Go Vertical!

Hi everyone, it's Kat, and I'm playing with some fun cold process layering techniques that are simple and very striking. You can do this a couple different ways; (1) Use a vertical loaf mold, or (2) customize your regular loaf mold with an insert piece. Above shows results from both methods. The yellow and pink swirl was made using yellow mica and fuchsia labcolor in a vertical mold.

A vertical mold is designed to stand up like a tower and you pour into it from the top. It is lined with hard plastic side pieces and has a removable divider insert that goes down the center, which you pull out after pouring colored soap on each side to create a layer. To swirl, simply dip a long stir stick to the bottom of the mold and give it a gentle turn. I really love how each side came out perfectly flat and uniform with zero soda ash.

The other bar is made using a blend of emerald and blue mix labcolors layered next to fuchsia again. This time, I used my regular loaf mold (lined of course!) and cut out a piece of cardboard that fit the length of the mold. I covered my cardboard piece with some freezer paper, which may or may not have been necessary, and placed it in my mold as a divider. Then I poured my two colors evenly at the same time on each side of the divider, gave it a shake to settle the soap and removed the insert. I ended up with a very crisp layer and it was super quick and mess-free. I used a tester fragrance in this batch and found out that it discolors very dark, which created that funky coloration on the outside where it oxidized. Wish I could say I planned for that!

Summer Fling Swirl

Kat here, happy end of the week! It's Friday and 70 degrees out-- can't beat that. So, summer officially starts in 38 days and I'm already sunburned and making summer inspired soap projects. This quadruple color swirl cold process batch has Summer Fling fragrance oil and smells amazing! It's the kind of scent that just keeps getting better and better over time.

I used the Baltic Birch 18 bar mold and can't stop talking it up. It is simply the best mold for swirling because you have so much surface area to work with to get really interesting patterns.

Colors used:

Alkanet root for the deep purple
Ultramarine blue
Yellow mica
A mix of coral mica and yellow oxide for an orange
Lastly, there's a thin layer of white on the base of the bars created with titanium dioxide.

I'm looking forward to a full Cold Process Class tomorrow afternoon. If you are interested in signing up for the June 19th CP soap class, or for Jill's next lotion class on June 26th, or Anne-Marie's liquid soap class on June 5th, or our 3rd annual Soap Weekend Intensive in August, click here.

Have a wonderful weekend and don't forget to wear sunscreen if you decide to nap in the grass with the dog (I learned my lesson).

Beeswax and Oatmeal Swirled Soap

Happy Monday! Last week I played with adding beeswax to a 2# cold process soap batch. I used Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance oil, titanium dioxide for whitening my oils, yellow oxide for a second color to swirl, slow cook oatmeal for a scrubby additive and white beeswax in addition to my oils.

Working with beeswax can be tricky business. It is known for accelerating trace and overheating the soap. You only need a little bit-- about 5% of your recipe. Too much beeswax makes a sticky, gummy bar that inhibits lather. Beeswax is an ester like fats and oils, which means it can be saponified and needs to be added to recipe and go through the lye calculator just like if you were adding an oil or butter. This is unlike adding the oatmeal, which is a secondary ingredient who's purpose is to exfoliate and does not contribute to the actual saponifying process.

I added the melted beeswax to my low temperature soap (around 90 degrees F) as it reached a very light trace. I noticed the wax begin to slightly solidify at first (beeswax has a much higher melting point than the oils--close to 140 degrees F), but continued stick blending and it evened out into a nice, smooth texture.

In the Soapmaker's Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch, she adds the beeswax right in with the other oils so that it can saponify along with them, which I think I might try next time to see how that reacts in comparison to the method I used of incorporating it after the oils and lye had been mixed.

So, what's the benefit of beeswax in soap? Mainly, it adds to the hardness of the bar and the smell of honey is very pleasant.

Here is the recipe I used:

8 oz Distilled Water
3.38 oz Sodium Hydroxide (lye)
8 oz Canola Oil
8 oz Palm Oil
6.8 oz Coconut Oil
1.2 oz White Beeswax
1.4 oz Oatmeal Milk and Honey Fragrance
1 teaspoon Titanium Dioxide
1/2 teaspoon Yellow Oxide
1.4 oz Oatmeal Milk and Honey Fragrance Oil
1/4 cup slow cook oatmeal. Instant oatmeal will actually cook in your soap with such high temps!

Other supplies:

Rubber spatula and reed for swirling
Assortment of Pyrex measuring dishes for oils, water, splitting the batch to swirl, portioning sodium hydroxide, etc.
Stirring utensils for mixing lye solution
Laser thermometer
2 pound wooden loaf mold lined with freezer paper
Stick blender
Digital Scale
Rubber Gloves
Safety Goggles

I like to lighten up my oils with titanium dioxide before adding in the lye solution because all the stirring to break down any clumps doesn't change the thickness of the oils. I have all the time in the world to make sure the color integration is just right without worrying about reaching trace too soon. (Trace is the word used for the critical point when your mixture of lye and oils begins to thicken up like pudding. This signals the time to add fragrance and then pour into your mold.)
I also added a little more titanium dioxide after mixing in the fragrance once the lye and oils were combined because Oatmeal Milk and Honey does discolor to a tan.

Above is my mold all lined and ready to go. Make sure to have your workspace organized and planned out so that all you have to do is grab and mix.


Voila! My poured soap with swirl pattern and oatmeal mixed in. The beeswax seemed scary at first as it changed texture, but with continuous mixing, it was super easy to handle-- even enough to create a lovely swirl pattern. Mmm, and it smells delicious!