Would love to, but the only photos I take are with my phone, which is nothing more than a camera out here due to the extreme rural area I live in & having zero cell service. I also don't use Wifi - cabled connection to my router only - and don't even have a TV. Transferring the photos to my laptop has also become an issue, even when cabled, due to the One Plus phone I use.
That said, I absolutely love where I live & have never regretted making this change in my lifestyle. A satellite internet connection is all I need
If & when I'm able to, I will definitely do so
Glad you have a successful batch!!! Will you be posting pictures? I have been shopping on line for a pull through and cylinders as I love the look of kaleidoscope bars. Do you have any recommendations?
Nope, no photos. As I said to
@KiwiMoose: "the only photos I take are with my phone, which is nothing more than a camera out here due to the extreme rural area I live in & having zero cell service. I also don't use Wifi - cabled connection to my router only - and don't even have a TV. I watch all videos / documentaries etc on my laptop. Transferring the photos to my laptop has also become an issue, even when cabled, due to the One Plus phone I use."
In addition, because I have worked in IT for many years, I am well aware of how posting photos of anything can become a personal privacy / security issue, which I won't get into the ins & outs of here because most people either don't care or won't listen. The aforementioned issues are one of the reasons I shut down all of my social media accounts many years ago.
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Anyhoooo....I initially bought Wild Plantanica pull-throughs. I like a lot of them, but some of the disks can only be used with quite a thin batter due to their detail. That said, too thin of a batter can also result in a crappy result
It's something I have been struggling with - too thick / too thin / the right natural color additives at the right concentration etc all affect the end result. Chas from Wild Plantanica has amazing customer service & packs her orders very securely. She was very easy to deal with. I highly recommend watching her YouTube videos as well. She is the queen of pull-throughs as far as I'm concerned! Her disks also fit all cylindrical molds I've used, including my silicone column molds and Custom Craft Tools cylindrical molds, which are not my favourite, for several reasons.
I also bought another smaller set from Lovin' Suds, I think?? Smaller as in less disks. I need to check that again. Most of her disks don't fit Custom Craft Tool cylindrical molds, which I was very disappointed with, but they do fit all of my cylindrical silicone molds.
Good luck finding what works for you
More soap ingredients recon ~ was curious about local ethnic grocery markets as a source for milks, oils, butters that might possibly be less adulterated (less preservatives, additives, sweeteners added) than the options on the major grocery shelves
My first stop was going to be a little Mexican grocery next to a little produce market I frequent and I could have sworn there were cars in the lot a week ago but it is an empty store now
Now for more Google searching for other stores. In the meantime, has anyone else had any luck finding quality ingredients at ethnic grocery stores?
Yes, that was the one place I used to be able to find coconut milk with just coconut cream & water - no polysorbates & no added gums - the coconut cream at 80-85%, if I remember correctly. And then I moved far faaaarrrrr from that store
Coconut oil, for sure.
Palm oil, most definitely.
Coconut sugar, stellar.
Palm sugar, likewise (I use either / or, as well as raw honey, in soaps).
I use/d a whole lot more as well, such as natural colorants (annatto seed / fresh turmeric root), lemon grass stalks infused into base oils for products other than soap & so on.
If you find a good store like that - I recommend ones which carry a wide variety of products from a wide variety of Asian countries - frequently visit it to keep them in business.
That said, I didn't trust the liquid oils in that store, because I know that they are often adulterated at the source where they are being manufactured. Those countries have learned well from those of us running businesses in 'affluent' countries, unfortunately
To be fair, I don't trust any liquid oils, regardless of where they are manufactured, unless I know a lot about the company. I always assume that there will be some degree of adulteration, especially after the research I have done / do on these subjects. For food uses, I make sure to do a great deal of research on companies, their products, their manufacturing practices. Don't be afraid to call companies / manufacturers & question them on what they are putting on store shelves. If they are proud of the high quality they are turning out, they will be very likely to share a great deal of information regarding their supply chain, their batch testing process & more.
Good luck in your hunt
which makes me think that my earlier practice of curing on metal racks likely caused a lot of the issues we're seeing now.
It depends on the metal. I have stainless steel shelving, it seems, and have had zero issues with this. How long after you made & cured your soaps did this issue start showing up?
Question for the assembled savants: could handling fresh (day-old, and two-day-old) soap barehanded trigger DOS? I'm wondering if I should just make a habit of wearing nitrile gloves from here on out whenever handling soap.
I never wear gloves when handling my soaps, with rare exceptions like when I'm polishing them from time to time just to keep my fingers from leaving prints when they are slightly moist on their exterior. Potential customers who pick up your soaps for a sniff will never wear gloves either.
Personally, I doubt that's the problem, otherwise this would be a huge issue for everyone across the board.
I believe it's well worth the investment. Read more here:
ROE Use
I am using this in my body butters, lip balms etc to extend shelf life / prevent rancidity for the customers who are selling my products in their stores.
I have begun to wonder if simply adding freshly dried sprigs of rosemary to base oil bottles would function similarly to how people used to keep their freshly-milked milk fresh longer - say that 10 times
by adding a silver coin to the milk jug / canister. They would need to be dry to avoid contaminating with water from the fresh herb. It's something I intend on trying out, just for the hell of it.
I interestingly read something this past week regarding how using more than a specific percentage of vitamin E to prevent rancidity can actually speed oxidation & rancidity of oils. I wish I could remember where I read this. There is also a big difference between types of vitamin E and what they will do in base oils, skin care products etc. I am hesitant to use it at all now.
I have not yet started using rosemary extract in soaps, however.
with her injury. In any case my husband built a step and I’m so grateful. I didn’t “help” as I am somewhat prone to bossiness 
and I knew he’d prefer to just work through it on his own.
If the wire is at the right tension, there is no reason to loosen it between uses. In fact, loosening and tightening the wire may create more stress and cause it to break over time.
