Of course, as is the norm with my soap 'experiments', there was a bit of drama when I found a lot of liquid sitting on top of the mould the following day after I took the towels off.
I asked my friends on the Down to Earth Forum what they thought and it was thought the problem could be the amount of water used as one soap calculator said to add 380g which I added and the Bramble Berry one said to add 330g. However, I can never keep soap in the mould longer than a day so I ended up mopping up the liquid lying on top and took it out of the mould and it actually didn't look too bad. So I grabbed my Wiltshire Staysharp knife, sharpened it up and the soap cut beautifully and looked like glass.
I made this batch on the 7th and it is already changing colour and funnily enough is developing brown flecks.
There
is no colour added to this soap as the fragrance oil does the
discolouring. I didn't add it to 300ml of the soap mixture which was
poured on the top so you can see the difference especially in the first
photo.
This is the soap that my friend sent me which has the Oatmeal Stout fragrance oil in it and she added beer instead of water so you can see how much darker it looks. She has a blog The Curing Room and an Etsy shop Heart Berry TAS where she sells her lovely soaps.
This is the recipe I used (I have used a weight conversion calculator for my Northern Hemisphere readers so I hope it is correct):
Oatmeal Stout Soap
300g (10.5oz) copha/coconut oil
300g (10.5 oz) Olive Oil
400g (14 oz) Rice Bran Oil
380g (13 oz) water
142g (5 oz) Lye
30g (1 oz) Bramble Berry Oatmeal Stout Fragrance Oil
My next batch will be an old tried and true calendula soap recipe which hopefully will turn out without any dramas and will be cured well and truly in time for Christmas. I am making calendula infused oil at the moment and it will be ready soon.
Soap making is fun so if you haven't given it a try just have a go and I am sure you will really enjoy it.
Beautiful soap! Wish I had time to do this. Maybe someday! :)
ReplyDeleteMonica, it doesn't take long. The longest part is waiting for it to cure :-)
DeleteOver a year ago, I attended a soap making course that my Mum gave me as a birthday gift. I really enjoyed it, and I bought some things to make my own here at home, but I haven't tried yet...not really sure what's stopping me. Going to have to just get in and do it so I can make lovely soap like yours! Meg:)
ReplyDeleteJust make up your mind and do it, Meg. You won't regret it I am sure.
DeleteYou're inspiring me to make my soap a bit fancier Chel. I like the colour, it looks rustic. Brings memories of Dad giving me stout to build me up when I was a bit crook. Horrible stuff!!
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how the fragrance oil discolours the soap, Hutchy. I don't usually use fragrance oil but my friend wasn't fond of the smell so offered it on the DTE forum.
Deletebeautiful looking soap!
ReplyDeletehave to get in & make more soap too!
thanx for sharing
Thanks Selina. It is fun isn't it?
DeleteOooh Chel, this soap looks wonderful. Great idea for gifts too, as yours look so professional in a perfectly rustic looking way. Love that stamp, can I ask where you got that from?
ReplyDeleteSally, I bought it a few years ago and I think it was from eBay. I have had a look at Aussie soap suppliers for the same one but couldn't find it anywhere. There are other 'handmade' ones on eBay if you are interested.
DeleteOne of these days I will find the recipes in measures I am familiar with maybe, it just looks so fun when you show it! And your soaps look awesome!
ReplyDelete