Soap Makers Help!

[MullersLaneFarm]

Quote:
What type of GM did you use (fresh, canned, powdered)?

Was your GM liquid, slushly or frozen?

When did you incorporate the lye into the GM? (before or after weighing/melting oils)

Did your GM/lye solution turn color (i.e. yellow to neon orange)?

What type of FO/EO did you use? (FOs containing vanilla will turn your soap dark.)

 

[buffbeauty]

My first attempt at rebatch...... FAIL!!! EPIC FAIL!!!

What started as a lovley creamy colored soap with brick red oxide swirls turned into.......
RAW BURGER REBATCH!!!!!

GROSS!!! And the scent isn't even good. I normally like Japanese Cherry Blossom and ootb this was ok, but now ew. I hated to waste all the oils used to make this batch. We'll see......

 

[buffbeauty]

Last weekends soaps - fresh goats' milk, lard, olive oil, coconut oil, and sunflower oil

Eucalyptus Spearamint - colored with green chrome oxide, ITP swirl

Black Raspberry Vanilla - ITP swirl with ultramarine pink

Coconut Lime Verbena - Just poured a line of green down the middle

Amber Romance - colored with some yellow oxide, turning pretty dark as it cures

Sorry for the double post for those of you that follow both soap threads!!

 

[savingdogs]

Quote:
What type of GM did you use (fresh, canned, powdered)?

Was your GM liquid, slushly or frozen?

When did you incorporate the lye into the GM? (before or after weighing/melting oils)

Did your GM/lye solution turn color (i.e. yellow to neon orange)?

What type of FO/EO did you use? (FOs containing vanilla will turn your soap dark.)

I used frozen raw goat milk, frozen but slushy enough to measure.

I put the lye into the goat milk prior to adding to the oils, after the oils were all ready.

My goat milk/lye solution looked more orange and more lumpy than usual. Last time I used this same recipe to great success, I used only 8 oz of goat milk and four ounces of water. And I did add fragrance oil, one from Brambleberry called "Black Amber and Lavender" and I made an unscented batch last time. I'm using the Easy Crisco recipe. My last batch was lovely, perfect soap. Since I don't want to leave out the fragrance next time, I was thinking I should have put the 4 oz of water back into the recipe (I had been told I could substitute GM for H20 by a couple other soapers). Also, last batch I used CANNED goat milk, I didn't have my own fresh at the time and now I have goats in milk.

Suggestions of what I did wrong? The soap smells lovely, looks fine, but is dark chocolate brown.

 

[swirler]

Black Amber & Lavender is a vanilla-blend fragrance oil. You can read the notes at Brambleberry :

Deep and sophisticated this fragrance blends rustic Amber with bold Parisian Lavender. Combined with these main scents is a mysterious Black Myrrh, dulcet vanilla Tonka bean, and a splash of Egyptian Musk. We've rounded out the fragrance with a surprising addition of raw Clary Sage resulting in an earthy concoction with hints of sweetness and pleasing floral notes.

NOTE: Discolors to a brown in CP soap.​

 

[savingdogs]

Quote:

That is what DID it then......thank you so much for finding that for me.

Gosh, what a bummer, it is the BEST smell. So perhaps it wasn't my recipe or technique.

Thank you for that link.

 

[Freckle Face Farm]

Quote:
WOW!!! They look GREAT!!!! much better than the rebatch

Cant wait have all my stuff to make my 1st batch except for FO and EO still waiting on those

DH made me a soap mold today!!

savingdogs Black Amber & Lavender bet it smells yummy..

 

[buffbeauty]

Well I have been a busy lil bee today....

First Yuzu deluxe - soaped beautifully!!! Smells GLORIOUS!!

Then Econocuke - seized FAST!! But I think I was able to save it. I tried just whipping it up and heating it a bit but it was too thick so I added just a few TBSP of water and kept heating and beating until it was thin enough to pour back into the mold. This was going to be a swirl so I had a 2nd colored batch already begun so I did the same to that batch and got it on top......We'll see.

Third - (after taking a break since the seize stressed me out) I researched preventing seize again since I wanted to make sure I could prevent it and it had been a while since I read about it. I was then a glutton for punishment and decided to try econocuke again. I really wanted it to turn out a super smooth creamy soap and I had bought 8 oz of it. So I pulled some oil out and mix the FO in that and warmed it a bit. Then I used 2.5x my lye in goats milk, and I soaped pretty cool about 90-95 degrees. The only thing I didn't do was milk the oil/FO mixture in by hand. I didn;t even think about it because in my head I was just trying to get it all mixed in and poured ASAP. I think it would of helped because...... it seized!! Well somewhat. I immediately poured it into the mold and withina few minutes oils were separating so I poured it back into the bowl and stirred/heated it up some more. This time when I poured back into the mold it behaved. It might not be pretty. I think at least the tops will have to be cut off but we'll see. What could I have done different? Was it just a matter of not hand stirring?

Fourth - Moroccan Fig. - I had a 2oz bottle of this. So I mixed up a 2 lb batch and shredded up about a pound of the hamberger rebatch that I had, then added the FO. Brambleberry warned that it accelerates but I had no problems whatsoever. Topped the soap with a few more shreds. It smells pretty good.

Last - I had an oz of wake-up rosemary that was a free sample from an order. I have been scared to use it because it is VERY STRONG!! Likes vics vaporub...sorta. But a sweet lil birdie sent me 2 oz of sandalwood as a freebie with another scent that I bought from her and got just today so I thought I'd try that mix. Did the q-tip test and it seemed to blend ok. The wake-up rosemary was still a bit stout but I thought "we'll see". I infused olive oil with some lavender I had and soaped it up adding ground lavender, no color. It might be pretty nice on those winter morning when you wake up with a stuffy nose.

Hopefully once cured it'll be a nice blend.

So I'm done until next weekend but I'll post pics tomorrow!!

 

[Morgaine]

Yeah glad you go the package

How do you like Gaia?

All you new soapies look great! Did you get the Yuzu from SW? It is awesome.

I havn't used the Econcuke, I have always used the Brambleberry Cucucmber Melon (cybilla) and it soaps great. But it is not a straight cucumber scent.
For soaps that move fast, I always make sure to have my lye and oils below 100, use full water(or milk), and add the fo to the soap when it is just emulsified. Do not wait until you trace. Just emulsified soap will not seperate but is still very thin and liquidy. Add your fo then and hand stir it in and then right away pour into your mold. I have been able to get good results with known seizers this way.

 

[~**mayarebecca**~]

joining the soap makers here. and with almost 500 pages i don't think i will catch up anytime soon.
nice to *meet* you all.