# How quickly did you start



## artemis (Mar 1, 2020)

I'm a bull-in-a-china-shop kind of gal. I grew up with my dad saying, "if at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer." 

So, when I decided to make soap, I bought the NaOH at the Lowe's, found a recipe online, and just tried it. I know there are a few here who also jumped right in, but more and more I'm seeing people who are researching for months before even making their first loaf of soap.

My question is: did you jump in feet first? Or did you take your time starting? Why?


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## Mobjack Bay (Mar 1, 2020)

I read quite a bit before I made my first soap, but not enough to avoid some of the newbie problems.  It's hard to know what to read about until you make the "right" mistakes and realize there are things you don't fully understand.


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## Jersey Girl (Mar 1, 2020)

I did a ton of research both from books, online articles, videos and this forum. I started with M&P and did that for a few months.  I was very nervous to make my first batch of CP so I kept putting it off but I took the plunge a month ago and I am absolutely addicted and loving it!


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## cmzaha (Mar 1, 2020)

I am another that just jumps right in after finding a shortening recipe on Miller Soap, since I did not want to waste expensive ingredients.


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## MarnieSoapien (Mar 1, 2020)

I brought up the idea with my hubby one summer night when we were camping, he was fully supportive and I watched all of Anne Marie's videos before scouring yard sales for items I could use. I made my first batch and we were able to give them out as Christmas gifts. So, I guess I'm kinda in the middle? A couple of weeks of research, some time to gather supplies and then I jumped right in! That was 7 ½ years ago...


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## dibbles (Mar 1, 2020)

I started with M&P and did that for a couple of years. Somewhere during that time I took a community ed class with a friend to learn CP soap making. Neither of us pursued it for awhile. Then she decided to try it and asked me to be there with her for her first batch. During the next year she kept encouraging me to try making it myself. Eventually the draw of all the techniques and different looks of CP overcame my reluctance to mix the lye solution. One time making CP and I've never looked back. I'm not knocking M&P at all. But there is something so much more satisfying for me in watching the magic happen. And also the excitement of cutting a loaf that turned out well.


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## Kcryss (Mar 1, 2020)

I'm usually a jump in feet first kinda person, but with soap I ended up doing the research first. It wasn't intentional, it was circumstances, but it turned out to be a good thing. 
After raising our kids in a home we owned for 30 yrs we decided it was time to leave Denver and move to a small town. Looking at houses, packing 30 yrs worth of crap plus cleaning, painting etc. left no time or space for a new hobby. So I researched it during the day while working and finally after moving and unpacking had my first chance!


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## SmockingRN (Mar 1, 2020)

I saw a video on YouTube by Ellie in Australia...That started me thinking about it, and I made a batch with eo from Michael’s. It seized and looked awful, but I was hooked!


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## Millie (Mar 1, 2020)

I researched for a couple months first. Probably because I loved the movie Fight Club when I was in high school and was terrified of lye, but also because I am a research first kinda gal. I would say it paid off though - even my first soaps were pretty fantastic. Or at least, they were bubbly and really soapy, which just amazed me. So, yup. Hooked.


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## ShirleyHailstock (Mar 1, 2020)

artemis said:


> I'm a bull-in-a-china-shop kind of gal. I grew up with my dad saying, "if at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer."
> 
> So, when I decided to make soap, I bought the NaOH at the Lowe's, found a recipe online, and just tried it. I know there are a few here who also jumped right in, but more and more I'm seeing people who are researching for months before even making their first loaf of soap.
> 
> My question is: did you jump in feet first? Or did you take your time starting? Why?


I researched first. I did a lot of reading and even more watching videos. The reason why is the lye. It scared me at first. I have no children in the house, but I have a special needs child who is very high level and will follow directions when told to. I wanted to have a clear knowledge of what to do without having to constantly check notes to make sure I was doing things in the right order. I've only made 4 bataches, but they are coming along fine.


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## Misschief (Mar 1, 2020)

My mom used to make soap (purely functional, nothing fancy, no fragrances, no colour, slab mold my Dad made for her (wish I still had it), made with cleaned kitchen oils) so I was familiar with the process. When I started, jumped right in, made some very ugly batches, and gave it up for a few years until I stumbled across this forum. The rest, as they say, is history.


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## Alfa_Lazcares (Mar 5, 2020)

I did watch quite a bit of YouTube videos, which is what got me interested on this, then I started researching and stumbled in to this place, and read also quite a bit about it. The thing is, i don't have that much money to just use in a hobby, and I knew I needed to buy a few things like Thebes's stick blender and the scale, so I read quite a bit before starting because I just didn't want to waste money. Then there was the problem with colorantes and different oils that I also had to research a lot of because I couldn't just go to Walmart and get them. So yeah, it took me a few months to get started, but I am almost reaching my second year making soap! (And I just made my first beer soap because I always end up drinking it and not using it for soap ha).


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## BattleGnome (Mar 5, 2020)

About 4 years ago (almost exactly I think) I picked up a M&P kit at michaels on a whim/making items for a swap. Kinda hated the directions given with the kit and went to see if there was “more” I could do with it. Kinda jumped in feet first with M&P (got 20# of a white base I’m still working with) and looking for YouTube for this unidentified “more” that I wanted. The more M&P videos I watched the more I saw how much could be done with CP. I promised myself I wasn’t going to get into CP (lye was scary) then I gave in (all of 4 months after discovering people still made soap at home). It definitely gave me that sense of “more” that I was looking for.


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## shunt2011 (Mar 5, 2020)

I jumped in with both feet fairly blind.  Actually made my first batch in a blender (yep found it online), don't recommend.  LOL


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## atiz (Mar 5, 2020)

I jumped in completely blind. I had some personal stuff going on and was pretty depressed, and looking at Amazon (as one does...) it recommended a soapmaking book to me on Kindle. I had never heard of soapmaking before but thought a new hobby might do me some good. (It was also in winter in Missouri so there's not very much one could do.)
I downloaded the book and made my soap that same day, using NaOH from the hardware store and whatever oils I could find at Walmart. I didn't even know you're supposed to run the recipe through soapcalc, so didn't do that either. Luckily at least I had some safety goggles from woodworking.
It turned out to be a surprisingly decent soap, considering it was my first time and it had goat milk in it and I was also really trying to do some layers because that's what the soaps in the recipe book also had.
But overall, I do not recommend my method to people...


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## IrishLass (Mar 5, 2020)

Depending on the danger level of whatever it is I'm trying out, I'll either jump right in or else slow down my horses and take time to do more research first. 

With lye-based soap, I took things slow and spent about a year of reading through posts over at the now defunct Dish Forum before attempting my first batch (the SMF forum did not exist yet back then.....and neither did YouTube for that matter- it was officially activated about 1 month after I made my first batch). 

It took me so long to jump in because I was terrified of working with lye, but as with Mobjack Bay's experience above, it still wasn't long enough for me to be able to avoid some of the newbie problems........ simply because I didn't know yet about some things that I just didn't know about yet......

My first batch was an epic fail- it turned out very lye heavy and broke into a thousand brittle shards when trying to cut it. My second batch was a fail, too, but on the opposite end of the spectrum......it was inadvertently made with a 25% superfat, which wouldn't be a problem if certain other fats had been employed instead, but I happened to have used a lot of canola oil high in linoleic acid, and it dossed horribly after 4 weeks.

Not to be daunted (I don't give up easily), I thankfully learned from my mistakes and my (successful) third batch was the charm that got me hopelessly and irretrievably hooked.


IrishLass


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## jcandleattic (Mar 5, 2020)

I jumped right in - bought a kit - amazingly enough there were kits available 17 years ago when I started, but not much info online on how to actually make soap, and no forums for sure - the kit came with lye, oils, scent, and a mold. Made the soap according to the instructions that came with the kit. The oils it came with made 2 2lb batches. I tried to create my own recipe for my 3rd batch but knew NOTHING about oil properties and used about 25% stearic acid (literally because I had it on hand from candlemaking). LOL Yeah, that batch was an epic fail. My 4th batch I decided to melt down the 3rd batch and incorporate it in the new 100% OO batch. Umm, yeah.. LOL 
After that I decided I better learn how to do this thing properly (even with the fails I still loved it) Since learning properties of oils, using a soap calculator (or doing the math myself) my 5th batch was marvelous and I haven't looked back since. 
The first 4 batches were made within 2-3 weeks of receiving my kit. The 5th batch about 3 weeks after that, and as it goes, the rest is history and I haven't looked back. Just kept researching testing, etc.., That was in Jan of 2003. I think I finally settled on my main recipe somewhere around 2006 or 2007, and still use it today, however, I do still experiment quite often. 
I think I first learned about forums and started posting sometime in mid 2008? And they've just gotten better and better with more updated information, etc.,


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## Kosmerta (Mar 5, 2020)

I bought the first box of melt and pour I ever saw at Michael's and loved it. Put down the hobby for a few years until I saw Safia Nygaard's video where she made a kit from Brambleberry. I watched a dozen BB YouTube vids and ordered a kit within a few days. I've been hooked since


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## Megan (Mar 5, 2020)

I jumped in head first. Maybe like a week after I discovered a soap making video online. I couldn't even wait for my shipment of supplies to arrive, so I hand stirred my first batch of high OO soap!!! Needless to say, I don't think I want to ever take that approach again.


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## amd (Mar 5, 2020)

artemis said:


> My question is: did you jump in feet first? Or did you take your time starting? Why?


I took my time starting. I read a lot on the interwebs, but oddly didn't watch any videos, it didn't even occur to me that there was such a thing on YT until I got to this forum... ahem, enablers. I probably spent a good year reading blogs, Soap Queen and HumbleBee and Me. I bought a bottle of lye from Chemistry Store, and it sat there for a couple months. Finally called a friend over to witness me blowing myself up (this was the same friend that came over when I was painting my kitchen to watch me move the fridge in case it fell on me and squished me to death. She's a good friend.) so I was glad when that didn't happen [the blowing up I mean]. I was probably more obsessed about reading different oil properties and formulations, and tweaking recipes than actually making it, I did fairly well only making one small batch (I think 12-14oz) a month to test different recipes. It wasn't until I started using colors and fragrances that things got out of hand.

ETA: they "why" I did it that way was because I didn't have a lot of time for hobbies at that point, so I really was just making soap to meet our cleanliness needs.


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## TheGecko (Mar 6, 2020)

artemis said:


> My question is: did you jump in feet first? Or did you take your time starting? Why?



Last time I jumped...I was 8, out of a second-story window...on a dare.  That was the easy part.  The hard part was explaining to my Mom how I snuck past her.

I’m a bit on the thrifty side so I tend to research or try things out, or go an inexpensive route before I invest.  Like renting golf clubs for a year before buying a set.  I knew I wanted to make goat milk soap, but I didn’t know a lot about the process and so I spent a few months research.  I then decided to purchase a kit as it was the most efficient and practical way to start.  And it’s a process that I recommend to anyone wanting to start a new hobby.



jcandleattic said:


> I jumped right in - bought a kit - amazingly enough there were kits available 17 years ago when I started, but not much info online on how to actually make soap, and no forums for sure - the kit came with lye, oils, scent, and a mold.



How did we ever survive without forums and YouTube?!?  LOL


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## artemis (Mar 6, 2020)

TheGecko said:


> Last time I jumped...I was 8, out of a second-story window...on a dare.



We used to jump from the top of the basement stairs to land on the bags of old clothes on the concrete floor below. When Mom discovered that, she had the side of the stair well boarded up. We could never understand why...



TheGecko said:


> I’m a bit on the thrifty side...



Ya, I'm pretty cheap, too. Whenever I want to try something, my eye goes first to everything around me. What can be repurposed for this...?


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## Susie (Mar 6, 2020)

Found a lard soap recipe (yeah, I know, still love the lard), bought the NaOH at Lowe's.  Lined the cardboard box with a trashbag (found it online) and proceeded.  

Fortunately, I found this forum when I was anxiously awaiting the colossal failure, learned to rebatch, and I was hooked.  I still hate to rebatch, though.


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## ThinLizzie59 (Mar 6, 2020)

artemis said:


> I'm a bull-in-a-china-shop kind of gal. I grew up with my dad saying, "if at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer."
> 
> So, when I decided to make soap, I bought the NaOH at the Lowe's, found a recipe online, and just tried it. I know there are a few here who also jumped right in, but more and more I'm seeing people who are researching for months before even making their first loaf of soap.
> 
> My question is: did you jump in feet first? Or did you take your time starting? Why?


I quite accidentally found soap making information and examples of the saponification process (using real lye from wood ash!) while researching pioneering skills on the internet.  I found it so utterly amazing that my research took me deeper and deeper into the science of soapmaking.  It was a gradual study which took me about six months before I tried my first batch.  It was very small and took me about an hour using a wire whisk because I didn’t have a blender yet.  Since my first soap was so wonderful and moisturizing (compared to commercial brands) I just had to delve deeper and deeper to learn everything I could about this amazing art!


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## Pamela Carver (Mar 6, 2020)

artemis said:


> I'm a bull-in-a-china-shop kind of gal. I grew up with my dad saying, "if at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer."
> 
> So, when I decided to make soap, I bought the NaOH at the Lowe's, found a recipe online, and just tried it. I know there are a few here who also jumped right in, but more and more I'm seeing people who are researching for months before even making their first loaf of soap.
> 
> My question is: did you jump in feet first? Or did you take your time starting? Why?



I started with a couple of books from the library in 2009 seeking craft to ease the horrors of a toxic work environment.  I was only a few years from retirement and had to stick it out.  Made my first batch within a week the basic way, hand stirred. It was not long before I picked up a $14 stick blender at the grocery store and it was game on.  My second batch was my first swirl and here I am 11 years later still thinking of the next batch.  Hopefully this afternoon I will try the clam shell pour for the first time lol. Still working, the job thing had a dramatic change and I'm still there because now it is good. Will retire in the near future just have not had the nerve to actually set a date. Selling just enough to support my habit.


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## jcandleattic (Mar 6, 2020)

TheGecko said:


> Last time I jumped...I was 8, out of a second-story window...on a dare.


HAHA reminds me of my sister who jumped out of the top of a barn out on my grandparents farm. She was about the same age. Knocked the wind out of her really bad (we thought she was going to have a collapsed lung) but got up a few minutes later, and after about an hour it was as if it never happened. 



TheGecko said:


> How did we ever survive without forums and YouTube?!? LOL


At that time, I had books that sort of explained the process etc., but looking at those books now that I know better, I wonder how I ever got a usable bar of soap.. LOL


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## forestedge (Mar 6, 2020)

Initial idea to making the first batch - years. The delay was 'life' getting in the way and my being a research every-little-detail geek.


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## Scylus (Mar 6, 2020)

I'm more of the "Plan the optimal strategy for destroying everything in the china shop before you open the door" kinda dude.  I watched a million youtube videos, wound up buying a kit off brambleberry (hey, it had everything I needed to get started and was relatively inexpensive) just to see if I liked it.  Less than a week later, I was ordering bulk oils, bigger mixing containers, a larger soap mold, etc.


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## Quilter99755 (Mar 6, 2020)

I got started when my skin turned old and dry. It coincided with our move from Alaska to Idaho in 2006, so I started buying different types of soap.  Nothing worked. Then found an article about SLS and SLA's in soap and shampoo, so bought my first bar of natural soap at a Farmer's market. My skin felt almost young again! I was happy with buying soap until a friend said, "Why don't you make your own soap? It's easy!" 
Due to space and the fact that my daughter and grandson were living with us at the time, I didn't start right away but spent a fair amount of time on the internet. Then I found a site that promoted the hot process which for some reason rang my chimes better than cold process, probably because the saponification process is complete and I wouldn't have to worry about my grandson getting into it when it could still zap him!
It took almost a year of playing with different oils...mostly olive since that was the original mild soap...to find out that "done" was not ready for use and I started curing my soaps. That improved my soaps but still had the itchy feeling. It really wasn't until I started on this forum last year that I started getting away from olive oil...first to lard and now RBO...to find a better, non-itchy soap. I have spent more time on the internet just on this forum alone than I ever did when I first got into making soaps.  Wish I would have found it first.


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## aquamorgan (Mar 7, 2020)

I read and watched lots of articles and videos before committing to make my first batch.  I gathered all the supplies that I need and come up with a learning plan for myself.  My first batch was 100% coconut oil (just to keep everything simple) using hot process.  I later found out 100% coconut oil is too harsh for skin usage, I then use them in the laundry.  Throughout the soaping journey, I got tips, tricks and gradually learn more about oil, essential oil and advance to create my own shampoo and conditioner bars.  Now, the entire household is filled with my dish soap, shampoo, conditioner and of course, soaps for skin with various properties.  Love making the soap, there is so much more await to be tried!


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## TheGecko (Mar 7, 2020)

artemis said:


> Ya, I'm pretty cheap, too. Whenever I want to try something, my eye goes first to everything around me. What can be repurposed for this...?



I'm not cheap, I just don't like to waste money when I don't have to.  A 'cheap' person is someone who refuses to spend money when they should, a 'thrifty' person uses money and other resources carefully and not wastefully.  And it doesn't sound like you are 'cheap' either.


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## Arimara (Mar 7, 2020)

I bugged my sister into telling me a few things, read the beginning of a book, only enough info to get me a recipe and the how-tos, bought some NaOH + a cavity mold from Amazon, some measuring cups and bins from Walmart and I dove right it. You could barely say I did a month of prep work. the bulk of my learning came AFTER the first batch of soap, which was about 17oz. As to why I didn't take my time, I got bored and impatient.


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## TheGecko (Mar 7, 2020)

jcandleattic said:


> HAHA reminds me of my sister who jumped out of the top of a barn out on my grandparents farm. She was about the same age. Knocked the wind out of her really bad (we thought she was going to have a collapsed lung) but got up a few minutes later, and after about an hour it was as if it never happened.
> 
> We lived in an farmhouse...the stairs were accessed via the kitchen.  Mom was sitting at the kitchen table sewing with her back to the stairs.  She would have skinned us all alive had she known what I did, so I told her that I had been dared to sneak out, run around the house and sneak back in.  Obviously I lost the dare.  YEARS later Mom found out and it didn't matter that we were all adults in our 30s...she pinned my older sister's ears back.
> 
> At that time, I had books that sort of explained the process etc., but looking at those books now that I know better, I wonder how I ever got a usable bar of soap.. LOL



So much of what I have learned over the years (I'm in my late 50s), I learned from books because that is all I had unless I knew someone who did 'abc' and 'xyz'.  I used to have a loom knitting group on FB, but I finally grew too frustrated with folks who simply refused to learn how to read a pattern or look at an illustration, or even try on their own.  They wanted someone to hold their hand and pretty much knit for them.


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## Arimara (Mar 7, 2020)

TheGecko said:


> So much of what I have learned over the years (I'm in my late 50s), I learned from books because that is all I had unless I knew someone who did 'abc' and 'xyz'.  I used to have a loom knitting group on FB, but I finally grew too frustrated with folks who simply refused to learn how to read a pattern or look at an illustration, or even try on their own.  They wanted someone to hold their hand and pretty much knit for them.


Oh, so you loom knit, eh? Are there any good books on that? I have tried the YT thing and I get more bored with that than with books. I need to decipher pictures with the mini arrows.


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## TheGecko (Mar 7, 2020)

Arimara said:


> Oh, so you loom knit, eh? Are there any good books on that? I have tried the YT thing and I get more bored with that than with books. I need to decipher pictures with the mini arrows.



Sent you a PM.


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## Zen Pretzel (Mar 16, 2020)

It started with taking a soapmaking class. That gave me a base soap recipe to use. I wasn't planning on making all this soap, but I bought a bunch of materials over the couple of months that followed until I had a decent stockpile of materials. I'm now about 25 batches in. I'm making different product lines that I eventually plan on selling. It's a fun hobby and I look forward to making even more.


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## raymondlgraham (Mar 17, 2020)

I did some reading online and watched some YouTube Videos ….One of the videos was by a homesteader who moved from the city to the country and built her own log cabin.  She also raised chicken and other critters on her small farm.  She did a video that took the viewer through a step by step of her making a 3 ingredient plain soap.  Lard, Lye and Water where her three ingredients.  She showed the process from start to finish, explaining the procedure step by step and suggesting the tools one would need to make this kind of soap.  Once I found the Soap Calc online and understood how to use it I was off to the races as it were.  There was still some things I needed to understand about organizing the process in an orderly way.  One of them was understanding it was a good idea to prepare your lye solution several hours in advance in order for it to have time for the temperature to drop back down into the useable range.  It gets pretty hot 180 degrees F or hotter when its first made but it can't be used at that high a temperature.  So, getting the oils mixed at the proper temperature and getting the Lye Solution at the correct temperature at the same time that the oils were ready takes a little planning. Knowing how to properly use an immersion blender is also important since your dealing with caustic substances.  And above all to have the proper Safety Equipment and to know how to use it.   This includes eye and face protection, Rubber Glove or equivalent and long sleeves and good ventilation.  It can be hard on the lungs if you breath the fumes that come off it when your making the Lye Solution.  After you understand those things and a few more things you can enter the world of Soap Making... And it is really a world of its own.  What a great time to be a Soap Maker.


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## AliOop (Mar 17, 2020)

Almost eight years ago now, I was a subscriber to the Mommypotamus.com blog, and was curious about trying her LTHP 100%  CO 0% SF laundry soap, and her 12% SF 100% CO hair-body soap. Without any other research or instruction, I immediately made the hair-body soap and loved how it was so much kinder to my skin and scalp. I happily used that for years. Also made the laundry soap and loved that, too, since I have horrible reactions to detergents and most fragrances. That recipe was pretty foolproof, which is probably why I stuck with just that for so long. I didn't really start learning about soap science, or even CP, until about two years ago. For awhile after that, I was into trying all different ingredients and techniques. At first it was fun, but I eventually noticed that some of the joy was gone, especially when friends and family suggested I start selling my soap. That adds a whole extra level of business stuff that is no fun for me. Soaping for me is best kept as a fun hobby: making small batches, being as creative - or basic - as I desire in the moment, and giving the soaps as gifts to those who enjoy them.


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