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Labeling question: let's say my recipe contains shea butter. Shea butter is high in stearic acid. If I also use straight stearic acid in my recipe, wouldn't it be kind of redundant to list "stearic acid" on the ingredients? Would the source of the pure stearic acid matter (as long as it's...

I was reading one of DeeAnna's replies on the Tetrasodium EDTA vs. sodium citrate thread, and she mentioned pro-oxidant minerals/metals that can cause DOS. One of those was zinc. I usually wrap my soap in paper, and to help it "breathe" a little better and allow people to get a peek at the...

I saw this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTQ_YU8aNWY&feature=youtu.be) posted in a FB group, and she talks about adding a sugar syrup to the soap at the end of the HP cook to make the soap more fluid. She refers to the syrup (2 parts sugar, one part water) as a "solvent." What I'm...

So I found an inexpensive olive oil that I really like (from Costco, but not the Kirkland brand), and one of my new favorite recipes contains 45% olive oil. That's more than I've ever used before. I've heard that olive oils are often adulterated, and using them in high amounts can lead to DOS...

Several of my recent batches have developed this dusty white coating. It's really strange; what little I know about ash makes me think it can't possibly be ash, for the following reasons: 1. It's hot process, fully saponified before going into the mold, so very little lye/carbon dioxide...

It seems pretty well-documented that soapcalc's numbers don't always tell the whole story and that there are exceptions to its "rules." 100% olive oil soap is an often-cited example. But there are other things about "the numbers" that are plaguing me. Tallow and lard are both considered...

I'm comparing two recipes, and I'm wondering what you all think: #1. Coconut oil 25% Cocoa butter 10% Olive oil 65% Hardness 37 Cleansing17 Conditioning 60 Bubbly 17 Creamy 20 Iodine 61 INS 148 Lauric 12 Myristic 5 Palmitic 14 Stearic 6 Ricinoleic 0 Oleic 50 Linoleic 9 Linolenic 1 #2...

I like reading the skincare product reviews on Paula Begoun's website. I've found a lot of really helpful information there, and I like her methods/approach, even if I don't always agree with her. I was alarmed to read that lavender oil is a pro-oxident, considering that it's used so widely...

According to their website, Bramble Berry's "Swirl Quick Mix" contains the following: Coconut, Palm Oil, Canola, Pure Olive Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Castor Oil and Vitamin E Does anybody know what the percentages/proportions of the oils are?

My 10-pound brick of cocoa butter arrived a few days ago. I bought it to superfat my HP at the end of the cook. After reading what some people do to break it into more manageable pieces, I turned on the fireplace and set the block in front of it to let it soften. Then I used a kitchen knife...

I've spent a very frustrating couple of hours searching the forum, but I still haven't found a clear answer. I want to buy about 10 pounds of cocoa butter. The only one I've used so far is the regular type (NOT deodorized) from Bramble Berry. It does have a faint "chocolate" scent, but it's...

I've talked a lot on here about the recipes that I'm trying to dial in; now I'm wondering about testing those recipes. I want to give each sample more than a couple of hand-washes when evaluating it. One of the things I've considered is using each sample exclusively for a whole day. But as...

While trying to determine which elements of a recipe give the soap such incredible properties, I've been wondering: how much does it take for any one ingredient to have an impact? For example, this recipe (which is not mine, but turned out to have some qualities that I'd like to see in my own...

I'm going to try soaping with tallow for the first time while I wait for my shea/meadowfoam/cocoa butter experiment to cure. Any suggestions for good starter recipe? Is it appropriate to simply replace the palm oil with an equal amount of tallow, or should I use more? Or less? (I'm talking...

So I've made my first batch of recipe-testing soaps. I used a foundation recipe that I've tried before, which seems sort of in between my "standard recipe" and the "moisturizing recipe" I made a while back in terms of lather and conditioning. I split it in 3 parts. Superfatted one with...

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and paralyzed by all the different things I want to try in my pursuit of the "perfect" recipe. I know that I'll get the best information if I make only one change at a time, but with the number of things I want to try, that will take AGES. Maybe you all can give...

Tonight I attempted my second rebatch. (Sorry if this is long and boring. I try to include as many details as I think might be relevant.) The first, which was several months ago, went fine; the bars are ugly, but good soap. Both rebatches were made with scraps/shavings from previous batches...

Previously, you said "Don't forget that hp soap is not always uniform - as soon as the last part is just cooked enough, those that were cooked enough earlier are now cooked longer than needed." I've been giving this some thought, and I'm wondering: is it a good idea to stir the batter more...

I've searched the forum and read quite a few threads on the difference between a lye concentration (or solution) and water as % of oils when calculating the amount of water to use. I have a clear understanding of the difference, and I see that most people prefer to use the lye solution method...

I bought a can of the WalMart "Great Value" Shortening, the "meat" one made with tallow and palm, to see if I like using tallow. (I didn't want to order 7 pounds of the stuff, only to find out that I don't care for it!) Hopefully the shortening has a high enough percentage of tallow to give me...