Recent content by topofmurrayhill

This one is similar to Pears. http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=62228 The recipe and method come from the Failor book on transparent soapmaking. It's problematic because you need 95% ethanol, which is sometimes hard to obtain and very flammable. But it's an adaptation of a...

I'd love to hear the results of this. For purposes of the experiment you could try glycerin/water even if its just tap water, in addition to 100% glycerin. I'm wondering how it might work as well as how much residue there is and how it affects the surface -- because the glycerin isn't going to...

Try what Soapmaker145 suggested, for a start. It might be as simple as that. Also, Macherey-Nagel strips work well with liquid soap if you need to check pH. As an aside, be careful of brass fittings on some of these melters. There should be no brass involved in soapmaking. You might be able...

By the time I developed recipes I thought were really good, I stopped getting ash. These tend to be recipes that are usable quickly out of the mold, so I think speed of saponification is a main factor here. That said, I don't know what's up with the avocado oil. Maybe it's a coincidence, but...

Thanks for the info! That's the most optimistic thing I've seen. With shipping from Turkey, I wonder if the pomace oil might cost considerably more than the finest California olive oil. :)

Raw pomace oil isn't edible, but refined pomace oil is. It's the raw pomace that's very green (assuming green olives) and nearly unobtainable. The green is from chlorophyll, so I've been meaning to try some chlorophyll from the supplements aisle to see if the "pomace effect" on soap color can be...

For 3 dollars you can get the definitive book for making classic melt and pour base. There are other variations but this is a good start with detailed information and instructions. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009CD659G/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 Here are some of the results I got...

Was there any other change to your recipes besides starting to use avocado oil? What about the balance between the oils -- hard versus soft or anything like that? I haven't had ash for some time but pretty sure I've noticed re-ashing at some point. Even if there's no more sodium hydroxide...

Assuming your fragrance oil is docile, as that one appears to be, a few accelerants you could try are a dribble of clove oil or a few percentage points of a free fatty acid such as stearic if you can get it.

You should probably contact the supplier or preferably the manufacturer and find out what this warning is about. Either that or don't use it, but I think it would be good to find out what the deal is.

I just want to mention that this soap is surprisingly good. I like the natural color and aroma. It makes a nice lather that looks and feels creamy, and it leaves a smooth skin feel.

I don't think Neutrogena was a rosin soap, though it had that color. Below is a link to the original patent for a type of soap the inventor described as "neutrogenous" that was given the name Neutrogena. It was made with coconut oil, tallow, castor oil and TEA (see below). The patent...

This is classic transparent soap with the interesting twist that it incorporates rosin, which is a type of pine tree ooze (chunks of which are shown at the upper right of the photo). Viol players know it as the stuff you put on your bow. Rosin is meltable and saponifiable and was once an...

Using the other labeling option, should we call it sodium olivepomacate?

Oil is a very changeable product and heat isn't good for it in general. It can speed up the reactions associated with rancidity, plus the oil absorbs air as it cools down. However, it doesn't sound like anything too extreme happened, especially if you didn't see smoke. Getting it up to frying...