Amy over at Great Cakes Soapworks gave us a challenge to use alcohol in a batch of soap. I had been wanting to make a beer soap with Guiness for a while so this was the perfect time. I made an extra large bar (8.5 ounces) because I had this vision...after I mixed up the lye solution so I just had to mix up some more soap to accomplish what I had envisioned...therefore making an extra large bar of soap. Well, my scent morphed. I'm not sure why. It's some fragrances I picked up off of craigslist and they were questionable in my mind as to their freshness. I did test batches with them and all turned out fine, but I think when mixed with the beer solution, they went rancid quickly. This bar stinks! In fact, after I handled it, I had to go wash my hands with a yummy smelling soap to get the stink off. I don't even really want it in my soaping closet. I might ship it off to Clean the World. They take bars of soap that didn't work out for whatever reason (along with hotel bars, etc) and turn them into something wonderful to give to people that don't otherwise have access to soap. Amy, can I send soap with DOS (dreaded orange spot)? If I can't send it, it's getting thrown away ASAP...which is a shame because there is over 6 lbs of oils and 2 bottles of beer in here. That's a lot of money! Without further delay...here are the pictures.
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| Not sure if it's lye heavy. There is a strong possibility though..with the spots going on. |
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| Not sure if that is lye or fragrance that seeped through. Gross! |
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| On another note, I opened my curtains to get better lighting to take the pictures and my 'girls' were sitting there waiting to tell me good morning. I may have had a frown on my face when I inspected my soap, but they made me smile. I sure love those chickens! |
10 comments:
Oh that's so sad that you used so much in oils etc to make your soap, it does seem a waste. Can I just suggest that you leave it for a while, don't look at it and get depressed, just leave it out of the way and go back in 3 or 4 weeks, you might be pleasantly surprised. The stink of lye and beer is pretty terrible but it does go away!!
I really like the layered look. I second Soapchick's suggestion of tucking it away for awhile. Sometimes the beer creates a "cat urine" scent that's pretty nasty but does go away!
P.S. Yay for homeschooling!! (I was homeschooled myself.)
On Noes! Throwing away that much money makes me hurt for you! Maybe the others are right and it will get better, if you can stand to have it hang around. I'm sorry. Your friends in the window seem to have got your back! :-)
Hey, I homeschool too, have sweet chickens, and make soap! I'm rooting for your soap to get better, and I bet it will. Thanks for sharing!
I agree with the other comments. Let is cure and see what happens. If you still don't like it, rebatch and try again. Maybe there is a fragrance that would cover it. Good luck!
I can't imagine that a soap would develop DOS overnight. It has to be the fragrance. I'm sure if you wanted to send it off to Clean the World, it would be fine. But you might want to wait a few weeks first! I like the layered look too!
I thought the soap looked pretty in the picture! I have had soap leak out oils and still turn out fine.
does stink to have so many ingredients involved in a experiment. ouch.
It's hard to throw away all those good oils. Maybe let it cure - maybe you could turn it into a laundry soap and fragrance it with eucalyptus???? xx Linda
I have to say, the layers impress me - looks like a caramel. So sorry for your disappointment.
Well, it looks yummy, does that count? Lol... let 'er rest for a bit and see if you still want to toss it. You never know, you may have come up with a winner. If not, you will have learned a lesson with it - don't mix beer and lye? Lol...
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