Challenge Soap In the Mold

The third batch of challenge soap is in the mold. It went well, I think. The only real issue I had is the my dividers kept spreading out; I kept pushing them back into place and adding more soap along the sides but it was a little frustrating to see them pushing back out time after time. I really need to make them just a hair longer if I decide to use this method again.

I made a couple of little additions to the recipe this time:

- added 2 tsp of simple syrup to oils
- added 2 tsp of silk protein to lye mixture

We'll see what it does to the finished soap... the silk, that is. The simple syrup (sugar and water) is supposed to help with bubbles, making them more plentiful and bigger. We shall see. I will be able to compare batches as the second batch of swirled soap is the same recipe, minus the syrup and silk.

This evening, I'm making one more batch of soap. This time, I've taken a recipe from the Voyageur Soap & Candle Company website and made it a smaller batch (theirs is a 4 lb. batch). I'm just waiting for the lye mixture and the oil mixture to cool enough to mix them up.

My version is as follows:

50% Lard
24% Crisco shortening
24% Coconut oil
2% Beeswax

Water:Lye ratio - 1.5:1 with a SF of 5%
This soap has an INS of 153 with a saturated:unsaturated ratio of 49:51

At trace, I added about 1 tablespoon of raw honey and 2 tablespoons of colloidal oatmeal.

My batch is 30 ounces of oil (or 850 grams). Pictures will be taken tomorrow, once I can remove it from the mold. This batch should be ready by mid November, I'm thinking.