What soapy thing have you done today?

[KiwiMoose]

Do you soap with full water, and gel? I only get rivers lately when I use full water and gel my soap.
Usually I gel my soaps, but I soap at a water discount and rarely get rivers.

I've never understood the 'full water' concept. I use 30% lye concentration and 5% superfat usually. It tends to gel if I make it in a loaf, yes. And it's only in the loaf that I've had the rivers.

 

[Meena]

I think this is a pretty standard feature but that strategy was one that my soap workshop instructor cautioned against, especially for liquid oils... If you pour too much castor oil into your olive oil, it's really hard to get it out .. Back to SoapCalc.....

Good point. I will remember to be really careful. Funny thing is, I did pour my Castor first, lol. I recall getting too much water in the lye pitcher and having to back some out, but I did the oils perfectly. Beginner's luck?

 

[Zing]

LOL - you soap like I cook - "that'll be about right". I note no glycerin rivers though? Every time I've used TD I get glycerin rivers.

@KiwiMoose , months ago I started a thread back when I was a noob and didn't even know what to call the problem I learned was 'glycerin rivers.' I learned so much from folks here. Now when I use TD, my lye to (lye + water) ratio is 31.5% and I use the bare minimum of TD. I still gel but have not gotten glycerin rivers ever since, (even tho' @Misschief likes them).

 

[Meena]

I have not gotten brave enough to use one container for liquid oils. I do use my melting pot to measure both palm oil and coconut oil in. If I put too much in, it's easier to remove a bit of solid oils. This was a game changer for me and saves a lot of time.

It wasn't so bad. Start slow, and watch how fast (or not) the digital display is incrementing up. You can pour a little faster when first adding the new oil, then slow down to a dribble. You need to pause every half second/second, to let the display catch up to the last addition, when you are nearing the amount required. That was my technique, anyway, but I'm pretty handy in the kitchen. Will also mention that i did the hard oils last. They take a bit more fussing to get correct, for reasons that are probably obvious.

 

[Meena]

I unmolded my Salt bars this morning. I'm really liking the shape of the bars with my new molds. They fit very nicely in the hand. The new mold soaps are the ones at the left.
View attachment 35038

Nice! Round or oval bars are in my near future, as well. I also have a salt recipe experiment swirling around in my head, that i can't wait to try out! (The ScienceGirl side of me can go a little wild sometimes.)

 

[Meena]

@Meena you must be very happy with that. It looks really pretty. Fun eh? Welcome to the addiction, it’s all down hill from here. Mwa ha ha!

I am, dear KiwiMoose. I've already started contemplating future projects, in bed at night, and i laugh because i remind myself of You. You've set a really high beginner-bar, here, i hope you realize!!

 

[Meena]

Paprika with calendula sounds very nice...I tried paprika with carrot purée for one of my first batches and was pleased with the results.

Did you get any DOS from the carrot puree, ever? Do you add a preservative when you put food ingredients in your soap?

 

[Hendejm]

I’ve used cucumber without incident - and I used the cucumber water/purée at 100% without any additional water.

 

[artemis]

Did you get any DOS from the carrot puree, ever? Do you add a preservative when you put food ingredients in your soap?

I have a carrot puree recipe that I make regularly for a friend. It has never given me any DOS. I deduct the amount of carrot puree from my water and mix the puree into my oils.

 

[Meena]

SO made my full-size mold today, does that count? Should hold about 16 bars, by rough count. I'll calculate the volume later.

He will sand it when the glue dries and add a few screws so it will not rely on the glue to hold the soap batter weight. Such a crafty SO! (but do not ask me why the coffee filters are there... SO is sometimes still a mystery! lol)

 

[Dennis]

Great question! That would imply that I measured it.....NOT! If I guessed I would say about 2 tbls....not much more than that.

Like I said before; I like your style.

SO made my full-size mold today, does that count? Should hold about 16 bars, by rough count. I'll calculate the volume later.

He will sand it when the glue dries and add a few screws so it will not rely on the glue to hold the soap batter weight. Such a crafty SO! (but do not ask me why the coffee filters are there... SO is sometimes still a mystery! lol)

View attachment 35073

If he ran a bead of wood glue down those edges and clamped it then it will be almost unbreakable. If applied properly a break will occur somewhere other than the bead. Adding screws is like belt and suspenders. You will be able to soap in a hurricane and earthquake at the same time.

 

[Hendejm]

I've never understood the 'full water' concept. I use 30% lye concentration and 5% superfat usually. It tends to gel if I make it in a loaf, yes. And it's only in the loaf that I've had the rivers.

I’ve read....somewhere....that it’s better to mix TD in oils rather than water. I forget why. I remember reading that TD may have metal particles in it which increases the temperature when saponifying (maybe retains the heat longer?)

I saw a YouTube video where she mixed her TD into oils before adding lye saying it helped with glycerin rivers....she didn’t give an explanation so I’m just experimenting to see if I can control them. I generally like the look of them but I don’t like that they seem softer than the surrounding soap that didn’t saponify.

I know that isn’t any help but maybe someone here can give a more scientific answer/clarification.

 

[Hendejm]

Like I said before; I like your style.

Right back at cha!!

 

[Dennis]

Hmmmm, I have an awful lot of soap that is 3, 4, 5 years old. Also a bit of this fragrance and a bit of that fragrance here and there and some more in that drawer and I think a little in the garage somewhere. It may be time to jump into the Mystery Confetti Concoction. This will be fun.

Oh, and before I forget, thanks for the tip. Great idea. If you goof, do ya think it might be a good idea to have the tare written on the side of the bucket?

I do the same and measure all oils in the same bucket. One thing I do is write the tare weight of my bucket on the bottom of my bucket in case I goof up, which I have certainly been known to do

 

[Hendejm]

Hmmmm, I have an awful lot of soap that is 3, 4, 5 years old. Also a bit of this fragrance and a bit of that fragrance here and there and some more in that drawer and I think a little in the garage somewhere. It may be time to jump into the Mystery Confetti Concoction. This will be fun.

Yes! I have to say it was fun to make and fun to cut. I enjoyed being a mad scientist and mixing fragrance oils and different bits of soaps. I like it better (personally) than fancy swirls.....maybe because I suck as swirls!

Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

 

[Chris_S]

I’ve read....somewhere....that it’s better to mix TD in oils rather than water. I forget why. I remember reading that TD may have metal particles in it which increases the temperature when saponifying (maybe retains the heat longer?)

Could that be why its called titanium dioxide because last i checked titanium was a metal element? i always just assumed it had a link of some kind to the titanium element? or is titanium white in colour? Mmmmmm off to google i go

What did you do to make the confetti soap? by that i mean when did you add the 'confetti'? layer by layer just adding a bit more or just add it when the mold was full and let it do its thing when you move it will shift into the place it wants to?

 

[Hendejm]

Could that be why its called titanium dioxide because last i checked titanium was a metal element? i always just assumed it had a link of some kind to the titanium element? or is titanium white in colour? Mmmmmm off to google i go

What did you do to make the confetti soap? by that i mean when did you add the 'confetti'? layer by layer just adding a bit more or just add it when the mold was full and let it do its thing when you move it will shift into the place it wants to?

Curious to see what you find on TD - I assumed it was because of color but I’m probably wrong

Regarding mixing the confetti - I got it to a light(ish) trace - until it was stable to add confetti and then mixed by hand until coated and then poured into mold. Pretty simple! I’ve seen where people layer and use less as they get to the top. I just went for it since it was an experiment of sorts.

 

[KiwiMoose]

How about using white mica instead of TD? Could I do that?

 

[shunt2011]

How about using white mica instead of TD? Could I do that?

I have not found white micas get my batter as white as TD. I’ve tried several. Others may have had better luck.

 

[MissLinda]

Making Confetti Soap tonight! I decided on a floral fragrance - a mix of any sweet smelling fragrances I have (lilac, fairy garden, honeysuckle, jasmine, ginger lime, vanilla). I paid NO ATTENTION to acceleration notes on the bottle! Nor did I pay attention to discoloration! I’m using TD to hopefully whiten the background/base. Fingers crossed! It could be a masterpiece or a total disaster!

Edit: Soap cut and I’m really happy with it!

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That soap is so beautiful. Very artsy! Is the confetti from grated soap or something else? I really like it!