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You can also use a concentrated lye solution to even out the temperature with room temperature soaping. Mixing it at 1:1 leaves some of the lye undissolved. If you let that cool and add the remaining water the lye solution will heat back up, but not nearly as high as doing it all at once...

Maybe a tea light and... a slightly larger candle molds? Stubby votive? Looks like it's just two sizes and about half of the extra edge is cut off the second step. If you wanted to try something a little "creative" a 1.5" and 2" PVC pipe cap would probably work.

I like the word reclaimed, sounds a lot better than "stolen from the trash in the laundry room." I do this too and it works very well. I also use plastic deli/soup containers when making soap and when my masterbatch is running low I'll store the last bit in one of those and top it off with the...

That's true. From my (extremely limited) understanding you usually have to be doing something illegal, unethical, or negligent to be held legally liable, or have personal and business finances intermingled to be financially liable for a debt.

You could also try aloe vera juice along with some of the other suggestions to changing oils. I'm not sure how it compares to coconut milk (but I think I'll have to try it!). It seemed to help increase size, quantity, and creaminess each by a little bit and makes very a good creamy lather.

What worked for me is to pick one basic recipe as a starting point. After 3-4 days try using a small piece to wash your hands or take a shower to see how you feel about it and keep the rest to try again after four weeks. Testing immediately won't tell you exactly how the soap will be after it...

Sorry, I may not have been clear. My issue with forming a legal business is I likely can't get the required business permits to operate out of our apartment. I'm looking into other options (or to see if I'm missing something), but claiming everything as a hobby is the backup plan. And selling...

You don't necessarily need to file taxes as a business (depending on the state?), but creating a business is a lot better. If you classify it as a hobby with the IRS you pay taxes on gross income and there are strict rules on deductions for expenses. Right now I can't register as a business...

If you can't microwave it on low power, you can fill your sink with hot water and let the jug sit until it all melts. Looks like palm oil melts at 95 F which shouldn't be too hot. Depending on how long it takes you might also want to keep a pot of water on the stove in case the water in the...

I'm using black kraft paper rolls and cutting to size with wide labels that wrap around the entire bar. That comes out to about 11 cents each per bar in the quantities I bought. Scaling up to bigger rolls and more label sheets could drop it down to about 3-4 cents each. It's a bit more than...

That looks great, and looks like it'd be fun to try making!

I use powdered milk. What worked best for me (after having a few batches burn) was basically the split method. The instructions for reconstituting the milk were ~1oz powder to 6oz water to make 8oz milk. So then if a recipe called for 8oz of water, I would mix 4oz of water with the lye, then...

Another vote for 1x4 pine. Used the most expensive grade they had and so far no issues with warping.

It does work pretty well. Made one this afternoon with wood I had leftover from making a cutter and some plastic cuttings mats from the dollar store. It does only work on my bars with pretty specific dimensions so it would end up taking a full sheet of printer paper with a lot of being...

I've been using Ivar shelving from Ikea. It wasn't cheap, but I really wanted to have all of my soaping stuff in one place with enough room for soap to cure as more is made. The 5 smaller shelves each can hold about 8 rows of 12.

Both questions are perfectly valid, but asking them at the same time is a problem.

Being told you shouldn't do something is not really a big obstacle to overcome. If someone's visiting this forum, they already can find all of the information they need to start selling soap without anyone's approval. Information on how to refine a recipe, identify problems, how to protect...

Our dishwasher is still tinted green from first time I tried to run a mica mixing bowl through the wash a few months ago. Since then I got stainless steel condiment cups to mix them and wash all of them by hand.

Soap with a lot of soft oils (like olive oil) take longer to harden. It could take a few days depending on your recipe, but it'll get there eventually. The oils and lye don't need to be at the same temperature. If both of them are too cold it's possible that the oils will harden when mixed...

Wow, those look great! I'll definitely give that a try when I'm ready to get a 5+lb mold.