Search results

These seem to be kinda silly questions for someone who has been making soap for several years, but I have recently returned to it after a 4 year gap and I feel I have forgotten quite a bit. Firstly, is what you call rubbing alcohol the same as the alcohol spray we currently spray everywhere...

Thank you all for your comments and observations. Wow, could it really be a basic math problem 🤣 I kinda hope so, it will be less of a mystery. Gonna go back and check all the recipes that turned out did and see if my arithmetic checks out.

Almost all my soaps are milk soaps which I make using the split method. In this recipe I had 760g liquid, and had 360g distilled water, 280g milk and 20g water for mixing kaolin clay. It curdled before I added the essential oils. I usually hand stir all my soaps, but I tried stick blending it...

Does anyone have a failsafe alkanet infusion that gives a beautiful purple? How much alkanet to how much oil; which oil you use for infusion; what percentage of your soap oil you use infused; how long do you leave your infusion or do you do a hot infusion; what is your oil combo in your soap. I...

What is your lye concentration? I had this same issue for a while and came onto the forum asking for help. Eventually I remembered I had quite a water discount and tried increasing the water, and everything sorted itself out. Also a change in oil brand could make a difference. I found that...

I had the same thing happen with a honey soap and it was perfectly fine to use. So I'd say probably overheating .

Paprika added directly to the oils makes a beautiful speckly pink soap. Tomato paste is also nice, 1tblsp ppo. Red is going to be a push with natural colors, they are always going to be a bit muted. I feel with you on the alkanet. It's supposed to give purple not red...my first attempt was...

I literally just made a honey soap, used 50g honey dissolved in a little warm water for a 1kg batch. I stick blend the honey solution into the oils before adding the lye so that it disperses really well. Plus I use milk (I dissolve the lye in an equal amount of water and the remainder of my...

I have tried so many things to solve this issue, and here is what I have found: There is a fine balance between curing time and losing scent. I use a recipe where the soap is great after about 3 and a half weeks, and then I wrap each soap individually and store each batch in closed tupperware...

Thanks to all.

I'm not really a fan of castile but I need one for my range and am trying to get it looking as well as feeling as good as possible. I have seen some really pure white castiles, but mine always turns out a creamy yellow. I do split method milk soap, could the milk be the reason (although milk is...

I have got some white kaolin clay which I have been told may help to preserve the scent of my soap. Opinions on that also welcome! But my questions are, as I use individual moulds and pour quite thin, will the clay just sink to the bottom? And what is the best way to add the clay - mix it into a...

Thanks for the tips. I will definitely check out the Brambleberry fragrance calculator. I have used lavender, peppermint, spearmint, orange, cinnamon, eucalyptus, tea tree, neroli, lemon, and camphor EOs. Lavender seems to stick around longest and peppermint is perceptible, but everything else...

I started making soap in September 2014, and still have several bars of every batch I have ever made. I use EOs to scent the soap. Almost every single scent has completely disappeared. Even soaps I only made 2 months ago have pretty much lost their perfume. Lavender seems to stick around the...

Great idea!

Thanks GrumpyOwl and AnnaMarie, I will try those tips. I guess I have been trying to stamp them too late so they are already quite hard. I would guess with a salt soap you could stamp it as soon as you unmold?

Experienced soap stampers: do you have any tips for a really clean stamp? Do you rub your stamp with anything? How long do you let the soap after unmolding before stamping? Do certain recipes give an easier stamp? Do you press the stamp in to the soap or use a mallet? My stamp is locally made...

Thanks so much for all the great advice! I can't wait to try both the salt bar and brine bar. I will update when I've done it.

Thanks, that is all really helpful. And my molds are individual, so no worries there.

I want to make a salt bar but I have never tried it before so don't know all the potential issues. My regular recipe is a milk soap using the split method, and the oils are: 45%OO, 20%CO, 25 - 30%PO, 5%Castor oil, (5% cocoa butter). SF5%. Is it best to use 100% CO for salt bars or can I stick...