New blog!

www.masteringsoapmaking.blogspot.com!

Batches!

My two batches are:
1. PORE MINIMIZER SOAP
2. MESTIZA SOAP

PORE MINIMIZER SOAP
30 oz. palm
5 oz. coconut
5 oz. castor

14oz. Distilled water
6.5oz. Caustic Soda

Adiditives:
15ml Witch Hazel extract
15ml Lumina Ultima (glycolic, kojic, & salicylic acid)
15ml Bearberry Extract
5g cocoa butter and shea butter (Superfatting)
2g CDEA
2g Sodium Lactate
2oz. Blue Colorant

Fragrance oil:
Dragon Fruit Scent

MESTIZA SOAP
Since this country is in the hype of skin whitening products, I created this product to satisfy my filipina whitening products addicts and I got a pretty good feedback with this soap.

40oz. Oils
6.5 lye
14 distilled

Additives:
4oz. Papain Crystals (water soluble)
2oz. Puenscrub (orange)
3oz. Kojic acid solution
15ml. Calamansi Extract
15ml. Papaya Extract
15ml. Orange Peel Extract
15ml. Lumina Ultima
2oz. Yellow Colorant (upper batter)
2oz. Orange Colorant (lower batter)

Scent: Sweet Papaya

Silicone Molds

Hi soapers! So I just ordered Essential Depot's RED silicone mold which I have high expectations of. Since I am based in the Philippines, I had it delivered to my boyfriend's place in California. And Im expecting it when he arrives back home.

Ill definitely give you guys a review on the silicone mold once I have it. Although, many reviews from other soapers say it is sturdy so I'll need the box that comes along with it so the mold wont start to open up in the middle. But this mold can actually withstand a thousand uses without it malfunctioning so Im pretty excited about that.

Check out their website at www.essentialdepot.com!

My Cold Process Video Tutorial: Shea Avocado Soap

My recipe:

30 oz. Palm
5 oz. VCO
5 oz. Castor

13.5 oz. Distilled Water
7.5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide (Lye)

Additives: (Trace)
1.Shea Avocado Puree:
1 fresh Avocado
10g Shea Butter
2g Phenoxyethanol (Preservative)
-Blend all of these together until a paste is formed,

2. Cucumber Extract
3. Shea Butter

Scent:
Geranium, Cherry Blossoms, Milk

The reason why I put little amounts of Coconut oil is because coconut oil may dry the skin. 
For Castor oil, too much of it may make the soap sticky.

Adding Phenoxyethanol (a non-paraben preservative) preserves the fresh avocado I will put in my soap.
Adding any natural or fresh ingredient to your soaps can actually discolor the soap into brown and
the fresh ingredient may create an odor that may be unpleasant after curing.

Troubleshooting: Cold process

One problem that soapmakers will eventually face is the gelling of the cold process soap batter.

Have you experienced your soap batter upon molding felt perfectly fine but after 24 hours it appears to have gelled and it was extra soft?

This is maybe because of these reasons:
1. Inconsistent temperature of storing the batter
2. Too much superfatted oils
3. Too much base oils

Hot Process

Hot Process is a very tricky process. Hot process is actually an extension of the cold process. Its just that you cook the cold process soap batter.

Pros:
- No need to cure and wait for 3-5 weeks
- Requires lesser amounts of FO & EO

Cons:
- Hard to control aesthetic qualities
- Hard to mold

Beeswax

Just a reminder, when you use beeswax in your soap, always place the beeswax in your melted oils. This is before you place your lye-solution. Never add beeswax at trace.

If you place your melted beeswax at trace, the soap batter will tend to have crumbled parts and the beeswax will solidify in uneven parts of the batter. This is because there is a change in heat from the melted beeswax to the colder soap batter. Your finished soap will have partly solid parts and some smooth parts if you do this.

But the soap batter is hot, right?
Yes it is hot, but it is not hot enough for the beeswax to stay at its liquid form. Therefore, if you put the wax in the melted oils, the constant temperature will keep the wax from solidifying. Thats important.

Why add beeswax anyway?
Beeswax can help the soap harden without the use of Sodium Chloride, Sodium Lactate & Stearic Acid. Beeswax also has claims as having antibacterial qualities along with honey.

What you have to do is melt the beeswax with your base oils. This will even out the beeswax in your soap batter.

DO NOT add too much beeswax because the soap will be hard enough that it will decrease the lather of the soap and it will tend to crumble.
Only add 1oz PPO. (per pound of oil)

Happy soaping! :)