First Ever Soap preparation

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Crazy8

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OK. So I got all my supplies and Im ready to go. Well almost. Im so impatient to get started I was looking for anything around the house that had 3" diameter around the house. Well I'm being forced to wait right now because there is nothing I can use and If im going to do it, well I want to do it right. So I will have to wait until Friday to get my 3" PVC. However I do have a question or two before I get started on my quest. First here is the recipe I found online that I am going to try...

13 oz Olive oil
10 oz Coconut oil
7 oz Palm oil
2.5 oz Castor oil
4.7 oz Lye (about a 5% discount)
9.4 oz water
2 Tbsp of Bentonite Clay
1 to 1.4 oz. of fragrance or essential oil

I will be cutting this recipe in half since the FO I have was a small freebee sampler from my BB order. So I am making the recipe fit the amount of FO. It's Shave & A Haircut. Would be perfect I think in a shaving soap.

Questions:
1. Does anyone know the amount of FO that BB send in those sample bottles? Im taking a guess at either 1/4oz or 1/2oz? Im leaning more towards 1/2oz.

2. The instructions that were provided with this recipe say to make it like you would any other CP soap but to add the clay before the soap settles. I will be adding it to the lye solution as suggested. I guess this is more of a statement, but if this sounds wrong please let me know.

3. Is there any advice or special things I may want to know or be aware of before I do this? I mean I know all the safety measures and stuff.

4. One can just cut all the ingredients in half and everything will still work just fine since all the percentages and ratios would still be accurate, correct?

5. Any thoughts how long it should dry, or is that something I will have to find out after I make it.
 
Run your "half" recipe through the lye calculator.... Always the best bet no matter what..
I added my bentonite clay to my oils when I made soap for my teenage girls... Not for certain about shave soap will now out to the experts on that one.
I know you can't wait till Friday to get your PVC pipe.... Got a Pringles can? I've used those several times and they turn out fine


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Questions:
1. Does anyone know the amount of FO that BB send in those sample bottles? Im taking a guess at either 1/4oz or 1/2oz? Im leaning more towards 1/2oz.

bb smallest one is if that is the price you paid.

2 oz$6.44


2. The instructions that were provided with this recipe say to make it like you would any other CP soap but to add the clay before the soap settles. I will be adding it to the lye solution as suggested. I guess this is more of a statement, but if this sounds wrong please let me know.

I would add at trace before put in the mould

3. Is there any advice or special things I may want to know or be aware of before I do this? I mean I know all the safety measures and stuff.

4. One can just cut all the ingredients in half and everything will still work just fine since all the percentages and ratios would still be accurate, correct?

always always, always use soap calculator for any recipe you use , read about , have given to you , or made any changes always use soap calculator, un less you had written it down in a book your self

5. Any thoughts how long it should dry, or is that something I will have to find out after I make it.

I would think cp soap is 4 to 6 weeks but it your soap test it and have fun
 
From Bramble Berry: "We include a 1/2 ounce fragrance oil sample with every order we can safely send a glass bottle in. Be sure to check your packaging well, the expanding foam can nearly swallow up those little bottles."

As suggested by everybody else, be sure to run your "half" recipe through a lye calculator. It's important.

I would add the clay to the oils and blend prior to adding the lye solution.

Good luck, have fun, and please show us your creation!
 
If you have never made any soap you might want to start with a basic, no frills, no additive recipe so you can see what trace is, how long it takes to set up, what gel is, all those things you read about but haven't seen or experienced for yourself yet. For example, if your batch seizes you won't know if it's your process, your clay, your FO, your technique.... .

This recipe will produce a bar high on the cleansing level, which you may find dries your skin out. It does not bother everyone but it does bother some.

As to scents, some lose a lot in the CP process and others hold up well. I personally use less FO than many people because I don't like a strong scent in my soaps, but it's a personal preference.

If you are going to use a PVC pipe be prepared to let the soap sit in the mold for a few days, or a week, or plan a fight to get it out. The small surface of the soap in the mold slows the drying process quite a bit and it takes longed to shrink up enough to come out. Even then you may have to "convince" it to come out. Some people put the tube in the freezer for a little while, pound the end with a soup or other can to try to push it out. The thing with using a Pringles can is that you can tear it off and avoid the struggle to get it out.

Good luck. Let us know how it works for you.
 
From Bramble Berry: "We include a 1/2 ounce fragrance oil sample with every order we can safely send a glass bottle in. Be sure to check your packaging well, the expanding foam can nearly swallow up those little bottles."

As suggested by everybody else, be sure to run your "half" recipe through a lye calculator. It's important.

I would add the clay to the oils and blend prior to adding the lye solution.

Good luck, have fun, and please show us your creation!

Dang im good. I figured it looked about like a 1/2oz. Thank you for confirming that. Yeah that expanding foam did swallow a bit of it. Kinda cool. lol

Im still learning the lye calculator thing. I watched a video for the soapcalc one so I have some idea whats what and kind of whats going on. So apparently I can do trig and calc but not yet operate a lye calc.

Will be sure to show you guys what I come up with.
 
If you have never made any soap you might want to start with a basic, no frills, no additive recipe so you can see what trace is, how long it takes to set up, what gel is, all those things you read about but haven't seen or experienced for yourself yet. For example, if your batch seizes you won't know if it's your process, your clay, your FO, your technique.... .

This recipe will produce a bar high on the cleansing level, which you may find dries your skin out. It does not bother everyone but it does bother some.

As to scents, some lose a lot in the CP process and others hold up well. I personally use less FO than many people because I don't like a strong scent in my soaps, but it's a personal preference.

If you are going to use a PVC pipe be prepared to let the soap sit in the mold for a few days, or a week, or plan a fight to get it out. The small surface of the soap in the mold slows the drying process quite a bit and it takes longed to shrink up enough to come out. Even then you may have to "convince" it to come out. Some people put the tube in the freezer for a little while, pound the end with a soup or other can to try to push it out. The thing with using a Pringles can is that you can tear it off and avoid the struggle to get it out.

Good luck. Let us know how it works for you.

I have made one batch already technically which is exactly as you suggested. It had nothing but the bare essentials. no frills, no nothing special. I use it right now as just a hand soap at the kitchen sink. Works great.

I will keep the PVC issues in mind. I do have an idea I thought of a while back on a possible solution to getting the soap out of the PVC once it has solidified. So Perhaps I will test that idea and see if it works. If it does, ill show you all what it is. If it doesn't work, well then maybe I wont show you all that way I cant be tied to it...lol
 
With adding clays, I follow Ann-Marie's advice. I always hydrate the clay before I add it, then add it to the oils. I can't remember off the top of my head, but it's on the Soap Queen blog. I think it says it under the Avocado and Sea Clay recipe. I add the water to the clay, then make my lye solution, then get my oils ready, then add the hydrated clay to the oils. This really helps it to disperse better and you don't end up with clumps in your final product.
 
My dh made me a soap pusher outer for my 3 inch pvc and my downspout molds, it works like a charm. he just cut a round piece of wood about 2.5 inches and attached it to a 1 inch square piece of wood, then he made a rectangular shape for the other end of the board..I pop the mold in the freezer for a few hours after it is done and then it pushes right out. It does save time if you need the soap out quick so you can make some more :)
 
My dh made me a soap pusher outer for my 3 inch pvc and my downspout molds, it works like a charm. he just cut a round piece of wood about 2.5 inches and attached it to a 1 inch square piece of wood, then he made a rectangular shape for the other end of the board..I pop the mold in the freezer for a few hours after it is done and then it pushes right out. It does save time if you need the soap out quick so you can make some more :)

My secret is out. That's exactly what I was going to do but I was going to attach it to a thick dowel. Well good to know someone has done it and that it works. Makes me feel a little better about making something and knowing if it will work or not.
 
My dh made me a soap pusher
OK, that was as far as I got before I started laughing! "She's a pusher." (Mean Girls)
Yep, my DH made me a soap pusher too...I send soap to his avionics co-workers and they save the Wyp-All buckets for him to give me for soaping buckets, LOL!
 
Would be hard not to laugh about that and I haven't even seen Mean Girls. That might have something to do with me being a dude. But a pusher I thought was a great idea. Cant wait to make one and see how well it works.
 
Also i have heard of some people using a can to get it started with pvc mold. I have never used pvc mold so just passing on what I have heard.
 
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