peaches
Active Member
I've just started making M&P soap, and I notice that it's not hard before I even melt it. If I press on it with my finger, there's a little give.
I experimented with a couple of recipes over the last couple of days. One is for a spicy soap, and in addition to the eo, I threw in paprika, cinnamon and cayenne pepper to give it an interesting color. The smell of the bar is fantastic, the color is a dark orange, and the bar is rock hard. Great! I love it. The other recipe I tried was for an OHM soap. I put in small amounts of honey and molasses, and larger amounts of powdered milk and oats. If I squeeze the bar (not very hard, either!), it squishes in my hand. In the shower it fell apart completely! I noticed that other bars I've made that don't have additives apart from fragrance and color are also quite soft (though not as soft as the OHM soap). I realize that the powdered spices I added to the first bar acted like cement and made the bar really hard, but I can't do that with every bar of soap I make.
How do I make a really hard bar of M&P soap that's got fun additives but won't fall apart in the shower? Thanks!
I experimented with a couple of recipes over the last couple of days. One is for a spicy soap, and in addition to the eo, I threw in paprika, cinnamon and cayenne pepper to give it an interesting color. The smell of the bar is fantastic, the color is a dark orange, and the bar is rock hard. Great! I love it. The other recipe I tried was for an OHM soap. I put in small amounts of honey and molasses, and larger amounts of powdered milk and oats. If I squeeze the bar (not very hard, either!), it squishes in my hand. In the shower it fell apart completely! I noticed that other bars I've made that don't have additives apart from fragrance and color are also quite soft (though not as soft as the OHM soap). I realize that the powdered spices I added to the first bar acted like cement and made the bar really hard, but I can't do that with every bar of soap I make.
How do I make a really hard bar of M&P soap that's got fun additives but won't fall apart in the shower? Thanks!