Sunday, September 23, 2012

Peppermint Swirl

Just recently I purchase the new Heavy Duty Column Mold from one of my favorite suppliers - "Brambleberry" :)  (See pic and link below)

Brambleberry Heavy Duty Column Mold
http://www.brambleberry.com/Heavy-Duty-Column-Mold-P5401.aspx


I have been daydreaming trying to figure out which fragrance to try and also what type of color scheme to use.  I kept thinking of peppermint.  At work we have this candy bowl that is filled with peppermint.  Every time I looked at it I kept thinking of this mold.  I knew I had some peppermint fragrance oil hidden in the back of the storage closet - since I hide from that fragrance.

 I don't do well with peppermint fragrance or any other types of "mint fragrances" for that matter.  I get some weird type of reaction to it, it's a little weird considering that I can chew mint gum with no problem!)  The last craft show I did I had to hide the Melt and Pour peppermint soaps that I had for sale.  I could not deal with the scent!  I just about gave away the soap for free just to get rid of it. 

So I decided to give it a try to get rid of what fragrance I had left and also to get this color scheme off my head. 

I prepared my lye water.  Melted down my oils.  No fancy recipe.  Just your basic:Olive Oil, Rice Bran Oil, Shea Butter, Mango Butter and Castor Oil for extra suds :)

All turn out nice.  I mixed the lye water into my melted oils.  Worked in to a light trace and mixed in my measured fragrance all while trying to hold my breath - LOL!!!  I actually did well :)

I decided to cut out one of the flexy cutting mats that I had handy and use it to separate the inside of the mold in half.  This way I would be able to color one half white and the other red.  I mixed my colors in my soap mix, poured it inside the mold.  Once I had it all in I very slowly started to take out the plastic divider, slightly moving it from side to side as I pulled it up.  Finally I took a long paint brush and used the end to swirly it some more.  Here are the results :


I'm pretty happy with it.  It's kind of neat :)
I must say that I need to develop better patience skills.  I did not wait long enough to take the soap out of the mold and ended up damaging the sides :( - boo!:


Oh well...something to avoid doing next time

In the mean time I am quickly giving away all these soaps to the first takers!  Just the little whiff I get every time I pass by the curing rack gets me going!  I may just have them continue to cure in a hidden section of the house.  AWAY FROM ME!  I just need to give myself a reminder or they will stay there for years to come :)

Happy Soaping! - Roxana

5 comments:

  1. Beautiful swirls, Roxana! Great idea using a divider. It's funny, I made a Peppermint Swirl soap with the same mold a couple of weeks ago. I used a funnel, though, for my swirl. The sides of my soap got a bit damaged, too, when I unmolded, but I was able to smooth most of the rough spots away with my finger. Fabulous job on the soap - I love peppermint myself!

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  2. Great soap Roxana! I love your swirls! Have you found that the tube gets stuck in the cap if you push it all the way down? I left my shaving soap in the mold for 3 days and when I unmolded it the liner just fell right off! Patience is definitely the hardest part of soaping!!

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    1. Hi Heather! Funny you should mention about the cap. I had to put on the gloves to help me loosen it from the tube :)
      I am trying a new batch right now and I have stored it out of sight so that I am not tempted to unmold it if it's not ready yet :)
      Thanks for posting!

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  3. That looks so great, I love the swirls!! I am loving this mold too, it's my new fave! Maybe some more hard oils in your recipe or adding sodium lactate (I swear by it for hardening soaps, and it's also a fantastic humectant!) or salt water concentrate would make unmolding easier and/or faster for you.

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    1. Hi Laura
      Thanks for your post! I have been tweaking my recipe and it has thrown the result off for my bars. They are coming out a little soft during the unmolding. I just made a new batch and have added some sodium lactate to see if it will work :)
      Wish me luck

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