What soapy thing have you done today?

[ResolvableOwl]

Right now, I'm somewhere into my most tedious CPLS batch so far. Though, it's more CPOP than CP in the narrower sense: I placed it on a heating mat at 60°C for more than one day (after SBing) until I reached stable emulsion . Canola and macadamia oils seem to mutually delay saponification.

Eventually it “bit” and turned into paste. Giving it another day or two until it's dilution time…

I wonder what I'm doing “wrong”, or, rather, what I had done better, back then when I first tried CPLS with wuite promising/convincing results.

a. ma. zing! (see what I did there?)

Preparing another copyright lawsuit?

 

[Vicki C]

And I've been planning how best to work this this little gift I bought myself for Christmas. Well, let's be honest, its ONE of the gifts I bought myself for Christmas. After having read through @TashaBird 's thread on the pull-through technique, there are a few things I'll need to pick up before I actually make soap with it.

View attachment 63424

Where is @TashaBird ’s pull through thread? Just did a search and couldn’t find it - I need this, I’ve had way too many pull through fails.
ETA I didn’t look hard enough it must be this one - reading now Pull Through tips & tricks.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Like requested by @TashaBird, here comes the wash test for the GitD soap – in the dark, of course! It's super fun but also a bit scary to not have regular lights, but use the soap bar as a torch instead, see your hands glow, and the suds splashing around in the sink are a huge mess! (They always are, but one usually just doesn't see this!)
The lather itself did glow, but not overly intense. A bit more of the pigment was stuck to the skin. Most light came from the soap itself.
I'm surprised how coarse that powder is. It did look powder fine out of the box, but you can really see the single grains, and there is no “smooth” glow throughout the whole bar/lather/hand/sink/sewage.

One thing that was a bit disappointing/annoying is the “charging”. The strontium aluminate really doesn't care much about visible light, and only strongly reacts to UV. I do have an UV light, but it'd be nicer if it were easier to charge up (like the ordinary zinc sulfide that would suck up any type of light). Supposedly there are great quality differenes between manufacturers/sources of GitD pigments, maybe mine just isn't the best preformer.


ETA: With the surface dried up, I put the bar back on the curing rack. It feels notably rough to the touch. Nearly a bit scrathy, as if someone had put fine sand into it.

 

[scmorgans]

Unmolded my first river rock/stone soaps today! I'm excited to do some more in different colors. Just can't figure how I can possibly put a label on without hiding them.View attachment 63427

I LOVE them! Hoping to try making some of these in the new year.

 

[PKappy]

Finally got around to doing a marbling swirl technique using an old MacBook Pro box. Indeed the box is very sturdy along the edges. Anyhow, I was pleased with the results!

Unmolded my first river rock/stone soaps today! I'm excited to do some more in different colors. Just can't figure how I can possibly put a label on without hiding them.View attachment 63427

WOW, those are incredible! Bravo!

 

[AliOop]

Finally got around to doing a marbling swirl technique using an old MacBook Pro box. Indeed the box is very sturdy along the edges. Anyhow, I was pleased with the results!

That soap looks GREAT! I also use my MacBook Air boxes for soaping. They hold my cavity molds so that after pouring in the batter, I can easily move them into an insulated bag with a heating pad inside (so they gel and have less ash). They are great sturdy boxes and have even held up to some soap spills. Go Mac!

 

[PKappy]

That soap looks GREAT! I also use my MacBook Air boxes for soaping. They hold my cavity molds so that after pouring in the batter, I can easily move them into an insulated bag with a heating pad inside (so they gel and have less ash). They are great sturdy boxes and have even held up to some soap spills. Go Mac!

Thank you AliOop! I had a small leak as my glass rod must have snagged some of the freezer paper, box handled it well. The only I may do is change my direction by 90 degrees and have the swirls go up the long way of the bar.

 

[gww]

48 hour test of my pink accident.

Not earth shattering good or bad though I always find that using little shavings are harder to get working then a whole bar. Either way, I think it is going to dry into decent soap. It has no off smell, washed off well and even at this early stage, did not make my hands feel funny.
Cheers
gww

 

[Ugeauxgirl]

I made a batch of cold process this morning and my husband is working on my new soap cutter right now in his shop. By the time they're ready to cut, he says it'll be ready. So excited!

 

[Dawni]

View attachment 63434

Before clicking I thought it was a pic of some under the sea dive thing LOL

Not done anything soapy other than to wrap more soaps and lotion bars and ship them hehe. Today was a repeat customer who moved down south - about a day's drive - and was willing to pay a lot to get her stuff shipped to her. Love loyal customers lol

 

[Misschief]

I made two batches of Zany's No Slime Castile today, while waiting for a customer to show up. One batch is naked (no colour, no fragrance) and the second is Charcoal & Lavender.

The customer, who should be here in about half an hour, wants nine bars of soap. That pretty much cleans me out of the 2021 soaps. And THAT makes me happy!

 

[TashaBird]

@ResolvableOwl Super fun!! I have to restock my GitD from NS next time I order!!

Here’s todays soaps. Hopefully not as much of a headache as those irises!

 

[bookworm]

@bookworm I love PKO in CP for a "harder, whiter silkier bar". I prefer the flakes because they are easier to work with. For great lather and gentle cleansing you may want to try this recipe:

ZANY'S PALM OLIVE HAIR & BODY BAR

@zany , thank you so much. Going to try your recipe, you’re so kind for sharing.

 

[Kari Howie]

My soapy thing was going with my adult daughters to a new store that’s been open for a month in our small town of Goldsboro, NC. It’s called “Buff City Soap”. Anyone heard of it? Apparently it’s a franchise so part of a chain ofstores. They had many displays of soaps, which came in many different scents and designs, nothing complicated. They make the soap on site and have a soap-making bar where the soaparista will make a custom soap for you after you select colors and scent. I believe they use a standardized formula of oils. The whole store was big, light, airy, and attractive. However I couldn’t help asking about their soap making process and they had no clue as to whether they were making hot or cold process, but that their process uses lye, which they seemed to think therefore made their soap hot process. They also stated that all their soaps are cured for three whole days. It was a shame to discover how little they knew and wonder if they’ll ever receive additional education. Or is it even necessary in their business model?

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Should have turned the oven on or put in a cool place.
View attachment 63406
Is the pink normal in soap with fresh aloe instead of water or did I let it get too hot when mixing the lye. Just curious cause it does not smell and is not my first partial gel and they all seem to clean ok.
Cheers
gww
Ps good luck on your test member tashabird

That’s a pretty color. The pigment in the outer part of aloe leaves is an anthraquinone that is similar to the red pigment found in madder, rhubarb and dock roots.

 

[gww]

Mobjack....
Being kind of uneducated, I had to look up the unfamiliar word but now don't have to blame it on the hamburger grease or this being one of the few times I actually heated up my oils to melting point. I appreciate knowing this. As a side note, the darker gelled center has mellowed and though you can still see a difference from the ring the pink has melded together well and is very close to each other in the whole bar and looks great. Shame about having to fear about latex though. At least I see they use anthraquinone in many soaps on the net.
Thanks
gww

 

[Basil]

Ack! I couldn’t wait. Can’t figure out why it’s still SO soft at 20hrs!!! All I can think is it’s my FO. I can’t find my notes on it. But I seem to remember it slowing acceleration on a pull through I did. Cut one squished end piece. Flowers and stems separated a bit, no idea about the rest. And the green grass morphed. Hopefully it brightens up. Kind of a rough day. Trying to be productive. #soapingiscoping

Absolutely beautiful!

 

[Ugeauxgirl]

Cutter is done! Look at those even 1 inch bars of soap!

 

[Basil]

Today I went through all the soaps I made these past two years. This is the soap I made to celebrate az legalization of marijuana as I’d posted at that time. I used palm oil which I don’t anymore, and Virgin olive, coconut, hemp and castor. The linoleic and linolenic is 14! Made 1/4/21. No DOS. It has pounded mint leaves and basil powder. The scent is cannabis FO from WSP with added basil and patchouli EOs. Still very strong scent. In fact, it’s lingering on my hands 15 min after using. I think now I’m going to use the new recipe with soy wax and same scent.
And today, going to try and make that sunset soap!

 

[ResolvableOwl]

basil powder