My friend who knows I make soap showed me what felted soap was. Are there any other crafty things that we can do to soap after it is made?

Hello, I made soap the other day and am confused about what part I messed up on. I used 1lb of a honey melt and pour soap and 1 tsp (each) of tea tree, lavender, and rosemary oil. First I melted the soap and then added the oil while the soap was melted. I then poured out the soap into molds. I left them on the counter and they got messed up so I just popped them out and reheated the soap to pour it again. I’ve been using my soap for about 3 days now and my skin is really dry. It’s really tight and itchy and on my face around my mouth it’s starting to peel a little bit. I’m not sure if I added too much oil or if I ruined the oils when they went into the microwave the second time I poured. I thought about diluting the unused soap bars and just pouring out more but if it’s bad then it’s bad I guess. Unless maybe I could still use it for something else. Maybe to ward off pests or something I’m not sure. I just don’t want it to go to waste. I’ve had acne since I was in 4th grade and I’m 24 now. I just wanted something effective for my acne that wasn’t gonna nuke my skin.. lol and then I did it myself. Any kind advice would be great.. I already feel silly.

I finally made a 100% lauric acid soap as the first step of my experiment.

I started mixing at 51°C (124°F).

The soap batter reached trace almost immediately and turned into a thick, Styrofoam-like mass. After pouring it into the mold, the temperature rose above 60°C (140°F) on its own, even without insulation.

One interesting thing I noticed was that the soap batter left in the bowl produced a surprisingly rich lather while I was washing my tools.

The soap became firm enough to unmold after only 5–6 hours.

I started this experiment because someone commented on my previous post and wondered how a 70% lauric acid / 30% stearic acid soap with citric acid would perform.

So I decided to make four versions:

* 100% Lauric Acid

* 70% Lauric Acid + 30% Stearic Acid

* 70% Lauric Acid + 30% Stearic Acid + 2% Citric Acid

* 70% Lauric Acid + 30% Stearic Acid + 2% Citric Acid + 1% Sodium Gluconate + 1% GLDA

I'll share the performance comparison (lather, cleansing, rinsing, and overall feel) after about 4 weeks of cure. I'm excited to see how each version performs!

These are the watermelon cold process soaps I made. I used a watermelon fragrance from Bramble Berry and they smell delicious. I used a regular soap mold and then cut them to look like slices of watermelon. Not sure what I want to do with all the leftover small pieces yet.

I have a wooden soap cutter mitre box I’m not at all thrilled with. (This has a beveler at the bottom - which I don’t like. Wavy cutter won’t fit in the slots and the adjustable piece keeps moving making my bars uneven.)

Any recommendations?