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I would bet that your batch is lye-heavy. If the beeswax was part of your original recipe when you calculated the lye amount needed, it should have been completely melted in order to combine chemically with the lye solution. Lye-heavy soap is often crumbly. Spend $10 on Amazon and get some...

Your photos are great! You still have medical claims in your descriptions, which will get you a big fine from the FDA. If you say that an ingredient "helps" a certain condition, it is considered an over the counter drug, and that equals trouble. You can say that a product "improves the...

I have a pound of Sal (Shorea) butter that I bought in June of 2011. It has been stored inside away from light. I just opened it and took a sniff. I'm wondering if it should have an odor. It's not exactly a rancid odor, but it reminds me of school days in band class. Maybe the odor of the...

Hi Tabitha- I looked at Catalina's web page, and requested their ingredient lists. Glycerin is the first ingredient listed for most of their bases. How does it stand up to humidity? I was under the understanding that the higher the glycerin content, the more "sweating" the bars have. I don't...

I received my molds. It took exactly one month. They are well made, and beautiful. The orchid is about 2.75 oz, the mum about 3 oz. I love the details of the mum, and how the leaves wrap around the edges. Here's a photo of my first attempts:

woodsroad- Thanks for the links and tips. That looks like a good solution. Now I have my next project determined :D

What do you think of this? I talked to an "idea" friend of mine. He suggested using a turkey deep-fryer. They run around $100, hold about 7 gallons, come with a lid and a long thermometer, and a proprane heat source. They come in aluminum or stainless. Aluminum (heat conductivity 250)...

Re: melting belt Yes. I have used 1-gallon buckets that will hold several batches of, say 32oz oil recipes. If you remove the wire bale, it will fit in most microwaves to melt. Saves lots of time. You could have several small buckets with several recipes ready to go.

Yes- it must be the home address. The address is supposed to be where you as a manufacturer can be found. You are legally responsible for the safety of your product, and if there was a problem, the world needs to know where to deliver the legal papers. I asked at the post office, and the...

So does either WSP's or BB's discolor by themselves? I have been using the OMH from The Sage, and like it very much- no discoloration.

Sorry to say that according to the HSMG, your home address also must be on the label unless your business is listed in the local phone book. I think that sucks. I don't want some meth manufacturer breaking in to steal lye for their product, and I don't really want my customers knocking on my door.

I am waiting for an order now. The shipping adds up fast if you buy a few. I purchased 7 molds, and my shipping was $21.50. Can't wait to get them, though :)

ooh Tegan- I like the idea of melting the oils as you combine them in the bucket. Never thought of that. Last night I ended up pouring the slurry from the bucket into my large soaping pot and melting a portion at a time, returning it to the bucket and repeating until all of the oils were...

I have tried this, but had some lye-heavy batches and stopped for fear of losing more oils. I suspect that my lye master batch was losing water over time, and when I weighed it out, I ended up with more lye than 50%. I keep it in a "tupperware" type of pitcher with a tight-fitting lid, but...

Hi Mellifera- I can see that your metal belt might melt a plastic bucket. The one I bought is made for plastic or metal buckets- it looks like rubber-coated nylon mesh. Yours was cheaper- $107. I paid $139. I have put it on a heating pad as Carebear suggested. Now that the belt has been...

I've been waiting to buy one of these things, thinking that I would make 5 gallon master batches for my favorite recipes, melt the oils overnight, and soap the following morning- just scoop out what I needed for one batch. I received my bucket heater from soapequipment.com a couple of days...

so I have been using WSP's bases, but wanted to try Bramble Berry's premium ones- I had heard that they carried SFIC, and I assumed that their better bases were SFIC. The goatsmilk is fine, but the clear is a dark color. almost a yellow/green. Sure won't be good to use as a clear- it looks...

ctay- I've had soap partially gel in the freezer. In my experience, if you discount water (2 x lye), and soap around 90 degrees, it won't gel. Gel is more likely to occur with full water.

Good point. Thanks for the replies Irish & natty. I didn't think about crumbling. Guess I'll behave myself and experiment elsewhere. I wanted more bars for a November market.

Thought I should clarify- I'm using 65% CO, and want to use water= 2X sodium hydroxide.