Learn2Soap - We Never Stop Learning

 
Aren’t they pretty?  They’re all colored with herbs too!  We had lots of fun experimenting.  Sometimes you never know what you’ll get when you color soaps with herbs.  Sometimes the result is quite surprising, especially when the resulting color of the soap looks nothing like the herb that was used.

You can view the results for the individual herbs used the soap swap HERE, along with the method used for coloring the soap.

If you’re wanting to try your hand at coloring with herbs, stop by Ellen’s Essentials.

.38 is the magic number! 

This number is derived by assuming that 1 ounce of soap will equal 1 cubic inch.  This calculation also assumes that you are using 6 ounces of water in your recipe per pound of oils.

Since soap is made of oils, water and alkali, the calculations to find the volume of oils which will fit in the mold  made by multiplying the mold area by the percentage of water.  For some reason, the alkali is completely ignored in this calculation.  I don’t know why.  At any rate, this calculation works. 

So, let’s assume you have a slab mold.  You figure the area of a log mold the same way, but we’ll just assume it’s a slab right now.   This mold is 10 inches long, 8.5 inches wide and you want your soap to be 1.5 inches thick. 

Length  x Width x Height = Cubic Inches Area of Mold

8.5 x 10 x 1.5 = 127.5 

You’ll need 127.5 cubic inches of soap.

Then you would take this number 127.5 and multiply the number by .38 

MoldArea X Water% = Soap Oil Volume 

127.5 x .38 =  48.45

And since a pound of oils weighs 16 oz. divide 48.45 by 16.

48.45 / 16 = 3.028 Pounds of Oil

So now you know that a recipe containing 3 pounds of oil will fit in to your 8.5″ X 10″ mold and the soap will be  approximately 1.5″ inches thick.

On a side note, discounting the water in the recipe below 6 ounces per pound of oils used will cause the volume of the soap to be slightly less than what the calculations show.  Likewise, adding a large amount of botanicals, clays, and fragrances to your soap will cause the mold will be fuller than you expect.    

NO, it’s not cheese, it’s soap.  But it looks delicious! 

This soap was made with annatto seeds for color.   Annatto is a natural color additive that is used by the cheese industry to get that wonderful golden cheddar color.  It’s also on the FDA’s approved color additive list for use cosmetics.

In our recipe (below) we infused 2 tablespoons of annatto seeds in 6 ounces of canola oil.   We added the seeds to the oil and let is sit for a week before we used it.  

This infusion can probably be sped up by adding the oil to a skillet and adding the seeds and heating it up a little bit to get the seeds to release the color, but we decided to let time work for us.  After the oil was infused we strained out the seeds.  We did not add the seeds to our soap. 

The great thing about annatto seeds is you can use them over and over again, several times.  Once the oil is strained out, add more oil, put it back on the shelf, and you’ll have oil ready to use next time.

At trace the soap looked like banana pudding.  But once the soap sat overnight in the mold and we cut into it, the color was even more spectacular. 

This is the test recipe we used.

4 oz. Coconut Oil
6 oz. Shortening
6 oz. Canola Oil (infused)

6 oz. water
2.2 oz. NaOH

 This isn’t the best recipe there is, but it’s a good test recipe.  We wanted a recipe with ingredients that could be found by most anyone at the grocery store.  This recipe has a nice lather, and it’s even better if you boost is some with a little castor oil.  Not everyone likes using these oils.  It all comes down to purpose and personal preference.  You can use what you like your own soap recipe.  If you use annatto seeds too, we’re positive you’ll love the color no mater what you use.

This annatto soap looks like sharp cheddar, but we’re thinking it would be nice with an orange or tangerine scent.  If you’d like to use fragrance oils, then maybe a mango fragrance or even a good peach if you can find one.  Don’t forget about floral scents, daffodil and rose would go really good with this color too!

Ellen’s Essentials Yahoo Group is hosting a Naturally Colored Soap Swap.  Each participant is using herbs to color their soaps.  It’s really going to be interesting to see all the different soaps colored with herbs.  As soon as the swap is complete I’ll post some pictures of the soaps and some information on the herbs used. 

In the mean time, feel free to come join Ellen’s Essentials Yahoo Group.  We’ve been posting about the swap over there.  Some of the herbs we’ve used in the swap presented some very interesting results.

Spirulina is a blue green algae.   It contains loads of protein, vitamins, minerals and amino acids.   Here it is used in a cold processed soap recipe which produces a white soap bar.   1/2 teaspoon of Spirulina was used per pound of oils in this soap recipe.  The soap is a bit dark, but the lather is still creamy and white. 

A hint of blue may be seen when the soap is first cut into bars, but that hint of blue quickly disappears.  What you end up with is green soap.  And the green color of the spirulina seems to last a very long time. 

Spirulina cost a little more than other herbs or plant material that produce a green in soap.  But considering the color you can get from a very small amount, and the length of time the color lasts, it’s well worth the price.  As you can see, a little Spirulina goes a long way.    

Keep your winter shoes, boots and gloves smelling fresh and clean. 

You’ll need:

Crystal cat litter (silica gel type stuff found at the grocery store)
Essential or fragrance oils (tea tree and lavender work well)
Small cloth bags with tie closures

Mix a small amount of the essential or fragrance oils with some of the crystals cat litter.  Put this mixture of litter and essential oils in the muslin bags and place the filled bags inside the gloves and boots.  The crystal cat litter will absorb the moisture and the antifungal, antibacterial properties of the tee tree should keep the odor causing bacteria and fungi in check.  Lavender essential oil has some properties similar to tea tree and will also help make the tea tree smell better.

It’s that time of year.  Lots of gatherings of soap makers are happening around the country this spring and summer.  Are you going to one?  Is there one near you?

Not many things are more fun that meeting fellow soap makers.   Meeting the people we talk to and discuss things with thru email is a joy.   It’s nice to put a face with the name.  And it’s fun to learn new things and discuss new ideas in person.   Plus it’s fun to dig thru the goodie bag when you get back home or back to the hotel you’re staying in and remember all the fun you had.

Here’s a list of gatherings where you will find door prizes and goodie bag items donated by Ellen’s Essentials.

Handcrafted Soap Maker’s Guild

Florida Suds and Light

Georgia Spring Fling

2008 Tennessee Soap & Candle Social

Recently a soap maker asked us how she could use mint
leaves in soap without getting those nasty brown areas around them in her
soap.

Here’s How:
Steep the mint leaves you intend to use in hot water (like making tea).
Then strain out the leaves.

Next spread the leaves on a paper towel and let them dry.

Once dry, you can use them in soap and you won’t have any brown spots.

Do you make HP-Crockpot soap? Are you tired of glopping hot processed soap into your molds? Want to use more detailed molds for your hp soap? Want the soap to be more managable? Well, you can have it all… really, you can!

Try adding sodium lactate.

Consider the amount of oils that you use in your soap recipe and add 1.5% liquid sodium lactate (NAL) to your soap recipe. With this combination you can make HP soap that can actually be poured into your molds. Now, it’s not going to be as pourable as melt and pour soap. But if you’d like a comparison, let’s say it’s similar to really, really thick gravy which is thick but still pourable.

So, for instance you’re making soap with 2 pound of oils.

32 X .015 = .48 (for ease in measuring round up to .5 oz.)

When you get ready to mix your lye water remove .5 ounces of water and
replace it with .5 ounces of liquid sodium lactate.

Make your crock pot soap as usual.

You should be able to more easily pour your soap into your mold instead of
really struggling with it.