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Hello everyone and happy holidays, I have done the 50% OO, 23 % Palm, 21% CO, and 6% Castor oil a few times now using HP process, and I liked the outcome. The color of the soap has always been orange due to the red palm oil. This time (to experiment), I did the same recipe using cold process...

Hello everyone, Many of you have been making soap for a while, and I imagine that you have come up with ways to save time during the HP or CP processes. For everyone's benefit, perhaps you would like to share some of what you have come up with ? I can start. You know those wax-lined square...

Happy Holidays Everyone, I was looking at Castor Oil. I found two brands, both had only "castor oil" on the ingredients list. However, one said it was edible (you can take 1 teaspoonful for constipation). The other one plainly stated in bold "Do Not Ingest - External use only". Can I use...

Hello everyone, Up until now, my soap batches have been combinations of olive oil, palm oil, castor oil, and coconut oil. I'd like to try a different recipe. Can anyone suggest a recipe ? I have a good amount of olive oil, coconut oil and bacon grease (lard). I also have a little bit of red...

Hello everyone, I updated my HP procedure according to your comments that I received on my previous batch back in March. Picture of what I did are below. Am I making soap correctly ? I am using this soap and might give some of it to others, so I don't want to assume anything. I am still...

Hello everyone, I have made about 5 batches of soap with this crock pot and there is this stain that I cannot remove. See picture below. Has the lye-water reacted with the ceramic surface of my crock pot ? Is this a safe ceramic surface to use ? Thanks

Hello everyone, While I am learning about oils. I will make the recipe that Susie and Shunt2011 suggested. Below is my understanding of the soap making process. If anything below doesn't seem right, please let me know. I am still a novice. This soap will be used for bathing and for washing...

Hello everyone, I'm looking to try new soap receipes. However, I don't know know of any good ones. Can anyone recommend a soap recipe (for bathing and washing dishes) that uses oils from the following list ? I can get these oils without problem and they are not that pricey: Canola Oil...

Hi everyone, My current soap recipe was fine except for two small problems: 1) the soap left a film in the sink after washing cookery (and the tub after bathing), and 2) it was a little bit drying to the skin. How should I adjust my current recipe ? or should I use an entirely different...

This past weekend, I made my 4th batch of bathing/washing soap. It was a hot process soap, and used a recipe suggested by a fellow poster. Did I do this right (I'm still a relatively new soapmaker) ? I did a 4lb batch. 50% olive oil (32.1 oz), 23% red palm oil (14.8 oz), 21% coconut oil...

My olive oil soap (castile) has been curing for 7 months without problem. Yesterday I went to ckeck up on it and there was little teeth marks on them and the whole batch was sprinkled with mouse turds. Can I still bathe with these soaps ? If not, can they be disinfected in any way ? I ask...

Hello everyone, Can I refrigerate my leftover pomace olive oil, castor oil, palm oil, and coconut oil to extend its shelf life ? Will this affect the properties or saponification value of the oil ? The reason why I ask is that I have made about 1 year's worth or soap. I won't need to make...

Hello everyone, If I wash a piece of clear glass (or a piece of dark shiny plastic) with my soap and then let it sit to dry, I see a thin white film. That same film is left on my skin when I bathe with the soaps. It feels similar to talcum powder. Is this okay ? Should I be concerned ? How do...

Which oils saponify to a salt that has a natural pH that is under 10 (say around 9.7) ? - OR - Is there a soap recipe whose soap has a natural pH that is under 10 (say around 9.7) ? I know that one can add a mild acid to the finished soap to lower the pH. But I was wondering if a combination...

Hello everyone, We all know that homemade soap can feel great on our skin. However, someone brought up this point and I didn't know how to answer: One thing that soap is supposed to do is kill some bacteria, and hinder the spread of microbes. Do the saponified salts in our soaps do this ? Thanks

Hello everyone, Can I get elucidation on this superfatting question from a chemistry point of view ? From a helppage in SoapCalc, I learned that one end of the soap molecule grabs onto a water molecule, and the other end grabs onto a dirt molecule. When one washes the soap away, the dirt...

Hello everyone, We all want to get good quality oils in our soaps. So when we are reading the labels on the containers at the supermarket, what should we look for ? Should we look for "100%", "pure", only one ingredient on the ingredient list, "top quality", ... As we all know, the...

Hello everyone, How does one go about determining which oils (and how much) you should put in your soap in order to get the properties that you want in your soap ? Also how do you determine how a combination of oils would work together in a soap ? In case this is a big question, a referral to...

Hello everyone, I just wanted to say that I successfully made a 2 lb hot-process batch of Olive Oil/Coconut Oil/Castor Oil soap. I zap tested it in several places and did not get a zap :D, just a soapy taste. A picture of the unmolded soap is below. 4 weeks at least to cure, I understand...

Hello everyone, When I was making my lard soap I may have inhaled lye fumes without realizing it. Here is what happened. I mixed my lye and water. When the lye-water was clear, I dumped it into the oil and mixed it a few minutes with a spatula. Both steps were done OUTSIDE, while holding my...