Recent content by psfred

I hot process, so ricing isn't an issue, but the samplers I made were cold process and I don't remember Kentish Rain being a problem. I've used it a couple times since I made the samplers.

That looks pretty good. What is the fatty acid profile? You need a minimum of 60% stearic acid (which I think you have) but you don't want so much the soap is difficult to lather. I'd reverse the shea butter and tallow ratios, it will then match one of my favorite recipes. I use 5% shea and...

As my mother would say, "Patience, donkey, patience!" It has gotten a little hazy since it cooled off, but I think that's pretty typical of a high palmitic/stearic soap. I'll use more unsaturated oils next time.

Lol, thanks Zany. The foam is nearly gone on the good bottle, in the one I mixed with the remainder of the stuff my niece made it seems to be permanent, but I don't care, it works and that's all that really matters. I probably stirred a ton of air into it, I can never resist poking at it...

Tried a liquid soap for the first time this week, for two reasons -- I want some potassium based soap for inseciticide to keep the squash bugs at bay, and it's nice to have some liquid soap in the kitchen. My niece made some a couple years ago, probably one of those "make liquid soap from bar...

So sorry to hear of you loss Carolyn. And I understand exactly what you are going through, my sister is a great pain in the sitting part (probably has Borderline Personality Disorder) and has been difficult since my Mom started needing home care. My Mom passed away in Dec of 2021 at the age...

"Pyrex" is just a trade name, unless the container was made by Corning before 1990 (or maybe earlier) it's just tempered glass. Look for the small R in a circle after "Pyrex" as that is the trademark for the "real" stuff (borosilicate glass, not plain silica glass). Story I heard was that...

Between going beginner berserker and some life issues with an aging parent, I've not made soap for quite a while. Oddly it takes much longer to actually use soap than it does to make large quantities.... Anyway, I think I've rounded up all the necessary stuff and since it will rain this...

Did you use anything to prevent DOS (citric acid/BHT or something similar)? I've had soap start to go rancid very quickly. HO safflower oil makes a very nice white soap and has proven to be very resistant to DOS for me (with the usualy additives), and works nicely at 100%. High heat while...

My favorite shave soap currently is 40% SA, 40% tallow, 10% coconut oil, and 5% each cocoa butter and shea butter. 60/40 NaOH/KOH. citric acid and BHT to prevent DOS, and that works very well. EDTA since I have famously hard water. 5% superfat. Need to try the soap I made with castor oil a...

I usually just use parchment paper wrapped around a soup or tuna can and taped up to hold. I make a small batch though, 500 g of oils at a time though. Bigger batch may need a better idea. I would definitely use a liner in a large mold though -- shave soap is always a little sticky for a few...

Tried the Cold Water today. Same scent, unchanged (but it has been in the freezer for a long time, started to turn yellow around the edges). Nice "water" scent, blooms nicely when used, but it's a little persistent for me. Very little fading for me, and it soaped just fine. Probably not for...

Finally got around to using more of the samplers -- had to use up some soap that was going rancid so I've been using them. The Spiced Mahogany hasn't changed other than being a bit fainter that it was two years ago. Old Spice with a bit of a powdery scent. More later, I stuck them in the...

Lanolin contains a small amount of oil and hence consumes a little hydroxide, that's why it has a saponification number but no real "fatty acid profile". There are other things in it that also neutralize some hydroxide as well. I assume, without looking it up, that like beeswax it contains...

I have used soy wax (the 415, 87% stearic acid) in a couple soaps to boost up the stearic acid content, and in shaving soap. It works nicely for those purposes. The 415 version is fully hydrogenated, so it only contains stearic and palmitic acid and glyerol. It's like any other "oil"...