Getting back into the groove of making soap again, a few questions

misslavey · Apr 28, 2015

It's been several years since I've made CP soap. I got distracted by other crafts but since I've been working with oils and butters making lotions, balms, etc I have amassed a lot of the supplies needed for CP soap again. I have a couple questions before I start making more batches though..

1. I have palm, coconut, and castor oil from about 3-4 years ago. I know some oils go rancid fast but I always hear about how these 3 have longer shelf lives. I know fresh is best, but would these still be okay to use? I'd hate to throw away so much money.

2. I only have one 3lb wooden loaf mold. I also have a TON of nice cardboard boxes that could fit maybe 12-20 bars worth of soap in. Is it okay to just line those with freezer paper like I would a wooden mold, or is there something not good about that?

Thanks so much!

Sonya-m · Apr 28, 2015

Welcome back to the wonderful world of soap!!

I can't answer the question about the shelf life of oil but I guess if you were going to throw it out anyway if you didn't use it then you have nothing to lose by trying it. At worst it doesn't work and you've wasted water and lye.

Regarding using cardboard boxes that would work fine - I know a few people on here have done just that recently as they needed a slab mould and they only had cardboard boxes

dixiedragon · Apr 28, 2015

Oils - they should be fine. Do they smell funky or sour? If they do, you could still use them, but in smaller quantities. I got out of soaping for 5+ years and my coconut oil, olive oil and cocoa butter were still fine. My mango butter was rancid, so I used it up at 5% in soap.

Boxes as molds - don't use wax paper. It will soften and sort of dissolve and you'll be picking it off of your soap in shreds. I really like baking parchment.

navigator9 · Apr 28, 2015

You can also use a quart milk carton as a mold. Wash it, dry it, unfold the top all the way, and after you pour your soap, fold it closed again, and cover with a towel if you want to gel. Then just tear away the carton when it's done, and slice.

Sonya-m · Apr 28, 2015

dixiedragon said:
Boxes as molds - don't use wax paper. It will soften and sort of dissolve and you'll be picking it off of your soap in shreds. I really like baking parchment.

I've used baking parchment too and it worked fine although I do find I got more wrinkles than I do with freezer paper so I would definitely go with that if you have it

misslavey · Apr 28, 2015

Awesome, thanks guys! The oils smells completely fine, but I've heard others say that you should only ever use the freshest of the fresh oils, but I never saw a major difference between soaps years ago when I used a mix of old and new.

I'm really happy about the boxes too. I have a ton of them from a clothing service (Gwynnie Bee) that I use so I get 1-2 of these boxes a week. I don't have a slab mold and to be honest, if thee boxes work fine I'd rather not spend the money getting some.

Here's a picture of the type of boxes I have, I easily have 20 on hand right now. Large cat for scale.

misslavey · Apr 28, 2015

Oh, has anyone ever worked with shea nut oil? I have a bottle of it but absolutely no clue what it would work best with (soap, lotions, body butter, etc)

IrishLass · Apr 28, 2015

I agree that your oils are more than likely perfectly fine since they smell fine. Those particular 3 have really long shelf lives and seem to last forever. At least for me they do.

Re: shea oil. I've heard of people using it in lip balms to get the benefit of shea without their balms going grainy.

IrishLass

Susie · Apr 28, 2015

Those boxes look like pizza boxes, and should be fine. You may want to tape that back side to the sides for stability. I use pizza boxes as slab molds occasionally. Great for swirling!

Getting back into the groove of making soap again, a few questions

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