Recent content by SoapEh

Hmmm.... Thanks so much everyone for all the info and things to think about! I didn't realize 10 weeks isn't fully cured -- I was under the impression that most people consider 6 weeks a full cure, unless it's Castile or Aleppo soap? I know it's not a mature soap, by any means, but it's...

A while back I made a small batch of soap - here's what went in (sorry for no exact recipe, I can look it up if it's important): 50% olive oil (organic, extra virgin) 50% coconut oil (organic, virgin) 8% superfat Sodium hydroxide (from a soap supplier) Distilled water 1/4 tsp goat's...

I think this is interesting and has definite possibilities. There are a lot of adventuresome people out there, and a lot who adore snakes and reptiles. Plus, it's giving the creative part of your brain a workout! I think I'd get out my soapy log book and start experimenting with tiny batches...

I think you're probably going to have to experiment :D I am personally a HUGE fan of palm oil -- I know it's controversial, so I look for the sustainable, ethically sourced oils, but I have experimented like mad and I think there is a reason that it's a biggie in soapmaking. It makes great...

I am quite new to soapmaking so please take that into consideration :) I bought powdered goat's milk from a soap supplier, because it was difficult to find the real thing in our city and I liked the idea of a long-lasting product. As I understand it, powdered milk has pretty much no fat left...

I saw this thread, thought to myself 'worrying about NEXT Christmas is a bit silly' and then immediately realized that if I want to try making a true Castile or Aleppo soap and have it ready for Christmas, I actually *do* need to make it now! Soapers really do work far ahead of seasons and...

I made a layered soap a while back and split the batch into several mini-batches; my intent was to be able to mix and pour each layer, wait for it to set up enough, and then mix the next one, so I'd get straight lines in the final soap. I wasn't paying careful enough attention and mixed one...

Ack, I wasn't clear (surprise) -- I only added a TOTAL extra ~1oz, not 6oz extra oils. That *would* be a lot of extra oil, holy cow! That swirly, oily batch is so bizarre; it may fix itself yet. I have no hope at all for its funky little curing partner, which just seems to be getting...

Wow... thank you all SO, SO much for the responses! So many things to think about. It all just re-confirms that this 'hobby' has a lot of science behind it, and there's loads to learn. So... I went back and looked through my notebook. The two batches that I'm pretty sure are not going to...

I'm hoping that some of the more long-time soapers can offer their opinions and/or experience here -- right now I'm definitely feeling the effects of being a noob :) I'm somewhat of an experimenter. I've made a bunch of my own recipes (formulas? Blends?) on SoapCalc and tried a couple small...

I like using colloidal oatmeal (which, TMK, is just oatmeal ground to an extremely fine powder) in my soaps. It seems to 'round out' the lather and make it feel richer, without heaviness or oiliness. I have also tried grinding my own oats as finely as my little blender attachment will allow...

Wow, thank you all for the kind words, I'm blushing! I saw a notification on my phone that the imgur post had a comment, and laughed at the one saying they wished it was cake -- as I said in my reply there, if I could bake AT ALL (and I'm genuinely hopeless at it, I have SO many stories) I...

https://imgur.com/gallery/yszko Hoping that pasting in the imgur link works... if not, mods, please feel free to delete the post. Internet savvy, I am not. Assuming this works, some info: Palm free, organic, vegan recipe. I guess I got feeling fancy :D. It's an olive oil base, with other...

I keep coconut, olive oil and lard in our pantry. The other oils and butters like shea, pko, avocado, almond, castor, etc are kept in a small cupboard that I use for only soaping oils. I have a few small bottles of fancier stuff like hempseed, macadamia nut, walnut; things I see in my travels...

Oh, wow, I didn't even consider that it could have been the fragrance -- this one is new to me, I bought some flower scents for my mom for holiday gift soaps, and never got around to using this one until today. It's nice to know that it may be the FO, because I quite like the texture of the...