Recent content by lovetosoap

I think it is residue in the lye. A couple brands of lye I have used caused these spots. Other brands do not. I had a bad batch of lye that I purchased from a soapmaker selling at at farmers market. She claimed she got it for a dollar a pound from an Amish community that lived close to...

http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/soapg ... Making.htm Soaping at lowerr temperatures DOES slow trace. there person who told you otherwise is wrong. Here are some other ideas that may help you. Good luck.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/goat-mil ... 5tips.html Its best to use a stick blender to get rid of clumps. Try soaping at a lower temperature(oils) to slow trace.

Mix the lye and oils at a lower temperature. That helps.

I use a potato peeler

Homemade lye is potassium hydroxide, not soduium hydroxide as what is used to make a hard bar of soap. Homemade soap used to be soft and unformed. Pioneers kept the soap in a barrell and scooped it out. So if you are expecting bars of soap from your lye, I doubt that will ever be achieved...

It may be high stearic acid in the oils. I get that when I use cocoa butter or shea butter along with palm oil

Columbus foods is a good source of plam oil

If you do not want to believe us, then you do a search. There are many articles of people going blind using products without preservatives. I just think you already have your own mind made up and choose not to believe what you see. As I said, there are many, types of preservative. Many do not...

http://www.natalchemy.com/what-are-parabens.aspx Here is an article oking the use of parabens. There are many preservatives to choose from with pros and cons of each. But they need to be used.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/articl ... rs_of.html Lotion users went blind using products that did not have adequate preservatives in them. I have a son that was born legally blind. Its a horrible condition to deal with. Why self inflict it?

oil list http://soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp A nice list is on this site. I would calculate each oil as if you were using it at 100% for your soap. then it will calculate hardness, lather, etc.....

Beeswax is an emulsifier. I used it alone making lotions for at least ten years. It has a low HLB value, so your oil/water combination has to be close to 50 % oil and 50% water. Most lostions today require a bit more water so a stronger emulsifier is needed. But beeswas is an emulsifier...

Whenever I made paper, I just used dryer lint. Make sure the lint is 100% cotton though. Unless you unravel the threads, I do not know of a way to break it down. I have also used cotton bolls.

People need to buy seed from catalogs that take the safe seed pledge. these companies need all the support they can get. A few are seedsaversexchange.org----Seed Savers Exchange. www.rareseeds.com-----Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Anyone want names of more companies, let me know...