So what does it take to consider a bar of soap "finished"? After I cut the soaps from the soap mold, the work doesn't stop there. Each and every one gets a good spiffing up.
About 24 hours after the soap is made it's taken out of the mold and cut it into individual bars. I get 18 bars of soap per mold. The soap is still a little soft so it sits on a rack for anywhere from 3 to 7 days. Any longer than that and the soap is a little harder to work with.
See that rough looking edge there on the left? Blah...Looks messy, doesn't it? Not only that...it can be kind of...sharp. Yeah, it sounds odd but it's a little sharp so I bevel the edges to tidy it up and to help with the "twirl" action. What's that? What's twirl action, you ask? You know how you grab that bar of soap in your hand and spin it round and round and round to work up the lather? Yeah, that. That's twirl action.
The first trick of the trade is dig out the trusty old vegetable peeler. You got it...a vegetable peeler. All that I want to do is to take off that sharp edge and the peeler works wonders.
See that rough looking edge there on the left? Blah...Looks messy, doesn't it? Not only that...it can be kind of...sharp. Yeah, it sounds odd but it's a little sharp so I bevel the edges to tidy it up and to help with the "twirl" action. What's that? What's twirl action, you ask? You know how you grab that bar of soap in your hand and spin it round and round and round to work up the lather? Yeah, that. That's twirl action.
The first trick of the trade is dig out the trusty old vegetable peeler. You got it...a vegetable peeler. All that I want to do is to take off that sharp edge and the peeler works wonders.
I wanted to customize my soaps by using a stamp. And clearly the best way to do that is to get one customized with a logo.
When choosing a stamp it was important to me to find one that was American made. I found a nice little business in Washington state to make it for me. The stamp is made from from brass plate. Very sturdy and long lasting.
When choosing a stamp it was important to me to find one that was American made. I found a nice little business in Washington state to make it for me. The stamp is made from from brass plate. Very sturdy and long lasting.
After all four edges are beveled, I lay the soaps out in a grid pattern so I can stamp them quickly and easily. Each and every one get a stamp.
Depending on the how long it's been since the soap was made will determine how much "whack" I have to have to apply to get a decent imprint.
Watch out for those fingers. One wrong move and ouchie wowzers. Ask me how I know.
Depending on the how long it's been since the soap was made will determine how much "whack" I have to have to apply to get a decent imprint.
Watch out for those fingers. One wrong move and ouchie wowzers. Ask me how I know.
After the soaps are made, cut, beveled and stamped they're finally ready to get tucked away for a nice long rest for six weeks with their other soapy friends. And extended cure time helps create a harder, longer lasting bar and is a much milder bar.
After 6 weeks then they can be wrapped with a label and a shrink wrap band. Then once again stored until they're sold.
Nothing too glamorous about this part of soapmaking and truthfully, it's not even necessary. I could leave the edges sharp and I really don't have to bother with stamping it. But I prefer to have a high quality product and it's the attention to details that help make it so. I do that for me. I do that for you. ☺ We deserve high quality stuff don't we?
Stay sudsy, my friends. Stay Sudsy!
After 6 weeks then they can be wrapped with a label and a shrink wrap band. Then once again stored until they're sold.
Nothing too glamorous about this part of soapmaking and truthfully, it's not even necessary. I could leave the edges sharp and I really don't have to bother with stamping it. But I prefer to have a high quality product and it's the attention to details that help make it so. I do that for me. I do that for you. ☺ We deserve high quality stuff don't we?
Stay sudsy, my friends. Stay Sudsy!
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