Strawberries & Cream

It seemed like a good idea for me this weekend to attempt a soap with cream again.  This was partly because I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, after all of my ruined attempts, and partly because I had a partial container of cream in the fridge that was going to get tossed if it wasn't used quickly :)

One roommate has asked for a good strawberry-scented soap, and I found this Strawberries & Cream FO at Wholesale Supplies Plus that seemed like it would fit the bill.  It got some good comments from reviewers, and it's definitely time to think about some fun late spring scents.  This FO does have a 5% vanilla content, so I needed to plan the colors and design accordingly. 

I replaced 2 oz of water with cream (approx 20% of liquids are cream) in my 2-lb mold recipe (approx 20% cream) and stick blended the cream into the oils instead of mixing it with the lye water. I had read this tutorial from Amanda over at Lovin' Soap, and this seemed to be easier (and quicker) than trying to mix the cream in with the lye.

Since this FO has some vanilla and will discolor to some degree of brown, I didn't want to fight with the color too much, but I also didn't want a brown Strawberries and Cream soap.  I decided to use some of BB's Super Pearly White Mica to color the entire batch to give it a bit of a sparkle and then to color the portion that was scented with the FO with some of BB's Merlot Mica.  I also used cranberry seeds in the colored and scented portion to make it look a little more strawberry-like.

Here's what it looked like after I poured it on Sunday:

I really love how the color turned out!  Since I didn't want the colors to be too dark, I tried to keep this soap from gelling by putting it in the "icebox."

I cut it today with the handy-dandy wire cutter, and I noticed that I got a bunch of air bubbles.  I wonder if it's from cutting it and dragging the cranberry seeds through the soap?  The soap color got a little darker, but not too brown.  I'd be happy if the soap stayed this color - only time will tell :)

These pictures were taken right before and after cutting - after curing for a few more weeks, I will polish them up a bit more so they look more smooth and shiny.

The scent out of the bottle smelled like a strawberry milkshake, and both my roommate and I love it!  After 3 days, it seems to have faded and taken on a more plastic-y smell, so I'm hoping it's just the mold I was smelling and it will will smell more true after the bars cure.  Cross your fingers!

I will wait with baited breath to see how this soap does after a nice cure - I am hoping I've beaten my cream issues once and for all!  I also hope this soap stays this nice color - reminds me of the Strawberry Shortcake dolls I used to have as a little girl.

Here's one gratuitous pic of my dogs for good measure - this shows perfectly their relationship, even though this picture was taken nearly 4 years ago:

~Chrissy

Soaps with Milk

Long absence everyone!  I have spent the past month enjoying time with family and friends, some down time for myself, and a little bit of time sick in bed with the flu that's going around and other various winter diseases.

But now, it's back to the blog (and hopefully soaping!) Last fall, I experimented with some milks in my soaps.  I had heard all about how lovely and creamy they made the lather, and I wanted to check it out for myself.  The first soap I made with cream (about 90% of the liquids) was this Pumpkin Spice soap, also using pumpkin puree and BB's Pumpkin Spice FO.  

It was awesome (and still is).  I loved the smell, it lathered beautifully, and it smelled delightfully pumpkin-y and also spicy for the fall.  This turned out so well, that I next tried this Gingersnap soap with coconut milk - 100% of the liquids for the lye. 

The colors turned out more gray than brown, even though the swirl was nice, and these bars in my slab mold were HUGE!  They averaged around 7oz when cut...  But when I was mixing the lye with the coconut milk, it started to turn a little orange.  That's okay, I told myself, because I'd read about it happening on various forums, blogs and soapmaking books.  I probably just was adding lye too fast to the milk.  However, when I got the solution mixed in and started to mix the soap batter, YUCK - what is that awful smell!  That coconut milk smells burnt and horrible!!

I told myself it would probably go away over time, and it is a favorite of many friends and family.  After curing for about 4-5 weeks, I no longer noticed the smell of the burnt milk, and my nose was not offended by this soap any more.  Great!

Next, I tried cream again (the heavy whipping cream from the grocery store) to make a peppermint soap.

I was sure I had the hang of soaping with milks now, so I was even faster about adding lye to the soap and used 100% cream for the liquid in the lye mixture.  I added the lye to cold cream (not frozen), and before long, it turned a brilliant orange.  I was not worried, because it had turned out well in the past, and I was sure this time would be no different.  As I was soaping, I tried not to notice the horrid smell of sour, burnt milk.  It was terrible.  I scented with peppermint EO to cover up the milk smell, and let it cure.

The scent did fade over time, I noticed.  But last week when I went to get my hubby a soap for his shower, I picked up a tester I had made from this batch. (I made a second batch also with less milk, which smells much more pleasant)  Holy Hannah, did that smell sour!  I made my hubby smell, and he promptly threw the bar in the garbage.

I am worried about using milks in my soaps after this horrible experience, not knowing whether I am just very sensitive to milk now since I haven't been eating dairy lately, or if it was something I messed up.  I did a little research, asked some questions on the Teach Soap Forum, and got some answers.  

It seems that I probably used too much milk in the recipe, and I am likely sensitive to the milky smell.  I will wait for awhile before I'm tempted to try milks in my soaps again.

On a more positive note, though, I did find a fantastic winter recipe I have been using for the horribly dry and bitterly cold winters we have up here in Minnesnowta, and I will get pics and a blog about that shortly!

Hope you all are staying warm!