Recent content by xyxoxy

I don't make soaps to sell (though that may change one day soon) so I don't care as much about exact uniform weights. But I do like consistent appearance so I will also jump on the bandwagon that wire cutters are more precise and predictable. I use one made by my dad that is similar in design to...

https://soaperschoice.com/palm-kernel-oil Soapers Choice carries PKO. They USED to carry Babassu but I don't see it at the moment. Might be worth calling to ask them. Oh wait... here it is! https://www.soaperschoice.com/babassubabassu

Oh that's very cool! Thanks for the video and other resources. I mostly do round soaps in PVC pipe so I wouldn't be able to get this exact effect, but I could still use it for texture. Very cool.

I don't think I've ever seen that effect on the top of a soap before... how is that done? Stencil?

Sorry if this is a bit of a thread hijack... I've been away from the forum for some time but getting back into B&B stuff lately now that I have more free time. This is the first I have heard of adding rosin to a soap. Can you elaborate a bit? I'm thinking of rosin as the solid amber blocks from...

I do something similar as is mentioned above re: transferring and storing in a tightly sealed 5 gallon bucket. The only difference being that I measure in 4 pound increments and put those into doubled Ziploc bags - which then go into the sealed bucket. This way when I am ready to masterbatch a...

Hi All, As a last minute gift idea I decided to use up some of my surplus carrier oils and make some massage oil blends. I'm planning to make probably 2 different recipes and package in 2 ounce bottles. I've played with massage oils in the past for personal use with some success. But this is...

OK Thanks... I'm using 100 gauge polyolefin so that's probably why I'm having trouble. If I go to 60 or 75 then hopefully my trouble will be solved. The 100 gauge is a little hard to open with just your fingers anyway so it's probably overkill for soap. Thanks again.

Thanks Lindy... I played with it a bit more recently and had a little more luck... but it was still hit or miss. Can i ask what type and what thickness shrinkwrap do you use with it?

Yes wrapping CP... round bars to be specific. The problem is that I can just never get the wrap to cut using the wand. It may or may not seal but it just doesn't cut thru the wrap the way it does in the demo videos. But I'm pretty sure the videos are using PVC wrap and I'm using the polyolefin...

Does anyone here use one of these wand based shrink systems? http://www.nationalshrinkwrap.com/shrinkwrap-systems.html I bought one a couple of years ago but I could never get it to work properly. The vendors tried to help and were nice to deal with, but I just couldn't get the hang of it...

I use pretty thick PVC pipe molds. I rarely freeze them but I almost always prevent gel by soaping cool, pre-chilling the molds, and then immediately refrigerating. I leave them in the fridge for 48 hours minimum and then let them come to room temp before unmolding. This almost always works for...

Yeah I'm curious about that color too. It looks like soaps made with pink kaolin clay. Vegetable shortening is usually some combination of soy, cottonseed, and sometimes palm oils. All of which should result in a white or beige soap depending on whether it gels or not. And those essential oils...

Nope... won't work Yes this! One of the most common mistakes new soapers make is deciding just to "wing it" thinking that formulating soap works the same way as cooking. It really doesn't, mostly because most people don't cook with lye (well some do). Yes you can add lemon zest and juice...

I don't feel that there is much risk assuming everything gets a good wash, especially if it's in the dishwasher. That said, I do most of my soap making in the laundry room so it doesn't make much sense to carry everything back and forth. I bought most of my soaping equipment at Ikea, Harbor...