Recent content by MauiJen

Well, I'm ready to unmold the batch with the clay, but it has cracked on the top. I think it will still be OK - it doesn't look like the crack is very deep. I've never had that happen, so haven't researched what causes this, but I do remember reading about it, so it must be common enough. Any...

So I made another batch with the sugar water, but this time no cocoa butter in the recipe. I didn't get the nice thick trace like I like, but I did at least get a thin trace about 20 minutes into mixing, which is still WAY better than the 2 hours I was dealing with. So I think sugar water is the...

No, I'm not offended at all! I'm really not a very experienced soaper, so I appreciate all of the advice and suggestions!! I do realize that I'm probably good once I get emulsification, but I personally just really prefer a nice thick trace, for no other reason than I just like the way my...

Oh, I don't have it on the whole time! But 2 hours of short bursts is still quite a bit of repetitive strain to the tendons! A great way to get tennis elbow! (most people probably won't, but it will definitely increase your risk). The gripping plus the vibration for any length of time is not...

Thanks for all of this Hazel - great info here!! I think when I said I didn't want to go higher than 30% CO, I really meant I wanted to try to keep it around 30%, I'm OK with slightly higher. I've used it as high as 40% and it didn't seem TOO drying, but that's what I worry about, so try to...

So far one batch seemed way too soft, after 2+ days in the mold it still wasn't setting up. I unmolded it and threw it out. It might have just needed more time, but I've never had it take that long to set up. The other batches seem OK. I've been able to unmold them after about 36 hrs and cut...

That's what I was thinking with my water amounts. I started out using the smallest suggested amount from the lye calculator and then started trying taking even a little more of a discount from there. I'm too afraid to take any more of a discount. I just checked my scale against a small postal...

Great idea! I'm wondering about the humidity too as the quickest trace I got (45 minutes) was right after I opened a new bottle of lye this week. The next batch with the same container of lye took 2+ hrs to trace. Any ideas where I can buy some of the desiccant packs? Personally I prefer a...

Thank you all for your replies! I've read about trying warmer temperatures and have tried that - with some of the same recipes and the trace still took a long time (so with the same recipes I tried with both the lye and oils at 100*F and at various temps up to about 120*F, but my trace times...

I'd love some advice. I've been making cold process soap for a little over a year off and on. In the past month (after a few months of not making soap), with both old tried & true recipes and new recipes, it's suddenly taking FOREVER to reach trace every time. (like well over an hour, sometimes...