Saponification Sunday: Fugly Soap

 

 

Fugly...as in Freakin' Ugly , soap is on the menu today. And there is no good excuse. No tornadoes this week to distract me. No lack of basic soaping skills (that could be debated), more so just rushing through the process again.

This soap which is fondly called Billy Bob soap is a favorite of one of my customers. Made with 4-5 colors that are to be gently spooned into the mold after scenting the soap with a great combo of Essential Oils, it is a good soap inside and out. Most of the time.

This time however...well, the inside is still good.

 

 

The outside failed me or more accurately; I failed it. I did not wait until the lye water was cool which then caused the soap to get thicker too fast. This meant that instead of gently spooning the five different colors into the mold, I ended up THROWING the soap spoonful by spoonful into the mold.

And due the concrete like consistency, I had to slam the mold hard on the counter to get the soap to settle well. The thick soap combined with the hard slams left a few air bubbles in the finished product. Not to mention the evolution of some gentle waves into some big ugly globs.

 

 

But the good news was this. The EO's I used, a combination of lavender, lemongrass, pink grape fruit,and  amyris left the fugly soap with the same wonderful scent my Billy Bob soap always ends up with.

You would think after over three years of making soap on a weekly if not more often, basis, I would learn that rushing never results in a well crafted product.

You would think.

So what can one do with Fugly Soap? Here are my top ten

 

     1. Cut into tiny pieces, throw into crockpot and rebatch. Final result will range from a masterpiece

     soap that looks like expensive granite to just another bunch of fugly soap. If so go to step 2.

     2. Grate it all up. And for every one cup of grated soap, add one cup each of baking soda,

     washing soda and borax. Mix well. You've just made laundry soap

     3. Chop into small pieces and fill a plastic bottle half full with the soap chunks and fill the rest

     of the container with hot water. You have just made dish soap.

     4. Cut the bars into chunky pieces measuring 4 inches long and 1 inch thick. You have just made

     laundry stain remover sticks

     5. Grate up the soap and for every cup of grated soap add one cup Epsom Salts and one cup

     medium grind sea salt , along with a few more drops of essential oil for scent. Mix well. You

     have just made a fabulous foot scrub.

      If those suggestions are too high end for you try one of these solutions

     6. Gift the bars as is to all your blind friends.

     7. Gift the bars to those in your family who always want all your stuff for free. This might stop

     future requests.

     8. Cut the bars into perfect 3 inch squares. Top with Cool Whip and serve as "Individual

     Cheesecakes" to those family members who gave you Bear Claw Slippers for Christmas last year.

     9. Hide the bars in the back of your underwear drawer. Your things will smell great and when

     you finally clean out your dresser five years from now you'll find them, compare them to the

     gorgeous soap you'll be making in the future and feel really good about yourself.

     10. Give them to your husband to use. As long as they don't smell like dead wish, he'll use them

     and tell you how wonderful they are. You know how he is.