That's very informative, thank you! Thank you for the recipe, too. I really wanted one with cocoa butter and you provided it.
I agree with this, I'm not the one who constantly wants to hear praise just for the sake of being praised. It's totally fine for me to hear negative comments...
That's a really good idea. I don't know why I didn't think of this before. I'm definitely getting a bar of soap from the store just to compare.
Also, I doubt many people who are from where I live are on this site, sadly.
Thanks. This is another good idea - to make smaller batches. Haha...
Thank you for your encouraging comment! And you are right. As for palm olein, I read that it's different from the palm oil and needs to be calculated differently too. While I don't know if you can really use it as a replacement, I remember reading that it's not as good in soaps, but then again I...
Thank you for the recipe, Susie. I'll definitely give it a try when I can.
I don't have castor oil, though. Oils like coconut and castor are very expensive and I can't really afford them most of the time. I did use coconut oil in one of my soaps but I've yet to try it out. However, I managed to...
Thanks, everyone.
I guess the main problem for me is that there are not many different oils I can use. Everything else is way too expensive to make it worth it. I can't even get the palm oil where I live (all there is is palm olein). It feels like all of the oils I use are high in oleic acid...
I'm not exactly sure where to put this kind of thread - and I apologize if it's the wrong place to put something like this. But it is in regard to CP soap, so here goes.
I've made about 5 CP soaps so far, I am a total beginner, but so far there was nothing wrong with the soaps (nothing major...
Oh, wow, I had no clue the commercial soap was made so differently!
I found out that the soap dish I use actually does have the "draining function" (wow I'm a newbie), but it doesn't look like it would drain too well.
Also, regarding the original question of the topic, I just used my second...
No, it's really not in any kind of well drained soap dish. I don't have one, so I can't really think of a way to keep it dry between uses that isn't too complicated. So it is because of it being wet constantly? I wonder why this kind of thing doesn't happen with commercial soap?
So, I have an update and a new question on the same soap.
After using it for a while, the soap started to become very white-ish and strange looking. Small flakes of it fall apart when I take it in hands. Here are the pictures:
http://imgur.com/a/7rLtH
Does anyone know why this would happen?
Thanks to all of you!
Just browsing through the forum for a while, I did not only find a lot of great information, but it also seems there are a lot of people here with a great sense of humor. I'm really glad I joined.
I worried about this too because I really have no other place to cure my soaps but in a cold room. I'm not exactly sure about the temperature or humidity but I think the temperature might as well even go below freezing or just be close to that point, because it really is cold and it's never...
I have to say reading everyone's responses was very interesting. I didn't expect to get so many replies discussing this topic, and because I am very curious about it - I'm thankful to everyone who posted.
@IrishLass
Reading your post was so amazing. Not to mention how funny it was...
Yeah, I did use sunflower oil at about 25%, so I guess with olive oil that really adds up to the oleic acid. And I'll keep your advice in mind. I'm especially curious to see how my 100% lard soap will work out.
Thanks, everyone!
Will do, thank you. I'm glad I found this place, too.
That's good to hear! It's such an interesting and fun hobby, I can't believe I didn't even hear about it before.
Thanks for that info. I'll definitely let them cure longer, then. I just heard that 4 weeks is enough even for soaps made with olive oil. The other soaps I made did have lard in them so I hope that helps.
I'm pretty sure it was 40%. I have the recipe written on a piece of paper which is...
Ah, all right. I'm really relieved to hear that it's normal and nothing to worry about. I just never read anywhere that it would act like this, so it surprised me. I did make my other soaps with more lard mixed in (I can't really find palm oil or coconut oil to buy anywhere where I live), so I'm...
I had no clue it would act like that! A part of me is already so relieved because what your video shows is, I guess, similar to what my soap does. But just to be sure, I took the pictures of the soap:
(all links are direct)
http://i.imgur.com/3BJMETB.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/9HSPnTE.jpg
So, I made my first soap about 4 weeks ago. All went well, it cured for 4 weeks and I first used it a few days ago.
What happens is that after its first contact with water, it forms A LOT of this oily substance (glycerin??) all over it. You can scrape the oiliness off it, but it forms again...