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My daughter has dry skin, psoriasis and ezcema (poor girl). I am going to make a pine tar soap, basically like this (what I"m thinking so far): As I think of this, I wonder about Neem oil, which I've never worked with before. Is that a bad idea, or would that be a good addition to a pine...

I'm helping out with the new soap calculator here for SMF, and the question of adding masterbatching lye to it came up. Since I have never done it (can't have lye solution hanging around), I need some advice on how to go about mixing it, and the amounts, and then how to use it in a soap recipe...

I'm a forager/hunter/gatherer and I found that my best soap, ever, is made with deer tallow. Unfortunately, the deer from the forest tend to be rather lean so I haven't rendered deer tallow in several years. Here's the recipe! Deer tallow 75% Castor oil 5% 72d coconut 20% 50% coconut...

Like I don't have enough hobbies already, but I have it in my head that I want to make beeswax candles, and pretty much only tapers for the dining room. I'm wondering where the best tutorials may be, as well as the best suppliers you've found? I don't plan on fragrances at all (one...

This recipe was more of a way to use up some deer tallow, but it would be awesome with beef tallow or lard (just make sure to check it with a lye calculator, as the saponification amount is slightly different!) 25 ounces oil weight (2.4 pounds into the mold) 75% deer tallow- 18.75 ounces...

We just visited friends this past weekend, and I didn't take any soap, just using theirs while we were there. I've given them soap in the past, and they like it, and I brought more as a gift. Anyway, today on our way home, Bob asked if I used the soap in their shower. I said I had. He told...

I just used my first salt bar. It was 80% CO, 20% OO, 50% salt, and 20% superfat. It's only a tad less than four weeks old, but I just had to try it! The first impression was awesome- Creamy rich bubbly later that felt like silk on my skin. I said to myself immediately, "Oh, I have to...

I'm using a recipe directly from Catherine Failor's book, but in a much smaller quantity. It's 78% coconut oil, and 22% oo. My husband has oily hair and skin and he's been using my CP soaps with good results, but doesn't like the liquid castile made via the glycerine method, so I thought...

My husband brought home a big fat deer last night, and so today when he skinned it I asked him for much of the fat. He brought in suet (around kidneys) as well as tallow. Since I was rendering the tallow, I decided to do my first HP. I used a proven recipe of my own: Deer tallow: 45%...

I've been CP soaping for years. I've been very happy with the results. I've only done hot process twice- once for liquid soap, and once for a rebatch. (Only one rebatch due to overheated soap- ever!) Anyway, I have some recipes I love but I understand that if I HP the same recipes, I can...

I have Catherine Failor's book, and while I'm not stupid (I hope!) I'm having trouble guessing the dilution rates recommended and how much that actually is. For example, her chart has "percent actual soap" and "water added per pound of paste". At 30 percent, she has 16 ounces (1 pound) of...

I know it's in this forum- and I can't find it! In a thread, someone posted the link to the video on the "how to" with the glycerine method. I loved the video, and am ready to make the soap. But now, even with a "search" of this forum, I can't find it again. (That's so frustrating- why...

I just read Catherine Failor's wonderful book. I still have a couple of questions, though, if anybody can help! First, is liquid soap like CP soap, in that I can reduce the batch size as long as I run it through a lye calculator? Her recipes are all 48-49 ounces- way too much for me to...

I just sampled this soap, made on 10/29. 10% shea butter 20% coconut oil 12% tallow (beef) 50% olive oil (pomace grade) 8% castor oil 8% superfat goat's milk for the water, frozen first and lye added to it. Kept cool in an ice bath while mixing (never exceeded 100 degrees) and then avoided...

I can't find anything in the search, as it seems like all of the talk of CPOP overheating involves milk or honey. I made a 92% OO, 8% castor oil soap and poured it at medium/thick trace. I put it in a silicone loaf pan, and put it in the oven at 170. The first hour seemed fine, but now it...

I live in a dry climate, relatively speaking. I have never made a 100% OO soap, but I've used 60% OO with good results. I have a good friend in Texas who has sensitive skin, and I want to make him an almost-castille soap- say, 92% OO and 8% castor oil, as an example. Would the higher...

I've only made goat's milk soap in the past with whole goat's milk, instead of the water as the liquid. I'd freeze the milk until slushy, then add the lye while the slushy goat's milk was in a bowl in an ice bath. Then when I stick blended, I kept the whole think in the ice bath. This worked...

I had such a nice surprise today. We drove over to a friend's hobby farm to pick her grapes to make wine, and I gifted her with a couple of bottles of wine and some nice soaps to thank her. She exclaimed, "Oh, I didn't know you made soap! I was going to do it, but never did. Could you use...

I bought some palm oil and coconut oil from essentialdepot.com for soapmaking. But I love coconut oil in deodorant and lotions as well. I even use coconut oil for cooking. I sent an email to essential depot, asking if the oils were food grade and got an email back saying they did not sell...

I've been making my own laundry detergent, by mixing 1/2 bar of castile soap (grated) and 1 cup washing soda and 1 cup borax. It works well, but I'd like to make a laundry soap specially designed for laundry. I want to be ecologically friendly, cheap, and effective. I was thinking all...