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Hi there! While i was thinking dilution as the most difficult part of LS, at the end i've concluded that dilution is quite simple in compare with adding fragrance to diluted soap. I make bastile soap (85/15) and i know that i need much water to dilute in order for the paste to stay liquid and...

Hi there, Following my previous post about my first attempt for bastile CP LS, and all your useful advise, everything went quite well. I made 3-4 batches more and i think i'm really comfortable now with the process. It's just that i have two issues need to be solved: 1. While dilution went all...

Hi there! Hope all of you are having a great time! :) I'm ready to try my 3rd try for liquid soap (90% OO - 10% CO, 25% lye, 1% superfat). My first attempt was the cooking method, diluted a bit at a time until i ended up with a great clear and honey thick consistency LS. I was thrilled for the...

Hi there, I made a batch yesterday and pour into mold almost without trace at all. However it was well emulsified. My stick blender burned out a few days ago and had to blend with a paint mixer which makes hours for tracing a cold process castille soap. Next day while unmolding, all around the...

Hi, I'm making cold process (40C) soap (90% Olive - 10% Coconut) since the last 5 years. I making large batches (20kgs) and use big cube molds. I was always using a painted drill for stirring and never had any issues with bubbles. Except if i was too careless when pooring in the mold or the...

Hi there, I keep on reading that it's really important not to adding any food additives during dilution due to bacteria growth. 1. I'm just wondering what's the real difference for adding e.g. strawberry juice at the beginning of the process than adding it during dilution? The fruit juice will...

Hi there! I would like to make a quick question (which may be silly) regarding the essential oils evaporation in CP soap. I've read that some carrier oils (e.g. Fractionated CO) or natural clays act as fixatives and help scent last longer in CP. While our vegetables oils used in recipe have...

Hi again. After your useful information at my previous post on how to begin, i've made my first try. 90% Olive, 10% Coconut, 3% superfat (90%KOH), 25% lye concentration I think all went quite well (just felt the same feelings as my first success at CP)! :) My process so far: I've...

Hi to everyone, After many hours of reading the liquid soap forum i think i'm ready to give it a try for my first liquid soap. I have many experience in cp soap bars, but this seems like a new world to me and i feel as anxious as my first cp attempt! :) I've read so many information, that i...

Hi to everyone, I'm making olive oil soaps (4% superfatting) I'm having discoloration problems with some of my soaps and i don't know if it's rancid issue or just an aesthetic problem from curing process. The discoloration occurs always at the bottom of the soap as they cure. The soaps cure...

Hi there, I'm making some types of cold process soaps (90% OO - 10% CO). I have many scraps remained after i trim them, so i was wondering how to reclaim them and i thought of laundry powder. 1. Is there a problem with the 3% superfat in laundry soap? Rebatching with a little more lye is not an...

Hi to everyone, I've recently made two castille batches, adding red clay and a mix of essential oils. I've noticed that after cutting the soap, i can hardly smell the essential oils. There is a kind of odor but not relative to the e.o. i've added (lavender, patchouli, rosemary). I use a...

Hi to everyone, I have recently made a block cutter that looks like this one: http://www.soapequipment.com/images/Manual%20Cutter%20Grid2.jpg Unfortunately i'm having serious problem with the wires. Sometimes they brake while i tighten them. Some others they brake while i'll try to cut the...

I'm trying to find what do we change in the soapmaking process between summer and winter. I suppose that if we insulate our soap and don't put it in the fridge, in winter we make a better insulation because of low temperatures. But what about the temperature of the oils and lye? In winter we...

Hello to everyone, To those who have used many types of olive oil in soapmaking, it's obvious that grade B or pomace olive oil speeds up the process. I was wondering which is the factor of that? It's the different composition in oleic acid? Or is it the acidity caused from the formation of free...

Hi there, i'm trying to find the appropriate stirrer to mix batches 8 pounds and above. The first choice is a big commercial stick blender. The second one is to find the most suitable type of stirrer and attach it to a drill or a paint mixer or any other mechanism. Some types of stirrers: 1...

As i've read many times, juices with citric acid neutralize part of the lye. This neutralization in other words means a soap with an increased superfatting percentage or it's something more serious than i can imagine? Also i've read somewhere that citric acid helps the emulsification between...

Hi there, As an olive soapmaker one of my major concerns is trace! I use extra virgin olive oil and sometimes trace is something that doesn't happen or it delays for hours. It depends on the recipe and the additives i use. I have two questions to make: 1. Some of my batches did not trace, i...

Hi there, After solving my problem with crumbling, a new problem appeared and i want to share it with you. After unmolding and cutting my prickly pear soap i saw some white spots on the surface and inside the soap. I wonder what could it be. Is it lye pockets? Is it bad stirring? Is it the...

I'm heaving a brain teaser this period concerning some of my batches that are slightly brittle(mostly on the bottom surface) only while i cut them. I present you some details of some batches to help you get a point of view. All my batches are Extra Virgin Olive oil 90%, Coconut Oil 10%, 5%...