Meditate…
by simplysoap
Finally l soaped. Only a small batch, this was the first of my non-palm oil experiments. I was pleasantly surprised, this is an olive oil and coconut oil soap – nothing else. I had expected it to have a slightly ‘slimy’ feel to it like castille soap, but there’s none that l can detect. Instead, it’s a lovely soft and fluffy lather, and l think l might prefer it to my standard recipe. (The ‘fuzzy’ top you can see in the photo is due to me ‘oven baking’ this soap to force gel, and l left it in a little too long so that it started to bubble on top.)
Another experiment: using a higher ISO setting on my camera to get better low light photos. The focus is not so good on the bottom of the photo, l need to wean myself off wide apertures a little bit – there’s also a fair bit of ‘noise’ in the photo, but l don’t mind it.
Surprisingly, l passed my first photography assignment – which completely amazed me. I didn’t get everything correct, but thankfully it is one of those situations where there really is no ‘right’ answer and most of my answers were sort of heading in the right direction. I can’t wait till l am supremely confident with lens selection – l’ve spent the past few days researching what is going to be my new digital camera, but do you think l can work out what lenses l need to buy to go with it? Noooo way LOL.
Looks great Gabbie! And congrats on your first assignment!
I’ve tried a non-palm recipe similar to yours – olive and coconut, but with a little castor as well. I found it didn’t last long in the shower, even after a good 6-week cure. My next experiment will be to add a little cocoa or shea butter to harden to up. Good luck with yours! xx
Congrats on passing the first assignment. The only ‘noise’ I’m getting is my brain going ‘oh, those soap tops look great’ and ‘wonder what temp and how long she oven baked’! Lovely looking soaps (as always) and great photo’s.
Cynthia
LOL Cynthia, l don’t ‘bake’ it for too long, l just set the oven on it’s lowest setting so that it is toasty warm in there, and then put the soap in. I like to get a full gel, and l’ve found that if l insulate the soap normally with towels etc then it overheats in the middle and never quite reaches the corners. Whereas in the oven, the gel comes from the middle of the soap and also from the oven warming up the edges of the mould, so it gels from all angles. The warmth just helps the gel ‘take hold’ as opposed to accelerating it. Of course with this one l was in a hurry to go to bed so l cranked up the oven a bit, but it’s not turned out too bad thankfully!
Your new soap looks wonderful. The combination of oils you used is a great one and one I like as well. It’s surprisingly an amazing bar of soap.
No surprise you passed your assignment. I can tell you have the drive and passion for your course. Curious to see what DSLR you will buy in the future. Mine is just a basic model but enough for me as it’s my first DSLR.