Don't Toss That Soap!

It's almost always certain that when I make cold processed soap, I have a few scraps left after I slice and neaten up the soap. Sometimes there are a few pieces left over, sometimes there are enough pieces it seems to make a whole bar of soap. These scraps are often not pretty. They're wrinkled or buckled, perhaps slightly off-colored, etc. So what can ya do with them besides tossing them? Hand roll them to make soap balls! The soap is still pretty pliable because you've just unmolded it, and it can be shaped into just about anything. I like soap balls because they're quick and easy. You don't need any special equipment except maybe a pair of gloves because it is messy and it's still raw soap.

You can roll your soap in different sizes, but I like to make mine uniform. Remember it's still raw soap, so you will want to let them cure as you would a normal bar. Package them up prettily in jars or plastic bags with ribbon, then sell or gift them. It's just a thought.....

Well, It's Not A Total Loss

Hey Cool People,

I'm ready to reveal the "Why Didn't I Think Of That" soap. While I'm not thrilled with the results, I'm not totally disappointed either. As you'll recall (if not, read the previous post), I attempted to swirl with pre-colored M&P Soap. Lemme tell you this: Lye is a killer-figuratively and literally speaking. The M&P soap added to my raw soap mixture sank straight to the bottom of the mold, so my soap has a hard, purple-ish layer on top. I'm glad I didn't use "good" oils like olive oil. I would have been thoroughly pissed. What I did use was hydrogenated soybean oil and canola oil. That's it. I used no "hardening" oils like cocoa butter, palm oil, or coconut oil-because I had none-LOL!!! My soap was really soft, almost mushy when I took it out of the mold. I thought it was a total loss, but I shaped it up a little, and it aint half bad. Here it tis. Stay tuned for the next disaster, I mean, project!

Eww!!!!

I was really in the CP (that's cold-pressed for all you non-soapers) soap-making mood yesterday, and I thought I'd experiment a little. I had two new bottles of lye, but no really good soaping oils, but what the heck, I had nothing but time. I decided to work with what I had in my kitchen and use some leftover oils from other projects. So the recipe went a little something like this:

1. 16 oz. all-vegetable shortening


2. 8 oz. hemp oil
   
3. 8 oz. sweet almond oil


4. 10.56 oz. water


5. 4.127 oz. lye (5% superfatted)
   
6. French vanilla pear FO from Wholesale Supplies Plus


7. Green dye

Where did I go wrong? For starters, I used a water based dye. Duh! What was I thinking? When I added the dye to my raw soap, it turned a maroon-ish color. But no, I used it anyway. Hey, aren't Bartlett pears brown? Anyway, I knew I was doomed when I saw my creation turn brown, red, and yellow all at once. But I kept the faith. "It'll be alright," I lied to myself. Well, here is the soap, I mean, oil/lye disaster in all it's glory. Could it have been the oil combo? Or was it the FO? Or was it truly the dye? If someone has some insight, please share. Meanwhile, the meatloaf- shaped atrocity is in the garbage. Happy soaping!