, I can't tell you how happy this picture makes me - I make a mess, but you win!!!

 

[newbie]

I wasn't certain I should publicly post my shame but trusting my lovely SMF family,I screwed my courage to the sticking point. I am happy to hear other people are this bad or almost. Needless to say, I don't sell.

If only alcohol were the problem with my messiness! I could control it but alas, one of those bottles has never been opened (it was given to me for label appeal, not for taste, and my son brought it up one night months ago. Because I'm disorganzied, it hasn't made it way back downstairs) and the other is a Chateau Neuf du Pape that I've held for 20 years and finally opened. It was okay but not great and I had 1 glass. I tried to pull the cork out and it broke and corkscrewing made it worse, so now I just look at it.

 

[amd]

If I'm wearing my eyeglasses I might or might not wear goggles over them.

I use cheap dollar store mixing bowls. (I never use the handle to pour or hold onto)

I doodle soap designs during work meetings.

I have 3 shoe boxes full of "personal" soaps - most of which have not been made by me.

I like to make soap with food ingredients. Pumpkin puree, tomato paste, coffee, beer - I've been holding an avocado hostage to get it to the perfect ripeness.