tiny embeds breaking

[dragonmaker]

My little siblings and cousin are OBSESSED with dinosaurs. Some of them have very sensitive skin, so I can't use melt and pour for embeds. I want to make them a dino dig soap where there are dino bones as embeds in a soap with "dirt" layers that slowly wash away to reveal dinosaur fossils. The problem is, the super detailed silicone skull molds I found have a hard time releasing the parasaurolophus skull without the "bone" breaking. Pictures attached below. Is there any way I can improve my recipe or coat these tiny molds so the cold process soap comes out of the mold without breaking? I've used melt and pour in these molds before, and the soap was just flexible enough to come out in one piece.

Here's the recipe I used on my first attempt:

100% almond oil 826g
(1% SF before GM butterfat added)
NaOH 113g
frozen goat milk 227g (this is dwarf goat milk, so approx. 5% butterfat, so it adds 11g fat, which is about 1% more fat in the recipe, so approximately 2% total superfat)
a tiny bit of brown illite clay that didn't mix in perfectly (specks here and there), but I figured it colors fossils more naturally like rock when it's uneven. I poured the extras into a rectangle individual mold and it came out cleanly.

Could any of this have caused weak spots, or is parasaurolophus's crest just too thin for CP soap?

Well, someone helpful either used or threw away the broken parasaurolophus. First Picture is of a dime next to the freshly filled mold. Second picture is of a velociraptor skull that is the same thickness as the trouble mold, and the leftovers ungelled rectangle bar with unevenly mixed in clay.

 

[dibbles]

You could try using soap dough. What a fun soap for them to use if you can figure it out.

 

[dragonmaker]

How would you use the soap dough? Do you just press it into the mold? Or start from scratch and carve myself some dinos?

 

[dibbles]

Soap dough can be pressed into the mold. You might need a dusting of cornstarch if it is sticky, but usually I don't find that I need it. Not that I have a lot of experience...but I do have some.

 

[earlene]

I would agree that soap dough will be easier with such a small mold. You still need to use caution when unmolding.

But if you want to try again with soap batter, rub a release agent such as lanolin or vasaline into the inner surface of the mold. And also, before unmolding, pop the molded soap into the freezer for a few minutes (inside a plastic baggy to prevent soap coming in contact with any foods in the freezer. It should release fairly easily doing either of those things, but by doing both, if you are careful when you unmold, you should be able to avoid breakage. Just don't leave the soap in the freezer for very long, just a few minutes.

 

[dragonmaker]

Thanks for the tips! I’ll try soap batter again with Vaseline and the freezer while I wait for some soap dough to be ready to work.

 

[Anstarx]

If you already have soap he can use, you can use a peeler to peel it into thin pieces, spray with some water, sit over night, and knead them into dough. This way you don't need to make a new batch just to get some dough.

 

[dmcgee5034]

What a fun idea!