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)