Search results

while bacon fat is technically lard -- it's lard plus a whole lot of other things (that was used to cure the bacon). So it's contaminated lard that might even have water in it. when I create tallow from beef fat, I typically purify several times (with salt water). I don't know whether you used...

sorry - I felt I had to keep the discussion on track - otherwise it would go off into a tangent that provides no useful information to the question. I have seen multiple threads here devolve from a very specific question to a conversation about how certain soapers have extremely sensitive skin...

@Zany_in_CO Your green mountain veggie formula looks a lot like what you can find at Dr. Squatch, Bearsville and Sudsy Bear. Which begs the question: how do you differentiate yourself from the market when you're imitating it?

what exactly did you add? vitamin E isn't really an "oil." what are the ingredients of your Vit E additive?

Thanks all for responses. This was a very enlightening discussion! To recap: PO & PKO only recipes will only create "crap soap." So, these companies go through the expensive process of triple-milling it (provided that they all do that) to give it a more luxurious feel. Then, they add their...

thanks for replies all -- but I'd like us to focus on the question at hand, please. @dibbles - upscale, overpriced, underpriced... whatever. The point of my post wasn't to segment the market into luxury vs. non-luxury. --- it was to demonstrate how ESTABLISHED brands seem to only use TWO main...

Lately, I've been doing a deep-dive into successful bar soap recipes - trying to understand why they're formulated the way they are. Here's what I've found that's surprised me: Many luxury soaps seem to only use 2 major ingredients to make their soaps: Palm Oil and Palm Kernel Oil. This...

I freeze my beef fat to make it easier to cube before redering it in a crockpot. I'm told that the smaller the fat pieces, the easier it renders. As long as the freezer didn't experience a power outage - I'd imagine that the frozen beef fat or tallow is fine.

sorry y'all. I couldn't help myself. i used to live in Chicago and had friends from North of the border... and used to tease them. hope I didn't offend. it was meant in a playful jest. we all have our dialect eccentricities... ya know wadda mean?

isn't New Directions a Canadian company, eh? https://www.newdirectionsaromatics.com/products/fragrance-oils/bay-rum-fragrance-oil.html

I use Dawn to get things clean. On a rare occasion, I will leave something to sit overnight and turn into soap. But even then, I do more than just rinse them. (you can soak them and "fresh" soap will dissolve completely.) I wash them so there's no residual on anything that might interfere with...

I've taken to wiping everything as clean as possible with old newspaper. Then, I hand wash everything with Dawn. I rarely use the dishwasher because most of my soap-ware is plastic and I don't want them damaged or desire to have to dry them after they've been washed.

Being a guy - you know I hate to ask for directions.... or help. But this has been killing me for a while. Where the heck should I be buying my Bay Rum?? Brambleberry doesn't sell it. Lebermuth has discontinued it. And WSP's Crafter Choice wants nearly $5 an ounce!! While I've found it on...

for a bright vivid orange - I've used red palm oil and sunflower oil soaked in paprika in my soap and it worked great.

I haven't used any freeze-dried additives - but I have been experimenting with clays and more natural colorants. I found these interesting articles and refer to them when I want to try a new color: https://lovinsoap.com/2011/07/natural-soap-colorants-gallery-spice-and-herbal-powders-at-trace/...

from a guy's POV - I'm troubled by your idea for a mechanics soap. guys who seek out a mechanics soap typically don't take it into the shower. It's for hands and arms that get grease and grime on them. Maybe face too. Think of it in terms of Lava soap. It's harsh but super cleansing. Adding...

@Jennfromoz nice job on your soap! Looks like you added some color to it -- maybe even split it in a couple of batches to do a hanger swirl? did you use activated charcoal? or a very dark mica? Your batter thickening might be due to the FO or EOs you added. Did you add some of that?

I typically don't use that much olive oil - but others who seem to do, seem to think your water/lye ratio is fine. Fortunately, you doing exactly what you should be doing -- go for it and take notes. That's how we all learn and how we all get better. I may be wrong - and you may be able to...

I'm not a professional - but I'll bite: recipe seems fine. but I'd be concerned about creating a bar of soap that stays very soft for a long time. IMO, you've got the water/lye ratio way too high (at least for my tastes) - and since you've got so much olive oil... it'd be concerned when...

I reuse items in the kitchen that I used for soaping all the time. While the whole lye-thing is scary and dangerous, it's not an everlasting demon that lurks on your tools or containers if they've been properly washed. Think about it: Lye losess its potency the minute you open the container...