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Dear friends, in the past with your help I did make several kilos of wonderful soap but now I have finished my last 5 Kgs batch and should start anew. Problem 1: I lost all of my recipes (had printed with handwritten notes them but they have disappeared) :-( Problem 2: the soapcalc.com website...

Don't know about you but I learn fast but alas also forget fast. Maybe a year ago with the help of all of you guys and some mighty reading around I did make some beautiful soaps for my little family. Unfortunately some financial, workplace and healthcare problems have kept me so busy to...

Are there semi-affordable sources of this oli ? (In Europe / Italy) I could only find a 50ml bottle for 9 Euros by internet order ! Liquid gold. LOL PS weightwise I was displeased to see the oil was only 45 grams. Is that accounted for by the specific weight or did they fill the bottle...

Very dear friends, first of all let me wish all of you that 2014 will bring/mantain health, love, fun and why not also a winning lottery ticket :-) In a moment I thought I knew a lot about soaping (am over that now lol) I followed some exotic recipes reccomendation from a book and now HAVE...

Do you add the powder as such at trace or make an oil infusion prior to using it or add it to the lye/water solution ? Thanks

Can I use coffee or chocolate poweder to obtain a nice brown colour ? Directions please ? Should I brew a choco or coffee drink and use it in place of the water ? Thanks for any help.

Dear friends, thanks to your help I'm now creating nice CP soaps ! I have a 14 yr old daughter whose hands are dry, get red and aren't smooth now that the winter has come. I'd like to create an hand cream for her to help her skin stay softer and healthier. I have a few oils such as Olive...

Hi there, good morning ! I am using those multiple cavity silicone molds to get small cute nicely shaped soaplets :-) Is there a way and a need to insulate these as I did when I poured into the 2lbs milk cartons to get them gel ? This is similar to the ones I use If so how do you...

In SoapCalc the only value I took for granted is the "Water as % of oils" which by default is set to 38%. What values to use, when, why ? For example a soft soap fatty acid formulation such as 100% OO could benefit from a lower value to get it cured sooner ? Thanks

Dear friends, I just finished unmolding my 4th batch, a nice annatto colored, basil scented, calendula petal laden soap :-) This fourth batch used the very same recipe as the previous three with a single important difference: I raised superfatting from the original 3% to the new 6%. The other...

Dear friends, just finished my first largish batch (around 6lbs) with my proven recipe with the addition of Annatto for colour and calendula petals ! Looks great. The problem I'm facing is that the oils I bought finish at different times. This time for instance my Coconut refined was used to...

When you vary the properties of a new soap recipe in SoapCalc are the hardness, cleansing, bubbliness etc. a byproduct of the fatty acids only ? If so is there a table showing which fatty acids contribute to each of these properties ? I was trying to introduce new oils into my proven...

Dear friends, I am really enjoying soapmaking and again thank you all for your friendly support. Until know all of my batches have been done with a 3% superfatting performed by adding all the oils into a mixing pot and then adding the appropriate amount of NaOH solution. The question I...

Dear friends, my first 3 batches of soap were VERY well received by all of my family and friends save for ONE friend which complains that she has a very sensitive skin and my soap dries her hands too much. I'm a bit surprised since she says that some commercial soaps she uses do not have that...

Could not resist because they are so beautiful and bought dried calendula flowers :-) I have read about making an olive oil / flowers infusion. Quantities and time to let sit ? What percentage of shredded flowers would you add to the soap at light trace ? The flowers I have bought are whole...

I've been reading Suzanne Miller Cavitch book and am considering trying out one of her recipes. Did any of you try any and if so what's your personal favourite ? I've been through a few batches with my first personal mix of which I'm pretty happy but would like to try something different...

I'd like to try a recipe or two from a soapmaking book I just read. As the author wisely notes she advises to put her ingredients figures through a lye calculator because as she says "typos happen". I like and have used http://www.soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp for my first three...

I've finished reading S.Miller Cavitch "The Soap Companion" and would like to try out some of her suggested fragrances but I'm worried a lot of those essential oils could cause photosensitivity (I think all citrus oils) and/or sensitization to atopic skins. Is there a list of oils sorted by...

I would like to attempt a recipe or two from Suzanne Miller Cavitch book such as the Soap Essentials Bar II recipe which she write yields 15 4 ounces bars. What is the internal size of a wooden mold to accommodate this quantity ? If I understand well I'd like to fill the mold so that...

I am divorced and my teenage daughter comes to my place every other weekend. We had a LOT of fun soapmaking together and I think we'll be happy to repeat the experience again. She's 14 now but as a little kid had this special habit of mixing every substance she could find in the house...