I've only been doing this for a few weeks, so from one newbie to another, go for it! I used a combo of coconut, palm, and olive at about 30% each. The last 10% as about 6% recycled canola and 4% castor. I find soapcalc.net to be invaluable in balancing the oils to get the right mix of hard/creamy/lather, etc.
Bit of advice. Get your work area clean, uncluttered and ORGANIZED. It's really easy to forget a step...like adding the fragrance oil because you are so worried that it will solidify too quickly. You'll still have great soap if you follow the recipe, but you'll be disappointed as all crap because it won't smell nice. I got a good laugh at myself because I forgot it the first time, THEN I DID THE SAME THING THE SECOND TIME!!! grrrrrrr
If you plan to use color, one of the best tricks I have found to help with both the mess and the final product is to premix base colors (red, blue, yellow and green oxides) in small "ketchup" squirt bottles (available at Walmart in the kitchen gizmos for $1 ea.) with just enough oil to suspend them. You can use these to create the spectrum of colors just like they taught us in kindergarten (red+yellow=orange etc.) Then just store the remaining color in the bottles until you want to make another batch. If I have a specialty color like "tangerine" I still mix that one-time in just the amount I need for that day. Dissolving colors into oil for single use can make quite a colorful, greasy mess on the counter and in the sink. The bottles eliminate that almost completely. Be sure to post a pic of your results, so we can celebrate your success. Even if it's not perfect, you are learning and you'll take those lessons into the next batch.
