The challenge this month used the hanger swirl technique. This is a pretty popular technique, and one that I use fairly often. I mostly just like to swirl things about and be surprised with what comes out! Swirling the soap at different consistencies produces different kinds of swirls. For example, my Dragon Racer soap is swirled while the soap is still very thin, and that's what allows me to achieve those small whispy swirls. My Rosemary Mint soap is heavy in clay and goat milk, so it thickens up quite quickly. The swirls in it are much chunkier.
For my first attempt attempt at this month's challenge, a soap I've named Tropical Twilight, the soap moved a little faster than I planned, so I ended up with wider swirls than I was hoping- but I love the bold colors.
On my second attempt, which I'm calling Tahiti Twirl, I increased the amount of water in my recipe and soaped at a slightly lower temperature. That produced the whispy swirls I was wanting- but it left my colors a little more muted than I liked.
It was a hard decision, but in the end I decided to submit Tropical Twilight in the Experienced category, and Tahiti Twirl in the Bonus category.
Both soaps were made with the same ingredients: avocado oil, water, coconut oil, mango butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, grapeseed oil, fragrance, activated charcoal, colorants, and sodium lactate.
The fragrance and almost all colorants used are from Nurture Soap. The Seven Isles fragrance oil behaved wonderfully. Nurture colorants included Siren's Song, Sahara Gold, Alpine Green, and Coral Reef micas as well as Neon Green Pigment. Activated charcoal and a bit of Super Sparkle Light Gold mica are from Wholesale Supplies. All oils are from Soaper's Choice.
This is only my second time entering a soap challenge, as things got a wee bit hectic in my personal life last year. I'm thankful for the opportunity to learn and grow with this fabulous group of soapmakers, and also for all the sponsors that make it possible. I'm hopeful that there will be much more of this for me in 2022!
1 comment
Great to have you back in the Club, Elizabeth! I appreciate the feedback and write up about your soaps. Both are very beautiful, and really show how just a few small tweaks change the outcome of the design in a big way! I’m a fan of the bold colors of your competitive entry as well. :)