Zebra Soap

[scotsman]

Ok, so this is my second time trying the tiger stripe technique. I wanted to go for a zebra stripe so I used some TD for the white and some pearl black mica for the black...er...grey. Yup, the black stripes came out dark gray as I feared they might. It was my first time using black mica(a decent amount) but couldn't get the batter to a deep black. I was hoping that as it was gelling in the mold the gray would deepen but unfortunately it did not gel...in an insulated mold in the warmest part of the house. I've never had a batch fail to gel, even partially, unless I was actively trying to prevent it from doing so. When I combined my oils and lye they were at room temperature(74-76F) because I had an emergency come up and had to leave them for a while before combining. Perhaps this is why it did not gel? After I poured the soap in the mold I felt all sides of the mold at several hour intervals over the next 24 hours and it barely heated up at all. I wish I could get goat milk soap to behave this way, lol! Also, as I was cutting it I noticed a faint horizontal reddish stripe just under the top of the soap. I'm puzzled by this as nothing in the recipe should have turned red. I used one of my base recipes that I use quite frequently and have never experienced this. The only things that were different this time were the TD and pearl black mica, neither of which I've ever used before. The fragrance I used for it(Green Irish Tweed) is one that I use all the time as it is my best seller for men's soaps(some women too). Anybody have any ideas as to what might have caused this so I can try to steer clear of this problem in the future? I guess the faint red stripe doesn't really hurt the soap(no zap at 24hrs) but it's incredibly unsightly, at least to me. After trimming off the red my bars are a bit smaller than usual but all-in-all I'm pretty happy with it. It smells wonderful and should be nice on the skin after a good cure. I guess at the end of the day those are the most important aspects. The first pic is one of the untrimmed bars with the red stripe. Don't know how visible it will be because the lighting at my bar leaves a bit to be desired. That is why the white part of the soaps appear yellowish. They are actually just slightly off-white. Kind of an eggshell color but a little lighter. The other pics are cut and trimmed bars. Let me know what you all think.

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[KristaY]

Ooooh. Beautiful zebra stripes! I have no idea about the discolor at the top but they still look terrific!

 

[Dorymae]

They came out beautifully! I don't think the trim hurt them at all, I actually think it made them more uniform and more conducive to the design. Great job!

 

[scotsman]

Thank you

 

[jules92207]

ohhh... nice stripes!

 

[scotsman]

Thank you. I was initially concerned because the trace was a bit heavier than I was shooting for by the time I poured it in the mold. I was shooting for a good medium trace so I'd get thicker, well-defined lines. Because I was working at room temps it seemed like it took forever just to barely reach a light trace. I split the batter at light trace and by the time I finished coloring it was already at a good medium trace. By the time I blended in the fragrance it was bordering on heavy trace so I hurried to start layering it in the mold. By the time I got to my last few layers it was like thick pudding and wasn't spreading out in the mold properly so I figured what the hell I'll give it a few good whacks on the counter. That did the trick and made the top layers spread out and settle down. Tiger stripe is fun but you have to work fast. I think the next time I try this technique I will use 3 or more colors.

 

[kikajess]

oh my gosh, that is so pretty.

 

[Bex1982]

Wow those look great!

 

[Mandarin]

Your soap looks fantastic. Well done!