Recent content by soapgardener

Hi - If you life anywhere near the Western United States, you can order citric acid from Magestic Mountain Sage and it will arrive very quickly (you can order from them wherever you are, but they are in Utah - I live in Colorado and my orders from them arrive within a few days). The citric acid...

oops, right - sorry I forgot to list the preservative: I used Optiphen (phenoxyethanol and caprylyl glycol) I also heated the oils, then added the shredded soap - heated until the soap melted, then stick-blended in a cool water bath until the mixture cooled to below 100 F - then added pumice...

Here is my recipe for a fantastic scrub that is easy on the hands yet does a beautiful job of cleaning. I was inspired by the "goop" (I think that's what it's called) that came in a jar from the hardware store. My dad used to use it to clean his hands after working on the cars. I wanted...

The saponification reaction will go through several phases: Trace - thick like pudding The soap will continue to harden from this point The speed of the hardening will depend on oils/heat/certain FOs or acidic additives which will act as a catalyst and accelerate this process. Once the...

Hi Missjulesdid, Sorry I misunderstood your post.... HP itself does not make a clear bar of soap (I wish it were that easy...). I'm not entirely familiar with the process of making clear soap, but you could search around for it - I think it's quite involved. The use of KOH instead of the...

oops- Missjulesdid, HP soaps definitely can have superfat- I know because I make all of my soaps HP and mine have plenty of unsaponified fat :) You may be thinking of liquid soap, which is made in the same manner as HP, just with KOH instead of NaOH. These soaps have very little superfat, if...

The lye calculator at Magestic Mountain Sage (www.thesage.com) is very very easy to use. The soapcalc one gives lots of great info but can be confusing for newbies. I used the sage's calculator when I first started making soap and I still use it when I need a quick answer. Pure olive oil...

The lye will actually react with the milk, forming salts of both the fats and proteins, then breaking down the sugars. In this way, you don't end up having "milk" in your finished product so it can't spoil. I would be wary of adding milk to melt and pour, or even after the cook in HP. You will...

Hmmm. So eventhough you put the top on the mold the top still didn't gel. Did you put the mold in a cold place, like your basement, shed or garage? Milk will definitely cause the reaction to run way hotter - I had a CP milk soap get so hot on me that it separated. I had to put the whole thing in...

I make a soap with flax seed. The soap is tannish in color from the coconut fragrance oil that I use. The flax seeds look nice sprinkled throughout the soap- just a little bit for looks. I don't think there's any other benefit- but sometimes beauty can speak for itself :)

Sarahjane, when your soap cracked, was it because the bottom gelled and the top didn't? The oven seemed to have done the trick for you. Others have used a heat mat, like the kind used for starting seedlings indoors. Cover the mold, put it on the heat mat and put blankets over the top. This...

I love it... it seems that schools these days only use liquid soap but the solid soap on a hook seems much better from an environmental standpoint (less packaging). The soap is secure and kids can't use it for a hockey puck. It might be hard convincing the schools that the soap on a hook is...

I'd love any tips on shampoo bars, too! I tried using my own homemade soap as a shampoo and my hair felt and looked dull and flat. Thanks!

It sounds like the combination of water evaporating off (thus concentrating your soap) and keeping the soap in a warm place may have kick-started the reaction. The saponification reaction is slow to begin but once it starts it can heat up quickly. This could explain why you got a gel much later...

I use finely ground pumice from Magestic Mountain Sage. I add quite a bit- enough to turn the soap dark gray in color. The pumice is fine enough that it won't be too harsh. I don't rub the bar directly on my body, however; I get up a lather in my hands then use the lather to wash my face at...