Search results

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
  1. alexanderte

    Book recommendations?

    I see. Would be interesting to see some Norwegian soaping terminology. Hope you find what you’re looking for. I’m completely the opposite – I try to avoid gelling at all costs. If I’ve understood it correctly, then keeping the temperature below 120 °F (49 °F) in the mold prevents the soap...
  2. alexanderte

    Book recommendations?

    So far I’ve read Pure Soapmaking by Anne-Marie Faiola and Making Soap From Scratch by Gregory Lee White. I love both, but I would choose Pure Soapmaking if I had to choose one. Pure Soapmaking have a short, but well written section about gelling. It’s not explained in detail in the latter...
  3. alexanderte

    Scaling up – what are my options?

    Good point! I’m the owner of the apartment, but I live in a housing cooperative. I worry sometimes if the noise from the stick blender annoys the neighbours. Stamping the soaps also makes some noise as I hit it with a soft hammer to make a stamp. I’m not that worried if this is done occasionally...
  4. alexanderte

    Scaling up – what are my options?

    Thanks, will check it out. We have something called Mattilsynet that deals with laws regarding cosmetics. I’ve got plans to contact them some day next week. If I need a separate space for making soap, then it will be nearly impossible for me to start a business, at least in the short term, as...
  5. alexanderte

    Scaling up – what are my options?

    At some point I really want to do an attempt at starting a micro soap business. This is a goal that I’m slowly moving towards. I know that it’s frown upon to think business right after having started making soap, but I will not sell anything before I’m confident that what I’m making is good...
  6. alexanderte

    Scaling up – what are my options?

    Once I’ve learned to consistently make non-cracky Castiles, I’m interested in creating larger batches. I only do CP (RTCP even). The size of each of my 14 batches has been about 2 pounds (1000 grams). I use a 1 gallon (4 liters) plastic bowl for my batter, and a slightly smaller for mixing the...
  7. alexanderte

    Hard, dry, and cracky-cut soap

    Yup, I’ve actually had 5% superfat for all my batches. I’ve used 40% lye concentration for most of my batches. I want to keep it that way and see if the time when I cut might solve my problem. The scale I use is pretty good, but I know for some batches I’ve had some NaOH left in the pitcher...
  8. alexanderte

    Hard, dry, and cracky-cut soap

    No worries – didn’t interpret it as rude. I just needed some more context. :) I see. To begin with I will see if cutting it at the right moment will make a difference, but if not then it might be the particular brand of OO that I’m using. Do you use a 40% lye concentration? The biggest...
  9. alexanderte

    Hard, dry, and cracky-cut soap

    What do you find hard to believe? Not had to do what? I’m wetting the cutter and also cleaning/wetting it between each cut. I also use a spatula to gently get the soap off the cutter if the soap sticks.
  10. alexanderte

    Hard, dry, and cracky-cut soap

    I use a store brand olive oil. It’s not very expensive, but the quality should be okay. But maybe that’s what is causing it? I’ll do some research. Edit: …but I’m pretty convinced that it’s the cutting-too-early-or-too-late (especially too late) that is causing the inconsistent results and...
  11. alexanderte

    Hard, dry, and cracky-cut soap

    I did follow the advice on soaping with cooler lye. I wait for it to cool down to 120 °F (49 °C) for every batch. Should I go even lower? I guess it won’t be long before I do my first attempt at master batching the lye. I really want to understand how to do things right at 40%, but once I get...
  12. alexanderte

    Hard, dry, and cracky-cut soap

    Then maybe my main challenge is finding the exact time to cut. It’s too bad that the saponification times varies, but maybe I need to get better at figuring out if the loaf needs more time. I have zero intuition for this, so I usually discover it when it’s too late – and the loaf is damaged from...
  13. alexanderte

    Are my goggles safe?

    Or, maybe I should rephrase the question to not feel anyone feel responsible for my security by asking: would you use these goggles for soap making? They are by no doubt 100 times better than the first I bought, which resembles normal glasses. But I do worry about lye splashing and getting...
  14. alexanderte

    Hard, dry, and cracky-cut soap

    Yup, at least that’s what I read in most posts about Castiles. 33% seems to be fine for most soaps, but Castiles are supposed to be made at 40%. I’m tempted to make a Castile at 33% and see how it turns out… :-?
  15. alexanderte

    Replacement wire for cutter

    I don’t know much about soap wire cutters, but I do play some guitar. You probably want a string that is neither wound nor coated (an invisible coating that at least Elixir adds to their strings to make them last longer – most likely not appropriate for soap wire cutters). .022 is thinner (and...
  16. alexanderte

    Hard, dry, and cracky-cut soap

    I haven’t been active here lately as life have gotten in the way. So I’m still having issues with some of my soaps/batches being hard, dry – and what I dislike the most – they crack while cutting. I still use a metal cutter. (Image attached. The one to the left in the middle does not have...
  17. alexanderte

    How to achieve the cleanest cuts

    The part of the process that I so far enjoy the most about making soap is unmolding the loaf and cutting it. Since starting out I’ve improved my skills somewhat, but I’m sure there are more to it than what I currently know. I always cut after 24 hours. I currently use a straight metal cutter...
  18. alexanderte

    Lots of questions about oatmeal

    Thanks again for all the helpful answers. I’m so thankful for all the knowledge you possess and are willing to share. :)
  19. alexanderte

    Lots of questions about oatmeal

    First off – sorry for asking all these questions. What makes me less guilty about asking is that I hope the anwers can be of use to others. But I do try to do some research before asking. :) 1. I’m still new to the soaping terminology. Is oatmeal considered an additive? 2. When I want...
  20. alexanderte

    How to deal with damp and sticky lye in lye pitcher

    Thank you all for throughout and insightful replies. I wish to communicate as clearly as I can, and use terms as correctly as possible, so I appreciate your comments on what I wrote.
Back
Top