Thread: Soap Making Escapades

Hi All,

I thought I would write up my soap making activities in a seperate thread. Maybe someone will be interested.......

So far I have made two batches of bath soap (1 to Colleens recipe on her main thread and the other from a book I purchased). Both these soaps are wonderful. The one I made to Colleens recipe is just a plain unfragranced soap but is wonderfully creamy and has made a noticable difference to my skin condition already. The second I made from the book is a morning fresh lemon and oat wake-up bar. Its so refreshing to wash your face in the morning with this beauty!

Shaving soap so far has been a slight dissapointment. I did one recipe off the internet but it is too foamy and the bubbles make your face tingle as they gradually pop (the pH is OK). I have obtained 2 more recipes however (one which includes more emmolients like shea butter and castor oil and the other is a really old recipe from the 1800's that is based on tallow) and will give both recipes a try in the next few days. The only problem is you have to wait a couple of weeks at least before you can try them.

I will report back.

Rob

I tried making a lard, olive oil, and coconut oil shaving soap and was a bit disappointed. Shaved ok but that was it. Makes a great face soap though.

Hello again,

I have just made a batch of sandalwood and pine fragranced bath soap. Everything went OK but had a small problem with the sandalwood fragrance oil solidifying slightly. Most went in the soap but a few bits stuck to the pan. The pine dissolved in nicely as it is a pure essential oil. I rang the soap shop and they said fragrance oils speed up trace so you have to get them in quick. Well I'll know for next time (or I may just avoid fragrance oils). I intend to make some shave soap tomorrow with pine and Eucalyptus. I may add soem patchouli as a base note too. Got the oils in a jar on some cotton buds at the moment so wil have a whiff of varios blends in a bit when the aromas have mixed.

Will report back

Rob

Rob don't forget that FOs can be harsh on sensitive skin. That's why Colleen always warns about my favourites (CB and Leatherneck).

You make a good point Ilija and it is something I am aware of. But have you seen the price of sandalwood essential oil . Even Colleen uses a fragrance oil for this aroma.

Tomorrows shaving soap will be essential oils only. Pine and Patchouli witha hint of Eucalyptus I think. It smells lovely and fresh (although too much eucalyptus makes it smell like one of those inhalers sticks for colds). We call them Vicks inhalers in the UK. Not sure what they are called elsewhere. I may leave otthe Eucalyptus as the pine and patchouli together smell great.

Rob that sounds like a great scent. We also have Vicks here, so I know what you mean. Another issue with menthol and eucaliptol is that they may make your skin too sensitive. Once you have a finished product that one can shave with, don't forget that I'm a Colleen-certified guinea pig

Thats very brave of you!

Colleen makes some seriously good soap. I am a LONG way off getting anything i am wiling to send out for testing yet and am just doing it for the fun of it really (I sell Colleens soaps so don't really want to muscle in on her market).

I am looking to diversify the products on my website though and my own products may find their way on there eventually but the focus is on building my client base with Colleens soaps as the flagship brand.

If any of them turn out OK I will be sure to send some over your way for your expert opinion. You seem to have every soap on the planet so you should be a good judge!

Rob, I'm nowhere close to having every soap on the market. I understand what you mean about muscling in, but a hobbyist can still come up with some fairly good stuff. I like to experiment, so it's all good. As for having every soap on the market, I'm nowhere near that. There are quite a few freaks on B&B and SMF that have 10 times as many soaps as I do. For shaving, I've only tried 4 brands -- CH, Wilkinson, Williams and C&E (in that order of preference). Wilkinson was used as a pre-shave and I never bought another cake. Williams will be used sparingly. C&E ended up being relegated to the bath-tub. I do have 2 creams as well -- C&E Almond and T&H 1805 (Thanks Dave ), but that's it. I know this is more than a reasonable person should be using but as I said, I like to experiment, try new things and ______insert fav. Star Trek quote here___, so don't forget to think of me when you do come up with a good formula

Just pulling your leg pal. I know what you mean about experimenting. I am the same, I have a few soaps in my collection myslef. Prorazo, Trumpers, Colleens, Ingrams.

When I do get a recipe that is half decent, you will be getting the first sample

The pine and sandalwood bath soap I made yesterday came out the mold just now and I am really chuffed with it. The bar is super smooth and looks like a professionally made soap. I can't wait to try this as the scent is nice too. The soap popped out no problem at all which was nice as the batch I made to Colleens recipe needed a short period in the freezer to coax it out.

The shaving soap was a bit of a rush. The soap traced really quickly which didn't give me much time to add the fragrance and stupidly i forgot to put the bentonite clay in during the panic. I should be able to assess the fragrance (pine and patchouli) quality and the foaming properties of this batch without the clay nonetheless, so all is not lost. It comes out the mold tomorrow.

The more i play around in my kitchen the more respect I gain for Colleen. Soap making is certainly not an easy activity.