Hello!

[Fyrja]

Hi there,

Well after several attempts I finally got the captcha code thing right and got registered. I'm having a "d'oh!" moment via Homer Simpson right now.

Anyway, I'm 30 years old and relatively new to soapmaking. I've done melt and pour before and had a lot of fun with it but now I'm ready to play mad chemist and create things.

I've been interested in making soap for a while. I already do cakes. I was a cake decorator for several years, but got out of it because I moved to Germany for a while. That and I had one too many psychotic customers. I also make jewelry primarily wire wrapped stones. I prefer silver but that gets expensive. Lately I've been playing with copper. I quilt, sew clothes and costumes, play piano, make jams and jellies, write, oil paint, make pottery.. The list goes on and on. Basically I am just addicted to creating things and I don't stop moving from the time I get up until I go to bed. I also work as a sign designer/graphic artist and so I get to be artistic at work all day. LOVE IT!

So this is what renewed my interest in soap making and please laugh all you want. A few years back I visited the island of Crete. The food was fantastic, the ocean was gorgeous, I loved every single thing about it. While I was there I picked up ALOT of olive oil soaps. I gifted quite a few but I had overbought and so I've been using them. I'm down to my last sliver :-( and I really really love it. So I thought. "I'm not getting back to Greece anytime soon, maybe I can learn to make it." This resulted in me buying two soap books and researching. Then the oohs and aahs started and I'm sure there was a lightbulb and probably some fun clicking sounds as the hampster in my brain started running in his wheel. I read about the different oils and scents and just got really excited at the prospect. It looks like a lot of fun, and a medium I can really get into. So a few clicks on the internet later and I'm anxiously awaiting my first package of supplies, and ninja reading the forums here for ideas. If all goes well I'll have the supplies for my first batch by the weekend. If not the first batch will be made sometime next week.

Any suggestions on what I should do for the first batch? I was thinking of just doing something plain to get a feel for it. I love the idea of fun swirlies, scents etc, but I also recognize that I am in the "grasshopper", stage of learning about soaping.

Anyway I'll stop rambling. Nice to meet you all!

 

[carebear]

welcome

if you loved the olive oil soaps, I'd start with that - simple 100% olive oil castile.

 

[Hazel]

Welcome to the forum!

I agree with carebear. Try 100% olive or at least a high percentage of olive with a lower percentage coconut oil (like 80/20 or 75/25).

 

[donnajones]

Hi, I am Donna and new to soapmaking, I have been making batches since the end of Sept. and I love it. I have found that I need to be patient and learn thru trial and error. My husband has been a real champ making some very nice molds and a cutter box for me. So I wanted to say hello!

 

[soapbuddy]

Welcome!

 

[Fyrja]

Thanks for the welcome everyone! And glad I'm not the only newbie so to speak Donna. Oh castile is definitely on my must have now list, I love the way it makes my skin feel.

I had bought a few bars from a vendor in New Orleans last time I drove down there (I'm only about an hour away). Dragons Blood EO with what appears to be sand as and exfoliant. The big suds made me all giggly so eventually I hope to figure those out too.

 

[MrsFusion]

Welcome! I'm a newbie too! And lovin it

 

[Hazel]

Thanks for the welcome everyone! And glad I'm not the only newbie so to speak Donna. Oh castile is definitely on my must have now list, I love the way it makes my skin feel.

I had bought a few bars from a vendor in New Orleans last time I drove down there (I'm only about an hour away). Dragons Blood EO with what appears to be sand as and exfoliant. The big suds made me all giggly so eventually I hope to figure those out too.

Do you mind me asking where you get the Dragon's Blood? I bought a bottle from WSP and I like it but I was wondering if there's a better one.

Also, (if someone hasn't mentioned it yet) coconut oil, castor oil and sugar all help to increase bubbles.

 

[Sunny]

Welcome! There's a ton of amazing info here and I'm sure you'll love coming up with your own formulation.

 

[Fyrja]

Do you mind me asking where you get the Dragon's Blood? I bought a bottle from WSP and I like it but I was wondering if there's a better one.

Also, (if someone hasn't mentioned it yet) coconut oil, castor oil and sugar all help to increase bubbles.

Hi Hazel,

I usually buy it locally from a little Wiccan/Pagan shop we have here in town. But when I lived in Germany I usually bought it online. It's much easier to find these days than in days past, but it's not usually something that you can find in a normal soaping/crafting venue.

Dragons Blood has been used by Pagans in cleansing rituals for a long long time. So if you have a local Pagan shop there's a good chance you can find it there locally, or just order it online.

Here are a few links. I think the one from Merlin's Crystal cave might be double strength based on the review of it, but experimenting with it is key of course.


http://www.essentialoil.com/product...=1445&osCsid=6285b29aad58fbd17d2fc526a80c99f7

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00161HKL4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002ESOHDC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

My first set of ingredients shipped yesterday evening so I am anxiously awaiting them. What percentage of castor, coconut, or sugar would you suggest using in addition to the Olive oil to make the Castile lather better?

I'm off to the wood shop today. I have tons of spare wood laying around and all the equipment for building that I need (my dad practiced woodwork before he got alzheimers so now there's a full woodshop just laying around with no one to work in it). So I just didn't see any sense in buying wooden soap molds when I can build them easily enough.

I hope my info helps!

 

[Hazel]

Do you mind me asking where you get the Dragon's Blood? I bought a bottle from WSP and I like it but I was wondering if there's a better one.

Also, (if someone hasn't mentioned it yet) coconut oil, castor oil and sugar all help to increase bubbles.

Hi Hazel,

I usually buy it locally from a little Wiccan/Pagan shop we have here in town. But when I lived in Germany I usually bought it online. It's much easier to find these days than in days past, but it's not usually something that you can find in a normal soaping/crafting venue.

Dragons Blood has been used by Pagans in cleansing rituals for a long long time. So if you have a local Pagan shop there's a good chance you can find it there locally, or just order it online.

Here are a few links. I think the one from Merlin's Crystal cave might be double strength based on the review of it, but experimenting with it is key of course.


http://www.essentialoil.com/product...=1445&osCsid=6285b29aad58fbd17d2fc526a80c99f7

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00161HKL4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002ESOHDC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

My first set of ingredients shipped yesterday evening so I am anxiously awaiting them. What percentage of castor, coconut, or sugar would you suggest using in addition to the Olive oil to make the Castile lather better?

I'm off to the wood shop today. I have tons of spare wood laying around and all the equipment for building that I need (my dad practiced woodwork before he got alzheimers so now there's a full woodshop just laying around with no one to work in it). So I just didn't see any sense in buying wooden soap molds when I can build them easily enough.

I hope my info helps!

Thanks for posting the links. I live in an area that doesn't have anything around so I have to buy most of my supplies online.

It's interesting that the merlin crystal cave review mentions frankincense. The one I bought stated amber, myrrh, sandalwood and patchouli as its fragrance notes. I use this fo and dragon's blood resin in soap I make for my nephew. I've found that I really liked the soap plus another nephew who's very picky about what he uses said that he liked it, too.

I'm not an expert soapmaker but here's a link to a discussion that I found helpful. I've been thinking about making a bastille soap so I've been reading what other people have said about it.

http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewto ... ht=bastile

I had been using sugar at 1 T ppo but someone mentioned (it might have been carebear) that you didn't have to use that much. So I've switched to using 1.5 t to 2 t sugar ppo. Because I like lots of bubbles, honor435 suggested using castor oil at 10%. I don't know if you want to go that high in a mainly olive based soap. I'm considering trying 80% oo, 15% co and 5% castor. But I don't know...I keep changing my calculations. I need to decide because I want to make it soon so I can give it out at Christmas and there's not much time left. Just over 6 weeks to Christmas! :shock: I'm kicking myself that I didn't get motivated sooner because I've found I really prefer a longer cure.

Oh well, if I don't get it done, I'll just fall back on my old standby quickie gifts of bath fizzies and mp.

I think it's great that you can make your own molds.

 

[Fyrja]

Hi Hazel,

I'm giving out homemade treats again this year. Jars of blueberry jelly (We have about 6 blueberry bushes and so TONS of berries, I usually make the jelly about a month before Christmas and give it out. The biggest expense on giving out preserves though is in the jars. They get pricey if you make a lot of jelly. Luckily my list is fairly small though. Also tins of homemade cookies of course. Pecan sandies, shortbread, gingerbread, chocolate chip, white chocolate cinnamon. I might try my hand at bath bombs, they don't look super complicated though I'm fairly certain they take some practice.

Thanks for the reminder I should probably go pick up cheapie baskets from the dollar store to put the goodies in.

I ended up buying wood just to be safe. Quite a bit of the wood I had extra was leftover from outdoor projects and so was treated. Treated wood is often treated with arsenic to preserve it if I'm not mistaken, so I didn't think using that to make soap molds was a good idea.

I bought two boards of 1 X 8 pine and got three loaf soap molds out of it. I made one to hold five pounds, and one to hold two pounds. My husband came in when I was finishing the last one and wanted to show me his "superior", manly building skills so I left him some measurements and power tools and let him go at it. An hour or so later he'd built a mold for a one pound batch. Overall cost to build the molds was about $18 and I have wood left over.

Yeah I was a little confused by the second one as well, curious enough that I might end up buying from that vendor and experimenting. I've only ever burnt the resin on a charcoal incense burner. How do you use it in soap if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks for the info on the castile soap!

 

[Hazel]

Wow! Can I get on your Christmas list? Your family must love your gifts.

You can easily make bath bombs in molds. I normally use soap molds that are probably between 1 oz - 2 oz, press the mixture in, let them get hard and then put them in organza bags. Everyone says they like them...but they could be lying in order not to hurt my feelings. :wink: If you want a large bath bomb, you could use regular sized soap molds.

I thought these molds would be great for bath bombs.

http://soapmoldsuperstore.com/emot_a_bombs.html

I should correct myself. I said Dragon's Blood resin and it's actually resinoid so it's more liquid. Although it had become very thick and hard to get out by the time I finished off the bottle. I bought it from essential7.com.

http://www.essential7.com/essentialoilsd-m.html
http://www.essential7.com/essentialoils ... blood.html

So far I've only used it in MP. I use it for its properties and as a colorant since the scent disappears in a day or two. That's why I bought the Dragon's Blood fo so the soap would have fragrance. I have a single cavity dragon mold that the resinoid tends to sink down a bit and highlights the details. I don't know how it would turn out in CP. I'm not sure it would survive the lye monster.

I'm impressed by 3 molds for $18. I agree that arsenic might not be a good additive in your soap batches. I finally did a batch of bastille soap on Sunday. I hope it turns out.

 

[Fyrja]

Hi Hazel,

Crossing my fingers for your Bastille soap. I'm still waiting on supplies to come in, so I've been knitting and making jewelry in the mean time. I think I'm going to try to find the things for bath bombs tonight. I'm fairly certain I still have citric acid left over from canning season, so now I'll just need to gather the other ingredients. I'm willing to bet that my first few tries won't work like they should but it's a learning experience right?

And it's my friends who love my gifts. The family is so used to getting homemade things from me that they don't bat an eye, I think I might have to make them suffer for a little while as they've just gotten spoiled to homemade everything. Let them eat store bought for a while, they'll be back. Muah hahahhahaha! :twisted:

I'm curious about the resinoid now. I think I'm going to have to order some and experiment. Like you I'm a big online shopper, mostly because I used to live overseas on a military base. You can buy most things you need locally while overseas but there are some things you just have to order that you can't find.

The soap I bought from the vendor in New Orleans has a nice creamy texture, which makes me think it's CP. But I've always read that someone who is really really good at HP can almost mimic the CP texture. I'm definitely up to experiment. The worst that can happen is I'll lose the scent and then I'll just have soap to shred for a rebatch right? Which is something I need to learn to do as well. Either way it's a win win in my book.

 

[Hazel]

Fyrja -

That's so sweet of you to cross your fingers for my batch. Actually, I still haven't unmolded it because last night I "thought" it seemed a little soft. I'm not used to having a high percentage of olive and I think that's why it seemed soft to me. I plan on checking it later tonight.

I've also heard that experts at HP can also have soap as fine as CP. I think NancyRogers on this forum does HP and her soaps are very fine. She sent soaps for the last swaps - super nice but I'm not sure if they're HP or not. Another HP expert is honor435. If you look for their posts/replies on HP topics, you'll find it very educational.

honor435 formulated a HP recipe for me based on what oils I had at the time (Crisco, co, oo, cocoa butter and castor) and it came out wonderful. I used beer for the liquid and I thought it was as nice as CP. But what do I know...I'm still a beginner at soaping and I also might be a tad bit biased. I posted the recipe on the forum. I admire your attitude about rebatching. I've been saying for...umm...a lot of weeks now that I want to rebatch some soap. Still haven't done it.

I'm sure your bath bombs will turn out great. They're very easy to make. Do you have a recipe?

I like the Dragon's Blood resinoid. I plan on buying more at some point but I haven't gotten around to searching for different sources. I may find essential7 is the best price. Let me know if you get some and how you like it.

And it's my friends who love my gifts. The family is so used to getting homemade things from me that they don't bat an eye, I think I might have to make them suffer for a little while as they've just gotten spoiled to homemade everything. Let them eat store bought for a while, they'll be back. Muah hahahhahaha! :twisted:
quote]

How diabolically clever of you. This will teach them!

 

[Fyrja]

Hi Hazel!

Well I haven't gotten to make the bombs yet, crossing my fingers for this weekend. Veterans day is a big day for us, as my husband is a disabled veteran so we got sidetracked. That and I got more tattoo work on my back last night.

My soap supplies came in yesterday evening so I'm making my first batch this weekend! So I'm excited!

So how did your Bastille soap come out? Have you cut it yet?

And I'll definitely check out the info on HP that are on here. Learning for me is 3/4 of the fun of creating.

I just looked up a recipe for bath bombs online. Do you have a favorite, that you'd suggest. I also found one for "milk bath bombs", that you use powdered milk in to create a milk bath. That one looks interesting as well, makes me think of all the old stories about Cleopatra bathing in milk etc.

I think I might buy some of the resinoid and experiment with it just to see what can be done with it. My curiousity is definitely piqued.

Oh and diabolical? Yes it's what I do best. :evil:

 

[Hazel]

Hey Fyrja,

I sent you a pm the other day and I just saw that it’s still in the outbox. Some excerpts:

That's great that you got your soaping supplies. I look forward to hearing about your first batch. Have you decided on your recipe for the soap?

I used the WSP's recipe the last 2 times I made bath fizzies. Adding clay has really helped to make them hard. They're like rocks! But, you don't have to use clay. I added goat milk in the second batch and I used the same percentage of gm and clay. I thought it turned out quite nice. The next time I make these I might up the goat milk to see if it makes a difference.

http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/Re ... ecipeID=45

I don't make this large of a batch. I make just a quarter of the amount which is plenty for my family and friends. If you have any questions, just ask and I'll try to answer them. I'm not an expert but I try to help out as much as I can.