I know, but I would like a GREAT base recipe!

[roseb]

I also make small 2 lb batches and have my test market ready and waiting (coworkers, family & friends). I have only been making soap 4 1/2 months and have a notebook full of recipes and notes. I have some tried and true, and some that I will never make again. I don't have any plans on selling at the moment, but retirement is only 7 years away! :-D

 

[SoapyGoats]

Thanks for the recipe! I tried it with both lard and palm, both worked out great! I should mention, I asked for a new base, as my old one for one reason or another, quit working :roll:

Thanks again...

 

[judymoody]

Thanks for the recipe! I tried it with both lard and palm, both worked out great! I should mention, I asked for a new base, as my old one for one reason or another, quit working :roll:

Thanks again...

Not trying to be mean but your last comment illustrates the general point. If you don't know why your last recipe started giving you inconsistent results, you're probably not ready to sell. Being able to trouble shoot and know why and how something fails or succeeds is part of responsible soap making.

I remember talking to a nice lady at a craft fair. She raised goats and used the milk in soap. They smelled nice and were attractively presented so I bought a bar. We then chatted a little more. I asked her about what % her soap was superfatted. Blank stare. She said "well, I just use recipes I got out of a book." A week or two later I used her soap. It developed an awful sour smell and I ended up throwing it away.

Another vendor was selling lotions that contained no preservatives. She assured me that they were perfectly safe and that if I was concerned about shelf life I could put them in the refrigerator.

I am not in any way comparing you to these vendors. But I would never again buy soap or any handcrafted body product from somebody who couldn't explain their process clearly and knowledgeably to me.

 

[ourwolfden]

I most likely shouldn’t jump in here but I am curious. If you make the same recipe every time, same ingredients, same amounts, same temperature (in the room and the soap) same humidity, etc. the same way you will always have consistence results right? But anytime any of that changes you can have problems?

 

[lpstephy85]

Thanks for the recipe! I tried it with both lard and palm, both worked out great! I should mention, I asked for a new base, as my old one for one reason or another, quit working :roll:

Thanks again...

What started happening with your original recipe? If you liked it so much, maybe posting the issue you were having with it and letting someone help you troubleshoot will be better than a whole new recipe. Judy is right, and if this one starts to go wonky, how will you know how to fix it if you didn't know how to fix the other one? We are here to help

 

[SunRiseArts]

SoapyGoats another word of advice, because I have hard water too where I live.

Buy distilled water. A gallon is only 89 cents at Walmart. Do not use the hard water, it has chemicals that can react to the lye.

 

[Kittish]

SoapyGoats another word of advice, because I have hard water too where I live.

Buy distilled water. A gallon is only 89 cents at Walmart. Do not use the hard water, it has chemicals that can react to the lye.

Pssst- thread is almost 4 years old....:think:

 

[SunRiseArts]

oops sometimes I see them to the right, and assume they are new!:silent:

 

[Relle]

SRA, if you look above the members name on the left hand side you will see the date of the last post or just click at the top of the page on new posts.

 

[Kamahido]

This is a great conversation. Still relevant too!

 

[SunRiseArts]

I know Relle, I tend go scan and read way to fast, so I miss details. So sorry.

 

[zolveria]

that how i started.. OMG i have a loose leaf binder with people favorites..
blue cow is my sons favorite.. ( my emotional soap that needs patience) gosh one i call HUDSON..etc.. I tested them with friends and family. which ended up into a business. now it expanded ( still small) to Hair conditioner that everyone is raving for evening ethnic hair customers.. shower lotion suntan oils. yes keep notes. and take pictures because you can loose your notebook and be so angry...
So yes.. test keep notes. etc..

The hard-core soapers I know keep a note book and samples. They make a 1-2 lb batch of each recipe and put a copy of the recipe in the notebook. They recruit their family, friends and co-workers to be test markets. They give out the samples when the soap is ready (usually 6-8 weeks) then ask for feedback. Some actually have a survey type thing they email to their test markets. They also hold back a few bars to check how the soap is in a year, if it has DOS (dreaded orange spots - rancidity), how the scent holds up, how the bar feels in a year.

Christmas is coming - pretty much everyone I know will be getting 4-5 bars of soap. You can also shred it for laundry detergent or even just donate it.

 

[SoapAddict415]

My basic recipe is close to what Second Impression posted only I use less coconut oil and add 6% castor oil.