Another Week Another Soap - Vanilla Mint Log

Today is soap day. It was supposed to be yesterday but my little niece was over later than expected so I saved it for this passed morning. I did get a silicone loaf pan for today's soaping fun so today's batch is also bigger than the baby batches I've been making. The scent, vanilla and peppermint, is a favourite of a friend and I decided to make it with her in mind. In bath bombs, one of the things I've still made for her during my soap hiatus, I use vanilla essential and peppermint essential oils. However, vanilla essential oil is extracted using alcohol as the solvent and this means it is a right off for soap. Though I make a vanilla infusion with jojoba oil for perfume, it's scent throw isn't strong enough to survive saponification either. Fragrance oils are my friends and not my enemies in general as it is but this is a rime example of the place for synthetic perfumes in the soaping process. Random lecture over, on to the soap.

Freshly poured

I divided my batter into one third white base, coloured with TD, the other two thirds I divided into black oxide, TD, and a green and an aqua mica. The TD and black oxide are from Voyageur, the green and aqua are from the Soft series by TKB. This particular vanilla fragrance oil, French Vanilla by Voyageur was almost black it was so dark and knowing what we know about vanilla fragrance oils and soap, I poured the vanilla into the the black, the green and some TD that immediately turned tan from the fragrance oil. I poured the vanilla into the aqua and the white base so when the vanilla finishes discolouring the other segments, these should stay light.

Did you want the recipe?

Olive Oil 28.5%
Coconut Oil 25%
Cocoa Butter 16.5%
High Oleic Sunflower Oil 15%
Camellia Seed Oil 10%
Cherry Kernel Oil: 5%

33.3% Lye Solution and a 7% Superfat. I used a told of 1.50oz fragrance for my 32oz of oils.

Each batch of soap I've made, this one being number four, has used a slightly different recipe as I work out what I like best now. I remember my go to recipe from pre-hiatus times and while it made good soap, I want to see if I like what I am doing now better. I also have a love affair with camellia seed oil so I need to see what it brings to soap for me.

So there you go. I'm pretty sure the summer heat will gel this soap and I am inclined to let the soap do what it wants. If it gives me a partial gel, the soap and I will have to have a long talk about our feelings. Namely, my feelings that it needs to  behave.

Can't wait for tomorrow and the cut pics!

Just a Cut Shot

I cut my coconut/melon/tropical treat last night but waited for daylight hours to take a shot. Forgive the junk in the background. The coconut mellowed during saponification, just as I hoped and the result is sweet and a little sophisticated, without smelling like suntan lotion. The Pearly micas worked great, with the bonus of a soft shimmer coming through the swirls. Micas often lose their shimmer in cold process soap so this was an unexpected surprise.

So here they are; three bars of "Dreams of Paradise"

Funny enough, all three bars have been claimed by friends who actually missed my soap while I was on my hiatus! If I want a bar myself, I'll have to make more. I did save a bit of the blend for scrubs, but that's another project.

Getting Back in the Habit, Three Bars at a Time

Once upon a time I used to soap two to three times a week, sometimes more. I loved every second of it. Formulating, mixing scents, selecting colours and and what swirling technique I wanted to play with. Living situations changed, and I had to take over two years off from my beloved hobby. But recently, I just got back into soapmaking, these last few weeks. I've two small batches under my belt and I am thanking my lucky stars that my soap instincts have not disappeared. With the lessons I learned from my first two batches, I was raring to go for today's yummy peacock swirl.

I don't have a big stash of micas or fragrances that are soap stable but I do have a few old faithfuls. Today I made a delicious blend of coconut, melon, mango and pineapple, a little basil with a sweet vanilla base. Since I knew the coconut and vanilla will discolour, I planned accordingly.

I decided to use micas from TKB Trading. They're from the "Pearly" collection. Most of my micas are actually geared towards nail polish, my primary pass time since I took my soaping hiatus. For this tropical treat I chose the pearly yellow, blue and pink. Technically I used the blue and yellow to make a pale green and as well as just pink I also mixed the yellow and pink to make peach. I divided my fragrance into known discolouring and discolouring parts and added the discolouring fragrance to my black and TD coloured batters. I expect the creamy white to turn tan over time. But for the time being, it is already firm in the mold and I'll pop it out in a couple of hours. I use a heavy water discount and my soap unmolds hard and ready to go in no more than twelve hours.

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The peacock swirl is one of my favourites. The trick that's remained true for me all these years later is to not let the batter achieve trace, rather just get a watery emulsification and get your pour on. Not bad for my third batch in years, I think!