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I've done well so far with soaps and lotions, and want to expand to emulsified body butters. Presently I use the same soap recipe, and 2 lotion recipes that I like very much. For a BB, though, I'm overwhelmed with the possibilities and want to get it "right" without wasting too much product. Out...

My customers generally don't like to see any ingredient they cannot pronounce. I see lots of body butters have the addition of things like stearic acid, cyclomethicone, cetyl alcohol, etc. While I know what those things are and am not afraid to use them, they send up red flags for my...

I'm on the lookout for a commercial grade stick blender. Preferably one that's not several hundred dollars. Business is booming and my little Hamilton Beach has been kicking for 2 years, but it's not long or strong enough for my 50 bar salt bar batches. Any recommendations?

I was wondering if it's possible to CPOP after the soap has been unmolded. I make mostly salt bars and my mold will not tolerate the oven. If I unmold as soon as they set (few hours), can I then pop them in the oven and CPOP them?

I made some salt bars the other night and decided to try to inject some color into the bottom of the batter (top of the bar) and swirl it just for a little pop of color. Well, since we all know how fast salt soaps set, I ended up with a green polka dot in the center of all my bars. Some are a...

Can you add things like honey, egg, and exfoliants to salt bars? I want to try to make salt bars with some of the same things I use in my regular bars. I didn't know if all that salt would affect the addition of other things.

If my GM salt bars that I made today turn out wrong (too crumbly), can I rebatch? It'll be my first attempt at salt bars and I want to make sure I don't waste all that CO if I make a mistake! Also, what can you add to salt bars besides CO, salt, (and color and fragrance, obviously)? Can...

I, too, have the itch to do a salt bar these days. Can I use GM as all or part of my liquid? And table salt is better than coarse kosher salt, correct?

As much as I said I would never have a mold that requires a liner, I think I am giving in... Do you line wooden molds with freezer paper? Is it similar to wax paper, or is it something different? I've never actually seen "freezer paper" in the store, so I'm a bit clueless as to what it is...

I want to start buying in bulk since store prices keep climbing. Can you list where you buy your bulk oils, and also which oils are better in bulk? Maybe talk about shelf life if you know how long they last? Thanks, guys!

I went to a few outdoor markets this weekend and noticed a similarity between two of the handmade soaps from the vendors. Both soaps only used PKO and Coconut oil for their oils! They added some other things like powders and other additives, yet they only listed those two oils. Has anyone...

Got some cute Halloween molds yesterday, and now I want to use them before the Holiday is over! Can I CPOP in silicone molds? I don't see why not, but it's better to ask than totally screw something up. Also, my oven's lowest temp is 200. Should I leave it in at 200 for less than an hour...

I was HPing a peanut butter soap today. Thought I'd try something new by adding the PB to my buttercream pie scented soap. In theory, that's great. In reality, it burns. I got the soap to trace, then turned on the heat to very low and stepped away for a few minutes. Walked back out into the...

I HP'ed a batch of soap that apparently got too hot, because it smells like burnt milk. I rebatched it and added more fragrance, but the smell lingers. It's nice soap, just stinky. Are there any FOs out there that will cover this smell up? My cranberry and honeysuckle did not do the trick.

Hello! I have a small dairy goat farm and have been making goat milk soap for awhile now. I heard that it is possible to make candles with added goat milk. It sounds strange, but also very cool! Does anyone have any tips, tricks, or links that they use? I tried googling but I don't always...

I have my first lye heavy batch, and of course it's my largest yet. Looks like some of the lye didn't dissolve on the bottom of my bowl, and the top of my soap has little dots, looks like white poppy seeds. Only thing it can be is lye. Can I grate it down and use it for laundry soap, or is it...

I made the most beautiful pumpkin soap last night with pumpkin puree and vanilla pumpkin pie FO. I already know the gorgeous pumpkin color is going to turn ugly brown but I wanted to know what I was in for. Does anyone have photos of the color change? At what age does the color stay the way it is?

Is there any way to compensate for hard, mineral rich well water? I'm a little disappointed with the lather and bubbles in my soaps. My friends and family who live up north remarked that theirs lather and bubble just great. I think my water is kicking my soap's butt. Can I add anything to my...

I made two castile batches back in April. I did an 80% OO, 10% CO, 10% canola/soybean blend recipe. Finally gave them a try in the last few days. Made one with water instead of GM, and the other with GM and coffee with coffee grounds. The one with water is pretty decent. The one with coffee is...

Yesterday I went to a Dutch market and saw that they were selling GM soaps. Of course I had to go over and check them out. When I was inspecting, I noticed that some bars had DOS! Each bar was unwrapped in a basket. I remember them being there the last time I was at the market back in March...