Some good FO news

[John Harris]

When I was last in Soap Fever 2 years ago, I made up a mess of bars and they have been popular right up to this day. I made a bunch from some old Missy's Candles FOs I had laying around - Sandalwood, Nag Champa, Frankincense, and Bay Laurel. Two years ago when I used them, the oils were 16 years old , but they still worked perfectly.

My soap's recent popularity at work has wiped out my supply of bars in the four scents I just mentioned. It was hard to see the last ones go. And Missy's Candles is no more so those FOs are not going to be replaced. But! This evening, while digging around in my soap storage area, I ran across the bottles of those four FOs from 2 years ago and there was still some oil in each of them. Maybe not enough to make my usual 40 bars, but surely enough to make a half batch! I am so happy to have made that discovery!

My Christmas Forest batch I made last night is still in the mold and is still quite warm and a little soft. I can see I am going to have to break out another 40 bar mold! When I get the fever, I get it bad.

 

[Juggsy]

We all do. I know when I'm in obsession mode as my family calls it, it's all I do.


Would the FO be okay after two years? I don't use many FOs but I assume they would their potency? Or even go rancid? I store my oils in a converted linen closet (temp controlled - I love my austisic son and his mates - so clever) and still try not have more on hand than I will use with 6-8 months maximum. Yet I still go through 1 or 2 litre of essential oils in that time. I wish I was kidding. I just spent 495 dollars buying 15ml rose essential oil. So I'd be terrified of my oils going bad.

 

[John Harris]

I have no complaints about my old oils. They seem to function as good as my newer ones in every way. I find it very surprising too, but heck! I'm not going to complain!
$495?? Can that be possible??

 

[Juggsy]

I have no complaints about my old oils. They seem to function as good as my newer ones in every way. I find it very surprising too, but heck! I'm not going to complain!
$495?? Can that be possible??

That's amazing then. I honestly assumed it was the same as EOs.

Unfortunately. Yep, rose is one of the most expensive EOs. My Source for my rose oil. I wanted some from a better source but it is more expensive.

 

[Bubble Agent]

I have no complaints about my old oils. They seem to function as good as my newer ones in every way. I find it very surprising too, but heck! I'm not going to complain!
$495?? Can that be possible??

Indeedio! But the great thing about it is that you don`t have to use a lot, it is one of those potent monsters that require veeery small usage rates or it will overpower most everything out there.

My Source for my rose oil. I wanted some from a better source but it is more expensive.

I am in Norway, and have to order my essential oils from England. I can get 10ml Rose Otto for $146 (AUD) (from HERE )

The company is approved by my safety assessessor assessor (edit: happy now @ResolvableOwl ?) and they come with all documents. The 50ml cost $665 AUD. And they ship to Australia. I don`t know if shipping and import charges would make it worth your while, but their oils are good, not diluted and I have several of them in my assessment papers.

 

[lenarenee]

I thought there was no such thing as rose essential oil - that it was an absolute only? Rose absolute was one of the first splurges in my early days of soaping, and I loved it - but the price just kept skyrocketing!

 

[ResolvableOwl]

assessessor

 

[Bubble Agent]

I thought there was no such thing as rose essential oil - that it was an absolute only? Rose absolute was one of the first splurges in my early days of soaping, and I loved it - but the price just kept skyrocketing!

There is such a thing as Rose essential oil. They come in different variations however, and the different variations has different price range.
You have the regular steam distilled (Rose Otto) that I linked to, it is most expensive (takes more petals to produce the oil compared to the absolute) . Then you have the variation of solvent extracted - the Rose Absolute, which is the one you know. You also have another one but I have never seen that anywhere here, and that is Rose CO2 Extract.

And yes, the prices keeps going up. I would use Rose more if I could, particularly blended with lemon. Mmmm...

@John Harris Do you use the same soap recipe as before, in your earlier days or have you ventured out? Sorry if it has already been covered before.

And are you saving a bar or two for yourself made with the oils that you love but can`t get a hold of? I mean, you don`t really have to give away every crumb, you should keep some for yourself too!

I am just saying, because you seem like one of those super generous people that tend to forget themselves to make others happy☺

 

[John Harris]

@John Harris Do you use the same soap recipe as before, in your earlier days or have you ventured out? Sorry if it has already been covered before.

And are you saving a bar or two for yourself made with the oils that you love but can`t get a hold of? I mean, you don`t really have to give away every crumb, you should keep some for yourself too!

I am just saying, because you seem like one of those super generous people that tend to forget themselves to make others happy☺

The recipe has been evolving. Using a lot of lard now. You're right though, I need to start keeping a few of the bars that I really like. Although, if the supplier is still open, I could always make more. And More! AND MORE!

 

[Bubble Agent]

The recipe has been evolving. Using a lot of lard now. You're right though, I need to start keeping a few of the bars that I really like. Although, if the supplier is still open, I could always make more. And More! AND MORE!

Ah, a fellow larder! Nice! Lard in soap is just wonderful. I have tried every recipe under the sun and I keep coming back to lard. My safety assessed soaps have lard in them., so it is safe to say I love it.
And yeees, you must keep some for yourself.

Making more soap? Well, there are worse things that could happen. Like NOT making soap...

 

[Juggsy]

I thought there was no such thing as rose essential oil - that it was an absolute only? Rose absolute was one of the first splurges in my early days of soaping, and I loved it - but the price just kept skyrocketing!

There's actually quite a few different rose oils as @Bubble Agent said.
Then there's a whole lot of different qualities. Because it used to be just Bulgaria that had the whole shebang prior to world war - after the 1930s France, Turkey
and Croatia all got in on the action and then India. It's still Rosa Damascena but where it comes from affects quality.

There is such a thing as Rose essential oil. They come in different variations however, and the different variations has different price range.
You have the regular steam distilled (Rose Otto) that I linked to, it is most expensive (takes more petals to produce the oil compared to the absolute) . Then you have the variation of solvent extracted - the Rose Absolute, which is the one you know. You also have another one but I have never seen that anywhere here, and that is Rose CO2 Extract.

And yes, the prices keeps going up. I would use Rose more if I could, particularly blended with lemon. Mmmm...

gotta say change your lemon to Neroli (orange blossom) another extremely expensive oil. It's better than lemon or even lemon mrytle and I would never gave tried it of it wasn't for my should be 15 year old. I had damask roses and we used to have an orange blossom tree at our old place. My daughter used to pick the roses and collect the neroli petals and then would crush them up and make potions by adding a little oil and letting them soak. I still remember when I first smelled her "petal potion" it was like my nose was orgasming
I can only buy rose c02 extract from Native Extracts.

I am in Norway, and have to order my essential oils from England. I can get 10ml Rose Otto for $146 (AUD) (from HERE )

I knew before I clicked it was going to be New Directions. I have purchased their Rose EO and it's not very good quality in my opinion. I don't know why it smells so different to the other brands I've used.
This one from AWO comes with certification from the "valley of roses" as it's called in Bulgaria.

I can get steam distilled from SEOC 50ml for around 665 too. But it's Rosa × damascena India.

 

[John Harris]

Ah, a fellow larder! Nice! Lard in soap is just wonderful. I have tried every recipe under the sun and I keep coming back to lard. My safety assessed soaps have lard in them., so it is safe to say I love it.
And yeees, you must keep some for yourself.

Making more soap? Well, there are worse things that could happen. Like NOT making soap...

Some more soap is going to be made tonight - 32 large bars of Frankincense & Myrrh from the sadly missed Missy's Candles. This FO turns the soap into a dark tan and if I remember right from 2.5 years ago, it accelerates trace quite a bit. (Yes, I know I should have been taking notes. I do now.) I'd like to do an ITP swirl, but I don't know if that is wise on a dark, possibly fast-tracing soap.

Right now I am using lard at 17.7% The next highest oil concentration is coconut oil at 26.4%. What % of lard do you usually use?

 

[LynetteO]

@John Harris I know ya didn’t ask me but… During my soap science extravaganza experiment I made 12 batches of soap all with various oils &/or % of oils. 11 of them contained no lard & 1 did @ 20%. I keep going back to that bar. There’s SOMETHING about it that is just uniquely wonderful. I wasn’t expecting that result to be quite honest. Made that batch purely on posts on SMF from the Lard Lovers. So glad I did!

 

[John Harris]

And here is the slab:
Used my old lye with crossed fingers. Took a long time to trace - which was nice cuz we had time to do a ITP swirl without the wolf being at the door. Made it to thick trace, however. Did a ITP with natural soap as the base and dark gold and white as the accents.

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

Very nice

 

[Bubble Agent]

...
gotta say change your lemon to Neroli (orange blossom) another extremely expensive oil.

I knew before I clicked it was going to be New Directions. I have purchased their Rose EO and it's not very good quality in my opinion. I don't know why it smells so different to the other brands I've used.
This one from AWO comes with certification from the "valley of roses" as it's called in Bulgaria.
I can get steam distilled from SEOC 50ml for around 665 too. But it's Rosa × damascena India.

Yes, Rose and Neroli is a glorious combination, but it is very, very sweet and heady.
I made that mix a few years back, and I get why you would love that one! But I still like my rose and lemon mix (10 fold lemon), it gives the rose a bit of edge and calms down the sweetness. I won`t clog up @John Harris thread further than I already have, but I may post my rose mixes in the Aromatherapy section of the forum instead, and would love to hear if you have any other rosy type favourites!

Sorry to hear about your experience of the rose they have! Is it a long time ago?

Some more soap is going to be made tonight - 32 large bars of Frankincense & Myrrh from the sadly missed Missy's Candles. This FO turns the soap into a dark tan and if I remember right from 2.5 years ago, it accelerates trace quite a bit. (Yes, I know I should have been taking notes. I do now.) I'd like to do an ITP swirl, but I don't know if that is wise on a dark, possibly fast-tracing soap.

Right now I am using lard at 17.7% The next highest oil concentration is coconut oil at 26.4%. What % of lard do you usually use?

I have used lard from 25% and up, but now I use 50-60%. The rest is divided between coconut, olive and castor. Even a smaller amount of lard gives the soap a special feel to it, there is no doubt about that. So whenever lard comes into the picture, something happens. It just does. I assume that is why you add it too.

My testers have been family and friends from all genders and ages (from 12-85) over the years. So when I realized that even though my vegan soaps of all types and ingredients have been very well received, which made me happy of course, my lard soaps got more remarks of "this soap is sooooo good, what`s in it?"
I was a bit afraid that they would smell anything piggy, but not even one has smelled it at 60%, even unfragranced lard soaps I made for friends with allergies that wanted to try my soap. And believe me, they all know it is pig fat, lol, I have been very open about that fact!
So - after accumulating years of hands on experience with #0348629087049603 recipes with and without lard, I just knew that lard was the way to go for me.

Sort of Go big pig or go home, so to speak.
(Or should I say *oink* )

I see you managed to get the batter made without a problem, looking forward to the cut, I like the colors!

 

[Bubble Agent]

Sooooo, have you cut it yet?

 

[John Harris]

Well, actually, Bubble, I did! It was an ITP. The pot was colored with a small bit of TD. The accents were Dark Gold mica and white (TD). It's been 4 days since the pour. Here are some pics:

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Huuuuge! The convincing simplicity of your design makes more intricate swirls look almost like occupational therapy . Every bar is unique!

Do you intend to plane and/or bevel? They have a very rustic look (shape-wise), and you might or might not like to keep it that way? Bevelling (if only on some edges, not all) can underline this deliberate half-raw look. You might plane the undersides to get rid of the ripples in the parchment paper.

 

[John Harris]

You're reading my mind, Owl! I think I am going to let them harden up a little more. (They're kinda soft yet.) Then I will make all those decisions. Thanks for your compliments!