Recent content by SoapHobbyJT

Here's a blog post I found on the topic which might help: Soap Queen - Vanilla Discoloration And an excerpt which I think might be relevant in that case.

Yay! Congratulations on your first soap! Thanks for sharing pictures! The little mold's soap looks like it's getting more brown already too. I'm not crazy am I? 😁

Oh, that sounds annoying to deal with. Oh, okay, I thought you had meant you were trying to also get the cocoa scent in as well as use it as a colorant rather than just use it as a colorant. Have you taken it out of the mold? How's it looking? As for the Soy wax suggestion from kiwi, that's...

I have a cunning scheme. Closets are magic! Pretty sure I have a nice open space in my closet, on a pretty sturdy box somewhere. Can't see how this could possibly go wrong 😂 Unfortunately, I have a ton of little plants on my window sill, so closing my curtains hasn't been an option for...

Do you think you could get a hold of hydrogenated soy wax instead? Here's one of the threads/posts I found about using soy wax in cp. Perhaps that can help with getting around that issue in Switzerland? Other methods I've heard if the goal is a hard soap is using vinegar in your soap as well...

Haha, I think I've had that happen a time or two as well. Even a friend of mine who had been soaping for 2 years had their soap go past their planned trace by accident before too when using unfamiliar fragrances/tools that worked just fine for other people. He got pretty mad about that one for a...

That's true, this time it was peppermint, previously it was just a bunch of unscented soaps, and before that it was flowers (scent) in the oven 😂 As for the not-flashpoint thing, that makes more sense in hindsight. Actually, nevermind, I won't even try to "science" it at all, as I just came to...

Currently the oven smells strongly of peppermint. 😂 Oh, so the way to deal with that is to basically cause it to reach the flash point of the FO so it'll basically evaporate and burn off? How would I do that with say a Polypropylene container I mix my soap in before pouring? Microwave it? I...

Oh sorry, it looks like I was unclear. I did not mean the OO caused the issue with false trace. I meant that it was a combination of 2 issues that caused me to have some issues with that batch. I used palm kernel oil, no-stir palm oil, and coconut oil as well making up about 58% of my oils and...

I don't think you'd have any issues forcing gel with a smaller soaps if you're using CPOP or any sort of oven processing. With it being smaller, I think it would be easier for the temperature to heat and cool more evenly and as such I think you might not need to worry about it overheating...

How often/much do you need to worry about rancidity and DOS of oils and cold process soaps? I've made my soaps with oils from WholesaleSuppliesPlus and ElementsBath&Body the oldest of these oils was purchased about 3 months ago. I have recently started adding EDTA as a chelating agent in my...

I have a question. What do you mean by a lye discount? Did you mean a water discount? Did you use a soap calculator to make sure the amount of lye was correct? Were you using relatively pure lye or something else? Did you add any additives? What lard did you use? Is it pure lard? Or does it...

Hey, just checking in. How's your soap making going? Did you end up making some yesterday? The first bar or batch doesn't even have to be good, as long as you aren't discouraged by it. People generally learn best from experimentation, and even when things don't work out as planned, it's a great...

Hahaha, that is indeed true. I've made several attempts at soap based purely on that one video with some slight adjustments or additions so it will be a little different (probably not a great idea when I'm trying to get a technique right though.) I've tried to make the tidal flow line pour 5...

I made my first soap in October 23, 2020 based upon a Tree Marie Soapworks recipe and video. Things did not go as planned. 😅 I wanted to get everything right so I spent a lot of time prepping and measuring things. It ended up taking me at least 4 hours to make my soap with 4 colors and all...