I don't use fancy ingredients except my love of silk. My favorite bar though is a salt bar. I use beer and GM sometimes in particular recipes. I prefer simple. Even for family.
Thanks for this. I always struggle with recommendations for luxury ingredients. I don't sell and typically make tiny batches to allow me as much experimentation as possible. As such, cost is not a major consideration. That being said, I still question the legitimacy of using luxury oils in soap. I have always chosen to skimp on a cleanser in brand name skin care routines under the assumption that a wash off product simply cannot offer much benefit. That's what masks, lotions, and serums are for! My perspective is in formulating a recipe is a little different than most. I don't necessarily focus on what I want the soap to accomplish, so much as what I do not want: too exfoliating, too drying, too waxy, too tacky, etc (or want in it). Likewise, my DIYing is as more about omitting ingredients that I wish to avoid and controlling the process.
The extras I have to purchase from overseas:
Cocoa butter, Sheabutter, Apricot, Avocado (use it in my lipbalms all the time, but now I am trying it in my soaps too!), Castor, fragrance/essential oils, and some colored soapstable mica`s (nurture soap)
Last thing I wanted to test is the Tetrasodium EDTA. Last month I ordered that, along with Sodium Lactate.
Looking forward to trying these in soap!
I like your perspective and appreciate knowing what items are precious enough to pay overseas shipping for.
Pecan oil, (I'm in TX, to which Pecans are native, so it has lots of label appeal)
I do not sell, so label appeal is not a consideration. That being said, I drive by Berdoll's every now and again. It would be easy to grab some fresh, local, pecan oil if you feel that it adds something special to your soap. For those of you unfamiliar with the place, Berdoll's is a gift shop for a local pecan farm. They have four different types of pecans that you can sample and sell a variety of pecan-centric butters, candies, oils, and condiments as well. Their most entertaining features are the bathroom plastered with everyone's pet squirrel photos (including mine:mrgreen
and the vending machine outside that dispenses full-sized pecan pies 24-7 (in case you simply cannot shake a 3:00am craving).
Must Haves:
...Castor. The Tammy Wynette of oils. Stands by her man and makes everything better/bubblier (I'm choosing to ignore the domestic abuse in my metaphor)...
Heck NO
Hemp. Too expensive, too short of shelf life. Leaves a hempy smell. No thanks.
...Cow's Milk in any form. Smells like baby vomit. To me. Other people cannot smell it, but I shouldn't feel queasy after making anything.
While my soap doesn't always behave, I hope that I can trust it not to leave any permanent damage (although the lye burn post is a bit terrifying). I am a little disappointed about the hemp oil as I just received some in a shipment and stashed it in the fridge. Maybe I'll pair it with a full 1oz ppo hippie-ish FO...or just cook with it. Interestingly enough, you are not the only one to comment on the smell of cow's milk/cream. I do not have a sensitive nose myself, but have a few people on my Christmas wish list who do and will avoid it just in case.
I'm a huge fan of salt bars, they are what I reach for in the shower 90% of the time.
...I need to get some EDTA, I would use it in every batch.
Salt bars are next on my list. I am up to three recipes to try: IrishLass', shunt2011's, and SoapMaker Man's. I am hoping to hone my preferences based on those test batches.
My least favourite ingredient: palm oil. I can't seem to find the refined, sustainable palm oil in a reliable way where I am, only the unrefined or unsustainable. I don't like the feel of it anyway. I also don't like overly fake FOs, I prefer nature similar ones or blends that could be made from plants.
I actually choose to avoid palm oil because I fear that "sustainably-sourced" options are just green-washed ones. I found this article to be thought provoking:
http://www.ran.org/_rspo_can_t_be_t...ternational_coalition_of_civil_society_groups. It's nice to know that I may not be missing out on much. As for FOs, I do not appreciate synthetic or artificial notes, but often opt for the things that I could not possibly replicate with an EO...like champagne.
It was fun to go back and read that link, makemineirish! I saw my old post on page 3, and I gotta say- my list has grown a little since then, lol. A few of the following are not just for soap, but also for some of the B&B stuff I make:
...The #1 FO I would hate to ever be without is Daystar's 'Salty Sailor' (Daystar's 'Paradise' follows as a close second). My family would come at me with torches and pitchforks, I think. lol
IrishLass :smile:
Thanks for chiming in. I have appreciated many of your previous posts and expected this topic to be something that was brought up ad nauseum. I was incredibly surprised to find otherwise. Do you use the meadowseed foam oil and kokum butter in your soap or reserve those for body butters/lotions? I have both, but was not necessarily planning to offer them as a sacrifice to the lye monster.
I am always game for FO suggestions and search the fragrance forum for any reviews of potential purchases (as well as the Fragrance Review Chart and Soap Scent Review Board)!
I forgot to add my least favorites of the things I have used that I never want to use again:
-Cow milk or cream. My nose is always able to pick up on the butyric acid from them. All the soaps I've ever made with either of them turned out smelling like spoiled/sour milk to me. Oddly enough, though, the soaps I've made with bovine buttermilk powder did not do that to me.
-Kiwi seeds. I used them in a batch once, and once was enough...or rather, once was way too much! In a word, "Mommy!"
-Calendula petals- they sure made my soap look pretty, but I sure didn't appreciate the flotsam and jetsam running down my drain. lol
-Unrefined shea- can't stand the smell.
There might be more, but those are the 3 that stand out like sore thumbs to me right now.
Here are some things that I've tried a time or 2 that were okay, but really aren't all that worth it to me to want to try again:
-Egg yolks- the soap came out well enough (at least nothing adverse to report), but nothing extraordinary to write home about.
-Coffee as liquid- not horrible, but just too 'meh' for me.
Here are the things I have no desire to try:
-Hemp oil- I got an unscented hemp soap in a swap once and my nose just couldn't stand the smell of it.
-Soy oil- GMO Doss monster.
IrishLass :smile:
I appreciate the workaround offered for cow milk as a buttermilk soap was on my list until I read several posters' aversions to the smell. Using powdered is an easy fix.
My opinion of calendula petals (and most botanicals) is similar. Besides, I do not want to have to clean anything, including the tub, AFTER my bath. My bath time is sacred and an indulgent reward for my gritty day...not a precursor to more drudgery.
I ordered some unrefined, yellow shea and have been trying to ascertain whether or not I inadvertently acquired the kpangnan butter that I ended up looking for this week. I think that I am going to be forced to order the "real" stuff for comparison to figure it out.
Egg yolks were on my list to try, but it does not seem like anyone here has found the effort worthwhile.
Yours is the second vote against the hemp oil that I just put in my fridge last week. I am now debating as to whether I want to try it in smaller amounts with a complimentary FO or utilize it otherwise (frantically scribbling notes). I admit that I have not even opened the bottle to smell it yet and appreciate being forewarned.:think:
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