What soapy thing have you done today?

[KatieShephard]

I got some Castile soap paste out of my fridge today, diluted it and made baby bath soap by adding coconut milk, honey, colloidal oatmeal and goat's milk. Smells like goat's milk a wee bit but baby's skin feels great after the bath.
Still trying to decide which recipes to try during my soaping session this Sunday... so many choices so little time but Sunday can't come soon enough!

Do you add a preservative for the goats milk? If not, what is the shelf life? Btw...that sounds like a really nice soap!

 

[jules92207]

Well I didn't think I was going to do much soaping as I am out of everything right now - but I have been meaning to rebatch a soap I miscalculated fragrance on so I shredded it and a few bars from an old batch of castile that didn't retain much fragrance and tossed in a crockpot. Hoping it turns out ok, at least its not so overpowering in fragrance anymore.

 

[Ruthie]

So here's my challenge to each you. Find a way to use your soaping talents to bless someone today...or at least in about 4 weeks when your CP soap cures.

What a tremendous idea, Daryl! We are attending a new church and have become good friends with the pastor and his wife. Pastor's birthday is Thursday, AND we are attending a wedding that evening where he is officiating. It is one of those "joining two households" weddings where they do not need household stuff. But everyone needs a well-chosen soap!

 

[MsSoap]

I made my first batch of rebatch...slightly redundant. I followed some directions that were very different than anything else I've seen bc I wanted a smoother bar. Two pounds of goats milk, divided, and 1 cup of coconut milk in each. Let sit over night, pop in 200 degree oven, then blend in colors and fragrance.
I'm so new to soap and I'm dying to start making it from scratch. M&P was fun at first, but now I'm ready for some action!!.
I used some homemade rose water to moisten things up, rose clay in one and activated charcoal in the other. Divided my 10" loaf and poured. I did figure 8's on top with pink and gold mica, lavender and rose petals finished it off.
I know it will take a LONG time to dry, but that's ok. I just hope the pretty decorations stick!

 

[LunaSkye]

Just boiled more beer and wished I had time to actually make the soap. *sigh*

I'm still wishing I didn't like my beer so much so that I can make a proper beer soap. I think I'm done for the time being...

 

[ourwolfden]

I made a huge batch of laundry soap and some pumpkin salt bars.

 

[HorseCreek]

Got my soap cutter last night.. it was like Christmas. I'm pretty sure there was a choir singing as I unboxed it! I cut a loaf of soap. They were all equal and uniform and it took about 1/4 of the time as before.
It was beautiful!

 

[lionprincess00]

Finally made soap, been a couple weeks! Yea!
It's a goats milk squash soap with 7 ingredients....including home rendered tallow. Sugar added for bubbles.
There's several layers. Regular, then sea clay, then ITP swirl of copper sparkle mica into activated charcoal, then yellow oxide top with a field and sun. The sun was rose clay. I think the layers aren't as clean as I wanted, but meh it'll be fine. My main worry is ..I used too much charcoal....black suds
Anyway, we will see how it winds up. In the freezer as I type. This was my 8th batch I believe. Batches 6-7 weren't too awesome looking so I didn't announce it or anything lol!

 

[LunaSkye]

Ordered lye, palm, castor, and coconut oils, some peppermint supreme (the better half says the Japanese is too 'candy cane' sweet) and Litsea EOs from BA, and then I went to Walmart for lard and olive oil. Just came in under my two week soap budget, and it will set me up for a whole slew of test batches. I've got to make some winter lip balms and lotion bars on Saturday, so planning later today is on the agenda.

I actually like both the peppermints. Reading your post particularly reminded me of my most recent soap that I made. I used a litsea eo from WSP and 5x orange eo just as a test run see if I can succesfully make a scented soap. Perhaps it's due to the beer concentrate, but it smells a lot like Fruity Pebbles to me.

I'm thinking of asking each of these incredible women to describe their ideal day for me and trying to create a custom soap based on the answer. (Insert collective "awww" here) One is a new grandma, so that's easy. Another is an artsy bohemian, so I'm thinking tie-die column pour and patchouli/clary sage/orange. Not sure about the others yet, but no doubt I'll be the hero of our next little get together. :angel:

So here's my challenge to each you. Find a way to use your soaping talents to bless someone today...or at least in about 4 weeks when your CP soap cures.

I am loving you creativity. I actually started this challenge a short time before I read your post. Happy Soaping, Everyone!

 

[Neve]

Tropical breeze is in the mould. I seem to remember major issues with this fragrance last time so I added just a little at a time and it behaved perfectly.

 

[rogue]

Preping for Xmas sale & just made a batch using my least favorite swirl recipe. It's always a greasy oily mess when it comes out of the mould. The first time I did it I even rebatched the whole thing but one tiny cube slipped by me & a few weeks later it cured into this phenomenal bubbly, moisturizing beauty. Still like wrestling a greased pig though

 

[snappyllama]

I made bath bombs last night - my recipe only made three of the mondo sized ones and two have already been used by family. I'll have to hide the last one for myself!

This morning I tried out a recipe for my husband... with avocado oil, mango butter and coconut milk. Jeepers, that coconut milk made things move fast. I've got my fingers crossed it that it will come out okay. It looks good!

 

[sassanellat]

I actually like both the peppermints. Reading your post particularly reminded me of my most recent soap that I made. I used a litsea eo from WSP and 5x orange eo just as a test run see if I can succesfully make a scented soap. Perhaps it's due to the beer concentrate, but it smells a lot like Fruity Pebbles to me.

I'm told that the peppermint supreme is more vegetal/herbal,so it should go over better here (I like the Japanese quite well already). Like the lavenders, there seems to be a range from sweet to more herbal, and the better half definitely goes for the most herbal end. I also just bought a tiny bit of Litsea - some people seem to like it by itself, but I was going to do a side by side and see if it really does help fix the citrus oils (and how much to use). A I normally use either arrowroot or clay with any EO, but heck, I'll add some Litsea too if it helps because we love the citrus scents (and the theoretical antibacterial effect).

Anybody have a suggestion as to what percentage of Litsea to use?

 

[LunaSkye]

I'm told that the peppermint supreme is more vegetal/herbal,so it should go over better here (I like the Japanese quite well already). Like the lavenders, there seems to be a range from sweet to more herbal, and the better half definitely goes for the most herbal end. I also just bought a tiny bit of Litsea - some people seem to like it by itself, but I was going to do a side by side and see if it really does help fix the citrus oils (and how much to use). A I normally use either arrowroot or clay with any EO, but heck, I'll add some Litsea too if it helps because we love the citrus scents (and the theoretical antibacterial effect).

Anybody have a suggestion as to what percentage of Litsea to use?

I just went with my nose on this one since I never really used the combo before. I mixed 50/50 of litsea and orange and added it to the batter. I thought it smelled pretty nice, so I added another round of each for safe measure. Rather than weighing them, I used the measurements on the dropper (1mL total per eo).

 

[jules92207]

Depends - if you just want it to anchor another fragrance I would keep it at about 10-20%. I have used a little more if I am anchoring a lemon, lime, or something citrusy just cause they tend to be so light in the soap and the litsea really sticks.

 

[sassanellat]

Depends - if you just want it to anchor another fragrance I would keep it at about 10-20%. I have used a little more if I am anchoring a lemon, lime, or something citrusy just cause they tend to be so light in the soap and the litsea really sticks.

Thanks!

 

[Kittie]

Woke up at 0500 with my first thought being making a 9 lb batch of pure OO Castile. Castile Monday! I cannot think of a better way to plan for a Castile soap bath for a year from now. It's almost like putting money in the bank...

 

[cmzaha]

Last night I made a batch of my pumpkin soap and a batch of Cranberry Sandalwood, a fragrance from AWB when Sally was still in business. Sadly this is my last lb of the fo. Today I made 48 more Sugared Spruce Christmas 0.8oz each, a small batch of Egyptian Dragon for a customer and a new fo blend of my Dreamsicle, Jasmine and Patchouli. Tonight I am going ot make a blend with patchouli just have not figured out what yet

 

[KatieShephard]

I placed my first order for colorants today...so excited! Currently, I only have two sample colors from previous orders...but I ordered a bunch today. Decided to go with TKB...we'll see how I like their stuff. Hopefully they will ship sooner than my Brambleberry order...that took almost two weeks!

Ordering soap supplies counts as a "soapy thing", right? Yes, I think so

 

[Ruthie]

Ordering soap supplies counts as a "soapy thing", right? Yes, I think so

Why, Yes, it does! We couldn't make soap without the "stuff"!

I'm up early this morning wrapping soap for my first-in-ten-years commercial account. Well, sorta. I do sell to a local produce shop, but it is whatever I want to bring them. This is for the coffee shop, and is specially blended with their coffee and grounds. Twenty-four bars! Not as big as the orders I used to do for a B&B when we lived in Texas, but still enough to have me excited! I'll have all of them wrapped soon, but have to go get more printer ink to make my ingredient labels before I can deliver.