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Made this GM soap last night. Cut it this am to find it oily and with non-zappy pockets. Is there any reason it wouldn't be safe to use since it's not zappy?

I made pine tar soap yesterday for my dad, and this thing had better cure world hunger and global warming. Any suggestions on rendering the tar itself easier to work with? I don't have a microwave, so heated the can up in a pot of water on the stovetop. What a nightmare.

Subject line says it all. Any local recommendations? Thanks.

Doing my first batch of HP as I type. It's driving me crazy not to stir that bad boy. How long does your HP cook for, on average? And what factors do you think contribute to the length of the cook?

To set the scene, you should know I'd washed a couple martini glasses and they were in the drying rack when I decided to strain my alkanet infused olive oil. First I thought to myself, "Self, I'm so proud you let that oil cold-infuse for six weeks. You should have a drink to congratulate...

Any recommendations for a sandalwood FO (just sandalwood, no vanilla or other blends, please)? I usually soap with EOs and sw is my all-time favorite scent but I just can't afford the EO. I have one sw FO from a local supplier and it smells like baby powder. Kitten Love?

For those of you who cold-infuse botanicals in oil to obtain color: Do you find there is a time after which the oil doesn't absorb any more color from the powder/leaves? Is it just unnecessary overkill to leave the the oil infusing after, say, a month? How long do you like to infuse for the...

I was driving through the mountains this weekend and got inspired. Scented with cedar, cypress, patchouli, litsea and a touch of lemongrass EOs. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, especially for my first try at a graphic soap. Anyone have any idea what the discoloration in the "sky"...

I am pretty excited to see how this turns out. I used a black IPA and left it unscented. It looks like a 2 lb. caramel for the moment. I read all the warnings about how bad lye and beer smell and took them with a grain of salt, but was as soon as that lye hit the beer I was immediately...

Reading over recent threads about soaping with lard/tallow and whether there's a noticeable odor to the soap got me thinking. I got some beef fat yesterday and decided to compare methods to see if there was a difference in yield (my main concern) and end product of the fat. Caveats: I don't...

My much-more-photographically-talented-than-I husband took some photos I finally don't mind other people seeing. Top to bottom: -Goat's milk scented with hyssop EO -First tiger stripe attempt, scented with lemongrass, rosemary and lavender EOs -Bentonite, French green, and Moroccan red...

My wonderful husband bought this ylang ylang oil for me this weekend, not realizing it isn't an EO. He would like a soap made with it. I generally only soap with EOs, so I'm a bit at a loss as to how the additional ingredients may affect soaping. I believe this is skin safe. Any thoughts as to...

I just cut this batch. 85% tallow, 15% castor, 1.25 t confectioner's sugar in 20 oz oils. I insulated but didn't CPOP. The cranberry seeds in the center of the loaf discolored but the ones on the ends stayed nice and red. Any ideas what could have happened? I'm thinking the seeds in the...

White sugar, honey, brown sugar, confectioner's sugar.....do they behave differently?

This soap is quite new, about 18 hours. It's firm but oozing zappy yellow liquid. The weird thing is the liquid is sloooowly being absorbed back into the soap. Does that only happen if the oil is FO/EO, or if it's zappy could that be reabsorbed too? Beef tallow 407 g Castor 85 g Avocado butter...

Has anyone used hyssop EO in CP soap? I bought some and would like to figure out if it discolors before using it in a batch. Sent from my iPhone using Soap Making

I know there are some Coloradans on the forum, but anyone else who lives in a dry, desert climate, I welcome your suggestions. It's turning to winter and this is when I generally turn into an ashy, itchy, shriveled up husk of a human being due to the cold and 0% humidity. I would compare myself...

This is my first soap made with animal fat so I'm pretty excited to try it out. It's a simple recipe, just beef tallow and a little bit of castor oil, scented with lemongrass EO. I didn't use any colorant so I'm surprised it's so bright. It's hard a rock already and pretty waxy-feeling. I...

I made a soap for my niece, a true girly girl. Her favorite colors are pink and purple so I thought I would practice a swirl. Obviously, I still need practice, but I'm reasonably happy about how they turned out (I'm just starting to get the hang of what soap batter consistency works for...

Has anyone ever used celery seed EO? I'm curious whether it does smell like celery/celeriac, or if the seeds somehow smell different.