I had a fun afternoon today, testing new trends forecasted for 2008. These are the same exact recipes but look at how different the soaps look. The color, the texture and the trace thickness are all vastly different.
This small test batch shows the importance of using fully tested fragrance oils for cold process soap. After all, when you are making a 5 pound soap batch, it’s always nice to know if a fragrance will accelerate trace or turn a nice shade of brown (ruining the perfect swirl or geometrically balanced layers).
In the photo above, the soap on the right top looks lumpy. It is in fact, very lumpy. The fragrance made the soap get all clumpy with the appearance of cottage cheese. Whoops. That is one fragrance that Bramble Berry will not be bringing in.
In the photo above, the soap on the left is starting to rapidly heat up. It also showed an alarming propensity to accelerate trace (as evidenced by the nicely formed peaks on the soap).
For every fragrance that Bramble Berrycarries, we’ve tested at least 100 more to find that one fragrance. The two problem soaps above are not the end of the testing. Each of the bars in the batch will be sniff tested at the 6 week mark and, if they happen to make it through that (they normally won’t), we’ll retest the same fragrance in a 5 pound batch and a 8 pound batch to ensure that they will hold up to the rigors of real life soaping.
Wow! I did not realize how much testing goes into everything, especially the fragrances!! Just curious, what do you do with all those sample bars? I am thinking of donating my not so perfect and excess creations to a women’s shelter.
Great to know how much you test things before selling to us!!
Thanks!!
Hi Dawnia!
The women’s shelter is a great place to donate your excess creations. We donated four large boxes to our local shelters last year and we know they appreciated it very much! =) l
-Becky
Hi Anne-Marie,
Just looking on the Brambleberry site, but can’t see this 20 cavity soap tray. Do you stock it? I would like to order a couple along with some others to be sent to the UK later in the year when I am there. I’ve started my wishlist and have put on a couple of the 12 cavity trays, (and lots of others!)but this size would be preferable if you have it.
THanks.
We do have the 12 cavity round one that is the same size and is lovely. The 20 cavity one was custom done for us. I can get you one for $308 and the shipping would be a minor fortune because the mold is almost 8 pounds itself (!!!) because of the material it’s made out of. Let me know if you want it though! But, at that price, the 12 cavity mold starts looking a lot better (in my opinion). =) This is the link to the more economical round mold: https://www.brambleberry.com/12-Bar-Round-Silicone-Mold-P5214.aspx
Hi Anne-Marie,
I just got some White Tea and Ginger Fragrance Oil and understand that it could mutate. Does that mean it will change the color of the soap, speed up trace, seize, or will the fragrance not last. (Cold Process Soap) I’m not sure is all the above could happen or is there no way of knowing. I’m not so worried about the frangrance not lasting forever, but I wanted to color my soap for Valentines Day with pinks and red. Anything you could tell me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
The fragrance changes a little bit in the soap but I wouldn’t worry at all about using it. It’s lovely – so lovely that we used it a few years ago at the Soap Weekend Intensive for the entire class =) It doesn’t speed up trace or seize. Good luck!
Yeah – you and me both! Wouldn’t that sort of publicity all the time just be the holy grail of marketing for a small business? =)
Thanks Anne-Marie!
Oh yes, being mentioned in BH&G was a VERY nice boost to my Father’s day sales.
I was lucky enough to be in Cooking Light (well our kitchen soap was) a few years ago, in the November issue. That one had a huge impact, and accounted for probably 1/3 of all our sales that year.
Now if I could only figure out how to get that kind of publicity all the time. 🙂
Hi Karen –
How did the Better Homes & Gardens mention turn out for you? Did you see an uptick in sales from that?
Let’s see, how we do big-into-small batches – it’s a pretty simple thing. Like you, we’ve had poor results with batches under 12 ounces or so. Also, it’s a little pointless to do all that work for 12 ounces.
The smallest size testing batch we do is a 4 pound batch. From there, we literally ladle out (at thin trace) the plops into a cup and then vigorously stir in the fragrance.
These smaller batches aren’t ideal for testing which is why we follow up anything that seems strong enough with 2 more larger batches to mimic a more real-life situation.
How small are these small batches? Do you use a larger size and dip out small amounts, or what? I’ve had a hard time making small batches and will usually just make a 30-bar batch to test things. Then if it doesn’t go well, they end up in the “bargain bin” at my next show.
But sometimes I get small amounts of FOs that are not enough to try in a large batch… so I’d appreciate any tips!