Recent content by raywitt001

Well after my 5th batch yesterday, it did something different. I'm guessing this was a partial gel? I left the soaps in the individual moulds a bit longer than previous times - my first batch was about 5 hours before turning it out (in a square 20cm silicone cake pan), then with these current...

Oh, and the first 2 links are no longer there...

I have the common names i.e "Eucalyptus and Tea Tree soap made with coconut oil" on the front but thought an ingredient list on the back might be nice - just so they can see there aren't any 15 character long unpronounceable chemical hexa-tri-ethyl-sulfa-hydra-oxy-nols (slight exaggeration?) in...

I have made cold process 100% coconut oil soaps with 20% superfat. I plan to label them as Sodium cocoate - which I believe is the correct term for saponified coconut oil. Should I then list Cocos nucifera because there should be 20% left in the soap or just leave that out and go to the next...

After telling a friend that I had started making soap, she passed on to me a soap kit she had been given by someone and was never going to use. It was sealed in a sturdy brown bag (never opened), and apart from the soap powder (which I think just needs rehydrating but I need to read the inclosed...

My first batch definitely wasn't glowing - I was watching pretty closely as it was my first ever batch. It was white when I poured and was the same when set - just hard and maybe more pure white. I didn't use a thermometer and just judged by touching the outsides of the bowls. When they felt...

I know this question has probably been asked before, but Gel is something I have read about but not experienced. I have now made 2 batches of cold process soap - both 100% coconut oil at 20% superfat. Both times I used silicone moulds - the first in a square cake pan, the second in 5x5cm...

My first batch of soap (read: I had no clue what should happen) didn't trace after 2 mins of the stick blender so I figured I should just pour it out (I used a square silicone cake pan). I kept stirring it every 5 mins and it gradually became thicker to the point I could swirl a pattern on the...

Wow. I didn't even know such a soap existed! This is probably a really dumb question but what makes it so green? It is almost like a clay soap. I would consider trying this but beyond the cost of the laurel oil, waiting a year to use it would be worse!

Thanks CanaDawn. So, with a blended oil soap, to be used on the skin, what % superfat would be recommended? 5% seems pretty standard. I guess I liked that in 100% CO the superfat has to be CO so I know what is being left on my skin, but with a blend you have no idea exactly what the left over...

Not at all - thanks. I think I understand the chemistry of soaps now, but the blending and variables are still a bit of a mystery - or unexplored may be a better word. I've read a little about bastille soaps so I may have to try that. If 100% coconut works, is there a reason that most other...

Hi all, My first attempt at soap making was a 100% coconut oil soap with 20% superfat and I am loving how it turned out - rock hard, lathers nicely, feels nice on the skin, and smells lovely with the EOs I used. I would like to try some blending of oils to achieve different soaps but I would...

Hi fellow soapers, I made my very first batch of soap 2 weeks ago and I am very impressed! It started as an experiment but I think this hobby will be a keeper. My first batch was 100% coconut oil (20% superfat), with eucalyptus and tea tree essential oils for an Aussie scent. A friend of mine...