Greetings

[Guy]

Just wanted to say hello from Pensacola, Florida.

Started dabbling in soap making in of all places a Monastery, and really enjoyed the soap making process.
They made Lye based soap, and one would think a monastery would be pretty chill... it wasn't, in fact the only time it was chill, was when I was making soap ! So I leave, life goes on, an one day I try my hand at melt n pour soap since I wasn't familiar with recipes. My entire thought process for melt and pour soap was basically how a caveman approached everything. My giant mistake, putting in way too much fragrance oil ! I got so slap happy with it, plus the base I was using was shea butter, but I doubt that made too much of a difference. All I knew was this tiny dropper was hardly putting anything out. An I wanted lots of smell good in the soap.

1 full month later of letting it set, figuring it needed to cure. because why read directions, right ?
I had semi firm bars of soap that turned to gum the moment water touched it.

I could of made use of it but I said bleh n hucked it all.

SO after a lil research on here, low an behold, one doesn't need to go nanners with fragrance and one does not need to let melt and pour soap cure like a normal lye based soap !

* P.S, just looked at the bottle of smell good I have, it is an Essential Oils, which I just learned is super concentrate ,, slow claps *
Good times.

Great story I know.

Later people.

 

[lsg]

Welcome to the forum. Your supplier usually has the maximum recommended usage rate in their description of the eo or fo.

 

[IrishLass]

Welcome, Guy!


IrishLass

 

[Relle]

Welcome Guy , we all live and learn .

 

[Guy]

ty all

 

[zanzalawi]

hello! would love to hear more about the monastery and what an average day in the life was like?

 

[shunt2011]

Hello and Welcome!

 

[Guy]

Hi Zana; I lived there for about six months, and then decided after a lot of personal reflection, and from realizing I was needed back at home, to leave. Unfortunately the monastery I was at, had a lot of personal internal problems that they were not addressing, and as a newcomer; I was in no position to breach any subjects let alone be taken seriously. The prayer side of things was enlightening and I did enjoy it. It was a early to bed early to rise schedule, with a first meeting to pray at about 6 am , and a lights out at about 8 pm which didn't mean you had to be in bed, but were expected to be in your room, an since there as no place to really wander around , one just had the option to listen to a radio , read, or meditate at night any how, in the day there were a decent amount of places to walk around and get exercise. In between those times were scheduled prayer times, work, and meals. We also were not permitted to casually leave the premises.

I think the most taxing part of it all, was the times I was stressed out, or needed a break from everyone, there was no outlet.

It deff is not a life for everyone, and that particular monastery is not the norm. Had I not been so eager to join and not been so starry eyed, I'd of calmed down an searched around more.

The soap making there, was fantastic though ! probably the most fun I had while there. Lye based soap, in a rinky dinky room , with a hand made cutter , that was a square shape, fairly large, an strung with piano wire, to be able to cut a giant block of soap into about 20 some odd pieces at once. They make various scents a day, and they used some crock pots for the melting and hand mixers. Nothing was fancy in the making process at all, but it didn't need to be.