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I'm also kinda curious how you add your sugar. I do CP, and the other day, I accidentally added 2 tsp of sugar to my lye water instead of 2 tsp of sea salt. No heating that I noticed so I'll be curious to see how it compares to the other batch I did that day, with salt instead of sugar. LOL!

Thank you both! What I noticed when looking at my recent soaps, was that when I did the same recipe using tallow, it was gentler and fluffier, and that's when I noticed the INS was slightly higher. Since I'm doing soap for a wholesale order, I'm sticking to palm-free vegetarian recipes and in my...

I was putting some of my favorite recipes in SoapCalc the other night, and noticed that virtually all my recipes (and they aren't all my creation) fall low on the INS range. SoapCalc says the optimal INS is 136-165 and all mine run about 127 to 135. I'm really trying to up my game with the...

At some point, the power came back on, but the fridge smells horrid from the decaying food. I'm throwing out pretty much everything, even sealed non-perishable food because of bacteria. I haven't checked the oils yet, they were hemp, Laurel and avocado butter. I'll throw out the avocado butter...

Hey there, I was evacuated from the Carr Fire for about 9 days and during that time, my house (which is unharmed!!!) had no power. Everything in my refrigerator went bad, and I'm going to throw out the avocado butter I had stored in there. My question is this: I also had hemp, tallow and Laurel...

Thank you! I'd love a sample to share with my client.

Hi, not sure that I ever got a message about this...

A couple questions: Are you trying to stay vegetarian? The only time I use Palm now is when I am doing a vegetarian soap, tallow/lard make far better soap, IMO. I was shocked at the difference when I first started using tallow. You can also do really hard bars without so much hard oil. When...

Sweet cakes has an incredible lilac that behaves. They also have a Honeysuckle blend (I think Honeysuckle Heaven) that's gorgeous. It does accelerate so I mix my FO with some of the soaping oils and that helps a lot.

Hi Carolyn, is this thread still active? I have a commission for next year and the client wants DB soap. There are SO MANY out there. The last I tried was way heavy on amber, which I can't tolerate. I'd love to purchase about 2 ounces as a sample if you're still doing this. Thanks!

I've used them a couple times, but as I live on the west coast, it takes forever to get a product. And there's the five dollar handling fee. I did order some NC there as well as hemp and cannabis fragrances. Might as well go full hippie. LOL! Thanks for all the valuable input!

Does it hold true in Cold Process? I might try them.

That's what it should smell like. This new one is just too perfume-like.

Every year at Christmas, I make about 9 pound so of Nag Champa scented soap as special orders. I always use Bramble Berry's FO because that's always worked perfectly, but they changed the formulation last year. I made a loaf and already, my sister has turned up her nose at it. (NC is her...

I generally only use FOs now. Look at reviews, different suppliers, etc. Some, like Brambleberry, give a brief description that includes discoloration, whether or not it accelerates trace or has any quirks. Remember, anything with vanilla will discolor, so factor that into your color design. I...

The one time I did it, my soap seized. The FO I used tends to move in CP but using the stick blender did it in and nearly ruined the batch. So I'm back to adding at the end. The fragrance is truly the last thing I'll forget, so that's not a worry for me. :) Also, the less exposure to active lye...

Today I made my 4th batch of HP. Still figuring out how to keep it liquid enough to play with but hard enough that it doesn't evaporate too much liquid. It was sweet pea (Brambleberry) and I colored it with light pink mica and a touch of TD. It's kind of ugly on top but glitter helped that. :)...

This is what I do. I just buy generic Aveeno and it lasts forever. Oddly, this stuff makes my mother break out when she uses it. You can also purchase oat extract to add to your soap. Recently, I made my own almond milk for an almond bar, and used the ground meal in the soap. It turned out...

The simpler the better. Castile would probably be safest, as its just olive, but it takes a really long time to "ripen" enough to be nice to use. So I'd also go with the olive/coconut/tallow blend. I also collect hotel soaps, shampoos and lotions for the homeless. Its always appreciated. :)

Castile can be used at 4 to 6 weeks, but just as a rule, I make a batch every 6 months and put it away for a full year's cure. That allows it to harden fully and Castile gets better with time. At 4 to 6 weeks is kinda slimy and has no lather. At one year, it is nicer to the touch and develops a...