Please help me!! My Soap is not the same what i saw in youtube!

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Hm. Well, I started making soap ... then branched off into lotions and balms. Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks....
 
Just read this whole thing and all I can add is. Please slow down. Stop listen and read all the information you can on every thing soapmaking. Ask questions and be open-minded to the answers on this form. I would hate to read that you hurt someone.
 
Thanks Guys.. im back! Later im gonna make my 3rd time of making soap.. this time i won't use anymore chemical like CDEA and Sodium Silicate. Just an Coconut Oil and Castor Oil w/ Papaya Puree.. i can't buy Palm Oil due to lack of funds so just two kinds of oil i will use tonight.. sorry if people got frustrated of my post.. yeah were in different cultures and situation. and yes im in misguided as what i saw and read because im new to this but i know this won't much difficult for me coz i've been different kind of jobs. So thanks guys it really help me a lot all your comments here..
 
Thanks Guys.. im back! Later im gonna make my 3rd time of making soap.. this time i won't use anymore chemical like CDEA and Sodium Silicate. Just an Coconut Oil and Castor Oil w/ Papaya Puree.. i can't buy Palm Oil due to lack of funds so just two kinds of oil i will use tonight.. sorry if people got frustrated of my post.. yeah were in different cultures and situation. and yes im in misguided as what i saw and read because im new to this but i know this won't much difficult for me coz i've been different kind of jobs. So thanks guys it really help me a lot all your comments here..

Remember:

Small batches until you get the hang of it! 2lbs is good.

LYE CALCULATOR! Double-check all your numbers before you start, so you don't waste ingredients and money with mis-measuring.

10% or less on the Castor, or you'll have a sticky bar.

At least 10% superfat entered on the lye calculator for this recipe, since you're going to be using so much Coconut oil.

Watch out for overheating, make sure there's plenty of air circulation to carry the heat away so it doesn't boil over or separate.

Post your results when you make it! Can't wait to see! :)
 
Remember:

Small batches until you get the hang of it! 2lbs is good.

LYE CALCULATOR! Double-check all your numbers before you start, so you don't waste ingredients and money with mis-measuring.

10% or less on the Castor, or you'll have a sticky bar.

At least 10% superfat entered on the lye calculator for this recipe, since you're going to be using so much Coconut oil.

Watch out for overheating, make sure there's plenty of air circulation to carry the heat away so it doesn't boil over or separate.

Post your results when you make it! Can't wait to see! :)

yes i'll post it later and follow the what the lye calculator results.. anyway how can i avoid or what is the proper way to avoid overheating?any times mam?thanks.
 
Start with your oils fairly cool. Just warm enough for the Coconut oil to be melted completely. Wait for your lye-water to cool down also. Once the coconut oil starts saponifying, it will start heating back up on its own, especially if you use the fruit puree, because sugars cause it to heat up also. You won't need to insulate it. Is it pretty warm where you're at?

Basically, just keep an eye on it, keep good airflow around it and if you see it starting to rise up or bubble, then get it cooled down. It's usually not too much of a problem though, as long as you soap cool and keep and eye on it. :)
 
To avoid overheating, you can prevent gel altogether by placing the soap in the freezer right after molding. Better yet, place the mold in the freezer before that, and put it back in the freezer once the soap is in.

Another way, you can put the mold next to a blowing fan. The soap will gel, but overheating can be avoided.

Good luck :) and i totally understand where you're coming from. I'm asian myself (indonesian), and whitening soap is quite the rage too in here.

Eta: when more funds are available, i suggest buying some palm. You'll create a better soap with it coz palm adds to hardness, mildness (to balance the coconut), and longer lasting bar. You want your soap to lasts a while, right?
 
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If you are still on the learning process, then you are not going to be trying to market that soap to muslims. So, why not try some lard? I am afraid that you are going to have a really drying bar of soap with just the coconut and castor. Lard is a wonderful oil in soaps.
 
YES! Yes! I think this is good so far.. i think i didn't mess-up this time! So this is the sign that im doing good and possibly few days i can start my soap business soon.. so here it is the results of my 3rd attempt of making soap w/o using any chemical, just oil and papaya puree.. but first i'll show you my recipe (temporary) but next time i'll add Palm oil, colorant and fragrance. speaking of colorant and fragrant.. is it ok if i use Powder form of colorant? and where can i find fragrance or what type of fragrance and possibly could you advice me cheap and affordable fragrance?
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Ok here's the results.. we made two kind of soap..the reason we made two type because i made mistake about the water and oil.. so basically it should be 112g of water coz i'll use Papaya Puree 112g because my total water was 224g so i split it on half. am i right?then about the oil.. i didn't notice that the soapcalc calculator indicate 450g oil but i'll measure it 500g so that's why i make another one. so tonight i made 2 type of soap.. The first one was NO papaya Puree then the second one has.. so here it is...

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Ok at first i didn't know how to detect or let say how do i know if my soap already on trace.. so i research internet while my wife keep mixing.. so later on i found out. so here it is.. sorry for my bad english. im so tired today in i have work early morning.. God Bless Guys and thank you for all your help.. its really help me to keep me walking on this Journey on making Soap... Goodnight :D
 
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congrats! looks okay from the pics, can't wait to see cut pics. please do post them once available.

after you give these soaps a good cure (4 weeks minimal), try them on yourself and family, see what you/others think about them. i have a feeling this soap is going to be far too drying due to the high content of coconut oil (90%) with only 10% SF. but they are good practice batches to get you familiar with soapmaking.

powdered or liquid colorants are fine. just make sure they are skin safe. for fragrance/essential oils, i have no idea where to look for them in your country. another option is you can also leave the soap unscented, you know, really aiming for a natural approach.

So this is the sign that im doing good and possibly few days i can start my soap business soon
please don't think that just because these batches turn to soap (in your dictionary = successful), that you are ready to sell. you are far from ready, trust me (you just learned what the word trace meant for god sake). try making more test batches, incorporating palm into the recipe like you said you would, and compare the difference to the soap you just made. test, test, test... make you, your family/friends as guinea pigs.

take your time, slow down.. you want to enter this business and succeed, right? there's no point going to business in a hurry, far from being ready, and be out in a few months.
 
I agree it will probably be too drying, next time you should bring the superfat up to 15-20%. I'd stick with at least 18%, you might be able to go a bit below 20 because you have the 10% castor. Much better than the original recipe though :D

Cheap and affordable fragrance: citrus essential oils. Especially orange. Just be sure to get the concentrated kind (5x, 6x, 10x, 15x, etc.) otherwise it won't last. Fragrance oils tend to be pretty cheap, too, maybe $10 for a 4-oz bottle. You don't have to worry about crop, oil yield, etc. with fragrance oils so their cost is fairly consistent.
 
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Yay! You did it. Good start!

Ok, a couple things. A little extra water, or a little less water isn't going to kill your soap. It will be ok, as long as there was enough for the lye to dissolve in.

Your recipe says 500g total oil, with Coconut oil at 450g and Castor at 50g. Do you mean you did the Coconut at 500g and then the Castor at 50g? I'm confused what measurement you think you messed up here. Either way, for this recipe, extra oil will be fine, it will make it less drying by adding to the superfat amount.

The pics look good, no separating, ricing, etc. Nice and creamy looking. :)

For color, you can also think about some natural colors, like paprika, turmeric, calendula leaves (which are awesome in soap, or as an infusion in the oil), and many other natural colors. Search the forum for some of the things people use as colors.

For scent, yes, you can get cheap fragrance oils, be careful that they're cosmetic and soap-safe. some of them don't react well with lye, and some are not safe for skin.

Or you can get things like lavender essential oil, citrus oils, like mentioned, mint oils (use in moderation). I agree that citrus would work well with the papaya. When you do decide you're ready to use scents, follow the amount listed in soapcalc for your recipe, after entering the usage rate that the manufacturer says.

So if the manufacturer says it's safe at 1/2oz per pound of oils, then enter .5 into soapcalc, and it will figure the proper total amount for your recipe.

Getting the first good batch is the hardest part. The next hardest part is waiting to make sure that the soap is good on skin, after it cures, and making sure your recipe is stable (that it doesn't turn into orange stinky goo after a few months, or make horrible lather, or make people itchy, or dissolve too fast, or leave a residue on skin, etc)

Because a recipe that works for me, with the water I have in my area, in my humidity and temperature conditions in my region, might act totally different in different humidity and with different water mineral content.

So take your first many batches, as mentioned, let the first ones cure for about 4 weeks, then start handing them out to people to test. While you're waiting, practice making more batches. With colors, without. With scents. With different amounts of puree, different percentages of oils, different superfat settings. This is why we stress small batches at first, which make only a few bars at a time. So that you can test, test, test.

So you can become able to CONSISTENTLY make the soap turn out right, and so that you are sure your soap is good to be sold. Because if your soap doesn't feel good on skin, if it doesn't lather good, if it dissolves into goo, people won't come back to buy more, and then where is your business? Non-existent!!!

To make your business idea work, you have to make sure you can make a good product that people will come back for over and over, and make it consistently good and safe.

Practice, practice, practice. You are on the right track now! :) Make sure you understand how the oils affect the soap, how the other ingredients affect the soap, how the whole process works. Make sure you can be consistent in your results. Play with the recipe until it gives you the results you are happy with. and let it cure the right amount of time.

We often see people making soap one day, then selling it the next with no idea what they're doing, and with crazy unsafe recipes and techniques. Like the one you started out with. And they don't care.

You have listened and learned, and taken the advice to heart, and I think if you just slow down a bit, wait just a bit until you're sure you can do it right every time... I know how hard it is when finances are stressed to the max. But the soap won't be ready to sell for 4 weeks, even if this was your final recipe, which it isn't... So you've got some time to be practicing and experimenting and coming up with your ideal recipe for what you want to do.


Yes, like you said, it is a Journey. You've passed the first bend in the road... Keep on track and you'll soon get where you want to be!

YES! Yes! I think this is good so far.. i think i didn't mess-up this time! So this is the sign that im doing good and possibly few days i can start my soap business soon.. so here it is the results of my 3rd attempt of making soap w/o using any chemical, just oil and papaya puree.. but first i'll show you my recipe (temporary) but next time i'll add Palm oil, colorant and fragrance. speaking of colorant and fragrant.. is it ok if i use Powder form of colorant? and where can i find fragrance or what type of fragrance and possibly could you advice me cheap and affordable fragrance?


Ok here's the results.. we made two kind of soap..the reason we made two type because i made mistake about the water and oil.. so basically it should be 112g of water coz i'll use Papaya Puree 112g because my total water was 224g so i split it on half. am i right?then about the oil.. i didn't notice that the soapcalc calculator indicate 450g oil but i'll measure it 500g so that's why i make another one. so tonight i made 2 type of soap.. The first one was NO papaya Puree then the second one has.. so here it is...

Ok at first i didn't know how to detect or let say how do i know if my soap already on trace.. so i research internet while my wife keep mixing.. so later on i found out. so here it is.. sorry for my bad english. im so tired today in i have work early morning.. God Bless Guys and thank you for all your help.. its really help me to keep me walking on this Journey on making Soap... Goodnight
 
Hi!Guys..! Im back.. Well thanks everyone for helping me making soap.. It really worth all ur comments here and advice suggestion especially to maam graceyworks bcoz she wasted her time on me just to advice and teach me. Well appreciated u mam. And to others also thank u very much... Ok the reason i online tonight (bcoz its 10:32pm here now philippines and im on my bed) bcoz i made 4 samples the last two samples (1st & 2nd) are pure herbal.. No chemical added. Then the two which i made yesterday it has chemical like CDEA (1%=5g, Sodium Silicate (1%=5g) and benzalkonium chloride (0.5%=2.5g) of course Colorant 1.5g for a total of 500g of Oil. So the 3rd has Chemical and the 4th None.. But this time i used Palm Oil 200g, Coconut Oil 250g and Castor Oil 50g. So tonight when i check the finish soap i notice a kind of bubble in center of soap and somekind of papaya puree bcoz its like pulp.. Maybe bcoz the 3rd and 4th samples i did not use blender bcoz its broke due to overheat maybe bcoz its cheap so we just smash it on hard wooden until it become really puree but not enough like blender..I think i'll buy when tomorrow after i get my salary. Anyway do u think the papaya puree which is not well blended is the problem?coz the 1st and 2nd sample i used blender except the 3rd and 4th.. Im going to take pocture tomorrow and post it here b4 going to work.ok..Thanks in advance guys and goodnight.
 
Hi!Guys..! Im back.. Well thanks everyone for helping me making soap.. It really worth all ur comments here and advice suggestion especially to maam graceyworks bcoz she wasted her time on me just to advice and teach me. Well appreciated u mam. And to others also thank u very much... Ok the reason i online tonight (bcoz its 10:32pm here now philippines and im on my bed) bcoz i made 4 samples the last two samples (1st & 2nd) are pure herbal.. No chemical added. Then the two which i made yesterday it has chemical like CDEA (1%=5g, Sodium Silicate (1%=5g) and benzalkonium chloride (0.5%=2.5g) of course Colorant 1.5g for a total of 500g of Oil. So the 3rd has Chemical and the 4th None.. But this time i used Palm Oil 200g, Coconut Oil 250g and Castor Oil 50g. So tonight when i check the finish soap i notice a kind of bubble in center of soap and somekind of papaya puree bcoz its like pulp.. Maybe bcoz the 3rd and 4th samples i did not use blender bcoz its broke due to overheat maybe bcoz its cheap so we just smash it on hard wooden until it become really puree but not enough like blender..I think i'll buy when tomorrow after i get my salary. Anyway do u think the papaya puree which is not well blended is the problem?coz the 1st and 2nd sample i used blender except the 3rd and 4th.. Im going to take pocture tomorrow and post it here b4 going to work.ok..Thanks in advance guys and goodnight.

be careful with papaya puree. I think you have to blend until it looks as smooth as ketchup.
not well blended papaya will spoil faster as it can not be well mixed with the soap base. cmiiw.
 
An easy way to get some color and scents is to use tea -- like I have some green tea bags and chamomile tea bags in my coconut oil bucket seeping in and I often use tea in place of water for my lye mixture.
 
Hasn't been a follow up post in a while. Kind of worries me. Maybe I'm a bit crazy but I kind of want to make a really nice, cost-effective batch of papaya soap and mail him a few bars along with the recipe so he can see the result of using a low cost yet quality and safe recipe and giving it an adequate cure time. From reading his posts I'm getting the idea that most of the soaps for sale in his area are made with only cost in mind and a general disregard for whether or not they are safe for use on skin. I seem to remember him saying that where he lives the soaps for sale use mostly if not all coconut oil(not to mention harsh and unsafe chemicals). So I can only infer that most of the people from his area are used to using soaps that are incredibly drying and harsh on the skin. So, if he were to make a great handmade soap that was gentle on the skin and was still cost-effective then he would have a considerable edge over all of his local competition. And therein lies the virtue of patience. He could become a very successful businessman in his area if he doesn't try to rush a hastily made, untested, and potentially unsafe product to market. Sure, he can put out a cheap, inferior product but then he's the same as all the other 'soap' businesses in the area. Nothing to make his product stand out and it will be destined to fall through the cracks and fail. I want to see this guy succeed but I want him to succeed the right way for the sake of himself, his family, and his potential customers.
 
Ronzkie26, if you happen to read this post please contact me and I will help you. You can make a cheap and wonderful product and potentially be very successful but you need proper guidance so that your product will not fail and you will not end up getting in trouble or sued because your product harms somebody.
 
I agree with Shaun!!!! KUDOS for everyone trying to educate and help this guy. He has ALOT to learn and trying to help and provide for his Mom. I wish him all the best!!

Kathie
 
Ronzkie26, if you happen to read this post please contact me and I will help you. You can make a cheap and wonderful product and potentially be very successful but you need proper guidance so that your product will not fail and you will not end up getting in trouble or sued because your product harms somebody.

Sir thank you.. i send you message.. plz check ur inbox.. God Bless.
 

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