I had my "great unveiling" this morning, when I tore the mould off to see what it looked like!
As you can see, the milk container bulged when I poured the soap mix in, so I was never going to get perfectly rectangular bars (but that's perfectly OK, I *am* going for the rustic look ;-) It looked lovely and set on the top...
... but when I tore the mould off, the sides are very soft and covered in air bubbles? Experienced soap-makers, advice please?
Was it too hot when I poured it in perhaps? Should I have tapped the sides to get the air bubbles out afterwards? Or should I have left it longer to set (the mould is quite deep unlike the shallow trays I've seen others use)? It was sitting in the laundry, wrapped in towels since Wednesday, so about four days, but it has been cold weather? Or could it have been the mould; the UHT milk container is lined with foil by the looks of it, underneath the waxy internal layer, could that have retained heat for longer so it took longer to set, or is that a good thing generally? I'm so ignorant of these things, LOL.
Regardless of it's extra-rustic looks, it smells nice; rather oatey-vanillery as it is supposed to. Not too overpowering which is good, since it's for DH to use as well and he doesn't want to use anything to heavily perfumed.
I ended up with twelve smallish bars, after I cut the log in half, and then each half into six thick-ish bars.
I've set it out to dry on an old rack I found at the op-shop the other day. I presume when it cures, it will dry to a more oatmeal-y colour, similar to the top layer that you can see in the first pic, which should also be nice and natural-looking (in my "old" age, I am being increasingly drawn to natural colours and tones rather than the rainbow brights I used to like!).
I'm not sure if I can wait the six weeks or so for it to cure now! Ah well, they say patience is a virtue :-)
6 comments:
I like the bubbles!! I love the look of this soap - could you post the recipe up here for us? (or have you already... let me know).
In short - I'd love to give it a try myself :)
Hi Jess,
I used the recipe I linked to in this post a few days ago. It's very simple and makes a small batch, ideal for beginners like me :-)
Cheers, Julie
Hi Julie,
I have used milk containers before and didn't end up with the bubbles.
Although it didn't stop it entirely I got a much less pronounced bulge if I cut a rectangle out of the top to make give your corners a more solid frame.
My guess would be the thing that I may have done differently was to move from the stick blender to a simple spoon when I was mixing through additives, ie the essential oils etc.
Its possible that this slow stirring at the final stage broke up the formed bubbles rather than producing more giving me a smoother mix. The slower mixing technique also didn't increase the thickness past my initial trace making it reasonably easy to pour and work with. Will be interested to hear what you did in the final stages.
Kind Regards
Belinda
I think your soap is lovely! The sides will harden up as it cures. Sometimes bubbles can form if the stick blender pulls air into the mixture, but I don't know how the bubbles would be just on the edges instead of throughout the whole bar? It wouldn't stop me from enjoying it though. I think using a milk carton as a mould is a great idea.
Hi Belinda,
Ah yes, bubbles from the stick blender makes sense. I did mix in the oatmeal and vanilla by hand at the end, but not for very long, so perhaps there were still a lot of bubbles in the mix, although I'm not sure why they weren't right through the soap - possibly they were forced to the sides when I poured it into the mould? It doesn't worry me either way, I was just curious in case I want to make some for gifts in future, in which case their appearance would worry me more :-) Thanks.
Hi Rachel,
Thanks :-) The bubbles being from the stick blender makes sense to me, although as you say I would expect them right through the mix? never mind, it's just for us, so it's appearance doesn't matter!
Cheers, Julie
Your soap looks lovely!
I really want to make some but with a 10month old and an almost 4 year old its a bit difficult finding a safe time.
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