Recent content by ycartf

Nice looking decals. Please sign me up.

I get 1lb tubs (I don't need much) of pure shea butter locally at an ethnic haircare supply place for $7. It is pure, unrefined shea butter. Check your ethnic hair supply store in your city (and try the biggest one).

I take the moistened and softened sliver and press it firmly onto a moistened new bar, leave it in the soap dish, and when I come back for my next shower it is melded together like NO commercial soap would do. FWIW

Well for one reason, the water being poured into the lye can cause such heat/reaction that it encrusts the top layer of lye, confining the rest of the lye underneath temporarily, then when water seeps into the lye underneath and reacts, that reaction is much more violent because it is confined...

I have noticed a few small flecks like that here and there before (also use AAA Chemical). I mixed it as well as I could and made soap. The initial reaction of the oils and lye mixed or the gelling heat must have taken care of it, because none were visible during gel or afterward. EDITED TO...

Usually you can find CO at Wal-Mart in about a 2lb container ... found near the cooking oils and Crisco. As far as using milk, I have used the following method on all my milk batches. I just discount the amount of water I use to account for the milk volume, then add the milk after my lye and...

I have used Aloe Vera juice like you buy for ingestion in the pharmacy section of Wal-Mart. I would just use it instead of water in my recipe. While it does give a different color and slight smell when I mix it, I wonder if any of the properties of the aloe make it through the saponification...

Carebear, I have never had a problem with my Pyrex-like batter bowl (another brand) and I have mixed AND reheated in it over 40 times. I don't know if folks who have them shatter have caused/allowed sudden temperature changes like immersing in a sink of ice water while the lye mix was near...

Well the lye mix I microwave is about 1/3 lye and 2/3 water .... in a big, thick-walled, glass "batter bowl" with the cover loosely laid on top. I have never had a problem with it.

I rewarm lye mix all the time in the microwave. I heat 32 oz of water/lye on high for about 2.5 minutes to get it to about 120 degrees. And as far as freezing, I suppose it COULD freeze, but definitely not at 32. The lye acts sort of like anitfreeze, and lowers the freezing temp for the water.

I agree Deb

I have several of the big 5 qt. Sam's Club size Wesson oil containers that I like to pre-measure all my oils into (melting the coconut before adding it in) beforehand (they have a nice airtight screw-on lid). Having pre-mixed water/lye also, all I have to do is pop the lye into the microwave...

Correct, no matter whether you measure in ounces or grams, if you use the same numbers you will be fine (ratio will be the same). That said, one ounce equals about 28 grams, so you should notice if you are pouring out 300oz of coconut oil vs 300g. I always use grams now for everything, because...

As they said, it doesn't get weaker from sitting. Shoot, my favorite thing to do is to pre-measure and mix my oils and do the same for my lye and water. Then the next day (or week) I know that for a given volume of each of the room-temp components how long I need to microwave it to have the...

The 75/25 CO/OO or the 75/25 CO/CB (cocoa butter?) leaves your skin like a two year old?