Hello.
Tonight I unveil my unscented soap with ground oatmeal added as an exfoliating agent. I also sprinkled whole oatmeal on top of the freshly poured soap as an accent when cut.
Not sure if it's me or the lighting in my place for I am having a hard time seeing the trace. I am literally on the floor looking in the soap pan at every angle. When I finally saw the trace I had to let the batch sit for a few seconds while I put the already ground oatmeal back into the coffee grinder for a quick spin. Once I added and stirred I poured it into the mold. At this point some started to leak out of the cutting slot so I taped a piece of heavy duty waxed paper on the outside of the mold. I then set the mold on top of a towel folded into thirds. I had no choice but to leave the mold on the kitchen counter instead of carrying it to the closet. I was relieved because carrying it with the soap so close to the top of the mold poses a real hazard. My only concern was the cat trying to get under the towels once I covered the mold. He did sit on the end of the towels so it knocked the lid off slightly. I had to tape each side of the lid and hope for the best.
I will report my findings later.
Soapmaker's Notes
March 31 recipe
5 pounds coconut, olive, and palm oils combined
12 ounces sodium hydroxide
32 ounces distilled water
3 tablespoons ground oatmeal
Handfull of whole oatmeal sprinkled on top of freshly poured mold
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Insurance Blus - Part II
Hi. I have decided to keep my soapmaking on a hobbyist level for the time being. Insurance is too expensive so will need to revisit when raises are reinstated. Have not had a raise in three years so flat-lined salary can't compete with the cost of living. Please stay tuned. Janie
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Insurance Blues
Okay, this has got me tied up in knots.
Anytime a product is manufactured product liability insurance needs to be in place. With soap, there could be a skin reaction to the essential oils or any lye that might be remaining in the bar. I fear the essential oils more than the lye because the bar of soap becomes milder as each week passes until there is none left in the final bar. This could take anywhere from 3-4 weeks.
So, I received a quote that seemed reasonable enough until I read the fine print. First the company is not in California so it is not subject to California laws. Say what? Secondly if you file a claim and the company is insolvent, tough luck. I need to go back to the drawing board on this. One thing is for sure, not one bar will leave my door until insurance is in place. I will not chance being sued only to lose my 401(k) or have my wages garnished.
Oh, boy!
Anytime a product is manufactured product liability insurance needs to be in place. With soap, there could be a skin reaction to the essential oils or any lye that might be remaining in the bar. I fear the essential oils more than the lye because the bar of soap becomes milder as each week passes until there is none left in the final bar. This could take anywhere from 3-4 weeks.
So, I received a quote that seemed reasonable enough until I read the fine print. First the company is not in California so it is not subject to California laws. Say what? Secondly if you file a claim and the company is insolvent, tough luck. I need to go back to the drawing board on this. One thing is for sure, not one bar will leave my door until insurance is in place. I will not chance being sued only to lose my 401(k) or have my wages garnished.
Oh, boy!
Lavender Poured
Hello.
I must have stirred faster than the previous two batches because the 8 pounds traced in less than an hour. Beginners usually take 90 minutes but I do have pretty strong arms! To digress, I have found that using two thermometers is inefficient especially since they vary by 1 or 2 degrees. The lye was a hair past 100 degrees and the oils were at 100 using the same thermometer. I deemed this to be the correct time to add the lye to the oils and get to mixing. I started mixing at 8:35 and ended at 9:23.
Like before, I sat on the kitchen floor about 45 minutes into the mixing process to get just the right lighting to see the trace. It traced nicely but did not sink back in right away. I was not too worried because it had a good consistency. I then added 2.5 tablespoons of ground lavender botanicals and stirred for about a minute then 1.5 ounces of pure lavender essential oils stirring for an additional minute. I added 1.5 instead of the customary two because the lemongrass batch before turned out just fine with its bontanicals and 1.5 ounces of pure lemongrass essential oils. After pouring into the mold, I scraped the small amount left with a spatula and added it to the mold. It had the same consistency as the batch before so I felt pretty good about it.
I must really do something about the way I transport the full mold from the kitchen to the closet. It's not that far but the batch is just a half-inch from the top of the mold and can slosh back and forth if you are not carrying it level. The danger of dropping the whole thing and having the active lye destroy the carpet is real. Anyhoo, I made it into the closet finally and covered it with four towels. It will be ready to uncover late Saturday night.
Let's keep our fingers crossed!
Soapmaker's Notes
Today's Recipe
5 pounds of coconut, olive, and palm oils combined
12 ounces of Sodium Hydroxide
32 ounces of distilled water
2.5 tablespoons of ground lavender botanicals
1.5 ounces of pure lavender essential oils (next time use 2 ounces-but turned out great)
I must have stirred faster than the previous two batches because the 8 pounds traced in less than an hour. Beginners usually take 90 minutes but I do have pretty strong arms! To digress, I have found that using two thermometers is inefficient especially since they vary by 1 or 2 degrees. The lye was a hair past 100 degrees and the oils were at 100 using the same thermometer. I deemed this to be the correct time to add the lye to the oils and get to mixing. I started mixing at 8:35 and ended at 9:23.
Like before, I sat on the kitchen floor about 45 minutes into the mixing process to get just the right lighting to see the trace. It traced nicely but did not sink back in right away. I was not too worried because it had a good consistency. I then added 2.5 tablespoons of ground lavender botanicals and stirred for about a minute then 1.5 ounces of pure lavender essential oils stirring for an additional minute. I added 1.5 instead of the customary two because the lemongrass batch before turned out just fine with its bontanicals and 1.5 ounces of pure lemongrass essential oils. After pouring into the mold, I scraped the small amount left with a spatula and added it to the mold. It had the same consistency as the batch before so I felt pretty good about it.
I must really do something about the way I transport the full mold from the kitchen to the closet. It's not that far but the batch is just a half-inch from the top of the mold and can slosh back and forth if you are not carrying it level. The danger of dropping the whole thing and having the active lye destroy the carpet is real. Anyhoo, I made it into the closet finally and covered it with four towels. It will be ready to uncover late Saturday night.
Let's keep our fingers crossed!
Soapmaker's Notes
Today's Recipe
5 pounds of coconut, olive, and palm oils combined
12 ounces of Sodium Hydroxide
32 ounces of distilled water
2.5 tablespoons of ground lavender botanicals
1.5 ounces of pure lavender essential oils (next time use 2 ounces-but turned out great)
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Tah Dah Lemongrass a Success
Me, again.
The Lemongrass batch completed its 48-hour insulation period and has been cut into bars. The scent is somewhat subdued because I believe the lemongrass botanicals may have absorbed some of the essential oils but I can still smell the scent from the bedroom. The loaf also felt a little moist to the touch although it was firm enough to give the cutting blade a little bit of resistance. I got 26 and 1/3 bars from this batch.
As an aside, I have been doing some research online trying to understand some of the nuances of cold process soaps. On one site there was mention of a ring appearing around the mixture when it was getting ready to trace (when lye and oils begin to form soap). I noticed this with the lemongrass but to me it looked like a ring of oil that had not combined so it had me a bit worried. Now I know what to look for. Phew!
Also, I am waiting for an insurance quote. Soapmakers are encouraged to get commercial insurance that includes product liability in the event someone is injured from your product. I am told it's expensive but I will find out tomorrow morning. By the way, a soapmaker on etsy suggested that I slow down and get real familiar with the process before selling and just to give away bars to get honest feedback. Of course giving or selling soap to friends and family comes with a risk so I would rather have insurance in place or else have my wages garnished or my 401(k) drained. Scary thoughts both of them!
Now, I am by no means an expert after three batches but using pre-measured materials for an 8 pound batch leaves some but not much room for error unless you really deviate from instructions. It's when I start to make my own recipes or add/substitute materials that the challenge comes into play.
Until next time.
The Lemongrass batch completed its 48-hour insulation period and has been cut into bars. The scent is somewhat subdued because I believe the lemongrass botanicals may have absorbed some of the essential oils but I can still smell the scent from the bedroom. The loaf also felt a little moist to the touch although it was firm enough to give the cutting blade a little bit of resistance. I got 26 and 1/3 bars from this batch.
As an aside, I have been doing some research online trying to understand some of the nuances of cold process soaps. On one site there was mention of a ring appearing around the mixture when it was getting ready to trace (when lye and oils begin to form soap). I noticed this with the lemongrass but to me it looked like a ring of oil that had not combined so it had me a bit worried. Now I know what to look for. Phew!
Also, I am waiting for an insurance quote. Soapmakers are encouraged to get commercial insurance that includes product liability in the event someone is injured from your product. I am told it's expensive but I will find out tomorrow morning. By the way, a soapmaker on etsy suggested that I slow down and get real familiar with the process before selling and just to give away bars to get honest feedback. Of course giving or selling soap to friends and family comes with a risk so I would rather have insurance in place or else have my wages garnished or my 401(k) drained. Scary thoughts both of them!
Now, I am by no means an expert after three batches but using pre-measured materials for an 8 pound batch leaves some but not much room for error unless you really deviate from instructions. It's when I start to make my own recipes or add/substitute materials that the challenge comes into play.
Until next time.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Pass Me the Lemongrass, Please
Hi there. Today was lemongrass day. I opted for that scent instead of lavender because I had fresh lemongrass botanicals to give it color. As a reminder, I do not use synthetic colors (or any other synthetics for that matter) in my soaps but may use natural colorants once I have a few more batches under my belt.
This was the second time I used my new mold. Last time I lined it with a white-plastic-kitchen trash bag (as taught in class) and it came out okay. This time I used heavy duty freezer paper. I watched a tutorial to learn how to line the mold and it turned out great. If you ever need anything soapmaking-wise I highly recommend soapmaking-resource.com. Steve the owner sells some great products, includes tutorials so you can know what the heck you are doing, publishes a newsletter, and responds to emails within a reasonable period of time. Wish I would have known about him sooner!
I was a little concerned that the lye mixture was half a teaspoon shy since I was transferring it to another container when some slipped down the outside. I immediately poured it back into the first container and added just a splash of distilled water to compensate. I had bought a second thermometer because it was inefficient to wait until the thermometer cooled down between testing the oils and the lye. Please note that the thermometers differed by one degree.
Once I added the lye to the oils (100 degrees each) I stirred briskly by hand until a light trace at minute 62. I added the ground lemongrass botanicals which was mostly powder with a few bigger pieces. Smelled just like fresh cut lemons! Since the scent was so strong I only added 1.5 ounces of lemongrass pure essential oils instead of two. It just felt right. The troubling thing is that I was unable to smell the oils after pouring into the mold like I did with the Victorian Rose. Perhaps the botanicals absorbed some of the scent? Not sure but I will find out at 7:00 pm on Wednesday when I uncover the mold.
I will report my findings then.
Soapmaker's Notes
Today's Recipe
Coconut, olive, and palm oils (5 pounds combined)
12 ounces of Sodium Hydroxide
32 ounces of distilled water
1.5 ounces of lemongrass pure essential oils
2 tablespoons ground lemongrass botanicals
This was the second time I used my new mold. Last time I lined it with a white-plastic-kitchen trash bag (as taught in class) and it came out okay. This time I used heavy duty freezer paper. I watched a tutorial to learn how to line the mold and it turned out great. If you ever need anything soapmaking-wise I highly recommend soapmaking-resource.com. Steve the owner sells some great products, includes tutorials so you can know what the heck you are doing, publishes a newsletter, and responds to emails within a reasonable period of time. Wish I would have known about him sooner!
I was a little concerned that the lye mixture was half a teaspoon shy since I was transferring it to another container when some slipped down the outside. I immediately poured it back into the first container and added just a splash of distilled water to compensate. I had bought a second thermometer because it was inefficient to wait until the thermometer cooled down between testing the oils and the lye. Please note that the thermometers differed by one degree.
Once I added the lye to the oils (100 degrees each) I stirred briskly by hand until a light trace at minute 62. I added the ground lemongrass botanicals which was mostly powder with a few bigger pieces. Smelled just like fresh cut lemons! Since the scent was so strong I only added 1.5 ounces of lemongrass pure essential oils instead of two. It just felt right. The troubling thing is that I was unable to smell the oils after pouring into the mold like I did with the Victorian Rose. Perhaps the botanicals absorbed some of the scent? Not sure but I will find out at 7:00 pm on Wednesday when I uncover the mold.
I will report my findings then.
Soapmaker's Notes
Today's Recipe
Coconut, olive, and palm oils (5 pounds combined)
12 ounces of Sodium Hydroxide
32 ounces of distilled water
1.5 ounces of lemongrass pure essential oils
2 tablespoons ground lemongrass botanicals
Thursday, March 17, 2011
BYE BYE LAVENDER BATCH
Last night I had no choice but to toss out the first batch of soap. Ouch! I had not been feeling good about it and now I know why. Let's bow our heads for a moment for the soap that withered away before it even got started.
So, after consulting with a master soapmaker it became evident that this batch was problematic from the word go. Adding to this was the fact that I was able to snap a bar of soap in half just four days before it was ready to use. This would never happen with a bar of Dove!
Since the second batch was a complete success I will not look back but learn from this experience. For those interested in knowing the steps that led me to this place, here they are...
So, after consulting with a master soapmaker it became evident that this batch was problematic from the word go. Adding to this was the fact that I was able to snap a bar of soap in half just four days before it was ready to use. This would never happen with a bar of Dove!
Since the second batch was a complete success I will not look back but learn from this experience. For those interested in knowing the steps that led me to this place, here they are...
Oils reheated from previous attempt
Lye and oils at 102 degrees(kept fluctuating so settled at 102)
Lye and oils at 102 degrees(kept fluctuating so settled at 102)
Hand stirred briskly for 90 minutes
Thick trace did not sink into batter
Essential oils added and stirred for one minute
Sticky residue on side and bottom of pan when poured (a bit scooped into mold)
Mold covered for 24 hours with one blanket
Mold still very warm 24 hours later when I removed soap block
Block firm to touch but corners sticky
Soda ash on block face up
Cut into bars after letting block cool
Left to cure in small closet with door open
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