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I have found that if I'm wearing a shirt with synthetic fibers in it, the shirt will have a funk. As far as I can figure, it's the chemistry of my sweat reacting with the fibers because when I take the shirt off, my pits don't smell funky. And I don't get the funky smell with cotton. So I've...

If you are near a Big Lots, they sell Butcher Boy brand, which is made by the parent company of Soaper's Choice. Last time I got it, it was $12 for one gallon, which worked out to be much cheaper than any other source I could find, including Amazon. (Though I didn't check Walmart as I don't shop...

If you are handy with tools, or have an SO or good friend that is, it is quite easy to build your own wooden mold. I just made 3 of my own - 2 loaf molds and 1 slab mold. The loaf molds I made convertible so I can make a standard wide loaf or I can make a tall and skinny loaf. I used these...

I'm a total heathen-I used 100% NaOH because I didn't have any KOH at the time. But any one that says that shaving soap can't be made without KOH, I'm here to tell you that is incorrect.

Greetings and salutations. I make my own shaving soap using soy wax and have had good luck with it. I've not yet experimented with a dual lye version. That's next up; though with all the shaving soap I have on hand now, it'll be next year before I'll need it!

I finished making these. The loaf molds can be converted into tall and skinny molds. Also in process is a single wire loaf/slab cutter. I just need to assemble it and decide whether I'm going to wax it or oil it.

Since your post was a single sentence and started with "So," it implied to me a tone of voice other than concern. I apologize for my mis-assumption.

I'm curious. Is raining on other people's parades a genetic trait or a learned skill?

That is awesome! Can't wait to get updates on how they worked out.

I've named this soap Purple Sunrise. Colored with Atomic Orange, Mimosa Yellow, and Purple Haze micas from Nurture. Fragrance is Nurture's Breath of God type, the re-formulated version.

kchaystack, how do you account for the mica colored oil when you make soap? Do you just not worry about it, since it's a small amount? Or do you weigh it and deduct that amount from the rest of the oils in the batch?

Depending on the price difference, I will sometimes buy organic (mainly shea butter as I use it in some leave-on products). I don't care about label appeal and I realize that the lye monster leaves little unscathed. However, I do consider that purchasing organic means that fewer pesticides were...

I don't have a specific number for you but I did want to say don't sell yourself short. Consider the expertise you've gained through all the time you've spent doing R&D to create and perfect your recipes. That experience and knowledge should be reflected in your labor rate.

I buy unrefined shea butter and it is solid but soft and quite sticky, similar to coconut oil actually. (Or at least the coconut oil I buy.) There is no crumbliness to it at all. The few soaps I've made with higher amounts of shea were quite crumbly when I cut them but not after curing. Cut the...

I can completely relate to a challenge soap attempt ending up ugly and sad. Happened to me last month. I'm hoping to not repeat this month. This month's first attempt didn't come out as planned but it was not ugly or sad, at least.

Thanks, everyone. I don't know why I didn't think to use a spoon for the last few drops, or for subtracting. Duh! I think I will be getting a pippette and a pump for it. The squeezy bulbs annoy me.

When I measure out any liquids for batches, I usually end up doing a lot of pouring back and forth to get the amount exact. And don't get me started on measuring FOs. I either spill it all over my scale because it pours down the side of the bottle (I tried the skewer trick-I'm not that...

I unmolded and cut a batch from yesterday and cut a loaf from last week that needed to firm up after unmolding. But most exciting is that I got a new SB. It's a lovely aqua color and I can't wait to use it!

It was a fail in that I was trying to do stripes. :( That's funny, when I cut it, my husband said it looked like 4th of July soap too. That wasn't planned, I just happened to think that the pink and blue micas looked good together. I added snowflake sparkle to the white but otherwise left it...

I came up with a design and made a batch of soap yesterday. Yes, before I even entered. Cart before horse and all. Sadly, the execution of my design was a complete fail. However, if all of my design fails come out like this, I'm ok with that.