Spin Swirl Soaping - Challenge Attempt #1
I AM SO EXCITED! It’s time to do something I've never done before – make soap in a flat mold and use a fragrance oil on top of it.
I just got an order from WSP which included 5 different FO’s I wanted to try out. For this batch I’m going to use the Sweet Pea FO. I really like the scent straight out of the bottle, but it kind of gives me a little headache.
I’m using Amy’s slow-moving recipe but replacing the Rice Bran Oil with Sweet Almond Oil because it’s what I have available to work with. No biggie, Amy said it should be fine so that’s good enough for me. The first issue I came across was that I wasn't going to have a container large enough to mix the batter in. UGH!!! I’ve been making smaller batches for so long, a 5 pound batch wasn't something I was prepared for. Luckily I had a spare, clean bucket laying around as well as a helpful husband who washed it out for me just in case.
I mixed my lye water and put that off to the side to cool down. Then I melted my hard oils, mixed in my soft oils and let that mixture sit as well. Once both temperatures were around 100 degrees, I took some of the oils out of the pail and mixed up my micas: red, blue, green and white (titanium dioxide).
After just incorporating all the oils and lye water together (very light trace), I added the Sweet Pea FO and stick blended in a few short bursts to mix that in. Then it was time to split the batch and add the micas to color things up. It was then I noticed the batter began to accelerate – FAST – but it smelled awesome!
My husband took 2 colors and I took the other 2 colors. We did a pour in all 4 corners of the box – alternating colors. By the time we had poured the last of the batter, it had thickened up to a thick trace.
Now it was time to spin this sucker! I jerk-spun this about 10-15 times until I saw the top just starting to move around together. By that time the batter had thickened to the point where spinning wasn't going to move the batter very much and I was running the risk of making a huge mess. So, I took a bamboo skewer and decorated the top a little.
I covered the soap with the lid and put it on the counter to sit until the next day. Man…I’ll tell you what…the hardest part of soaping is the waiting between the pour and the cut!!! Let’s fast forward!! I unmolded the soap and it looked pretty cool. Then came the cuts – OH MY GOSH….AMAZING!!!
Here are some pictures showing you what it looked like after slicing it horizontally so you can see what the spinning did. So cool! I’m really proud of this soap because it is the first large batch of soap I have ever made and it turned out better than I could have imagined. Without this challenge I probably wouldn't have had the motivation to push forward and push outside my comfort zone to create something I’d never done before. Thanks Amy!
UPDATE: I had to come back and update this to tell you this is my first attempt at the spin swirl. I ended up doing 2 others as well.
Post a Comment