Soap Makers Help!

[cheeptrick]

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Those are lovely...if I was not allergic to wool...I'd JUMP all over these. I really REALLY wanted a cashmere sweater and DH bought me one...OH the HIVES!! But the sweater is so gorgeous and I keep it in the drawer to stare at...EVEN with a T-shirt the hives POP out everywhere!
I just love these felted soaps though...you did a BEAUTIFUL job for first try!!

 

[BirdBrain]

Can I show my ignorance? What is a felted soap?

 

[chiknwhisperer]

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lol I I hadn't read about it in the Everything Soap Making Book I would have never known. It said you could use carded wool or some form of yarn and wrap it around the soap and then run it under hot water as long as you can stand it to shrink the wool. And then you squeeze the water out and start rubbing it in your hands and against a slightly rough surface to get the felt look. The let dry and there ya go.
So I ordered a sampling basically of carded wool in a assortment of different colors and some left a natural. And decided to give it a shot.

 

[NanaKat]

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So do you reduce the amount of lye after having run it thru the lye calc? Cuz when I put mine thru there I was doubling the size of the batch from 2# to 4#.

Yes, After running the doubled recipe thru the calculator, I reduce the lye by 1/2 ounce. My scale is not a digital scale, but is pretty accurate.
If you are reducing the liquid in your recipes to shorten the curing time, the reduction in lye will make your soaps have a higher % of superfats.
I always cure my soaps 6 weeks.

Yes, you can rebatch your soap. It would make a great confetti in a white batch
Or Let it cure for a longer period of time. The longer cure time helps to disapate the lye.
Or Shave off the ash. The lye has formed on the surface and is not inside the soap.

My MIL said "in the old days" they used to "wash" the surface off their soaps. She said that the Lard-lye-water recipe would form a skin that would keep the soap from lathering until it had been washed several times.

 

[chiknwhisperer]

I did take and spray some alcohol on it and wiped it clean and that seemed to help it. What do you think of that idea? I might go ahead and try the confetti soap since I haven't done that yet. Thanks for your help.

 

[Morgaine]

chiknwhisperer Those look Fantastic! I bet they will sell really well.

And I really need to find a good back drop to take pictures of my soaps so that they look better. So I don't like that part either

I would take pictures outside in natural light. I think it always makes for nicer pictures. I would start out with a big white poster board and use that as your back and bottom. If you camera has it, use the macro setting and a stand to make sure you don't move when taking it. Those are my tips, wish I had more.

I did take and spray some alcohol on it and wiped it clean and that seemed to help it. What do you think of that idea? I might go ahead and try the confetti soap since I haven't done that yet. Thanks for your help.

A lot of people on the dish forum suggest covering your soap with saran wrap right after you pour it. I have hears of the alcohol thing too, I don't think it hurt it at all.

Yes, After running the doubled recipe thru the calculator, I reduce the lye by 1/2 ounce. My scale is not a digital scale, but is pretty accurate.
If you are reducing the liquid in your recipes to shorten the curing time, the reduction in lye will make your soaps have a higher % of superfats.
I always cure my soaps 6 weeks.

Yes, you can rebatch your soap. It would make a great confetti in a white batch
Or Let it cure for a longer period of time. The longer cure time helps to disapate the lye.
Or Shave off the ash. The lye has formed on the surface and is not inside the soap.

What superfat % are you using to start with? I almost always use a 7-8% superfat, If I reduced it by 1/2 an ounce I would have a 14-15% superfat and depending on whats in the soap I would think you could be looking at mold in your soap.
When I discount the water I'm only discounting the water, not the lye.

I agree with you that chiknwhisperer should rebatch the chocolate soap before using it in the confetti soap. Do you think add 5-10% more oils as superfat should helpwith the lye heavyness?​

 

[chiknwhisperer]

I do the 7-8% when I make soap. I'll try the outside thing and I just remembered that I have a tri-pod that I can use for my camera.

 

[chiknwhisperer]

What is the macro setting?

 

[NanaKat]

Superfatting is also affected by the types of oils used in the recipe. Many of my recipes include either lard or tallow.
When I take off the 1/2 ounce of lye for a doubled recipe, I am increasing from a 5-8% superfat to around a 9-12%. Curing in open air for the full 6 weeks, I haven't had any problems with mold.

When I used a recipe with 3 oz of jojoba oil, when doubling the recipe, I had some oily surface...solved by doubling the recipe but not the jojoba.

Yes, I think increasing the oils by 5 - 10% would help. Might even be worth the effort to rebatch before a confetti. It could always be used in confetti later.

 

[cheeptrick]

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The macro setting is the little flower icon on most digital cameras...a good rule of thumb for product photography is to set up on a tripod, macro setting, and focus then use the auto timer to minimize shaking on the camera with your hand. I usually set it at 2 seconds but most cameras have it all the way up to 10.

OHHHH....this is a whole other thread!

Have fun play around with it...you'll find the best setting. You can also make your own lightbox!!