Apple Soap

I made another batch, with a red apple fragrance. When the kids came home from school yesterday, one of them said *I smell candy*.

Here it is just poured. It was more of a purple pink at pour. I noticed a bit of a play-dough, chemically smell for the first few hours. This is not uncommon, the fragrance usually goes through some changes during saponification.

Here is is, 24 hours later.

The white areas on top are called *ash* and are the bane of the soapers' existence. This is just a light case of ash, I'll have to use my trimmer on these bars to clean them up anyway. No one really knows what causes it, but you can lay a piece of saran wrap over the top of the soap, keeping the air out, to prevent it.

The cut bars. I turned some of them so you can see the ash on the top. I used the little heart molds, but I'm going to let them sit for a few more days before I try to remove them. They need to be really hard in order to remain undamaged while you're getting them out. I have high hopes for these since the mold is a soft rubber. They will make nice little teacher's gifts -- maybe I'll knit some washcloths to go with them.

This soap is going to be ready just in time for valentines day (4 week curing period). I'm really happy with the color. I used 3 parts D&C red 28 to 1 part D&C red 33. I have a very nice berry fragrance I want to soap soon, so now I know how to make a pretty pink.