Botched Soap

This started as a pretty cool looking batch of black activated charcoal soap with white and crimson red swirls inside.  The top was textured all nice and then, I go to cut the bars. I did a water discount on all 4 of the batches made that day, but this one was waaaaay harder than the rest and just a bit crumbly when sliced. (It smelled absolutely divine by the way: Cherry Fizz).  So, I do a quick zap test and got zinged.  Yup, lye heavy.  I wracked my brain trying to figure out what went wrong, then remembered: as I was finishing up with pouring the oils, my friend called needing some "urgent" relationship advice.  So, while I'm yapping on the phone, I forget to add the Rice Bran oil.  

Bummer.  

I actually considered throwing the whole loaf in the trash.  I was that pissed mad with myself.  Then, reason returned and I decided to pull out the crock pot and do a re-batch.  

After  shredding the bars, I added the missing Rice Bran oil plus a bit of glycerin.  The glycerin wasn't really necessary but I figured why not.  At this point, it can't hurt anything.  The bars still had enough moisture in them that it didn't take long to cook down at all and the scent was actually strong enough, that it wasn't necessary to add anymore fragrance.

   I glopped it into my mold and smoothed the surface out with some plastic wrap.  A few hours later, the bars were ready to cut.

Ugly, right?  Yeah, I know BUT the lather is wonderfully creamy and the bars still smell yummy.  My boys love them.  The bars sort of look like shiny granite when they're wet.  These will sit for a few weeks and then we'll use them here at home.  Fortunately, this was only a half of loaf  made with leftover fragrance oil.  Not too much of a waste :0)

Water Discounting...Cider Barrel, Golden Blossom and OMH

So, in my last post, I mentioned that I've been doing water discounts in my soap.  That's my new thing. Tiggy from Future Primitive gave me a few tips (Thanks Tiggy!) and I've been rolling with it since.  A water discount is simply reducing the amount of water or whatever liquid you're using, to make soap.

 The percentage that I discount depends on the fragrance and other ingredients being used.  Sometimes it's as low as a 5% discount.  The highest I've gone is a 30% discount and honestly, that's as high as I'm comfortable going. 

 CIDER BARREL

 

Cider Barrel is an apple cider type scent with some little secrets thrown in to make it extra yummy.  

I did a 30% water discount on all 3 batches.  They were made in the morning and two of the batches were hard and ready to cut that evening.  I personally don't feel that water discounts cut down the cure time, but it certainly makes it easier to get the labeling and shrink wrapping (I use open ended bands) out of the way.

I packaged them about 3 weeks into the cure.  Because of the discount, I don't have to worry about the bars shrinking and causing the labels and wrapping to become loose.

GOLDEN BLOSSOM

Golden Blossom is a beautiful scent with sweet fruit, light florals, vanilla and musk.  It's very light and somewhat powdery, yet somehow, quite strong if that makes sense at all.  This was also firm and ready to unmold the same day.

OMH!

OMH! is my version of Oatmeal Milk & Honey.  This is a full Goat Milk soap with Colloidal Oatmeal.  For some reason, although I poured this batch first, it was the last to firm up.  I messed the sides up pretty bad removing it form the mold.  Apparently it wasn't ready at all, because the cut bars did a partial gel on the counter overnight.  They're fine now and just as hard as the first two batches.

I made three batches one week before this group and these bars are way harder than the bars that have been curing for 4 weeks already. 

On the Curing Rack...Jolt & Sibera Handmade Soaps

I've really been enjoying doing these fragrance oil / essential oil blends.  It's a nice change from the soaps that I normally make.  The blends behaved beautifully.  I experienced no acceleration all all.  So, I really wish that I had done a water discount.  That's my new thing now, btw.  I'll talk more about it in my next post.

JOLT 

The scent is pretty much citrus and ice.  A "wake me up" kind of fragrance with Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon Tangerine & Bergamot with a blast of Peppermint, Eucalyptus and menthol.

SIBERIA

The name pretty much says it all for this blend.  It's all ice.  Peppermint & Eucalyptus

Both soaps were made with Coconut Milk in my basic Olive Oil recipe with added benefits of Shea Butter (unrefined) and Avocado Oil.  I can't wait to try them out :0)

On the Curing Rack - "Sweet Thang" handmade Soap

Oh man does this soap smell gooood!  

SWEET THANG

London Lemon Curd whipped with pure Sugar Cane on a delectable Shortbread crust

 

This was my first time soaping this fragrance and I wasn't sure how bad it was discolor.  So far, almost 2 weeks into the cure, the bars are a dark beige color.  Which isn't bad at all.  I thought they might turn fully brown.  This color reminds me more of a dessert crust.

 

Now, I know that I have a brand new jar of yellow oxide, but couldn't find it.  So, I used Bramble Berry's Fizzy Lemonade to color the topping and Wilton's 1M piping tip. 

I swear, when I was taking these photos, the bluish evening light made them seem to glow!

Kind of weird, lol.  I wonder if they actually will glow under florescent light.  I'll have to check that out.

I think adding a wispy white swirl in the base will help that yellow swirl pop more next time...

Soap for Valentines Day

I don't normally do much for Valentines Day, but was a bit more prepared this year and was able to get a few themed batches done.

FLIRT

A flirty heart of light florals kissed with Purple Passion Fruit, sun-ripened Tuscan Grapes and Vanilla musk.

These bars went pretty fast.  There are only 1 or 2 bars left.


ALLURE


Succulent fruity top notes of Kiwi, Pineapple and Pear with an alluring heart of Tiger Lily and Lilac

This batch will most likely sell into Easter/Spring, which is fine because I've just finished making 3 new batches today.  All of which will fall into the fresh or citrus category.  So, it'll be nice to still have a sweet, fruity soap in the shop for my fruit lovers.

3 New Soap Batches

Yesterday morning I made 3 new batches of coconut milk soap.  Coconut Milk is quite thick and adds a really nice creaminess to the soap.

 

 ACHILLES BAY

 I've made this soap so many times in the past that I can pretty much make it in my sleep...or so I thought.  These bars are normally Teal to represent the blue/green water in Bermuda with a white textured layer on top to represent the waves.

 

I didn't add enough green to the color blend and apparently didn't wait long enough for the base to firm before trying to add the white layer.  It sank.

Despite the accidental change to the look, this is still, hands down, my favorite scent of all the soap that I've ever made.

SAKURA BLOOM

This is a version of Japanese Cherry Blossom.  Feminine and floral with just the right amount of sweetness.  

I ran out of brown oxide quite a while ago and never purchased more.  I've creating brown using cocoa powder and a pinch of black oxide or activated charcoal. Works like a charm.

MASQUERADE

  

Finally, I have another fragrance/essential oil blend.  

 A deep and sensual fragrance with sweet and floral like notes of Ylang- Ylang, supported with the earthiness of Sandalwood finishing with the intoxicating, bourbon-y richness of Black Vanilla.

Watalappan Handmade Cold Process Soap

Watalappan is a tropical desert scent that I did several years ago.  It's pretty much an island version of Creme Brulee.  Top notes of Coconut, Cane Sugar, Vanilla and Tonka Bean with spicy notes of Cardamom.

(Coconut Milk, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Rice Bran Oil, Soybean Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Shea Butter, Fragrance Oil, Cocoa Powder)

I didn't want to add any color to the base of the soap because it should darken to a deep beige.  Instead, I did a cocoa line and added gold mica and a brown drizzle to the top.
This is one of my hubby's favorites, so it was nice to bring it back again :0)