Batch #1:
This was going to be made with Tatsiana’s method, filling my mold with about an inch and a half of soap and slicing it with the flexible knife. It went in the oven at 170 degrees for two hours, and I unmolded about 8 hours later.
My recipe was 30% coconut oil, 20% avocado oil, 15% palm oil, 15% rice bran oil, 10% lard, and 10% castor oil. I wish I would have saved the video footage of myself and then my husband trying to help me cut this one. It was a bit of a comedy routine. I ended up with a layer of soap, but it was way too thick to bend. My mold was too wide for the flexible knife to span and stay taut.
Batch #1 – in the mold
Batch #1 – in the bag!
Batch #2:
Single layer batch
I’ve run out of palm oil now. My recipe was 30% coconut oil, 20% lard, 20% avocado oil, 15% rice bran oil, 10% castor oil and 5% olive oil. I used 14 ounces of oils, which was just a bit too much. I also attempted to stir this one by hand without a stick blender. Apparently I’m just too impatient, because it didn’t come together. I put it in the oven at 170 degrees for two hours, and I unmolded about 8 hours later hoping that the heat would help it, but it was a mess.
Batch #3:
Single layer batch
I’ve run out of avocado oil as well now. I bought some grapeseed oil and sunflower oil at Trader Joe’s while I’m waiting for palm, palm kernel, and avocado oils to arrive. My recipe is 25% coconut oil, 20% lard, 20% grapeseed oil, 20% rice bran oil, 10% castor oil, and 5% olive oil. I used 15 ounces of oils – again too much! Same oven process, but trying to wrap the soap with the top as the outside of the soap and it wants to crack.
Batch #3 – just out of the oven
Batch #4:
Single layer batch
Changed my recipe again (thought maybe it was the rice bran oil)- 25% coconut oil, 20% lard, 20% grapeseed oil, 15% sunflower oil, 15% castor oil, and 5% olive oil. Used 15 ounces of oils again. Problem: I had made pumpkin bread right before this and the oven needed to cool down. I let it cool down too much, and the soap didn’t gel. So I turned the oven on again after the soap had already set up and forced it to gel, and left it in the oven overnight. The soap was bubbly on top, so I thought I’d skim it with the flexible knife. Um, no. I ended up skimming the surface with a regular butcher knife, but in the end, it still cracked because it wasn’t as pliable as it would have been if it had gelled from the beginning – and it was probably too thick also.
Batch #5:
Single layer batch – my first success!
My recipe was the palm-free recipe that I posted in the tutorial. I used 14 ounces of oils. This was the first time I used the bottom of the soap as the outside of the rim, and the soap that I show in the video.
Batch #6:
Single layer batch
My recipe was Tatsiana’s recipe, just subbing grapeseed oil for the almond oil. I also show this rim in the video – it’s successful because I rolled it with the bottom of the soap on the outside, but it’s the one that I didn’t fill because I cut it too small.
Batch #6 – just poured
Batch #7:
Single layer batch
This is the one I demo in the video. Same recipe as batch #6. I stickblended it a bit too long, but otherwise it works.
Batch #8:
Single layer batch
Bonus footage soap – the one that didn’t gel. Same recipe as batch #6 and #7. I preheated the oven to 170 degrees, and then turned it off after I put the soap in. I was hoping less time in the heat might keep the top from drying out and cracking, but it turned out that it wasn’t enough. If I ever do batch #9, I will try leaving the oven on for one hour.