Soft soap

[Egzandra]

Hi everyone, I am new to soap making, but I have made a few batches already using Melinda Coss's book on handmade soaps. They turned out quite well, but the fourth batch which was the honey and beeswax soap has been a bit of a disaster. It has not hardened, and although I managed to get it out of the moulds by leaving them in the freezer for an hour, the soap is the consistency of a soft fudge (Looks like fudge as well! due to the colour) or mashed potato. Feels greasy to the touch.

I did check the lye content, which was right. I used the same oils as Melinda, the only difference was that I used camomile tea instead of water, gold beeswax instead of white, and I added some camomile essential oil at the end. This I thought would make it smell nice, but the soap actually smells fatty. Not very nice - how disappointing!

After I put it in the moulds I kept peeking at it and unwrapping the blanket to look. I suppose this could have made it lose heat too quickly. What do you experienced soap makers think?

 

[IrishLass]

Hi Egzandra and welcome to the forum!

What were the oils used in the soap? Was there a lot of olive oil?

IrishLass

 

[Egzandra]

Soft, squidgy soap

Thank you for welcoming me. I used (per recipe) 15oz shortening (Trex) which states on the pack that it is vegetable fat, 10 oz almond oil. 7oz olive oil, 2 oz beeswax. The recipe said that it should trace in 30 mins. I think I got a trace at around this time. I then used a jug to pour the mixture into the moulds at which time it looked quite thick. I had to warn my daughter not to dip her finger in and lick it because it looked edible.

Maybe I should try remelting it over a pan of hot water and add some more scent at that time.

Thank you for your reply

 

[Guest]

Hi Egzandra , welcome to the forum. In my experience , lots of times you cannot smell the FO or EO until the soap is fairly hard and has cooled down from gelling . I would give it some time to firm up.

HTH
Kitn

 

[Egzandra]

soft soap - improving

Thank you very much for that, Kitn. I looked at the soap again this morning and it showed signs of firming up and didn't smell so fatty. I'm taking your advice and giving it some time - I've put it in the airing cupboard, not to be looked at again for a couple of weeks.

 

[Guest]

Re: soft soap - improving

Thank you very much for that, Kitn. I looked at the soap again this morning and it showed signs of firming up and didn't smell so fatty. I'm taking your advice and giving it some time - I've put it in the airing cupboard, not to be looked at again for a couple of weeks.

Will you be able to resist the temptation? I wouldn't be able to .

Kitn

 

[I love soap!]

Oh i love Melinda's Coss books !!!

 

[Egzandra]

I love her books, and her recipes all look so gorgeous. This fourth batch is really disappointing though. Kitn is right, I have looked at the soap again, and it has hardened up a bit but not much. It has gone a pale powdery colour on the outside, not golden and waxy which was what I was hoping for. I was so excited about making these as well, and hoping to be able to give them away as gifts.

Still I have learnt that Crisco is the same sort of thing as Trex which was what I used.

I have also learnt that I should not keep peeping at my new soap in case they lose heat.

I also found an earlier thread where someone grated up some failed soap and added it to oils for a new batch, which is what I might try, later on.