Avoiding SoapMaking Mistakes
One of the best ways to avoid having a ruined batch of soap is to do a test before you start. If you want to avoid the disappointment of ruined batch of soap, not to mention the loss of all the money you put into it, there are a few simple procedures you can follow that will save you time and money.
If you’re trying something new, the best thing to do is try out your idea first before you get involved in making a large batch and risk it being ruined. So, let’s look at some of the most frequently made mistakes and see how you can learn to avoid them happening to you.
Soap Making Mistake # 1 – Making A Large Batch Without Testing A New Recipe
If you’re using a new recipe for the first time, it’s a very wise move to test it with a small batch and avoid having to throw away a large amount of ruined soap, not to mention the cost involved. Start with about two pounds. This allows you to test your recipe and make sure that the probability of it working is high. You will not waste a lot of money just to see it end up in the garbage. If it works on this size batch, then you’re ready for a much larger one, and you’ll feel fairly safe that it will come out right.
Soap Making Mistake # 2 – Be Careful Changing Up The Recipe
If you are a beginner, I suggest that you don’t try this until you have much more experience. When you are ready start with small test batches to try out your changes. Be very careful in changing oils in a recipe. If you change the oil you will definitely need to change or recalculate how much lye you are putting in. Different oils can have very different amounts of fatty acids and unsaponifable material. It is wise to use a lye calculator, of which there are many on the internet, in order to judge whether your recipe will work or not. Only work on changing one ingredient at a time. This allows you to know that it is this ingredient that is causing the problem instead of having to guess from numerous different materials that you may have used.
Soap Making Mistake # 3 – Be Careful Adding Things To Your Batch
We all love color in our soaps as well as fragrances but if you start adding too many you could end up with a ruined batch. If you start out small and do test batches and add small amounts of ingredients at a time you will have more change of success than failure. If you feel you don’t have enough color or the smell is not strong enough, you can always add more later, but keep it to a small amount at a time. This way you can better gauge what the correct amount will be.
Soap Making Mistake # 4 – Keep A Record Of Your New Recipe
As you start to experiment with different additives and you increase the number of different soaps you are creating, it is wise to keep a record of what you did and what you used. It’s simple to do, but few rarely do it and then when trying to recreate the recipe from memory they find they’ve made a mistake and probably ruined a large batch at the same time. If it’s a recipe that you really love, then make sure you keep an account of your steps so that in the future you will be able to recreate it and enjoy it again.
Soap Making Mistake # 5 – Test, Test, Test
Number one cause of failure is not testing first. The more advanced you get in soapmaking the more likely you are to experiment. So many make the mistake of not testing their new recipe first and then end up with a ruined batch. If you make a change to any of your recipes then you MUST test it.
Testing is a great way of trying out new ideas, fragrances and colors. So test first and then make a large batch and you’ll enjoy the satisfaction of having a good finished product.
Soap Making Mistake # 6 – Learn To Have The Patience Of Job
Some batches that you make may change in smell from day to day. It may not smell strong the first few days but after a week it could be a lot stronger than what you expected. If you are using preservatives it’s important to take a few bars from the batch, wrap them and date them. This allows you to check over time how stable they are and how long the scent lasts. Then you can give them away as gifts with an expiration date. It will be appreciated. Although this takes time and patience, once you’ve done it with one recipe, you’ll never have to do it again with that one. Make sure to also write it into your recipe book for future reference.
Soap Making Made Easy, will get you started off on the right foot from page one. You’ll learn how much fun it is to test recipes in a few easy steps. Before long you will be creating your own recipes and experimenting with all sorts of different additives. You’ll learn all our secrets. Watch for our special where we also include our bonus book on recipes for all kinds of beauty products you can make at home. Lotions, Shampoos, Lip Balms, Bath Bombs….and more.
Suzy Sutherland
Soap Making Made Easy
