My first ever batch of soap: Honey Oat Milk Natural Soap

Before I start this entry, I want to tell you that certain soaping terms will be used. I will not define all of them. Instead, I want to assume that the reader is at least a novice soap maker and is therefore familiar with these soaping terms. To know more about these terms, kindly look up Soap Queen youtube channel and watch their beginner's tutorial for cold process soap making.

And I want to apologize as I do not have the photos for each step. This blog is kind of an after-thought.

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This was the first ever soap I ever made. And you know what? It was "botched". What happened?

To be honest, I simply "copied" this soap concept in the sense that honey soap with ground oats and milk is very popular among soap makers. I just have to make my own.

So I did. I followed a certain recipe, except that I substituted some oils because of availability and cost issues. As a responsible novice soap maker, I recalculated the recipe to get the correct amount of sodium hydroxide for my recipe.

Aside from the ingredients, I followed the directions given in the recipe, like the honey should be diluted in water. And this is where my downfall started... I did not weigh my water-diluted honey! Oh my gosh.

As to the milk, I did weigh it and added it once the oils and the sodium hydroxide solution (to be called as lye solution) were mixed. After the diluted honey and milk where mixed with the lye solution + oil mix, I added the ground oatmeal. Guess what? I also added my fragrance oil at this early stage, according to the directions. Another oh my gosh!

Ok... So I mixed my soap batter manually for a couple of minutes with a rubber soup laddle, then with the stick blender. I got kind of impatient because the soap batter did not reach "trace" immediately. So, I kept on stick blending it until trace was reached. Uh oh!

I poured the batter in my wooden log mold lined with wax paper. At the bottom of the lined mold, I placed a bubble wrap to achieve a faux honeycomb look. Once the soap batter was in my mold, I placed another piece of bubble wrap on top. I removed this bubble wrap approximately 6 hours from molding. I SHOULD HAVE REMOVED IT AFTER 1 HOUR FROM MOLDING.

After 24 hours from molding, I noticed that my soap was oily. Yes, it had a thin layer of oil on top. So I decided to wait for another 24 hours before unmolding the soap. A few hours after the 24-hour mark, I noticed that the oil was reduced. The oil must have been reabsorbed.

I got impatient, so I didn't wait for the 48-hour mark. I unmolded the soap at least 3 hours before the scheduled unmolding period. The soap was noticeably less oily. I was very disappointed because no soaps I have seen on youtube were oily when cut.

I felt like a failure.

But after asking some more-experienced soap makers, it was their opinion that the soap overheated.

What caused my soap to overheat? Here are the reasons:
1. The honey. Remember I did not weigh my diluted honey? That was a big mistake. The diluted honey must be weighed, and that weight should be deducted from the total liquid to be used in the recipe.

Bottom line: always deduct the weight of the milk and diluted honey from the amount of liquid to be used in the recipe.

2. The fragrance oil. It should have been added once light trace was reached.

3. Overmixing. This is a big no no for soaps with milk, honey and other additives and sugar content. What I did in my second batch was to take a rest in between mixing. Here's how I did it in my second batch:

*I mixed the soap batter with my rubber soup laddle first. Slowly but surely.
*When the lye solution, oils, milk and diluted honey were all incorported, I stopped stirring for at least 30 seconds. Then I stirred again with the spoon. Another 30 seconds break.
*I then used the stick blender for not more than 30 seconds. At this point, the soap has not yet reached trace. Another break, this time at least 1 minute. Repeat this stick blending-rest cycle. Be patient! Don't be in a hurry to reach trace.
*Once trace was reached, I took another break from mixing, then I used my spoon again. Fragrance oil was then poured. At this point, I no longer used my stick blender.

4. Insulation. The bubble wrap on top of my soap batter should have been removed 30 minutes after molding, or earlier. For my second batch, I opted for a texturized top without using the bubble wrap.

My first batch of soap has been curing for almost 3 weeks, and it is no longer oily. In fact, it has become harder. Yey! It turned out ok in the end.

The differences I noticed between ny first and second batch of honey oat milk soap are:

1. The first batch is more fragrant because I used less fragrance oil in my second batch;

2. The first batch is darker than the second batch;

3. Upon unmolding and cutting, the second batch was not oily.

4.  The first batch had a full gel, therefore it was a uniform brown color. The second batch had a partial gel, so the edges were lighter in color compared to other parts of the soap.

5. As I used the same oils and butters, both batch have the same hardness.

Lessons learned from my first ever soap making experience:
* Be patient!
* It's alright to take rests in between mixing!
* Keep the soap batter cool! The mixing bowl may be placed in an ice bath to prevent the soap batter from  overheating while still being mixed.
* It's alright not to insulate. I don't mind my soaps going through partial gel by the way.

Here are some photos I have of my first and second batch of honey oat milk soap. Again, apologies for the incomplete photos.

First batch with bubble wrap on top of the soap batter.

Color difference: 1st batch vs. 2nd batch

How I became a Novice Soaper

When I was 9 years old, I took up piano lessons. I was good at it. But I stopped when I was 12. I got bored with the routine.

After piano lessons, I didn't have much hobbies as a kid, except: watching T.V., reading Sweet Valley High (no, I didn't read all of the series) and other books and magazines I found interesting (I love Reader's Digest)... 

When I was in college, I didn't involve myself in school activities, unless it was mandatory. During this period, I discovered Paulo Coelho and ultimately loved The Alchemist. No, I didn't have much time to read his other books then. 

I got a job after passing the board exams. And yes, I started reading some of Paulo Coelho's books. I liked The Devil and Miss Prym. And no, I didn't read all of his books.

I started to pursue my childhood dream: to become a lawyer. I didn't have enough time to pursue any hobby because law school is a jealous lover. And then, I dropped out of law school. Yep. So, I got busy by selling beauty products, mainly beauty soaps. That is when I discovered that commercial soaps are not really soap, but detergent. So that's why my skin is so dry!

While I was still selling these beauty soaps, I learned what hot process and cold process soap making were. And then, I got tired selling these products. Because ultimately, I don't have any control over what goes in the soap I use and sell. So, I started to dig deeper, and I stumbled upon this youtube channel: Soap Queen.

I watched Soap Queen's beginner videos for cold process soap making, and I got hooked to the point where I had to try and make natural soap myself. Oooh! Look at those pretty soaps! I can do that!

And I did!

I thought that I had no talent at all. But with soap making, I can make use of my "slightly limited creativity" to create handmade natural soaps.

From this point onward, I will share with you some of the finished handmade soaps I have created, including the problems I faced in making them.

Wanna see my simple creations? Go to instagram.com/emmescloset12

Note: I am going back to law school. Expect a much lesser post and new soap creations. I will update this blog whenever I can.