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It all started out so well…


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DoH! I hate when that happens.

 

when you get massive acceleration like that, the only way out is through. Heat it up and turn it hot process.  Won’t be as pretty as cp, but prettier than a blob.

 

(Assuming it’s a skin safe fragrance.)

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Round two was so much easier.  I see lots of gremlins in my future because I have lots of learning and understanding to do. I’m hoping it won’t continue to look like butter once the heat dissipates and it hardens up?

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Edited by Kris10Tackles
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A lot comes down to:

your formula

the heat in the oils and lye solution. 

your timing.

 

on small batches use the stick blender sparingly. As soon as you see it is emulsified you can technically pour since it won’t separate. “Trace” is a spectrum from light (texture of chocolate milk or coffee cream), to thick (texture of pudding) and everything in between.

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Phew okay! I pulsed for 2ish seconds then physically stirred and repeated. As for the “recipe” I’ve got training wheels on. I purchased a bag of premixed oils from Brambleberry and then followed their instructions for adding the lye & water mixture. I’m sure eventually I’ll become more adventurous with recipe making but since this isn’t in my wheelhouse yet, I wanted to make it as “easy” and straightforward as possible.  🥰

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That looks great! Now comes the worst part...waiting!! I am the worst and always try bars that aren't ready. Soapmaking is doing nothing to improve my patience...and I thought waiting 2 weeks for candles to cure was bad! 😁 

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55 minutes ago, asr said:

That looks great! Now comes the worst part...waiting!! I am the worst and always try bars that aren't ready. Soapmaking is doing nothing to improve my patience...and I thought waiting 2 weeks for candles to cure was bad! 😁 

When I started out I liked HP once in a while, so I could use them right away. Then realized how limiting HP is, and stuck with CP, but can oven hot process a poured CP and get a similar end result.  
 

once I figured out water discounting the whole ballgame changed!  I use my end slices after about 2-3 days.

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21 hours ago, TallTayl said:

When I started out I liked HP once in a while, so I could use them right away. Then realized how limiting HP is, and stuck with CP, but can oven hot process a poured CP and get a similar end result.  
 

once I figured out water discounting the whole ballgame changed!  I use my end slices after about 2-3 days.

I just got my first soap with glycerin rivers so mention of water discounting is timely...I have been using 2:1 water to lye but need to reevaluate that! Been wanting to test CPOP too 🤔.

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1 hour ago, asr said:

I just got my first soap with glycerin rivers so mention of water discounting is timely...I have been using 2:1 water to lye but need to reevaluate that! Been wanting to test CPOP too 🤔.

Did the rivers appear just in areas of titanium dioxide? If so, the water soluble from Nurture Soap has never (touches wood) done that in my formula. 
 

I use a 40% lye solution normally. I ratchet that up to 35% for fast movers, like spices and florals. 

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Cpop is okay but you can run into appearance issues with it. if you want to try it, heat over 170 or lower. With my oven I just heat up for five minutes and it get plenty hot. I let it cool down some before putting in soap. The soap heats up and keeps oven warm so I don’t keep the oven on.


Sticky soap is normal.

 

Good additive to use is sodium lactate. It makes the soap harder and the bars feel nice in use.


It’s fine to try bars right away, I did when I started to test formula.

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13 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Did the rivers appear just in areas of titanium dioxide? If so, the water soluble from Nurture Soap has never (touches wood) done that in my formula. 
 

I use a 40% lye solution normally. I ratchet that up to 35% for fast movers, like spices and florals. 

I was using the Winter White mica from Nurture at 2.5 tsp per pound of oils (below the recommended 3 tsp per pound of oils - I was using to lighten a neon mica that made up the other .5 tsp per lb). I just pulled my notes and my lye concentration was only 30% in this batch. So that and the Winter White were the culprit. 

 

Thanks TallTayl! I am going through my notes 35% is my highest lye concentration. I am going to experiment and see how I do with my recipe at closer to 40%.

 

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On 5/4/2022 at 2:50 PM, asr said:

That looks great! Now comes the worst part...waiting!! I am the worst and always try bars that aren't ready. Soapmaking is doing nothing to improve my patience...and I thought waiting 2 weeks for candles to cure was bad! 😁 

🥰 thank you so much! I did try to plan it out so that I’m forced to use up my melt and pour batches in the time it will take for my first batch of  CP soap to cure. The waiting is still hard and I’ve also been weighing the bars everyday. Nope not impatient. I find it fascinating that they’ve been consistently losing  .01 oz every day.

 

I have so much to learn! ☺️

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On 5/6/2022 at 9:36 PM, Kris10Tackles said:

🥰 thank you so much! I did try to plan it out so that I’m forced to use up my melt and pour batches in the time it will take for my first batch of  CP soap to cure. The waiting is still hard and I’ve also been weighing the bars everyday. Nope not impatient. I find it fascinating that they’ve been consistently losing  .01 oz every day.

 

I have so much to learn! ☺️

You planned it very well! The pre-mixed oils from Brambleberry were a good idea. That way you learn the process first then you can dive into formulating your own recipes. That part was overwhelming for me in the beginning. But once you are comfortable with the process that becomes much easier!  

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8 hours ago, asr said:

You planned it very well! The pre-mixed oils from Brambleberry were a good idea. That way you learn the process first then you can dive into formulating your own recipes. That part was overwhelming for me in the beginning. But once you are comfortable with the process that becomes much easier!  

They kind of make it very approachable and simple. It’s nice just having one bag that gets put away..

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