Soap Makers Help!

[Morgaine]

Unrefined shea does have a smell to it, but it shouldn't stink that much that the fo doesn't cover it. How long have you had the shea and where did you get it? Shea has a great shelf life but can go bad. Does it smell slightly smokey or does it smell rancid?

I have a Coconut Lemongrass fo that is powerful in lotion.

 

[MSDeb]

Quote:
I have had it about a month, I got it from TNS. It doesn't smell rancid, an odd smokey smell yes. I think it's me not the shea having a problem here. I'll try the lemongrass. Thank you for the tip. I just got a new Kelsey mold, so I'm ready to soap, soap, soap.

It's not too early to start making Christmas presents right?!

 

[Morgaine]

yeah, if it's a deep nutty, smokey smell, that is normal.

You might want to talk to Cyndi (mullers lane farm) or Corrie (chikenwhisperer), they both use the kelsey molds. I don't have any tips for those.

Happy Soaping!

 

[MSDeb]

This might be a noob question but, here goes. I want to make a batch of cp soap and instead of pulling some off and coloring it and mixing or swirling it back in I want to color some melt and pour and swirl it into the cp. Is this doable? Has anyone tried it? Pros, cons? Help.

 

[RockyToggRanch]

I inherited a bunch of stuff from a health food store closing. I thought I'd try coloring a batch of soap with some natural ingredients. I learned that beet powder and hibiscus flowers do not hold their red color in soap bummer

now I wonder about the other stuff I kept for coloring.

 

[MSDeb]

Today I seized a batch of soap.

The soap was coming to trace nicely and I added in the FO (Red Rose and Thyme from Hobby Lobby), and wham it started to seize. Managed to get it in the mold and since the glycerin was ready to go I just dumped it on top, put in the dividers and then, swirled it around a little. Don't laugh!

Unmolded the soap today, already see a problem with the glycerin. By it being primarily on top it is no doubt going to slough off relatively quickly. Looks a little rough around the edges but, seems like I will be able to salvage it.

I'm going to try this again, with the Lemon Verbena from (Hobby Lobby).

I am also going to order some FO's and hopefully get a better quality.

I've spent so much time admiring all your soap pictures thought I'd better post some too.

 

[Morgaine]

Quote:
Let me know what you have and I will let you know what I have done or what my notes on colors say

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Cool. Thanks. The stuff looks so vibrantly colored in the jars

lol

Quote:
Let me know what you have and I will let you know what I have done or what my notes on colors say

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Here is what I kept for color;

spirulina pwdr
goldenseal root
kelp granules
kelp pwdr
beet pwdr

then for additives;
slip. elm bark
whole juniper berries
whole jasmine flwrs
hibiscus flwrs
camomile flwrs
nettle
bancha leaf

teas;
jasmine
india white
black chai
green chai


This is all organic stuff. I'd love to be able to use it in my soaps. Any input is welcome


ETA...my soap room smells amazing with all of these teas and flowers

 

[Morgaine]

Quick response, will get back later with more
Spirulina- gotta use a lot of it to get a color, faded on me by the end of cure, has a smell
Kelp- I use it in my Celtic Shore like it dark green/brown, scratchy if used too much
Nettle: Gives a green that does does fade some, but keeps it's colors as long as it is not stored in the dun.
Chamomile- Will give a slight yellow tint
I think I have pictures of the first three.

Spirulina right after making, it faded to nothing by the end of cure.

Kelp

Comfrey and nettle infused oil