Soap Makers Help!

[TM Chickens]

I've got soap! Used a Pringle can for the mold and scented it with half an oz. of Lavender EO. I'll try to get pictures tomorrow when it's out of the mold.

 

[TM Chickens]

I went and looked at the soap and it has a big crack on the top of it.

Did I do something wrong?

 

[NanaKat]

Okay here are my soaps from Thursday....after rebatching the Orange Julius for forming caverns and losing oils and carrot.
The first cut started an oil bleed that I was able to capture. The rebatch was successful.


This is the China Spice that looked so black in the mold. Once out it has a dark skin with a lighter inside.

All four. China Spice, Geranium, Orange Julius, and Evergreen. The swirl in the Evergreen came from mixing the parsley flakes in the soap in an ice cream bucket and not mixing to the bottom. Then pouring into the mold, I scraped the bucket and dribbled the lighter soap down the middle of the bar.

 

[BirdBrain]

That is a really cool idea! What kind of stuff do you have? Is it skin safe?

Morgaine, it is called zinc sulfite (sulfate?) and can be bought online. My DH doesn't think it is skin safe so I guess I am out of luck.​

 

[Backyard Buddies]

NanaKat - Nice! Did you get ALL of that green from the parsley powder?

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Quote:
Post a picture for us. Have you tried unmolding it yet?

 

[TM Chickens]

Quote:
Post a picture for us. Have you tried unmolding it yet?

Have not unmolded it yet.

 

[NanaKat]

Backyard Buddies
Yes the green is from parsley flakes I hit with my coffee grinder for a few seconds. I used four heaping tablespoons for my 4 x 3.5 x 14 inch mold. I used coconut milk and green tea for the liquid. To see how the green tea affects the color of the soap, look at the Geranium soap. It is the same batch. I split it to make two different "flavors".

 

[Backyard Buddies]

TM Chickens - Hmmmmm. There are a few things that can cause cracking in soap - too much sodium hydroxide, improper temperatures, and over-mixing are a few. Did you run the recipe through a lye calculator and use a digital scale? What did it look like when you poured it into the container?

NanaKat - That green looks great! Let us know what it looks like in another week. I want to see if that green holds. From my reading, I learned that some people have a difficult time getting green out of parsley - that it turns brown from the lye. So far, yours looks like it may stay.

 

[NanaKat]

TM, what is your combination of oils? and did you use water or something else for your liquid?
When you pouring into the can, did you notice a full can or a partially full can?
Some liquids make the soap swell in the gel process which could account for the crack.