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Is there a rule against mixing the above? I'm going to assume there is a problem with mixing micas with TD and AC, but not mixing TD and AC with each other. Just a hunch. Probably wrong.

Shells and a chocolate chip scone and some psychedelic 60s mica/embossed experiments and something that started out as soap balls and ended up as soap tops. It started with an experiment in rebatching two batches to going on to silicone molds. Help me, I think I'm falling in love with soap...

I seem to be a rebatch addict. Honestly, I don't mind it. It seems to have such a bad rep; but if you don't like what you did, then I think of it as drawing over an old sketch you weren't happy with, rather than starting on a new piece of paper. Long story short, I rebatched some "chocolate...

Can anyone suggest a lily of the valley FO?

I've counted three that are used in artisan soapmaking: Sunflower, Safflower, & Canola. Do they behave radically differently in soapmaking?

Kevin Dunn refers to it here: BCCE2008b.pdf (cavemanchemistry.com) (He's lonely, too)

I am intrigued by the High Temperature Hot Process method. It seems that you should expect a volcano when you use this method. If I mix in a vessel that is at least 4 times bigger than the soap recipe, will that solve the problem of overflow? Yes, I realize that volcanos gonna volcano, I just...

I always try to do my research before coming here. So I read this*: https://www.brambleberry.com/how-to/soap/art0122-scent-fading.html But I always love to hear experienced soapers' hands-on experiences with scent. In my (limited) experience, essential oils are all quite transient, and the...

I do realize that this is a subject which has been nearly done to death, but I have a specific question that hasn't been addressed, so here goes. I'm using Soap Calc as my reference. I keyed in 100% palm oil, and got this. (cut & pasted bcos I can't insert images) Lauric 0 Myristic 1...

I've heard so many bad things about Canola causing DOS but I am skeptical. It's just an oil with a certain FA profile & should not cause DOS of itself. Perhaps the oil was rancid to begin with, or on the way to rancidity...? I do not know. What are people's experiences w/Canola. There is a...

Should I calculate it as regular palm oil, or as Crisco with palm oil? The two yield different results from Soap Calc.

I think it is very reliable, for the most part, but not 100%. In another thread the rather obscure topic of neats foot oil (NFO) came up. Now, I realize this is pretty obscure, and most soapers aren't likely to care about it but I add it here because this forum attracts people who are passionate...

I began the batch on February 24th, which I recorded here: https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/my-first-batch-zap.69338/#post-689575 Coconut 30%/Castor 5%/Olive 65% 26% lye (38% water) 8% superfat It was not a success. Too much water, or too little lye, very soft, impatient new soaper...

I'm not crazy about olive oil. Substituting is tricky. On hand, I have cocoa butter, jojoba oil (yes, I know, no saponifiables, but could be useful), coconut oil and castor. If I have to add OO to soften the bar a bit I will, but does anyone have a suggestion for percentages? I did a soap calc...

Another way to put this would be, "will a 50/50 Cocoa Butter & Beef Tallow soap be too hard"?

Zany in Co suggested that I use my ridiculously huge stock of jojoba oil, bought years ago for some reason I now can't recall, as a carrier oil for other EOs. Someone else suggested I buy Peru balsam as a sub for vanilla EO. I did. It was thick & resinous, so I diluted it with the jojoba. It...

I thought I understood the concept of superfatting soap with respect to cold process soap. Here is my understanding and if I’m wrong, please correct me. You plug your values into a reliable calculator and the lye will saponify everything but the percentage you’ve chosen. You don’t add 5% after...

I discovered this on LinkedIn, believe it or not. http://ethesis.nitrkl.ac.in/5371/1/109CH0476.pdf "When the solution is being run into the oil, the mixture must be stirred in only one direction." An interesting read. This is what you do during a storm.

I realize that what I'm about to say is heresy, but I don't like sandalwood. Which is a pity because I have most of a bottle of genuine sandalwood oil. It's fantastic for anchoring a scent, which is what a base note is supposed to do. I just don't like it. Maybe I don't like it because it...

This may sound petty, but I have come across several times self-promoting soap experts say this: "You can pick up beef fat for free from your local butcher" and it annoys me. First of all, in many locales, the local butcher has gone the way of the dinosaur. This is 2018, not 1918, or even 1958...