Soap Makers Help!

[Morgaine]

Quote:
Usually you use .7-1.0 oz of fragrance to one pound of base oils. That will give use a nicely scented soap that will stay around for a while. Usually a little less for essential oils, those are usually used around .5 oz PPO (Per Pound of Oil). Now these are general guide line. Some, like Green Irish Tweed fragrance oil, I use at .4 oz ppo, or Cinnamon essential oil at .25 oz ppo. I think you said you got dragon's blood fo? I would go .5 oz ppo on that one to get a nicely scented soap that isn't too harsh. Not sure what other ones you got, but start there and go up or down as you like.

HTH

 

[ChookHappy]

Hey soapers, I just wanted to check in and mention that the DW and I have been year by year workin on things on our bucket list and making cold process has been one of them. Yea, chickens were another lol. Anyways I wanted to thank everyone for their input that I've been reading so far. I'm learning a lot. I'll be lookin forward to lurkin around as we gain our bearings in this as well.

Happy Holidays everyone!

 

[valmom]

Thanks for the info on scenting. I'm not sure what happened yesterday, though. I think I need more practice. My first batch I poured at what turned out to be false trace- I rebatched it and it is fine. This batch I was determined to avoid false trace and get it right and it started setting up in the pan! I never had time to add the FO to it- it was turning too thick to pour so I just hurried up and poured it into the molds. How do you tell the difference between false trace and trace. Both batches, there was a cloudy formation as I trickled in the lye solution that over the time adding the lye turned the whole batch cloudy. This is a couple of minutes. The first time I stirred it another 5 minutes and poured, thinking it wasn't changing, and it wasn't right. This time I kept stirring for maybe 15 minutes and it set up- 15 minutes of stirring doesn't sound like a lot of stirring to me. How do I really tell if it is really trace or not? I am going to try again today and see if I can get some scent into it.

 

[Morgaine]

It depends on what oils you are using when talking about trace time. Some set up very fast and others like Olive oil, you might never get to a thick trace. Are you still using Crisco as 100% of your oils? If you are, then wait till others who have used it chime in, I'm not sure how it behaves. Or, what I would do is start with another recipe. You can get lard, Coconut, Olive, Canola, Castor and sometimes even palm at your grocery store. How about this recipe.

Lard (30%) 4.8 oz
Olive Oil (30%) 4.8 oz
Coconut (15% )2.4 oz
Crisco (25%) 4 oz

Water 6 oz
Lye 2.1 oz (7% lye discount)

Are you using a stick blender? How much are you using the stick blender? In short bursts or all the time? What were your temps? Are you sure your scale is accurate?

 

[valmom]

No, Crisco is only 50%- the first batch it was 50/50 crisco/olive oil that I had to re-batch. The one that went really fast was Crisco/olive oil/canola oil at 50/30/20 just to see what the difference was. The one I did today I dropped the Crisco to 40%, canola 40% and olive oil 20%. I actually got the scent into the soap today!

I decided not to use the stick blender, thinking that was what made yesterday's batch go so fast. So, I stirred. And stirred, and stirred. And finally after about 45 minutes got the blender out. It went better after that. I think this batch is really going to be nice- very creamy, smooth, and now, scented! And it is setting up nicely in the molds, too.

Question about trace- I am still having trouble telling when it is "done" and ready to pour into the molds (except for yesterday when it tried to set up in the pot.) Today, when I started with the blender, I got lighter swirls in the soap that I stirred in (with the blender off) then blend some more swirls, turn off and stir, repeat many times. Is the color change indicating trace? I finally got it to the point where drops off the end of the blender sort of (only sort of) stayed distinct for a moment as they dripped. Is that trace?

I do find it really rewarding, but I think I have more learning to do! Cheap oils are my friend to practice on. I wish we had a big Walmart to buy bulk oil at (almost). I am pretty stuck with what I can buy in the supermarket which seems limited to Crisco, canola, olive, and corn oils.

 

[aussieheelr]

ChookHappy- Congrats on working on that bucket list

there are some VERY helpful folks here, but being on BYC that's not a shocker

Well can you imagine, DH got me molds and a grater (for bees wax) for Christmas! He gave me such a hard time over my new found fun in soapmaking and now he's contributing! What a sweetie

 

[Morgaine]

Quote:
With trace, what you are looking for is a complet emulsion. Have you ever made mayo? When you first start to mix the lye and oils, the oils turn from clear to milky, but when you stop blending you can the oil rising to the top. It is not mixed enough then. Keep mixing until you see that it is all emulsified, it will go from milky to opaque looking. If you are swirling, then now is the time to mix your colorants, but being a newbie, I would say that you should keep mixing until it looks like thin pudding. If you drizzle soap into the pan, you will see the lines. Thinner the trace, the sooner it melts back into the batter.

I think Millersoaps.com has pictures that you can look at to see what exactly it looks like. And Mueller Lane Farms site too.

IF you have any more questions, just ask.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Hi fellow soapers -

Just wanted to stop in and say hi. I haven't soaped since early November because we still had quite a bit of stock on hand. I understand that the sales were VERY brisk in the weeks before Christmas but I haven't gotten in to do an assessment of what is left. I imagine that I'll be soaping again in a month or so.

In the meantime, I'm dealing with the sickness of one of my girls, Penny. She's 3 years, 9 months old and probably dealing with internal laying or is egg bound. I'm not sure which. She hasn't laid for a few months but she's not standing like a penguin either. I do feel something back there, but I'm not sure what it is. I have a post up in the diseases section with some photos. She's been in the house since Christmas morning, not eating a whole lot and real thin. While she mostly stays in her box, she does get to go out to free range with the other girls here and there. The other two girls really miss her and have been calling out to her every morning. It's sad.

ETA: Here's the link if you care to read about it: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=279591

 

[Morgaine]

Oh Shelly, I hope you can her better! I haven't had that problem with any my hens but I think I read that putting them in a warm bath could help and lubbing the vent with Ky or vasaline helped. I hope some others who have more knowledge can help you and poor penny!

(((Hugs for Penny)))

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Thanks Amber. I tried the bath, but not the KY or Vaseline. I may give it another try, perhaps later today. She's getting so thin.