Question about why I refrigerate my freshly poured soap
The one question I’m asked over and over, by people that have read my book, is why don’t I insulate my molds and let my soap gel. Gelling works great for some people and if it works for you that’s great. I’ve just had problems with it getting too hot and cracking along the top and my use of the refrigerator solved the problem for me. Feel free to use whichever method works best for you. I’ve chosen to write in my book the method I use, but it’s not the only method. It IS unorthodox, but it works for me. ~ Heidi
This is what I do while waiting for my lye and oils to get the right temperature. I design shirts and bumper stickers! These are available in all sorts of styles at CafePress. Click Here!!
New size/packaging for Chocolate Soufflé. These bars were made using a 2” pvc pipe as a mold! In my book, the men’s shaving bars were made this way, and I figured what the heck, I’ll try with the women’s shaving bars too! These came out very cute and the tissue paper wrapping will keep people from thinking they’re edible. I hope. Lol.
Fresh cut batch of Apple Butter Soap! My house smells awesome! The vanilla squares embedded in the bars will deepen to a dark brown. Fall is here.
Freshly Poured Double Batch of Pumpkin Spice Soap
Hello :) I just recently have gotten into soapmaking & bought your book & am sooooo excited to make them all! I just had a question (since I'm a newbie). I'm trying to figure out what the best way to adjust the recipe would be? I have a 4-5lb mold & usually measuring in oz, can I quadruple the recipe to get the 5lbs w/out messing it all up? Thanks ahead of time :) Marcie
Hi Marcie! Thanks for buying my book! =] To answer your question, I wouldn’t quadruple the recipes. The most I would ever do is double a recipe. I use a 2lb mold for most of the recipes so doubling should work for you. Also, please make sure you follow the recipes and measure by weight in grams. Grams are much more accurate than ounces. Accuracy is important with soap making. Have fun! And you’re welcome!
I've read your book - very nice! I am also a soap maker using the cold process method. However, I have always had to "scrape" my soaps to get the lye off that comes to the surface. Can you explain to me why your process doesn't have to do that and why the lye doesn't come to the surface? Thank you for your response. I appreciate the help.
Are you sure that it isn’t an ash that forms on the surface? If your lye to oil ratio is correct, you shouldn’t have any reactive lye left in your finished bar. My bars will get a white ash but it’s cosmetic. It’s not lye. I spray with isopropyl alcohol to prevent the ash. It prevents it mostly but I may still get just a little.
Perhaps a silly question that could be answered easily, but aside from being handmade, are your soaps made with all-natural ingredients? I'm going into the soap-making business (hopefully), and one of the cornerstones of my business is that I'd like everything to be eco-friendly, all-natural, and if possible, consumable. (Things you put on your body shouldn't be poisonous to the inside!)
I try to make my soaps with all natural ingredients. I use oils, distilled water, goat’s milk, coconut milk, tea, coffee, spices, fruit puree, vegetable puree, essential oils, etc.. Ingredients that can be found in a grocery store. The sodium hydroxide (lye) that I use as the catalyst changes the oils into soap. There is no lye left in the finished bar of soap! The one ingredient that would be considered artificial would be fragrance oil, but you can make wonderful bars of soap without using fragrance oil. I do some bars with and some without. The first bars of soap I ever made were made from just olive oil and chamomile tea with the tea leaves. They smelled great and were completely natural.
