Trial Soap for friends Wedding

[Rowan]

My friend wants a vintage theme and asked for pink, green, purple. I tried a hanger swirl but it didn't quite work out. She also asked for a citrus scent using essential oils, hence the creamy lemon colour in the background. I have some work to do on the colours and hanger swirl, but it's just a start. Any advice and feedback would be appreciated.

All the bars will eventually be cut in half to give guest sized bars.

 

[dixiedragon]

I think the swirl on top is lovely, but I feel like maybe there should be more going on inside the bar? What's the scent?

Is there a reason for doing half bars? I consider doing 1 full bar for the bath tub and 1 half bar for the sink.

 

[Cindy2428]

Warning about citrus EO's - even using 15x strength they have a tendency to fade pretty quickly. Also most have very low FP so best to soap at room temp. Maybe others have had better luck - tried clay, using litsea cubeba. Also general info re citrus EOs they generally give warnings for sunscreen use. Maybe a combo blend?

 

[Rowan]

I think the swirl on top is lovely, but I feel like maybe there should be more going on inside the bar? What's the scent?

Is there a reason for doing half bars? I consider doing 1 full bar for the bath tub and 1 half bar for the sink.

Thanks for the input. I agree totally about the lack of colour inside. I was trying for subtle, but this was not right. My hanger was also too thin, despite wrapping it in a straw.

Regarding the half bar, I suggested other ideas but my friend was adamant that she wanted a small but usable bar and asked me cut a normal bar in half.

I've had good luck with citrus scents in the past and ny friend asked for me to recreate a scent combo I had tried before. It was scented with lemongrass and sage, which I put a little cedar wood and bergamot in and then anchored it with clay. Fingers crossed. However this was just a trial, so I have plenty of time to work on colour and scent further.

 

[Dorymae]

Definitely anchor the scent. If they like the smell of lemongrass that will hold much longer. If you don't anchor citrus soaps the scent will fade fast even at maximum amounts.

 

[Dana89]

Dorymay said it first, I agree Lemongrass does stick good. I have a few friends that love it but to me it smells exactly like Lemon Pledge.

 

[Rowan]

Dorymay said it first, I agree Lemongrass does stick good. I have a few friends that love it but to me it smells exactly like Lemon Pledge.

This made me laugh so much, I'm so glad pledge smells different to me! I've used soap for many things but not dusting, mind you there's always a first time! My husband says we use soap for everything else!!

 

[dbloomingdale]

your soap looks beautiful...

 

[newbie]

I made a soap recently that looked very similar to this. I had the same reaction you did- not enough interest and too random. It was at least a medium trace when I poured, maybe a bit heavier, but I think I swirled too much. My colors were too spread out and I think yours are too, to give a good effect. At what trace did you pour? Did you pour your colors fairly close together or more spread out? That could tell you if you need to try something a bit different. Do you have a soap or a picture of a soap that you've seen that has about the effect you want?

Also for color ideas, I love design-seeds.com. You can find color combos on there that you may never have thought of and would work elegantly in your soap. I found this one with pink, purple, and green which I thought was nice. It may not be what you have in mind, but it gives you an idea of what is there.

 

[SplendorSoaps]

Your soap is gorgeous, and I love the colors that you chose! Maybe an ITP swirl would disperse your colors inside the bars more (and be easier to work with on a volume basis, since you're probably doing quite a few bars)? Hanger swirls are beautiful, but definitely more time consuming.

I agree with other posters about Lemongrass EO. I recently used a combo of Lemongrass and Litsea (I know, very similar fragrances) and customers are going gaga over the scent.

 

[Rowan]

I made a soap recently that looked very similar to this. I had the same reaction you did- not enough interest and too random. It was at least a medium trace when I poured, maybe a bit heavier, but I think I swirled too much. My colors were too spread out and I think yours are too, to give a good effect. At what trace did you pour? Did you pour your colors fairly close together or more spread out? That could tell you if you need to try something a bit different. Do you have a soap or a picture of a soap that you've seen that has about the effect you want?

Also for color ideas, I love design-seeds.com. You can find color combos on there that you may never have thought of and would work elegantly in your soap. I found this one with pink, purple, and green which I thought was nice. It may not be what you have in mind, but it gives you an idea of what is there.

Thanks Newbie, you were spot on with the trace - medium. The batter thickened faster than I wanted. I poured cream soap batter into the log mould, then poured my colours, one on top of the other in an elongated s shape, then more cream and another batch of colours. And finished with cream before using the hanger. The colours were definetely too spread out and not enough of them. Your comments really helped. I think I'll try adding more cream to the bottom and leave more colour for the top of the soap, as well as mix more colour.

Ironically I was trying for the handmade in Florida sweet rose look, with different colours. I knew my batter would discolour due to the citrus EO's but thought that would work with the vintage theme. I do love your idea about the design seeds, those colours are lovely and would help add definition.

I'll be making another test batch soon, so Fingers crossed

Your soap is gorgeous, and I love the colors that you chose! Maybe an ITP swirl would disperse your colors inside the bars more (and be easier to work with on a volume basis, since you're probably doing quite a few bars)? Hanger swirls are beautiful, but definitely more time consuming.

I agree with other posters about Lemongrass EO. I recently used a combo of Lemongrass and Litsea (I know, very similar fragrances) and customers are going gaga over the scent.

Thanks so much for the advice, I think it would be worth trying an ITP swirl, as you said, it would be quicker. I may have to do about 70 to 80 soaps. Ironically I've just bought some litsea, so can't wait to try it out. My friend adores lemon!