Search Results for: colorants

Creamy Goat Milk Soap Recipe

March 22, 2017 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Cold Process Soap

Goat milk soap is well known for its creamy lather and skin-loving properties. Goat milk is particularly nourishing because of capric-caprylic triglyceride, which helps form a barrier on the skin to help inhibit the loss of moisture. Goat milk also contains vitamins A, D and B6, as well lactic acid which is thought to contribute to skin smoothness. It’s no wonder why goat milk soap is loved by so many!

This goat milk soap recipe contains goat milk from a local farm. Using fresh goat milk is a fantastic way to highlight local products and the unique, handmade properties of your goat milk soap. If you can’t get your hands on fresh goat milk in your area, powdered goat milk is a great alternative. You may also find goat milk at your local grocery store, co-op or farmer’s market.

Creating goat milk soap does take some extra prep work. If you’ve never tried making milk soap before, you may want to get a simpler cold process soap recipe under your belt first (this one is great!). Adding lye to milk can scorch the milk without proper preparation. Freezing the milk first keeps temperatures cool and prevents scorching. Learn how to prep milk for milk soap, and watch this Goat Milk Soap video to see the process in action.

If you’re ready to dive into goat milk soap for the first time, this recipe is perfect. It’s simple with one color and a thick texture, so no need to worry stick blending too much. It’s scented with Oatmeal Milk and Honey, one of our all-time most popular fragrance oils. It does discolor in cold process soap, so titanium dioxide is added to keep the bars light and creamy looking. There is something so appealing about a simple bar of creamy milk soap!

[Read more…]

How to Make Soap with Wine

March 13, 2017 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Cold Process Soap

When I think of wine production, my mind immediately jumps to beautiful images of Napa Valley in California. But, you may be surprised to know that Washington state is the 2nd largest wine producer in the United States. Most of the wine is produced in Eastern Washington, where temperatures are warmer. To highlight this ingredient in my local area, the water in this recipe is swapped for wine produced in Washington state.

Working with wine in soap is not particularly difficult, but it does require some extra prep work. Alcohol and cold process soap don’t mix very well. So, when incorporating alcoholic beverages into recipes (such as beer, wine, etc.) the liquid needs to be boiled first to remove the majority of the alcohol. Then, I like to freeze the liquid and add the sodium hydroxide lye to the frozen liquid to keep temperatures cool.

Alternative liquids like wine have extra sugar, which scorches when mixed with lye. If the temperature of the liquid is kept cool, less scorching occurs. This keeps the liquid a slightly lighter color and reduces the unpleasant odor. Red wine is already quite dark, so if you’d like to skip freezing the wine you could. Keep in mind your soap batter might be slightly darker (and stinkier!). If you skip the freezing step, I do recommend allowing the wine to 50 ° F or cooler before adding the sodium hydroxide lye. Learn more about working with alcoholic beverages in soap here.

The red wine gives the soap batter a dark tan color. Titanium dioxide combats this a bit, creating a creamier color. A combination of Queen’s Purple Mica and Merlot Sparkle Mica create a rich burgundy-wine color. Berrywine Fragrance Oil gives the soap a realistic and slightly fruity scent. Berrywine Fragrance Oil does not smell great out of the bottle, but it smells good in soap – promise!

Using a local wine is a great way to highlight local ingredients and show off your hometown pride!

[Read more…]

How to Make Coffee Soap

March 8, 2017 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Cold Process Soap

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are known for our love of coffee. It’s not uncommon to have multiple Starbucks just blocks away from each other. There is also an abundant number of locally-owned coffee shops. If you love coffee as much as a Seattleite, making soap is a great way to include the ingredient in your products. In this coffee soap project, locally roasted coffee is used to really make these bars special. Using a local ingredient highlights the handmade aspect of your products.

Incorporating coffee into cold process soap is easier than you might think. The distilled water in cold process recipes can be swapped for plain coffee. The key is using distilled water to brew the coffee, and allowing the coffee to cool to room temperature before adding sodium hydroxide lye. Using coffee instead of water makes the soap batter quite dark, so keep that in mind when choosing the color palette. If you’re using plain brewed coffee, don’t worry about the soap overheating. Black coffee does not contain sugar.

Using coffee instead of water does not give soap a coffee smell. In fact, when you mix lye with coffee it does not smell very pleasant. This is because the lye “scorches” the coffee, resulting in a noticeable odor. The smell of the coffee and lye solution is usually not noticeable in the final bar. This is especially true if you’re using a fragrance oil in your recipe. For this soap, Espresso Fragrance Oil gives the bars a rich, delicious scent. Espresso Fragrance Oil does discolor in cold process soap due to the vanillin content. Titanium dioxide combats that slightly, but you can notice some discoloration on the top of the soap in the photos above and below. Learn more about vanilla discoloration here.

This soap also contains used coffee grounds. It’s important to add used rather than fresh coffee grounds. Fresh coffee grounds may bleed in the soap. The bleeding doesn’t hurt the bars in any way, but it is a cosmetic issue. It’s also a great way to use up leftover coffee grounds!

[Read more…]

DIY Rainbow Bubbling Bath Truffles

March 1, 2017 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Bath Fizzies

With St. Patrick’s Day a couple weeks away, I’ve been itching to make a rainbow-inspired project. Thus, Rainbow Bubbling Bath Truffles were born. The bars aren’t quite a bath bomb, bath melt, or bubble bar – they are a little bit of everything! The combination of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and citric acid creates a mild fizzing reaction. The addition of SLSA creates bubbles, while cocoa butter cubes and shea butter add moisture to the tub. The new Fruity Fusion Fragrance Oil gives the bath truffles a fruity scent, which smells delicious combined from the chocolatey smell from the cocoa butter. They smell a lot like chocolate covered gummies – yum!

When added to the tub, the bath truffles fall to the bottom because the butters make them quite heavy. Slowly, they start to fizz and disperse the skin-loving ingredients. If you want to activate the bubbles, hold the bar directly under the faucet once the tub is almost full. Break up small pieces of the bar in the running water. You can also place the bar into a fine mesh strainer and hold the strainer under the faucet to help activate the bubbles as well. The bubbles are modest because of the butter, but still cover the surface of the tub. If you’re looking for more bubbles, less fizz and less moisture in the tub, a more traditional solid bubble bar recipe (like the LoveSpell Solid Bubble Bath DIY) may be a better fit.

Typical solid bubble bath recipes can take a week or more to become firm. That’s because most of the moisture in solid bubble bath recipes comes from glycerin. One of the great things about this Bubbling Bath Truffle recipe is the bars harden within a few hours. The moisture in this recipe comes from shea and cocoa butter, rather than glycerin. Once the butters are completely cool, the bath truffles become firm. In our tests, this took about 3 hours. A small amount of glycerin makes the mixture slightly more moldable, and polysorbate 80 disperses the butters in the bath water.

While these bars are extremely vibrant thanks to micas, we found the colors don’t transfer on the tub. Polysorbate 80 prevents the colors from clumping up in the bath water. All the colors in this project can be found in the Rainbow Mica Sampler Pack. You can also use La Bomb Colorants. Oxides and pigments are not recommended. They are larger than micas, which make them harder to mix in and could transfer color to the tub or your skin.

Testing and Recipe Notes –

These bath truffles took several trial and error batches – four to be exact. The first batch was placed in the Heavy Duty Column Mold and allowed to harden in the mold for a few hours. The final bars were an even circular shape; little did we know it was beginner’s luck! The problem with that batch? It was so hard to get the log out of the mold. The mixture expanded, making the liner really difficult to slide out. The bars also didn’t create many bubbles in the tub.

They looked great, but were difficult to make and didn’t behave like we wanted them to. After we tweaked the recipe to create more bubbles, we ran into the problem of the bars sticking to the liner. They were still hard to remove from the mold. You can see the sad third batch of bath truffles below. They stuck to the liner, and were also crumbly when cut. The crumbles still worked well in the tub though!

When formulating a recipe, not every batch turns out perfectly! This recipe took four trials to find a recipe and method that worked well together. This batch stuck to the mold liner.

After testing, we decided to ditch the Heavy Duty Column Mold. While it did give the first batch an even, round shape, it just wasn’t working. It was extremely difficult to unmold the bars. It was also hard to find the perfect amount of time to leave the bars in the mold. If they were removed too soon, they were soft and stuck to the mold. If you wait too long, it was harder to umold and they were crumbly to cut. The compromise shown in this tutorial is using the liner to help shape the bars. Then, they are cut immediately while still soft.

If you want to substitute any ingredients in this recipe, it will change the texture of the dough. Changes to the recipe can affect how long you have to work with the dough, how firm the bars become, how easily the bars can be rolled and cut, how it behaves in the tub, etc. In general, I don’t recommend making substitutions for the dry and wet ingredients in this recipe. If you do want to tweak the recipe, consider making a smaller batch with one color to see how the changes affect the texture of the dough and results in the tub.

[Read more…]

Interview with Michelle of Tea Time Creations

February 2, 2017 Filed Under: Business Musings

Michelle of Tea Time Creations is known for her beautiful soap cakes, cupcakes and other dessert-inspired soap. But Michelle doesn’t just sell soap! Her company offers event rentals such as tables, china, and glassware. The combination of party rentals and soap party favors sets her apart in both industries. Soap makes amazing favors and decoration, so it’s a natural fit for the party industry. Read more about how Michelle’s journey in business and soaping below!

How long have you been soaping for and how did you get started?
As a frantically busy, trying-to-do-it-all-single mom running a household, maintaining a career as a court reporter, and raising my son, my nightly routine would always consist of a hot bath with my own special blend of essential oils to help me unwind from the daily hustle and bustle of life. Money was tight, and I was running low on my essential oils. I was looking for a way to incorporate my essential oil blend into my own bath products, instead of purchasing expensive brands in scents I really didn’t care for.

I made my first batch of soap about five and a half years ago, and I was hooked. Truth be told, I may have been a bit obsessed. At first I used whatever oils I had on hand in the house and makeshift molds I found at thrift stores or yard sales. I was gifted several gallons of olive oil and several pounds of lye by someone I didn’t even know simply because I happened to be in the right place at the right time. I was able to begin soaping without a lot of start up costs. I even soaped with rainwater, because we have lots of that during the rainy season here in Florida.

Can you believe this is all soap? Just look at the amazing detail!

What sort of advice would you give to those soapers just starting their businesses?
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” It’s important to have a business plan, which can change over time. The best thing I did was take a micro enterprise class, which even landed me in a commercial for the program. I learned how to write a business plan, figure costs and expenses, price products, pinpoint my target market, etc. I listened to guest speakers talk about how important it is to have a professionally designed website, business cards, labels, proper packaging, and ideas on how to promote and market a business.

I am very lucky that my aunt is a graphic designer, and she was able to help me with designing my website, company logo, etc. When I first started soaping, I was using handmade tags which I printed off the computer. I didn’t realize how unimpressive they were until I had a shop owner ask me to change them. Needless to say, it was a lesson learned. My aunt is now in charge of all of my printing which she does through her company. Ideally, you want your packaging and print materials (business cards, labels, etc.) to stand out above the rest, as they may very well be that “first impression” you only get one chance at.

While everyone may not have access to professionals, there are free and low cost resources available through the Small Business Administration or similar agencies depending where you live. Volunteers are eager to help you succeed in your new business, so take advantage of the resources available. It’s important to take a few extra steps to ensure your business runs smoothly.

How did you come up with the name for your business?
If ever a “happy place” exists, mine would be an English garden filled with lots of aromatic flowers, fancy teas, and an endless amount of pastries! I picked the name in large part because in the beginning, I wasn’t exactly sure where my soapmaking would take me. I wanted a name which wouldn’t limit my creativity to strictly one product. I am taking baby steps when it comes to my business. There are so many things I want to do in the future, and I am looking forward to growing.

Wizard of Oz Cake Soap, complete with ruby slippers, rainbows and a dog embed.

We just love your soapy cakes, could you tell us more about them?
When I was pregnant with my son (who just turned 17), I took a basic cake decorating class at the local craft store thinking it would be nice to make birthday cakes for my soon-to-be bundle of joy. But just like the nursery rhyme, what I thought was sure to be a girl made of sugar and spice and all that’s nice, turned out to be a wonderful little boy made of snakes and snails and puppy dog tails. So my cakes ended up more more like Indiana Jones and dirt bikes than the Tinkerbell and butterflies I had originally envisioned.

Once I noticed the similarity between soap batter and frosting, the idea just came to me in passing. I really didn’t even know if it was possible to create a cake out of soap, let alone create some of the intricate designs which appeal to me. I was able to use a lot of my old cake decorating supplies which had been sitting around collecting dust. I used what I had on hand and I tested a lot of techniques and recipes until I came up with consistencies I was happy with. And although I make bar soaps and am drawn to the fancy swirls (which I have yet to completely master), I get the most satisfaction out of creating and designing a soap cake. I really try to push the envelope and am always excited to see the end result. Sometimes the finished product is very different than what I set out to design. It is very challenging to come up with packaging for my cakes. That is a work in progress right now.

Michelle’s Frog Cake Soap; the little frogs on their lily pads are so cute!

What inspires you to create?
There isn’t one particular thing which I draw inspiration from. I tend to lean toward the uniqueness and history of vintage items. It may be a pattern on a particular piece of vintage china, a beaded dress in the consignment shop, or simply something random. I love honey and use it for just about anything. I get mine from the beekeeper a gallon at a time! I really wanted to make a honey oatmeal soap, so I designed a cake entirely around honey bees and sunflowers for no other reason than I like honey. My flower pot soaps were designed around a painting I liked. Anything goes! And like most soapers, some of the best ideas come in the middle of the night.

What is your favorite Bramble Berry product?
When I originally started soaping, I intended on only using essential oils and natural colorants. I finally gave into the temptation of Bramble Berry, and I’m glad I did. I was like a kid in a candy store. I use a variety of Bramble Berry’s products, including colors, fragrances and even the silicone liners — I hate creating unnecessary waste by continuously lining molds with freezer paper. But I would have to say by far my favorite product is the Plumeria Fragrance Oil. I love plumerias, and have several trees in my yard. During rainy season, I pick all the flowers daily and arrange them around the house. Bramble Berry’s Plumeria Fragrance Oil smells just like the real thing!

What is your favorite type of product to make?
Because I live in Florida, I’ve always limited myself to simply making soap. I’m happy to say that this week was my first time making bath bombs, and I love them. I can see myself easily trying several different recipes and taking lots of baths.

Custom ylang ylang soap created with a handmade stamp.

Tell us something unusual or unique about yourself!
My exercise of choice is yoga, and I even have one of “those” yoga swings. I’m not quite where I want to be yet, but I’m getting there. Sometimes I hang it up outside and do some really deep stretches. I’m out there hanging upside down, so I’m pretty sure my neighbors think I am crazy.

What are some of your other hobbies and interests?
I really enjoyed making ornaments for the tree this past Christmas. I collected pine cones, but I was especially tickled to find Shrinky Dinks in the store. I got such a kick out of watching them melt in the oven. It reminded me of my childhood. I do have a goal to learn to crochet one day. I want to make the intricate doilies.

This gingerbread house is made completely out of soap! It’s sprinkled with glitter and jojoba beads.

Have you ever experienced a horrible soapy fail? How did you work through it, and what did you learn?
Sometimes I really want to make soap but get started too late when I’m tired. I did win the Design Mania contest, but also created a disaster in the process. I make a lot of hot process, and I make it in a pot in the oven. This particular recipe was a large one, and I couldn’t find the lid. I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal and was too lazy to look for the lid. Well, needless to say, most of my soap crawled out of the pot and continued crawling all over my oven. I learned it’s much easier to clean up the dried, cooled soap than it is trying to clean soap batter.

What is your number one soaping tip?
If you need to cool your lye water down in a hurry, keep the ice cream part of the ice cream maker in the freezer. Take it out when ready to use. Fill it with a small amount of water. Then put your lye water pitcher inside of the water bath. Your water temperatures will get cold very fast. It’s similar to an ice bath, but works at lowering temps much quicker.

Find Tea Time Creations
Shop
Blog
Facebook

Rose Clay & Charcoal Soap Tutorial

January 6, 2017 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Cold Process Soap

After the holidays, I always feel the need for a bit of detoxing and rejuvenation. That desire to hit the reset button inspired this soap recipe, which contains rose clay and charcoal. Both are known for their oil-absorbing properties. Charcoal in particular binds to dirt and oil in the skin, bringing them to the surface. In these bars, charcoal is sprinkled in between layers to create rustic-looking stripes.

The rose clay in this recipe is dispersed in distilled water rather than oil to help compensate for the absorption properties. Learn more about working with clays in your products. The clay, along with Rosehip Jasmine Fragrance Oil, will cause the trace to become thick rather quickly. For this design that’s totally okay. These bars are meant to have a natural and rustic look to them, so you don’t need to worry about the layers being straight or the top being smooth. These bars really play up the thick texture!

After a few washes, the rose petals will fall off. But, I think they are totally worth it – they really are the cherry on top! Of course if you want to skip them, feel free. When it’s time to cut the bars, the rose petals can get caught under the knife and create drag marks. I threw caution to the wind and used the Multi-Bar Cutter. That created drag marks on about half the bars. But, I think they actually contribute to the “natural” look and feel. Depending on your preference, cut the bars on the side to avoid the drag marks, or embrace them by cutting straight down.

[Read more…]

Cotton Candy Swirl Cold Process Soap Tutorial

December 27, 2016 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Cold Process Soap

Is there a treat that screams “fun!” more than cotton candy? I can’t think of any! Fluffy, colorful and sweet, it brings back memories of summers at the fair or circus. This soap is made with Cotton Candy Fragrance Oil, which smells just like the real thing – sweet, sticky and fluffy. I made this soap at the tail end of summer, and the bars smell as good as when they were freshly cut. Of course I had to use light blue and pink to replicate classic cotton candy colors, along with plenty of sparkle and a melt and pour embed.

One of the best things about the Cotton Candy Fragrance Oil (other than the smell, of course) is the minimal discoloration. It gives the soap a yellow tint, but that can be overcome with some titanium dioxide. It does accelerate, so be ready to move fast when working with it. With fast-moving fragrance oils, sometimes it can be nice to have a “soap-helper” nearby. This is a great project to get help from friends and family who might be visiting for the holidays, or if you’re teaching a friend to soap!

For this project I did a combination of a spoon plop and hanger swirl using the Hanger Swirl Tool. As you can see, the Hanger Swirl tool didn’t swirl the soap as much as it usually does, because the soap was on the thicker side. But, it still gave the swirls some nice movement. Because this soap uses a good amount of titanium dioxide, I used a small water discount to reduce glycerin rivers. A few still popped up, but nothing too noticeable. =)

[Read more…]

Zesty Green Cold Process Soap Tutorial

December 15, 2016 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Cold Process Soap

Looking for soap that’s going to spruce up your product line, or maybe get customers talking? Say hello to the new Green Salsa Fragrance Oil. It’s a unique scent that smells like jalapeño peppers with a touch of bergamot and ginger. It’s zesty, spicy and completely unique. I will admit, it may not be everybody’s favorite (our office is divided), but those who love it seriously love it. It’s really bold and adventurous!

For this project, I blended Green Salsa Fragrance Oil with Ginger Lime Fragrance Oil for more citrus notes. It reminds me a bit of a jalapeño margarita! It’s intriguing, and I can’t stop smelling it. Green Chrome Oxide Pigment and Green Forest Jojoba Beads match the green scent, and the jojoba beads give the bar a bit of scrub. Learn more about jojoba beads here.

The Multi-Pour Tool for 10″ Silicone Loaf helps create the checkered pattern in these bars. This soap requires layers, so a good understanding of trace is helpful for this project. The Green Salsa Fragrance Oil accelerates the soap slightly, so be prepared for that. The Swirl Quick Mix makes sure you have plenty of time to work. But, be careful to not over stick blend! My layers didn’t come out completely perfect (I used a little too much on the bottom) but I still think it looks pretty cute. =)

[Read more…]

Why is My Cold Process Soap Soft?

December 7, 2016 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

Cold process soap requires patience. It needs several days to harden in the mold. Then, it needs to cure for 4-6 weeks to allow excess water to evaporate. Curing creates a firmer bar that lasts longer in the shower. All this waiting can be the hardest part of cold process soapmaking! But, what if your soap takes longer than usual to harden? If your soap is still soft to the touch after a week or two, something might be a little off.

Soap can take anywhere from 1-15 days to harden in the mold, depending on a variety of factors. Two to three days in the mold is average. There are several factors that determine how long soap needs to harden. The first is the type of oils in your recipe. The more soft oils (such as olive, sweet almond, rice bran, canola, etc.) the soap contains, the softer the bars will be. It may take more time to harden in the mold. The more hard oils the recipe contains (such as palm, coconut, cocoa butter, beeswax, etc.), the quicker the soap will harden. For example, if the soap is made with 100% olive oil, it may take up to two weeks to unmold. But if the soap is 60% hard oils, it could be ready to unmold the next day.

Using more firm oils and butters in your recipe will result in a firmer bar of soap.

Another factor is the superfat of the recipe. Oil that’s not turned into soap by the sodium hydroxide lye is called the “superfat.” An average superfat is anywhere from about 1-7%. The higher the superfat, the more “free-floating” oils in the soap. The terms “superfat” and “lye discount” can be used interchangeably. This is because in order to create a superfat, you use less lye in the recipe. Extra oil creates a more gentle bar, but it can also make the bar softer. If you used a large superfat (generally 7% or more) and the bar feels soft to the touch after a few weeks, the superfat may be the culprit. Personally, I use a superfat of 5% in most of my cold process recipes. I have found this to be a good balance between a firm bar that’s also gentle on the skin.

Speaking of “extra stuff” in your soap, let’s talk additives. Colorants and fragrance oils are the most common “additives” and they can make soap soft if too much is added. Dispersing powdered colorants in lightweight liquid oil is a great way to avoid chunks and streaks of color in the final bar. But, if you add too much dispersed colorant it can soften the bar because you’re adding more oil as well. In fact, you’re technically increasing the superfat! If you calculate your recipe to have a 7% superfat and add lots of dispersed color for example, you may end up with a soft bar. Usually, colorants are dispersed at a rate of 1 teaspoon colorant to 1 tablespoon lightweight liquid oil. If you want to add a lot of colorant, you may want to decrease the amount of oil in your dispersion.

Adding too much extra oil (like with dispersed colorants) can lead to a soft bar of soap.

Adding too much fragrance oil can also lead to a soft bar of soap. That’s where the Fragrance Calculator comes in! Simply enter which fragrance oil you’re using, what you’re making and how much. The calculator will give the amount of fragrance oil that’s safe for skin. The amount given by the calculator won’t lead to a soft bar of soap. That’s one of the reasons why it’s so important to measure your fragrance oil by weight; it gives you the most accurate amount of fragrance oil for your project. Adding more fragrance than recommended could lead to a soft bar.

Soap might be soft if too much liquid is used. The Bramble Berry Lye Calculator creates recipes with 22% distilled water in the total recipe. Other lye calculators might have a slightly lower or higher percentage. That’s because the amount of water in your recipe can fluctuate, and still be totally fine. Using less water in your recipe is known as water discounting.

Water discounting has several benefits including decreasing the chance of glycerin rivers and creating a bar that unmolds faster. Learn more about water discounting soap here. On the other hand, if you use more water than suggested, it takes longer for the soap to become firm. This also applies to adding other liquid additives like milk or purees to your recipe. Too much extra liquid (milk, purees, etc.) on top of the water in the lye solution causes soap to not harden correctly.

Water discounting soap reduces the chances of glycerin rivers, shown above. It also produces a bar that hardens faster.

The type of mold also affects how quickly soap hardens. In general, cold process soap made in silicone and plastic molds takes longer to harden and umold. This is because silicone and plastic molds create an airtight seal that doesn’t allow for any air to touch the soap. The more airflow, the faster soap hardens. Soap made in wood molds lined with freezer paper has a little more airflow, which helps the soap release faster. In addition, wood molds tend to promote gel phase. If soap goes through gel phase, it becomes harder faster.

If using a silicone or plastic mold for cold process soap, use sodium lactate. Actually, I recommend using sodium lactate for all your batches! It’s a liquid salt that can be added to cooled lye water at a rate of 1 teaspoon per pound of oils in cold process soap. It’s optional, but I use it in 99.9% of my recipes. It facilitates the hardening of soap, making umolding faster and a longer lasting bar in the shower. For example in the photo below, the soap on the left contains sodium lactate while the bar on the right does not. The bar without sodium lactate was softer, and did not unmold as cleanly. Click here to learn more about sodium lactate.

The bar on the left contained sodium lactate, while the bar on the right did not.

So, what can you do about a soft bar of soap? The good thing about soft soap is that it’s very rarely lye heavy! Lye heavy soap usually has the opposite problem; it’s extremely hard, brittle and crumbly. If your soap is too soft, chances are you added too much of something…but not lye. It’s usually too much oil, fragrance, liquid or other additive. The bad news about soap that’s too soft? It’s a little tricky to fix. The only real option is to rebatch the soap. To help firm it up, you can add shreds of a firm bar. This helps balance it out. Learn more about rebatching soap here.

What can you do if you want to ensure your soap unmolds within about 2-3 days? Check out my tips below.

Use at least 40% hard oils in your recipe. These include coconut oil, palm oil, cocoa butter, etc. This post has a list of common soaping oils, with general recommended usage rates to aid in formulating your recipes.
Stearic acid at 0.5% of your oils can be used as a hardening agent in cold process soap. It does speed up trace, so keep that in mind!
Sodium lactate is your friend! Because I like to unmold my soap within about 2 days, I use sodium lactate all my batches. It’s a liquid salt that’s added to cooled lye water. It helps the soap harden more quickly, which helps it release cleanly from the mold. If I use sodium lactate, I can sometimes unmold my soap the next day.
Water discount your soap anywhere from 5-20%. Just keep in mind the more you water discount your recipe, the faster your soap will accelerate. Generally, I don’t water discount more than 15% unless I’m in a huge hurry to unmold. If you’re adding ingredients like purees, I recommend water discounting to take the extra water in the puree into consideration. Check out this post for more info.
Decrease the superfat. The more extra oil you have in your soap, the softer it will be. I have found 5% to be a good balance between firmness, and a skin-loving bar.
Promote gel phase. When soap goes through gel phase, it speeds up the saponification process. This results in a bar that is firmer more quickly.
Thicken the trace of your soap. Soap that is poured into the mold at a thin trace will need more time in the mold than thick traced soap.
Using an accelerating fragrance oil helps your soap harden in the mold faster.

How long do you usually wait to unmold your soap? In general I always recommend 2-3 days, but sometimes you can get away with unmolding the next day if you use some of the tips above!

Re-Creating Cold Process and Melt & Pour Soap Designs

November 28, 2016 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

When I post a new tutorial, I’m often asked if it can be made with melt and pour or cold process soap instead. The answer depends entirely on the design and technique of the project. Simply put, some cold process techniques can be recreated with melt and pour and some cannot, and vice versa. This is because the texture and behavior of cold process and melt and pour is extremely different. Below, I go over a few cold process soap techniques that can and cannot be created with melt and pour soap, and what to consider when recreating a cold process recipe with melt and pour soap.

Creating Swirls with Melt and Pour vs. Cold Process

Cold process soap batter is fluid for much longer than melt and pour. It can be manipulated to be thick and pudding-like, or thin and liquidy. Melt and pour soap is always thin, and begins to cool and harden quite quickly. Unfortunately, this means creating some cold process swirls with melt and pour soap is very difficult (if not impossible). Swirl techniques like the linear swirl, spin swirl and hanger swirl require time swirl the soap batter. Techniques that require lots of pouring like the funnel pour or column pour also require several minutes to work with the soap. These techniques cannot be recreated with melt and pour soap because it hardens too quickly.

Once melted, melt and pour soap immediately begins to cool down. It begins to harden around 120 degrees. As it cools, it becomes thick and a skin forms on top. The time it takes for melt and pour soap to begin to harden from its melted, liquid state is about 60-90 seconds. On the other hand, cold process soap can stay liquid for 5 minutes or more, depending on the recipe, fragrance oil and how the stick blender is used.

Simply put, the nature of melt and pour soap doesn’t give enough time to create the same swirls as cold process. As it hardens, it also thickens and becomes a little “gloopy.” This texture just doesn’t work well for swirls. The other problem with creating swirls with melt and pour is the thin texture makes it difficult to keep colors separate from each other. For example, linear swirls are created by layering strips of cold process soap beside and on top of each other, as shown here and in the photo below. Because the texture of melt and pour is so thin, the soap spreads out instead of keeping distinct lines of color. Long story short? Many swirl techniques can only be created with cold process soap.

The texture of cold process soap allows you to pour distinct lines that hold their shape, as shown above. Melt and pour soap does not behave the same way.

That being said, it’s not impossible to create swirls with melt and pour. They just look very different from the swirls you can make with cold process soap. For example, in the Cosmic Cotton Candy Soap Tutorial, various colors of melt and pour soap are poured together in layers. The final bars are full of swirls, texture and movement. It looks beautiful, but very different from cold process swirls. For tips on swirling melt and pour soap, check out this post.

Swirls are not impossible with melt and pour soap, but they just won’t look like cold process swirls.

Creating Layers with Melt and Pour Soap vs. Cold Process

Some swirl techniques might not be possible with melt and pour soap, but layers are a different story! Creating straight and clean layers with melt and pour soap may be easier than creating layers with cold process soap. Melt and pour layers can be poured with a long time period in between. This allows the bottom layer to harden and support the layer above. You do need to be careful with temperature, because if the top layer of soap is too hot it can melt the layer below. The hardest part about creating layers in melt and pour soap may be the patience it requires! For more tips on layering melt and pour soap, check out this post.

Cold process soap can be made and poured in batches, but it does involve more prep work. It’s also possible to create straight lines with cold process all in one batch, but it’s an advanced technique that involves a good understanding of trace. If, for example, the bottom layer of soap is thin trace, a thick layer on top may fall into the bottom layer.

If you want to create layers that are not perfectly straight, cold process soap is the way to go. You can find examples of this in the Violet Confetti Cold Process Soap Tutorial, Watermelon Cold Process Soap Tutorial, and the Natural Colorant Rainbow Cold Process Soap. Melt and pour soap does not hold its shape like cold process soap, because it can not be manipulated to a pudding texture.

Textured Tops in Melt and Pour Soap vs. Cold Process

If the cold process project you’d like to re-create with melt and pour has a textured top, I’ve got some bad news. The thin, liquid texture of melted melt and pour soap can not be manipulated to create a textured top, like cold process. Cold process soap batter with a medium to thick trace has a texture similar to pudding. You can use a spoon or spatula to move the soap around to create peaks and divots, and it will keep its shape. In the video below, once the soap is poured into the mold, a spoon is used to mound the soap up in the center. Unfortunately, this texture cannot be achieved with plain melt and pour soap.

That being said, you can add some ingredients to melt and pour soap to create a texture that is more similar to cold process. One example is shown in the Reimagining Honey Ale Melt and Pour Soap. Melt and pour soap base is whipped together with liquid soap, giving it a more “foamy” look. A similar technique is used in the Soap Cupcakes with Whipped Frosting video below. It won’t behave in the same way as thick cold process soap, but it’s a little bit closer!

Coloring and Fragrancing Melt and Pour Soap vs. Cold Process

If you’re recreating a cold process design with melt and pour (or the other way around), it’s important to consider the type of colorant used in the recipe. Some colorants work better for cold process soap than melt and pour, and vice versa. For example, pigments and oxides are great in cold process soap, but not all micas work well in the high pH environment. For melt and pour soap, micas work great and oxides and pigments can be a little trickier to incorporate. Click here to learn about the different types of soap colorants, and which work best for cold process versus melt and pour.

How colorants are added to the cold process soap and melt and pour varies as well. For example, pigments and oxides need to be dispersed in oil before being added to cold process soap. This helps avoids clumps. Learn how to prep colorants for cold process soap here. For melt and pour soap, colorants are best dispersed in 99% isopropyl alcohol or a small amount of glycerin. Adding extra oil to melt and pour soap can inhibit the lather and affect the texture. The amount of colorant needed for the project will most likely change as well.

Color Blocks are specifically designed to color melt and pour soap, but don’t work well in cold process.

When it comes to fragrance oils in melt and pour versus cold process soap, almost all fragrance oils at Bramble Berry are appropriate for both projects. But, some fragrances oils cause interesting effects in cold process soap, like ricing or acceleration. When working with melt and pour soap, you don’t have to worry about these things. Fragrance oils can also discolor soap brown if it contains a lot of vanillin. If a fragrance oil discolors, you can use Vanilla Color Stabilizer in melt and pour soap to prevent the discoloration. Unfortunately, Vanilla Color Stabilizer is not reliable in cold process soap. Learn more about vanilla discoloration here.

If you’re taking a project from cold process to melt and pour (or vice versa), just remember to always use the Fragrance Calculator to recalculate the amount of fragrance needed for your recipe. Cold process and melt and pour soap have very different fragrance usage rates. =)

What About the Mold?

There are a variety of different types of soapmaking molds including silicone, wood and plastic. Some molds are better for cold process soap or melt and pour. For example, silicone molds are great for both cold process soap and melt and pour soap. But, plastic molds don’t work as well for cold process soap. When recreating a recipe, take the type of mold into consideration. Learn more about different types of molds and their pros and cons here.

Plastic molds work better for melt and pour soap than cold process soap.

Phew! As you can see, there are a lot of factors to take into consideration when recreating a cold process soap with melt and pour, or vice versa. Some projects are easy, and just need a few ingredient swaps. Others cold process projects like swirls and textured tops are really hard to re-create with melt and pour soap.

Must-Have Cold Process Soap Tools (And Best Splurges!)

November 23, 2016 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

There are so many fun tools and ingredients to create cold process soap. From the basics like stick blenders and molds, to fancier items like the Comb Swirl Tool, tools can really expand what a soaper can do. I have been making soap for over 20 years, and all the new soaping tools that have come out since then are pretty amazing! I have used just about all of them, and there are definitely some tools that I can’t do without.

I rounded up my very favorite tools (and one crucial ingredient!) in a few different categories below based on the convenience they provide, versatility and value. Of course everybody has a different idea of what is essential, a must-have, and what’s a luxury item. But, these are the tools I find myself always reaching for, and what makes soaping so much easier for me and my team! Is there a soaping tool you just can’t live without?

Safety Gear (Safety Goggles, Gloves, etc.)
While you can get away with a lot of fancy soaping tools, safety gear is a must. Cold process soaping requires working with sodium hydroxide lye which is a caustic chemical. Lye has the ability to cause skin and eye irritation if it comes in direct contact. But, just like driving a car, it’s perfectly safe when handled correctly. The easiest and most effective way to protect yourself when working with lye is to wear a long sleeved shirt, pants, closed-toed shoes, safety goggles and gloves. This greatly reduces any chance for serious injury. If working with lye makes you nervous (I understand!) this post may help calm your nerves. In addition, the Sodium Hydroxide Lye Safety Guide has everything you need to know about working with lye in soap.

Sodium Hydroxide Lye
Speaking of lye, you can’t make cold process soap without it. There is no ifs-ands-or-buts about it, cold process soap requires lye to become…well, soap! When oils and lye water are emulsified, the saponification process begins. This means the sodium hydroxide lye solution starts turning the oil into soap. If you’re a visual learner, this video may help you understand saponification a little better. I highly recommend purchasing lye that is intended for soap making. Lye from hardware stores can contain other ingredients that may cause unpredictable results.

Stick Blender
Before the days of stick blenders, soapers would stir together lye and oils together for hours to create soap. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to spend hours making one batch of soap. That’s where a reliable stick blender comes in! A stick blender emulsifies oil and lye together in seconds, rather than hours and hours. Some soapers still prefer to skip the stick blender and stir their oils and lye by hand…and more power to ’em! But personally, I can’t do without it.
Note: Our stick blenders are out of stock because we’ve created our own “Best Ever Soaping Stick Blender”and the new ones are due in December 11, just in time for the holidays.

Easy Pour Containers
I use Easy Pour Containers for just about every batch of soap I make that involves multiple colors. The long pour spout is great for precise pouring, and really comes in handy for swirls. In particular, they make linear swirls a breeze. They are also easy to clean, which is always a bonus!

Infrared Thermometer
Temperature affects cold process soap in so many ways. For example, if your soap is too hot it can crack, volcano or develop “alien brain.” If it’s too cold it can develop soda ash. Read more about how temperature affects soap here. In order to have consistently successful batches of soap, a reliable thermometer is a must. A candy thermometer works as well, but I love using a infrared thermometer that I don’t need to clean. This is especially true when testing the temperature of lye!

Silicone Tool Set & Whisks
This seems really basic, but a sturdy set of silicone spatulas and whisks are so valuable for cold process soaping. From plopping soap into the mold with the Round Silicone Spoon to create a spoon plop, to using the Silicone Spatula to get every last bit of soap, I use these tools everyday. I love the silicone whisks for mixing in fragrance oils.The bright green color makes them easy to find and distinguish from your cooking utensils.

Mini Mixer
Oh little Mini Mixer, how I love you so. If my soap includes any colorants, I use this tool to disperse them in lightweight liquid oil. And because I love color, I use it in roughly 99.9% of my soap batches. =) Sometimes you can get away with using a spoon to disperse micas because they have such small particles. But for larger, heavier colorants like pigments and oxides, the mini mixer helps get rid of clumps. Learn how to disperse colorants for soap here. It has plenty of power for mixing colorants in lightweight oils, but I don’t recommend it for thicker mixtures like lotions or soap.

Hanger Swirl Tool
I love how many designs you can create with such a simple and inexpensive tool. From the basic Hanger Swirl, to modified versions like the Butterfly Swirl, the Hanger Swirl Tool creates some really beautiful designs. It can be bent to fit a wide variety of molds; in particular I use it in the 10″ Silicone Loaf Mold, Tall Narrow Wood Loaf Mold, and the 5 Pound Mold with Sliding Bottom. While I don’t use it for every batch, it’s included in this section because it’s really worth the small investment!

Multi-Bar Cutter
Cutting even and straight bars can be tricky. The Multi-Bar Cutter gives you perfectly straight and even bars of soap every time. It really makes your bars look professional, and is a must for business owners who need an exact weight for each bar. It’s definitely a splurge, but I have yet to find a soaper who didn’t think it was worth it. This video shows you how to use the cutter, and replace a wire if it happens to break. To avoid wires from breaking, I like to cut my soap immediately after unmolding. That way, the soap is still slightly soft and the wires can cut the soap easily. Unfortunately, melt and pour soap is too firm for this tool.

Multi-Pour Sectioning Tool & Multi-Pour Tool for 10″ Silicone Mold
The Multi-Pour Sectioning Tool and Multi-Pour Tool for 10″ Silicone Mold can be placed into their corresponding molds to create 2-4 vertical sections of soap. The dividers are then carefully pulled up and out. Once you have sections, they can be swirled to create designs like the Circling Taiwan Swirl, or left alone to create stripes as shown in the Cindo de Mayo Cold Process Soap. It’s a bit of a luxury item because you can create dividers with cardboard (shown here), but that’s kind of a hassle. The Multi-Pour Sectioning Tools can also be used over and over again, which I think makes them worth the investment!

Soap Shaver
I use this tool all the time! Simply slide the soap across the blade to remove soda ash, knife marks, bubbles and more. You can use it for the top, bottom, sides and front of the bars. It can also be adjusted to remove larger slices, in order to remove deeper blemishes. I like to spritz the shaver with a little alcohol to give the bars a little more slip and glide when using this tool. Of course be very careful when you’re using it, the blade is extremely sharp! This shaver makes bars look clean and professional.
Soap Beveller
Speaking of making your bars look professional, the beveller deserves a shout out too! Slide the soap across the taut wire in the corner to smooth edges of the bars. Like the Soap Shaver, it has a bench hook to secure it on a table or countertop. I like to save the shavings to make confetti soap.

Swirl Tool Kit
If you love complex swirls like the Peacock Swirl and French Curl Swirl, the swirling tools are a must. Yes, it would be possible to create these swirls by hand…but these tools make it about 300% easier. Check out this video to learn how to use them, then see it in action in the Perfect Peacock Swirls video.

So there you have it! My top picks for soaping tools, including the essentials, must-haves and luxuries. As a soaper, is there a tool you can’t soap without? Or, what soaping splurge do you think is totally worth it?

Annatto-Yarrow Soap with Embeds on Soap Queen TV

November 9, 2016 Filed Under: Cold Process Soap

When I was writing Pure Soapmaking, I knew I wanted a really unique looking bar of soap. I also wanted a recipe that included several techniques, including embeds and infusions. That’s where this Annatto-Yarrow Soap with Embeds comes in! It’s a fun and funky bar made with natural colorants and essential oils.

This recipe does require some preparation, and the embeds will need to be made at least 2 days ahead of time. They’re colored with spirulina powder and scented with fresh bergamot essential oil. Those embeds are placed into the base, which is colored with an annatto seed infusion. It also has poppy seeds, which adds exfoliating properties to the bar. Calendula is placed on top for a finishing touch. The combination of bergamot essential oil and rosemary essential oil creates an earthy and refreshing blend.

[Read more…]

Horse Sculpted Layers Soap Tutorial

November 3, 2016 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Cold Process Soap

I’m constantly blown away by the talent and innovation in the soapmaking community. There are so many amazing ways to manipulate soap to create various effects. One of the most impressive techniques that I’ve seen in the past few years is the Sculpted Layers technique made popular by Claudia Carpenter of Om Nom Soap. When I first stumbled on Claudia’s Winter Wonderland Soap made with this technique, my first reaction was “HOW!?” I had never seen any soap quite like it before.

Claudia graciously shared her technique, which involves creating sturdy shapes that slide across the length of the mold to “sculpt” firm soap, leaving behind various shapes. The next layer is then poured on top, allowed to harden, and sculpted with the accompanying piece. Amy Warden of Great Cakes Soapworks hosted a Sculpted Layers challenge in June. The entries were amazing. It’s a bit of a tricky technique to describe, so I recommend watching this video by Love Is Sweet Shop, this video by Kapia Mera Soap Co, or this video by Earth’s Raw Beauty to see it in action.

If you watched the videos above, you already know this technique is quite advanced. Between making the sculpting pieces, prepping the ingredients, and waiting the correct amount of time to sculpt each layer, it’s a long process. My team and I (thanks Caitlin!) came up with a fairly simple horse design which only required two sculpting pieces and three layers. The horse head template is already sized to fit inside the Silicone Liner for 5 lb Wood Mold; just download and print! To help the horse silhouette really pop, I chose a deep black color against swirls of white, pink, blue and yellow soap. Apple Sage Fragrance Oil gives the bars a sweet scent, and works great for this project because it gives you plenty of time to swirl.

The only downside to this technique (in my opinion) is it does result in a lot of “extra” soap. The technique requires you to scrape away soap to leave behind a shape. This requires you to make a lot of soap that you ultimately remove from the mold. If you want to save the soap that is scraped away, I recommend having an extra mold nearby to plop the soap into. My bars made with the leftover soap weren’t the prettiest (rainbow swirls and black soap mushed together is an interesting look) but they were still wonderful bars of soap!

[Read more…]

The Pros & Cons of Soapmaking Methods (Cold Process, Melt & Pour, Hot Process and Rebatch)

November 2, 2016 Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

Years ago when I started soaping, after 6 failed Cold Process soap batches, I switched and focused on melt and pour soap. Eventually, I tackled cold process soap again, which then lead to trying hot process and rebatch. There are several other soaping techniques that fall somewhere in between, like CPOP (cold process oven process), HPOP (hot process oven process), but melt and pour, cold process, hot process and rebatch are the “main four.” Each of them creates a great bar of soap, but in very different ways.

There are pros and cons to each method, and every soaper has a personal preference. If you’re wondering which method may be the best one for you, I’ve included a roundup of the most obvious pros and cons of each method below. As I was writing this post, it dawned on me that some of the things I would consider a “pro,” might be another soapers “con.” It’s really all about personal preference, and the skill set of the individual soaper. What is your favorite soaping method, and why?

Pros:

Allows you to customize every single ingredient to suit your personal preferences.
You can add fresh ingredients like milk and fruit/vegetable purees because you control the saponification process.
The trace of cold process soap batter can be manipulated for a wide variety of techniques and effects. Thin trace can be used to make swirls, while thick trace soap creates frosting.
With so many technique options, it’s a great way to get creative. The sky is the limit!
The thick texture makes it great for suspending heavier additives.
Generally considered a more “natural” bar of soap.

Cons:

Cold process soap must be made with sodium hydroxide lye, which can be dangerous when handled incorrectly. Learn how to handle it safely here.
Cold process soap takes about 4-6 weeks to cure. The soap can be used before then, but it will last longer in the shower with a full cure.
Some colorants tend to morph in the high pH environment of cold process soap, particularly some mica or FD&C based colorants.
Fragrance oils can react with the high pH of cold process soap in negative ways, causing acceleration, ricing or seizing. Always make sure your fragrance behaves well in cold process!
Vanilla color stabilizer is not reliable in cold process soap, and fragrance oils with a high amount of vanilla content will turn the soap brown.
Because cold process soap batter is opaque, glitter does not show up very well when placed in the soap. Glitter still works great on top!
Clean-up can be a long process depending on how many colors your soap was (more colors = more containers).

Pros:

Great for beginners! You can do melt and pour with children as young as 4 with parental supervision.
The base has already gone through saponification, so working with lye is not required.
Does not require wearing safety gear because you’re not working with lye.
Melt and pour soap is quick to make; it hardens in several hours and does not need to cure.
Fragrance oils do not cause acceleration, ricing or seizing in melt and pour soap.
You can use Vanilla Color Stabilizer to prevent vanilla discoloration in soap.
In translucent varieties of melt and pour soap (Clear, Aloe Vera, Honey, etc.) light is able to shine through, making glitter and shimmery micas really pop!
Melt and pour soap is great for creating extremely clean, straight layers. Just make sure to have some 99% isopropyl alcohol nearby so the layers stick together.

Cons:

Because melt and pour soap contains extra glycerin, it is prone to glycerin dew/sweating.
The base is not fully customizable. Because saponification has already happened, you cannot choose the oils/butters within the soap.
Fresh ingredients like milk and purees will eventually go bad in the soap.
Once melted, melt and pour soap is quite thin and fluid. Larger additives tend to sink to the bottom of the soap if not added at a cooler temperature.
Melt and pour soap cools and hardens quickly. This means some swirls that can be made with cold process soap are not possible with melt and pour.
Melt and pour soap can burn if it becomes too hot. Once burned, the base becomes thick, gloopy and difficult to work with.
Clean-up is easy because your dishes are all coated in fully ready-to-use soap.

Pros:

Allows you to customize every single ingredient, including fixed oils.
The additional heat speeds up the saponification process. Three cheers for instant gratification; hot process soap can be cut within one day, and used right away.
The bars have a “rustic” appearance with a less smooth texture than cold process. Whether or not you like this look is a personal preference.
Can be made in a Crock-Pot or double boiler.
The thick texture makes it great for suspending heavier additives.
Generally considered a more “natural” bar of soap.
Clean-up is easier because the soap in the slow cooker/Crock-Pot is already soap.

Cons:

The thick texture of hot process soap makes some swirls and techniques, such as layering, very difficult.
The bars have a “rustic” appearance with a less smooth texture than cold process. Whether or not you like this look is a personal preference.
If your fragrance or essential oil has a low flashpoint, some soapers find the high temperature of hot process tends to “burn off” the fragrance, causing it to fade.
As the soap cooks, it expands. Because of the possibility of it overflowing, it’s important to not leave it unattended.
Difficult (but not impossible) to add fresh ingredients like milk and purees; they tend to scorch during the cooking process.

Pros:

The base has already gone through saponification, so working with lye is not required.
Does not require wearing safety gear because you’re not working with lye.
Great for beginners!
Rebatch soap is a great way to fix or use batches of soap that didn’t turn out quite right.
Rebatch does not require the 4-6 week of cold process soap. In general, I recommend about 1-2 weeks of cure time, but it can be used once cut.
The bars have a “rustic” appearance with a less smooth texture than cold process. Whether or not you like this look is a personal preference.
Super simple to clean up.

Cons:

The soap already went through saponification, so the recipe (oils, butters, etc) can not be customized.
Fresh ingredients like milk and purees will eventually go bad in the soap.
The bars have a “rustic” appearance with a less smooth texture than cold process. Whether or not you like this look is a personal preference.
If your fragrance or essential oil has a low flashpoint, some soapers find the high temperature of rebatch soap can “burn off” the fragrance, causing it to fade.
Due to the thick texture, swirls are difficult and layering, while not impossible, is a timing game with rebatch soap.

I love each and every method for different reasons, although my favorite method has to be cold process soap. I’m just a sucker for the swirls! What is your favorite method of soapmaking, and why?