CP Soap Question

[Michelle at WW]

Hi,

I made my first batch of CP soap two weeks ago. Of course, being the newbie I am at it, I was a little impatient... didn't wait for my oils to cool enough... and my batch seized a bit. However, being well-read in this (thanks to everyone's posts), I very quickly molded it and it turned out OK. But, I seem to have lost my fragrance.

My question: can I rebatch this one?

The recipe was the Essential Bar II from the Soapmaker's Companion.

Thanks in advance,

Michelle

[Bunny]

Ok... A few things here.

First and formost, did you run that recipe through a lye calculator? Books are famous for giving incorrect lye amounts. Every single batch of soap you make with a different recipe needs to go through a lye calculator. There's one at www.soapcalc.com and one at www.thesage.com There are many more than that, but those are the most common ones.

Second, what did you use to fragrance and how much?

Third, what exactly is your recipe you used?

Welcome to the addiction!

[Sara]

Ha ha. Yes welcome to the addiction.

If everything checks out OK (lye amt. and such) you should be alright to rebatch it. If you post the recipe we can probably help you out there.

[RobinInOR]

I checked the recipe in the book and it looks OK, but I bet it's kind of soft. The water amount is almost the full water you can use, and the lye amount gives you somewhere around a 9-10% lye discount. A bit higher than many people use, but you'll have to see how it turns out for you.

Soap Companion recipes always have a really high lye discount. Many people start around 5%. It's all personal preference and what works for you.

Sometimes fragrances fade a bit, but come back during cure. Which one was it, were there any notes about how it behaved in Cp?

You can shred it up and cook it, and add a bit more fragrance. Will depend on how much fragrance you used already.

[Michelle at WW]

Hi,

The fragrance oil was Creamy Cinnamon Chai, probably from Royal Aromatics. It's to die for in candles and is skin safe. (I get it from my Canadian supplier and most of her FO are from Royal Aromatics.) She did a test on it in CP and it turned out OK. That is what encouraged me to try it out.

Robin, you are right. The soap is a little soft - except the scraps I rolled into a ball and am playing with. The ball has firmed up somewhat.

I can smell the fragrance when I get close to the curing area, but not when I actually pick up a bar. I can't identify what I do smell, but it seems like olive oil meets something rather than "Creamy Cinnamon Chai" (which smells like like a nice warm drink on a cold winter's day). Maybe the scent will return as you suggested.

The recipe:

201g sodium hydroxide

538.7g distilled water

595.3g olive oil

454g coconut oil

396.9g palm oil

12g grapefruit seed extract

35ml FO

I think I will try to find my patience and wait and see. At the end of the month, if it still doesn't smell like it should, I'll do my first rebatching.

In the meantime, I think I read someone's post that said Castille was a better place to start out. That'll keep me busy!

Thanks,

Michelle

[Marilyna]

Hi Michelle,

From what the recipe states, it looks to me like you need to use more FO. Looks like it's about 3 pounds of oils and 1 oz of FO. For that amount of oil, I would use 3 oz of FO. A lot of us use 1 oz of FO per pound of oils.

So if you rebatch it, I would add 2 more oz FO.