Soaping update

Three week update on my first batch of soap that was then rebatched into this
The color has richened deeeeply into a dark, DARK brown.

The smell remains ABSOLUTELY amazing, but due to the high HIGH amount of Dark Rich Chocolate fragrance added in comparison to the Turkish Mocha, it resembles chocolate more-so, with an underlying mocha.  Did you know that in rebatched soap, you don't need to add as much fragrance as in the initial cold process (CP) soap?  So, yes folks... these bars pack a whopper of smells!!!!!

Two little slivers of edging had been cut off the ends, and being almost three weeks into curing, I jumped into testing the soap out yesterday!

NOTE:  Go EAAAAASY on the coffee grounds, folks!  This most definitely is going to be a soap I keep in the kitchen, which is typically where we wash up after being outside in the garden.  The coffee grounds are an EXCELLENT exfoliating and scrubbing additive!

Recall: 1/4 cup of grounds had been added to the 850g batch

Three week UPDATE on the original FIRST-EVER bar of soap, made by yours truly:  

There were a few things that lead me to rebatching my first soap...

#1)  There was a concerning 'off' odor, almost like spoiled milk, that the bars had.  Uggghers!  {{Come to find out, that odor was nothing to be concerned with.  The one lil' bar I kept no longer had the odor about 2 weeks into curing.}}

#2)  The cuts were horrendous!  Check out the rebatch post to see if you agree!

#3)  Jeni, my soaping MENTOR, dropped off an old 2 lb mold she no longer used AND a small collection of fragrance oils she wasn't interested in.  I mean---hel-LO!  It was like divine intervention!  I HAD to play with a rebatch!!!!!

Anyway---that one lil' bar I kept out of the rebatch has now reached its three-week old birthday.  It was time for a test-run!!!!!

This was a simple recipe of 30% coconut oil and 70% olive oil, with the additive of coffee grounds.

Lathered and bubbled decently;  no burning;  a bit 'drying' sensation about 15 minutes after washing (I've read that high amounts of coconut oil may cause this, therefore suggestions say to keep coconut oil amounts <=30%).

After placing it in the soap holder and picking it back up a minute or two later, there was almost a slime-like appearance to it, but after another 10 minutes of drying, it was back to a muted, solid bar of soap.  

No other soaps have been test-run yet; they (not-so?) patiently await their turn...

Caitlyn's Lemon Energy yogurt soap

Spiced Amber Ale yogurt soap
(with parsley flakes)

Oatmeal & Honey yogurt soap

Ginger Patchouli Oatmeal & Honey yogurt soap

Cherry Explosion yogurt soap
(my first experience of a soap partially gelling -- I'm not a fan)

Ginger Patchouli Oatmeal & Honey soap [Rebatch soap]

Continuing on my soap-making adventure...

Some research was done about incorporating oatmeal and honey into soap (it's actually quite simple), and how to naturally color soaps without dyes, clays, or even proclaimed "natural" soap colors.

The game plan...

The result...

Yes, it's quite pretty;  overall I'm pleased with using spices and other true natural colorants to soap, but.....

This screams a bit more like "Spiced Pumpkin," instead of "Oatmeal and Honey" to me, wouldn't you say???

SO.....

A rebatch was planned.

Using the microwave method...

All but one bar was grated into a microwavable-safe glass bowl.  The soap weighed about 2.5 pounds as it entered the microwave.  ONE Tbs of milk was also added.

This is FRESH CP soap;  it was made up two days ago, so the melting of this rebatch didn't take much time at all.

In minute-long spurts, the final 'melting' lasted 4 minutes.

After the last minute, 12g of Ginger Patchouli fragrance oil (a sample from Brambleberry with my last order) was added and mixed well.

OH WOW!  LOVE this fragrance!!!!

Spooning the sloppy mixture into the mold did lend a few difficulties, and I feared a few air-pockets would be prevalent.  However, this afternoon, the unmolding was seemingly unceremonious.

OH MY GOODNESS!  This Ginger-Patchouli sample fragrance from Brambleberry -- nailed it!  What an amazing smell!  By no means is my nose a fragrance connoisseur (is that word used for fragrances???), but...

there's an underlying musky fragrance (the patchouli, most likely) -- AMAZING!!!!  HUGE hit!  Can't wait to cut this and for the bars to cure!

TWO-WEEK UPDATE

The rebatched Ginger Patchouli is two weeks into curing.  It's softer than the original bar of Oatmeal & Honey; I suppose that's due to the lil' amount of milk added to the rebatch.

The smell----- oh yuppers, folks!  Brambleberry found a new customer for the Ginger Patchouli fragrance oil!

Ginger Patchouli Oatmeal & Honey yogurt soap -- 2 weeks after rebatching

And the original bar of the Oatmeal & Honey yogurt soap....
The tumeric color has calmed down quite a bit from the 'spiced orange' look.  I'm glad I saved one bar from heading into the rebatch -- the subtle honey fragrance is soft, and actually a bit too light (for me).  When I use the Honey fragrance oil next, I'll either increase the amount or mix it with another fragrance

Original Oatmeal & Honey yogurt soap -- 2 weeks of curing

Soap Trial #1 - Vanilla Yogurt and Dark Chocolate Mocha [Rebatch soap]

Jeni, oh Jeni.  During another FB messenger conversation, she and I both gave each other some credit for enabling the other.  She to me for assisting her purchase to Brambleberry.com in the way of 'thank you' gift certificates, and she to me for offering me up her older 2# mold that had been collecting dust, awaiting a timely death in a burn pile. !!!!!

What a wonderful lady!!!  Additionally, when she dropped off the mold, she also snuck a small bag of fragrance oils that had been, in her words, "on her shelf for awhile."

Turkish Mocha!!!!  Dark Rich Chocolate!!!  And others.....

So, while she was here, I had her take a look at my cut pieces.  ugh!  SOOO not pretty.  Nor very pleasant smelling >:(  But those Type-A worries aside, I asked her about the tackiness they each had.  She nodded... 'yup, yup.  These will be good bars."

Well...aside from the strange cuttings.  And smell.

That bundt-style mold ended up not being such a great idea;  I didn't care for wedge-style cuts.  Therefore, some trimming was done.... Quite honestly, it kinda looked like a crinkle-cut mess!

The lighter bars from the plastic container were better, but... again, my Type-A personality was having a hard time with all the differences.  There was really only one bar I liked;  the one cut from the center of the mold.

Therefore, after she left, I got to thinking.  I remember reading up on a method known as re-batching;  essentially when soap gets melted back down for one reason or another; to add missing ingredients, or....in my case, to add fragrance oils!  {and try out the new mold!}

I kept ONE of the previous bars (first attempt);  the lovely lil' cut from the center of the plastic mold.  All of the rest--- INTO the rebatch!  Using the mircowave rebatching method, I added 14g of Turkish Mocha and 26g of Rich Dark Chocolate.  Rebatched soap doesn't reach its previous pudding-liquid state;  rather it takes on a mashed-potatoes feel and look. 

Twenty-four hours later, the new loaf is unmolded and cut!  

Not only did Jeni share her older mold with me, she also included her old cutting form to boot!

The cuts alternated between the crinkle-cutter and straight cutter.  Eight gorgeously smelling bars cut, along with two lil' sample-size pieces.

One concern about rebatched soap that kept coming up on most of the websites I researched is that there may be clumps of the original batch that don't melt completely, leading the final batch to be splotchy.  For my bars, it works!

Now, to rename this first batch:  Vanilla Yogurt & Dark Chocolate Mocha soap :D

My soaping ingredient stash grew after a brief shopping trip this morning.  The awesomely cool fact:  if/when the obsession over soap-making decreases or deceases completely, MOST of these ingredients will be repurposed into the kitchen :D
-----------------------------------------
Three week update:
The color has richened deeeeply into a dark, DARK brown.

The smell remains ABSOLUTELY amazing, but due to the high HIGH amount of Dark Rich Chocolate fragrance added in comparison to the Turkish Mocha, it resembles chocolate more-so, with an underlying mocha.  Did you know that on rebatched soap, you don't need to add as much fragrance as in the initial CP soap?  So, yes folks... these bars pack a whopper of smells!!!!!

Two little slivers of edging had been cut off the ends, and being almost three weeks into curing, I jumped into testing the soap out yesterday!

NOTE:  Go EAAAAASY on the coffee grounds, folks!  This most definitely is going to be a soap I keep in the kitchen, which is typically where we wash up after being outside in the garden.  The coffee grounds are an EXCELLENT exfoliating and scrubbing additive!