My third attempt at making cold process soap was a total disaster, which, if you haven't read about it, you can go here to do so. Well, to make a long and boring story short, I totally screwed it up and made a quadruple superfatted soap. Aka: TRASH. Gracefruit, the queen of hot process was kind enough to give me some tips which you can read here if you want. Her suggestion was to cook it in a crock pot with some lye solution until it mixed in. So I did.
It took almost two hours with occasional stirring to mix the water into the fatty soap. It was like (duh) oil and water, but with the heat and the mixing and the time, it finally joined hands and became a mushy mess. The next morning, I am happy to announce, they hardened. Here are the freaky bad boys. They look like hard oatmeal, don't they?
I hope they are useable, because I will be doling them out to anyone who will have one. Now let's move on to other things. I'm done with these beasts.
Thanks, guys. Gracefruit, Mild. I just got ph strips but didn't test this batch. I washed with it and it feels wonderful. You truly helped me not waste all that oil. I will have to learn how to use the lye calculator and get good recipes. Thank you again for your wisdom.
Yay, it's saved! I'm so glad Gracefruit's wise advice worked. And I think it looks fine, but if you want it to be smoother, you can shave it with a veggie peeler and use the scraps in a rebatch batch... if you want this batch to go through another transformation! But I think they look swell as they are. :)
Have you looked at the Soapmaker program? I couldn't live without it. You can download a free trial here:
www.soapmaker.ca
It's a fabulous tool for designing your own recipes. You can get a good idea of what the finished bar will be like before you make the soap. It also has a built-in lye calculator.
Thanks, heather. I was just thinking I should put it back to a white. The sagey brown is a great color and is soothing, but for soap, I wonder if it s not a good back drop for photos. Black or white work really well for pics but I get bored. Got to switch it up occasionally. Like my living room. It changes form month to month. I get bored of the "feel" of a room or blog. That's also why I change my header every couple of months. Freshen up. Spring is here! (not that it effects me, I live in paradise....well, paradise like weather anyway ;)
Well, you're good at it! I'm getting my website up and running and I was taking my hubby on a bubble tour of some of the sites that I love. When yours came up he said, "ooooh, this one's good!" I love the new header, too!!
Well saved! You've got a lot of patience. I'd have just chucked it in the bin and stomped off in disgust :-) I tried to rebatch one and it ended up looking like rice cakes, not pretty and not to be repeated. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done!
It took almost two hours with occasional stirring to mix the water into the fatty soap. It was like (duh) oil and water, but with the heat and the mixing and the time, it finally joined hands and became a mushy mess. The next morning, I am happy to announce, they hardened. Here are the freaky bad boys. They look like hard oatmeal, don't they?
They actually turned out quite nice, considering everything you had to go through to get to this point. Great save :o]
ReplyDeleteThose look really cool...they have a nice rustic feel. Good save. I hope they turn out to be a nice soap. Soapmaking can be such a surprise = )
ReplyDeleteHooray! I'm so glad it worked for you. And your finished bars look very good -- wholesome, rustic and natural. Did the soap turn out fairly mild?
ReplyDeleteThanks, guys. Gracefruit, Mild. I just got ph strips but didn't test this batch. I washed with it and it feels wonderful. You truly helped me not waste all that oil. I will have to learn how to use the lye calculator and get good recipes. Thank you again for your wisdom.
ReplyDeleteYay, it's saved! I'm so glad Gracefruit's wise advice worked. And I think it looks fine, but if you want it to be smoother, you can shave it with a veggie peeler and use the scraps in a rebatch batch... if you want this batch to go through another transformation! But I think they look swell as they are. :)
ReplyDeleteHave you looked at the Soapmaker program? I couldn't live without it. You can download a free trial here:
ReplyDeletewww.soapmaker.ca
It's a fabulous tool for designing your own recipes. You can get a good idea of what the finished bar will be like before you make the soap. It also has a built-in lye calculator.
Glad it worked out in the end! Phew!
ReplyDeleteAll hail, Gracefruit & Joanna... that is quite a save!
ReplyDeletethe blog looks beee-utiful! I love the sagey brown with the pink!
They turned out great! they look like peanut butter fudge.
ReplyDeleteLooks good. Kinda like a peanut butter brownie. :)
ReplyDeleteThose look so much better! Glad you were able to save them with Gracefruit's method.
ReplyDeleteI think they look very "gourmet," Joanna. Nice job :)
ReplyDeleteSo glad the advice from gracefruit worked. The soap looks great.
ReplyDeleteThanks, heather. I was just thinking I should put it back to a white. The sagey brown is a great color and is soothing, but for soap, I wonder if it s not a good back drop for photos. Black or white work really well for pics but I get bored. Got to switch it up occasionally. Like my living room. It changes form month to month. I get bored of the "feel" of a room or blog. That's also why I change my header every couple of months. Freshen up. Spring is here! (not that it effects me, I live in paradise....well, paradise like weather anyway ;)
ReplyDeleteWell, you're good at it! I'm getting my website up and running and I was taking my hubby on a bubble tour of some of the sites that I love. When yours came up he said, "ooooh, this one's good!" I love the new header, too!!
ReplyDeleteYummy soap! Great save!
ReplyDeleteWonderful save, reminds me of oatmeal cookie squares. Shoot now I'm hungry :)
ReplyDeleteI second www.soapmaker.ca very good program, I love it.
Well saved!
ReplyDeleteYou've got a lot of patience. I'd have just chucked it in the bin and stomped off in disgust :-) I tried to rebatch one and it ended up looking like rice cakes, not pretty and not to be repeated.
Pat yourself on the back for a job well done!
These are smelly good!
ReplyDeleteI actually like the way they turned out, they remind me of peanut brittle!
ReplyDelete