First Bars and Questions

[nebetmiw]

You have oe of the best companies for FO right I your state. Look up Southern Soapers they are located in Yorktown, VA. Daystar is another good one located in TX. Scentworks in in NC if I remember right. Those three are your best bet since they are close and shipping will be very low.

Love the new bars.

 

[Mom210]

Hi , your soap is beautiful ! I hope my first batch comes out 1/2 as well. I have a question for some of the seasoned soap makers and any tips or suggestions would be GREAT!! I am planning on making my 1st batch of soap on Saturday and would like to use this recipe ( I created it my self on a "create your own lye calculator") The fats/ oils that are in it are based on what is readily available in my area. I have been researching for a week and can't decide between HP or CP I want it to come out well but I also want it to cure pretty quickly ( pref. less than a month ) The recipe remains the same , except for the additives going in at trace stage either way right?
I also would like to know if this mix of fats/oils is going to make my soap too hard or soft ( or cause any other problems you can think of ) So here is the recipe.....

28oz. coffee (liquid)
12 oz. lye
46oz. beef tallow
36oz. crisco
9oz olive oil
2oz castor oil
additives ..2 tbsp. coffee grounds ,2 tbsp cocoa powder

Sorry for writing you folks a novel ...I just really want my 1st batch to come out great.

 

[soapandwine]

I'm just a newbie, so I don't know much, but it looks OK, but a bit soft. Also, SoapCalc says it has virtually no cleansing or bubbly qualities.

You must have a large mold! (or are you scaling it down?)

Having only done three batches, each of 3.5 lbs or so, I'm starting to make them smaller, I think, so as to experiment. You might want to start with a small batch. Hey... doing another batch takes very little time once you get your first one done (in my experience).

I'm only doing Cold Process and gelling. I figure if the mold is not too large, it can get to gelling temperature with all the towels I throw at it without a problem.

let us know how it goes.

Seasoned Soapers: any thoughts?

Adrian.-

 

[Mom210]

I wasn't sure how much soap it would make ...maybe I will cut it in half I tweeked my measure ments to try to use the whole bottle of lye , I don't really like the thought of having it in the house ( we have small children) but I could probably store it in the shed overnight and make another batch the next day. I am also going to check out the soapcalc calculator , the one I used didn't tell any thing about the cleansing properties of the recipe , I did read some where about the lather being affected by using tallow but I thought the castor oil might help with that ..Think I should add more castor oil ?Thanks for the advice

 

[nebetmiw]

Hi , your soap is beautiful ! I hope my first batch comes out 1/2 as well. I have a question for some of the seasoned soap makers and any tips or suggestions would be GREAT!! I am planning on making my 1st batch of soap on Saturday and would like to use this recipe ( I created it my self on a "create your own lye calculator") The fats/ oils that are in it are based on what is readily available in my area. I have been researching for a week and can't decide between HP or CP I want it to come out well but I also want it to cure pretty quickly ( pref. less than a month ) The recipe remains the same , except for the additives going in at trace stage either way right?
I also would like to know if this mix of fats/oils is going to make my soap too hard or soft ( or cause any other problems you can think of ) So here is the recipe.....

28oz. coffee (liquid)
12 oz. lye
46oz. beef tallow
36oz. crisco
9oz olive oil
2oz castor oil
additives ..2 tbsp. coffee grounds ,2 tbsp cocoa powder

Sorry for writing you folks a novel ...I just really want my 1st batch to come out great.

I would suggerswt you start your own thread on this. You are way off on your numbers. Use soapcal.net instead of the one you made up. I would cut out all the coffee for now and coco powder till you are use to a basic recipe. They can do strange thing to soap and you need to know what to look for first.

 

[Mom210]

I didn't create the calculator it was a create your own recipe calculator section on a web site call mountain ..?..sage I dont remember now. I just added in the numbers and it gave me the amount of lye. I did check out the soapcalc website and I do like it better , it seems to give you a lot more info on the oils and I was also able to get the recipe straighted out with it so that all the numbers fall within the acceptable range. Does anyone know of a soap recipe that calls for oils that you can get at walmart? We don't have a lot of options around here walmart has taken out most of the other stores.

 

[krissy]

you can buy lard, coconut oil, olive oil, crisco or whatever your walmart carries. play around with soapcalc and find out what makes good numbers for you. also there are lots of beginner recipes here that people have shared, you just have to dig a little.

 

[Mom210]

Thanks for the info Krissy I'll check out wal mart tomorrow and take a list of other recipes with me .

 

[ChrisShepp]

@Mom210, you'll be looking for these in the baking aisle with the other oils:

There is a chance the lard might actually be in the ethnic foods aisle where latin specialties (tortillas, beans, etc) are found.

and this in the pharmacy section with the laxatives:

 

[Karen J]

:twisted: Totally jealous!
Hello I am Karen - this is my first visit. I need to chat as my first batch of St Clements soap smells disgusting! And doesn't look much better either. I see your lovely pics of these "brownies" and realise that THIS is what I want to produce..............and as I am now away for 3 weeks, I will not have the chance to have a go for ages. I would be so impressed if I had made these and now vow to return later this month and become a great soap maker. reading all the tips and recipes on the forum will be such a help. Well done you - You should be very very proud. PS - is there always a strange "after" smell after the first 24 hours? Or was it just me?

 

[tespring]

Excellent job!! Thanks for the pics.
I just love how you are diving right in with such enthusiasm.

I was thinking stearic on those dots too...

In the first set of pics does anyone else see a spooky face peeking out of one of the brownie soaps? :twisted:

Oops! I guess I meant the second set of pics...

Yes, I see it too! That is amazing!

Great 1st soaps to the OP!

 

[xyxoxy]

:twisted: Totally jealous!
Hello I am Karen - this is my first visit. I need to chat as my first batch of St Clements soap smells disgusting! And doesn't look much better either.
...
PS - is there always a strange "after" smell after the first 24 hours? Or was it just me?

What was your recipe?
I've never heard of St. Clements soap.

 

[LindyLou]

Great job

Yay Soapandwine! Excellent sir!!! Welcome, welcome, and am brand new here too and live the DC area, see another from Baltimore too!

This thread has beem great and some great info and advice.. Here's my two cents and hope it's helpful to you:

For fragrance oils: Good recommendations you received on the ones in our area and on the East Coast.. Another one is Southern Garden Scents (formerly know at Tony's) which have moved I believe but are either in NJ or Georgia, I think. Someone please confirm that if you know for sure, thanks) I think they are pretty reasonable and shipping isn't bad and I have had nothing but good experience with customer service.. I think their oils are of very good quality and pretty dependable overall. They have an 8 1 oz. bottle sampler pack for I think, around 20 some dollars. (google them) You will also want to make the SoapScent Review Board a REGULAR place to visit on the web.. It will help you tremendously..http://soapscentreview.obisoap.ca/search.php
This site rates many., many fragrance oil companies on the oils themselves and how they perform in Cold Processed Soap.. Will tell you if the scent lasts, fades, accelerates trace, etc... This will help in wasting moneyn on some items that don't perform well. Check it out. It would help to do this before you purchase oils so you'll know better what you may be getting.
Also, when you do start using fragrance oils, as well as Essential oils, it's best to keep your temperature down much lower.. Around 90-100 is a good ballpark as this helps as some Fragrance oils will trace more quickly with higher temps and for other reasons. Okay, I don't know how to keep it short and sweet so I will end this novel for now, lol!

Looking forward to seeing more of your lovely soap that you will be making!

 

[Mom210]

Thanks for the help guys and my shopping bag looked just like the pics you took! I switched to a recipe that had already been tried , but it's not going so well it is HP and it still hasn't gelled after an hour in the crock pot and it looks really dry. I hope it is salvageable. :?

 

[cwarren]

Re: Great job

(SoapScent Review Board a REGULAR place to visit on the web.. It will help you tremendously..http://soapscentreview.obisoap.ca/search.php

you cant get to this site if you have free e-mail account.. when I go there it says ((((( site forbidden ))))

 

[smittenheart]

awesome soapies!!

I live in Springfield,VA..how cool!! we live near each other

cant wait to see more of your soapie babies/brownies !!