Soaping is scary

10 / 44 posts

2 ... 5

3 votes

by Honey

on 10/11/2019

Posts: 591

Soap journal 1

Oatmeal chamomile Honey soap

10/11/19

10″ Silicone Loaf Mold

Bubble wrap, cut to line mold

Recommended weight- oil- actual weight

1.8 oz. Argan Oil (5%) 2 fl oz V 1.89 oz M

1.8 oz. Castor Oil (5%) 1.87 oz M

7 oz. Coconut Oil (20%) 7.25 fl oz V 6.83 oz M

17.5 oz. Olive Oil (30%) 17.57 oz M

7 oz. Palm Oil (20%) 7.05 oz M

recommended weight -ingredient- weight adjusted to oil -actual

4.8 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye 4.89 oz- 4.80

11 oz. Distilled Water 10.94 oz- ***

due to catastrophe, actual distilled water used: 10.53oz + 4.6 oz oat milk

1 Tbsp. Honey- idk 1 squirt from bottle

14 Twinnings chamomile teabags

3:01 AM

Step 1: melt hard oils: palm oil bag and coconut oil jar placed in pot of water placed on stove to heat up

Measure oils by weight or by volume conversions

Empty chamomile into pot, pour oils over, heat on Lo heat starting at 3:30

4:01 create oat milk- ½ cup oats: 2 cups distilled water

4:41 strain oat milk into tarred cup on scale, aiming for 10.94 oz

4:59 strained chamomile infused oil

5:05 create plum colorant- ¼ tsp + ½ tsp oil

Prepare mold

Pour 1/3 batter into easy pour cup (13.62 oz)

Create lye solution- catastrophe! Remake oat milk and lye with ½ oat milk, ½ distilled water

NOTE TO SELF: Starch causes lye to gel, use < 50/50 liquid substitute: distilled water ratio

Oh my god this still wasn’t right, added 2 splashes of water mixed 13.62 oz oil and 5.29 oz lye at 150 degrees F, mixed ~1 tsp plum mica with olive oil to color, and poured in bottom of mold.

Forgot honey, so added a big squirt to the rest of the oil at this point, mixed rest of oil and lye, mixed 1 tsp yellow mica with oil, added half to batter and poured until 1 cm left of mold. Added rest of mica, topped off mold, tapped down and sprayed with alcohol, then laid bubble wrap on top. Extra batter into tubberware container. Set on porch @ 7 am to chill for 4 hours, then will be brought in to set for 48 hours.

Updates coming.

The blood on my hands covered the holes

last edit on 10/11/2019 11:40:49 AM

by Blanc

on 10/11/2019

Posts: 9417

Lol why do you do it like a scientific journal

this looks like one of my chem lab notebooks 😂

last edit on 10/11/2019 11:59:45 AM

by Whorechata

on 10/11/2019

Posts: 2653

3:01am?

Why??

by Bat

on 10/11/2019

Posts: 20

A few observations, I hope you don't mind. (Soap passion!)

I used to heat the oils on the stove until I read about using microwave. In 30 second bursts I heat the oils gradually and use a digital thermometer. Oils are ready between 120 and 130 F. They can always be reheated if needed.

When mixing the lye in the water I either do it outside for maximum ventilation or under the stove hood with the fan on medium. I highly recommend sodium lactate in the lye water to help harden your bar. It's not necessary but it takes weeks of drying time off the process. The bar is totally saponified in 24 hours but 6 weeks is generally the recommended amount simply because the bar will otherwise be very soft. (I also add beeswax to the oils in a 1% of total oil weight for additional hardness).

If you want to prevent the soap from gelling due to various ingredients which don't react well to high temp, don't cover the mold or insulate it. Let it cool slowly. But do spritz liberally with alcohol or you get soda ash which is an esthetic problem.

(I generally like a gelled soap because the colors pop).

Palm oil is often one of the main oils but I've stopped using it because of its terrible environmental impact on the areas it's grown. It's easy to use other oils, just make sure you run it through your lye calculator.

Your soap recipe sounds lovely! I think you will have a nice product which is gentle on your skin once it saponifies!

(Have you ever thought about lotion bars? They are great for the skin and you control the ingredients just like the soap. Also, they are instantly available to use once they cool).

by Honey

on 10/11/2019

Posts: 591

Blanc said:
Lol why do you do it like a scientific journal

this looks like one of my chem lab notebooks 😂

Probaby because I've taken 4 years of lab classes and this is the most organized way I can record a process I'll want to repeat. Soap is chemistry

The blood on my hands covered the holes

by Xadem

on 10/11/2019

Posts: 5402

is soap a new kind of slang for a street drug or something

by Billy

on 10/11/2019

Posts: 894

i want to eat soap now

by Honey

on 10/11/2019

Posts: 591

Bat said:
A few observations, I hope you don't mind. (Soap passion!)
I used to heat the oils on the stove until I read about using microwave. In 30 second bursts I heat the oils gradually and use a digital thermometer. Oils are ready between 120 and 130 F. They can always be reheated if needed.

I dont have a microwave so I had to take theold fashioned route. I was aiming for 120-130 but the lye was at 150 at the same time the oil was at 150 so I took advantage of the similar temperature.

When mixin the lye in the water I either do it outside for maximum ventilation or under the stove hood with the fan on medium.

I highly recommend sodium lactate in the lye water to help harden your bar. It's not necessary but it takes weeks of drying time off the process. The bar is totally saponified in 24 hours but 6 weeks is generally the recommended amount simply because the bar will otherwise be very soft. (I also add beeswax to the oils in a 1% of total oil weight for additional hardness).

I definitely need to try this next time.

If you want to prevent the soap from gelling due to various ingredients which don't react well to high temp, don't cover the mold or insulate it. Let it cool slowly. But do spritz liberally with alcohol or you get soda ash which is an esthetic problem.

Next time I make it I want to force gel phase so I can get those bright colors c:

(I generally like a gelled soap because the colors pop).
Palm oil is often one of the main oils but I've stopped using it because of its terrible environmental impact on the areas it's grown. It's easy to use other oils, just make sure you run it through your lye calculator.

Right now I'm getting my palm oil from brambleberry, they say they get ethically sourced palm oil, but I should probably look more into that. 👀

Your soap recipe sounds lovely! I think you will have a nice product which is gentle on your skin once it saponifies!
(Have you ever thought about lotion bars? They are great for the skin and you control the ingredients just like the soap. Also, they are instantly available to use once they cool).

Mmm I would like to branch out. Lotion bars are definitely a possibility :3

The blood on my hands covered the holes

by Honey

on 10/11/2019

Posts: 591

Notes for next time: allow oat milk to sit for several hours, only use supernate in lye water (add rest after sponification for skin nurishment?

*very low fragrance, try much more chamomile

The blood on my hands covered the holes

by AliceInWonderland

on 10/11/2019

Posts: 2266

I got high on lye :)

10 / 44 posts

2 ... 5

Back to forum