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I see a lot of people use rubbing alcohol and water as a binder, but I thought if you add water to a product you need a preservative? Is it because it evaporates?

What exactly are shower steamers? I know a cosmetic is used to enhance beauty or to smell good but shower steamers are mostly to be breathed in. What are they exactly assuming you don’t make any claims?

I heard somewhere that Optiphen is inactivated by polysorbate. I am using an ewax that contains polysorbate 60. Is this true and do I need to change preservatives or will this work okay for my body butters? Also I just read now that Optiphen isn’t to be used in products containing water? What...

I am running out of cocoa butter and I won’t get it in time if I order it now. I have some unrefined raw cocoa butter I purchased a while ago on Amazon. Would this work for my emulsified body butters and have the same shelf life as if I used refined? I don’t care about the stronger odor, I just...

I’m using Brambleberrys emulsifying wax and it states in the SDS sheet that it is a proprietary blend so it does not give me the percentages of ingredients. How do I label this for my lotion? Do I list it as emulsifying wax or do I need the percentages to label this?

I’ve seen many soap makers state that a zap from soap cannot be mistaken, however I am wondering… are there varying degrees of zap? Most describe it as a 9volt battery, but I am wondering if let’s say I have a veeery slightly lye heavy soap if this would give me the same zap as a 9volt or a very...

I am making goats milk soap. I add my goats milk to my oils. I am using water to dissolve my lye solution and usually I add my sodium citrate to some water that I took from the lye solution before I mixed it with lye and dissolve it in that but since I am using goats milk for the rest of the...

I was wondering what the correct way to use lard is. I use the Manteca lard and I usually scoop, measure and put it in a bowl and then melt, but I was wondering if I needed to melt it first like palm oil, stir it to distribute the fatty acids, and then measure? Is palm the only oil like that?

I have been searching it seems forever and I cannot figure out how to make soap dough! The information I found said to use your usual recipe, and I want to use my usual recipe but I don’t know what I am supposed to do different to turn it into soap dough. Also.. does it harden? I want to make...

I made a batch of soap today. I did an espresso scented soap with coffee grounds and everything went normal, but I noticed when I put my cphp soap in the oven to sit in it’s molds, an hour later there was a small pool of liquid. I mixed to around medium trace and I also soaped pretty hot so I...

Hello! I just had a simple-ish question... How much should I cool down my lye before soaping? I sometimes get impatient and poor not long after I create my lye solution, and I want to know if I should wait till a certain temperature for my lye to be at before I mix with my oils. I want to force...

As part of my soapmaking journey, I have been very interested in making my own laundry soap, HOWEVER... while doing my research I’ve discovered that many believe homemade laundry detergent to be something to avoid, claiming that when you use homemade laundry soap, it builds up on clothes and...

I’ve seen many say that you should have your lye and oils within 10 degrees of each other, but I want to know why? I usually soap at a higher temp so I don’t have to worry about my hard oils cooling down. What are the benefits of soaping at different temperatures? And why should you not soap...

Hello, I’ve had this itching question on my mind that I’d like explained to me so I know more. I’ve seen many times that no matter what you put into your soap or superfat at, your soap will never be “moisturizing” but rather gentler instead. My question is: Why do people superfat their CO soaps...

Hello! My name is Shaylyn. I am new to this forum and soapmaking. A bit about myself is I have always had a love for soap and have researched soap making for years before taking the plunge and I love it! I’m also a freelance artist, and in my spare time I enjoy many crafts such as crocheting...

Hello! I have been really interested in soap making for years and have finally taken the plunge! So far I’ve made two batches, one CP and one HP. I have formulated a recipe that I feel would work good for my very sensitive skin but wanted some feedback. My recipe that I’ve been using is as...

Hello, I’m a new soap maker, have studied up on it for years, and have made my first batch just last night, but since then, I’ve been scared that my house is a lye filled place and I’m going to go blind or die! I’ve washed my dishes with a separate sponge like I should and I cleaned my sink with...