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In the past year or so, I have seen more and more people advise others that the superfat percentage should be half of the Cleansing number. FOr example, if Cleansing is 10, then superfat % should be 5%. Can anyone point me to any resources that explain the rationale behind this advice? I can...

I need to talk about something I find especially frustrating as the owner of a small business. I'd love it if y'all would just go "um hum..." and nod your heads from time to time as I vent. :rolleyes: After sending this message, I plan to go back to my job with a better attitude and a clearer...

I keep getting these ads on my Facebook feed for Boom products by Cindy Joseph. The ads target women of a certain age, and I suppose I fit the demographics regardless of how I feel about that fact. When I first looked at the Boom website a month or so ago, I was tempted to buy their...

There's an old thread that got some response recently -- https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/egg-yolk-soap.18164/ -- and I thought I'd share an article I wrote about egg soap. Here tis -- Whole eggs, egg yolks, and especially egg whites have been added to soap for at least 100 years. The...

Here's a useful resource on Robert Tisserand's website -- https://tisserandinstitute.org/essential-oil-dilution-chart/ Be sure to download or print the handy Dilution Chart. This chart converts the % dilution into the number of drops of EO needed in a given volume of base product, such as a...

Short version: Would people who have Disodium EDTA (I really do mean Disodium, not Tetrasodium!) do me a favor -- would you please try to dissolve Di EDTA in the lye solution you use for your next soap batch and report back? Some questions I have for you -- Does the Di EDTA dissolve easily in...

The stronger odor and dark color of the beeswax most likely means you are using wax that has been mostly harvested from brood comb (the comb that bees raise babies in). Wax from brood comb is not something you want to use in lip balm, in my opinion. If you want wax that smells better and is...

I was reading a "cozy mystery" novel recently that had several recipes for food and craft items mentioned in the story. The novel had a recipe for a gel air freshener the heroine made from gelatine dissolved in water, scented with essential oils, and tinted with food coloring. In looking on the...

So I live in Iowa, USA, where the climate is too cold to grow aloe as an outdoor plant. I have several potted aloe plants, but the leaves are small. It would be difficult to harvest larger amounts of gel from these plants to get enough to make a decent batch of soap or other aloe-based product...

There has to be some way to pervert this into a soap making tool.... https://pastrygift.com/products/pastry-rolling https://pastrygift.com/products/paisley-rolling-pin

School is out or almost out in most parts of the US, and many parents are going to be looking for ways to keep their kids busy and engaged. I stumbled across a quick project for crocheters that appealed to my funny bone -- crocheted water balloons. They are basically a pouch made with bulky yarn...

A person recently contacted me and wanted to know how much extra NaOH was needed to neutralize oxalic acid. Her idea was to add oxalic acid to a soap batch, just like people add citric acid, vinegar, etc. I didn't answer her question directly because I haven't done the calculations to find the...

Susan of SwiftCraftyMonkey announced today that she has a new website and she is moving her blog there: http://swiftcraftymonkey.blog/ Here's her announcement: http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2018/01/more-about-new-site-how-it-works-whats.html

Using essential oils (EOs) neat on the skin seems to be a growing practice in the general public. ("Neat" means not diluted) There are more and more reports of serious reactions to this practice, however. Reputable sources recommend diluting EOs before using them on the skin, but the dilution...

Here are guidelines for EO dilution rates that are focused on children. The information comes from The Tisserand Institute, a reputable source of information about essential oils. Please be aware this info-graphic gives general guidelines for EOs that are "GRAS" (generally recognized as...

Here is an article that provides four sources of reliable, accurate online information about essential oils: http://info.achs.edu/blog/credible-essential-oil-databases-for-research In a nutshell, the four sources are -- Aromaweb, https://www.aromaweb.com/ American Botanical Council...

A person asked me for help with a problem and I don't have any answers for him. He is an experienced soap maker. He is making a 100% tallow soap as a charity project using a donated commercial tallow meant for deep fat frying -- not an ingredient he has used before. One of the 3 batches he's...

I have been trying different types of decorative soap swirls in the past year or two, and have gotten reasonably good at my hanger swirls (Irish Lass' Ione Swirl), pencil lines, various in-the-pot swirls, and such. I tried the "cell pour" technique in a recent SMF challenge and that went...

I've been wondering why Rustic Escentuals is not just Rustic Escentuals -- it's usually Aroma Haven / Rustic Escentuals or AHRE. Did it change its name awhile back? If so, does anyone know what year?

There seems to be a lot of info on the 'net about the many benefits and uses of neem oil, but not so much about karanja oil. I'm curious to know what experience y'all might have with karanja. Do you like using it as an alternative to neem or in addition to neem in products such as soap...