# So what are YOUR soapy secrets?



## Navaria (Apr 8, 2016)

There are a couple things that I've learned about myself and soaping that other would probably think are crazy lol. First off, I cannot stand the feel of raw coconut oil or Shea Butter on my hands. I have to put my gloves back on to measure them out because it grosses me out if they accidentally touch my skin. Other oils or butters are no big deal. Those two-yeck! Second, I'm a compulsive scraper. I scrape every container. Even my lye water pitcher. It kills me to waste even one drop of lye, or batter, or fragrance, or colorant. I've had trace get too thick while I was scraping. I have several half bars of soap because I can't waste the bits left in the batter bowl after my mold is full. And third, I have a love/hate relationship with titanium dioxide. I love how it looks in soap, but I hate actually working with it. I struggle with clumps and it won't wash off anything well at all. I'm strongly considering making up a jar of it so I don't have to clean utensils every time I use it lol.
So there's my weirdness. Care to share yours? I can't be the only weirdo in the group! Lol


----------



## rainycityjen (Apr 8, 2016)

I sometimes use a glass Pyrex bowl to mix my lye solution if my usual one is missing/in the wash.

I have stripped a couple spots of finish off my wood dining room table with accidental lye seepage from bars of soap on wax paper. 

I prefer to "wing it" on fragrance amounts and blends and have had to rein it in a LOT so I can start to standardize recipes. At the end of the day I sometimes weigh my own happiness making it over the user's happiness getting the same bar each time. 

I also hate TO. I use white mica when I can get away with it. Or just clear oils.

I have grated up a pure beeswax candle I got as a gift to use the beeswax. Sorry friends.

I love the feel of raw shea and coconut and I try to pick up crumbs to put on my elbows when I get a chance.


----------



## Marshall (Apr 8, 2016)

I am still new to soaping and while I enjoy it immensely I still get nervous when I get started. As such to make sure all goes well I lay EVERYTHING out in EXACTLY the order it will be needed, in that process I completely take over the kitchen. I soap on Sunday mornings and can now recognize the audible **sigh** from my kids when they see me and realize they cannot enter the "Soaping Space" until I am done. I give them fair warning the night before, either get up early for breakfast or enjoy a late brunch.


----------



## Navaria (Apr 8, 2016)

rainycityjen said:


> I have grated up a pure beeswax candle I got as a gift to use the beeswax. Sorry friends.
> 
> I love the feel of raw shea and coconut and I try to pick up crumbs to put on my elbows when I get a chance.



Ok, that cracks me up about the candle! So clever! I would have left it in a drawer to be forgotten. I never would have though to grate it up and repurpose it. And I'm the queen of repurposing lol. 
A friend was telling me last night how coconut oil was all she used on her face/body. My skin was crawling the whole time she was talking about it lol


----------



## Navaria (Apr 8, 2016)

Marshall said:


> I am still new to soaping and while I enjoy it immensely I still get nervous when I get started. As such to make sure all goes well I lay EVERYTHING out in EXACTLY the order it will be needed, in that process I completely take over the kitchen. I soap on Sunday mornings and can now recognize the audible **sigh** from my kids when they see me and realize they cannot enter the "Soaping Space" until I am done. I give them fair warning the night before, either get up early for breakfast or enjoy a late brunch.


I take over the whole kitchen too. Not because I'm that organized. Because I'm so UNorganized lol. It's my youngest son's job to clear the table and set it for supper. Some days he just grumbles at all my stuff on it lol


----------



## Arimara (Apr 8, 2016)

I could post my soapy secrets but I'll be honest- it would be a blatant advertisement benefiting Anne Watson.


----------



## penelopejane (Apr 8, 2016)

I could post my soapy secrets but I'll be honest- it would be a blatant advertisement benefiting Irish Lass and all the other gurus and soapers on this forum.


----------



## Seawolfe (Apr 8, 2016)

I kinda like the look of ash on some soaps.

I also rub any oil or butter on my hands into my arms, legs or hands. I end soaping sessions well moisturized 

I have threatened to stab my SO when he reached across me for something when I was soaping. I also seem to remember blaming him when my layers didn't turn out right...

The idea of using animal milk in soaps really squicks me out

I have a trash bag full of soaping stuff with soap crusted on them from my soaping session a month ago...


----------



## penelopejane (Apr 8, 2016)

BTW 
If you buy water soluble TD mix it a a tiny amount of water from your liquid amount as soon as you decide to make soap. By the time you need to use it it will be a lovely, speckle free paste.


----------



## lenarenee (Apr 8, 2016)

I really had to think on this. After all my normal is somebody's abnormal!

I usually scrape oils out of the bowls really well because that residue can add up to a few grams of your oil weight, and when you're making a small batch, that's can be a good percentage of your superfat.

So when I'm lazy and don't scrape well I'll pull out a bottle of liquid oil and toss in a couple grams. 

Another: I can't get my plastic bowls clean after soaping and there's always an oily residue left behind. Since I haven't found a dedicated lye water container that works for me, I use these bowls and that means the lye water saponifies the residue which I then have to strain out.

I can't use Dawn (even with rubber gloves) because it seriously rips my skin off. And with the water restrictions in CA, simply don't have the heart to use the massive amount of hot water necessary to strip the oils completely off the plastic. 

I'm using 2 week old IL recipe salt bars at the kitchen sink - and I have been all week!  Me loves it!  So from now on - when they tell you to cure salt bars for months - don't believe them!


----------



## Swampy (Apr 8, 2016)

Pre mixing my TD into a squirty bottle(water based)I just give it a really good shake before I use it.


----------



## galaxyMLP (Apr 8, 2016)

I don't use separate containers to weigh out my oils... I'm too lazy to properly scrape them so I spend extra time weighing them all slowly into the same container. I've always been very good at hitting the mark with liquid oils. Solid ones seem to give me more trouble so I always weigh them first. Don't ask me what I do if I over pour a liquid oil *goes and grabs the lye calculator again*

I'm not as good as I should be about scraping out my batter bowls completely... I try my best but I don't clean them out with paper towels or rags. It just doesnt make sense to me since it all gets washed down the drain anyway. I just let them sit and then wash them after. I do always scrape them with a spatula.

I also probably use too much water when I clean my dishes. I can't stand oily residue. I always use palmolive dish detergent too (does that make me a bad soaper?).

I used wax paper for 3 years to line my molds and thought I never really had a problem with it. Then I tried freezer paper. Night and day. I had no idea I was making my life so much more difficult than it needed to be.

I cut wayyy to early sometimes and then I just commit to it. So all of my bars end up looking a little smooshed on the edges from some batches and I end up having to bevel them. I've really got to get better at that one!

My favorite soapy saying when I make a mistake is "oh well, it's just soap!" to remind myself that no matter how bad it LOOKS at least its still going to be usable!


----------



## KristaY (Apr 8, 2016)

This is going to sound like I'm still in 2nd grade but I always do a self assessment before I add the lye water to the oils. Am I thirsty? Do I need a quick snack? Am I too hot, too cold? MOST IMPORTANTLY Do I need to pee? Yep, 2nd grade. It's such a PITA to get part way through swirling and realize I'm doing "the dance". Then have to strip off all the PPE, wash hands, use the bathroom, wash up again, then don all the PPE. Now trace is too thick to finish delicate swirls so dump all batter in the mold while swearing LOUDLY which always makes the pets run & hide under various beds and DH silently slink off to his man cave. For the sanity & safety of all members of my household, I pee before I start whether I need to or not. :shh:


----------



## rainycityjen (Apr 8, 2016)

galaxyMLP said:


> My favorite soapy saying when I make a mistake is "oh well, it's just soap!" to remind myself that no matter how bad it LOOKS at least its still going to be usable!



Hah. Whenever I complain to my husband that my soap turned out ugly, he says "Well, can I wash my butt with it?" 

Just like when one of us makes a bad dinner and I use my favorite Armyism - "Oh well, it'll make a turd."


----------



## galaxyMLP (Apr 8, 2016)

rainycityjen said:


> Hah. Whenever I complain to my husband that my soap turned out ugly, he says "Well, can I wash my butt with it?"
> 
> Just like when one of us makes a bad dinner and I use my favorite Armyism - "Oh well, it'll make a turd."



GOLD. ABSOLUTE GOLD. Both of those are absolutely hilarious! I had to share both with my boyfriend just now! I'm taking the "It'll make a turd" one and stashing it away for later!!


----------



## JayJay (Apr 8, 2016)

I dress up in a coverall with a face shield. I look like I am getting ready to weld a bridge. I also put a hair bonnet on my head to prevent hair from getting into my soap. This touch makes me look like the lady on the honey bunches of oats commercial.

 I realize that the coveralls are excessive, but I quite like the fanfare. 

Am also a tortured scenter. I mix all of these fragrance combinations. First on paper, then on my skin. Then in soap. I have collection upon collection of these scent combinations. I return to them after months and sniff them over and over.   My experiments have only turned out well one time. Once.


----------



## IrishLass (Apr 8, 2016)

I'm a meticulous scraper, too. I'm not happy unless I know I've done my level best to get every drop out, whether it be oils or soap batter. 

I love the feel of shea butter and mango butter, and I look forward to getting bits of them on my hands when weighing them out. I don't know what it is, but I just love rubbing them between my fingers. 

I use the same stainless pot in which I make HP soap for making homemade chicken soup. 

I soap barefoot.

We have a fairly small, narrow kitchen, so I take over the whole thing when making soap. Everyone knows to keep out, especially my hubby who can't even be anywhere near the vicinity of the kitchen because the strength of the scents emanating from the raw batter bother his nose. Once the soap is made, cut, and on the curing racks, though, he's fine.....thankfully (whew!). So, I pretty much soap either late at night when he's at the opposite end of the house in bed, or when he's at work. My favorite of the 2 is late at night. 

I choreograph each batch down to the tiniest detail before I make it, and have all the ingredients/tools for it super-organized before I begin, i.e., everything is weighed/measured out and placed on my counter in the exact order in which I'll need to add them, my tools are all laid out in a handy spot, and my molds are all lined and ready to go., etc... I've learned the hard way that I'm the kind of person that needs to be a stubborn stickler about such things or else something will get forgotten and I'll spend much of the night kicking myself. lol 

I've also learned the hard way to keep detailed notes, so as soon as I'm done cleaning up, I sit down and write a blow by blow account of how things proceeded. It's quite the tedious thing to do, no doubt about it, but I can't tell you how many times down the line it's saved my proverbial butt from being kicked by myself for having been lazy about it. When I'm tired after cleaning up from soaping, it's very easy for me to think: "Oh, I don't need to write that down- I'll remember it"...but history has proven time and again that I never do, so I pretty much make myself write it down while it's still fresh in my mind, whether I want to or not. lol 

Probably my deepest secret is that I wish I could be as consistently disciplined/organized when it comes to other things in my life, but then again, that would be unbalanced, right? :razz: 




			
				lenarenee said:
			
		

> I'm using 2 week old IL recipe salt bars at the kitchen sink - and I have been all week! Me loves it! So from now on - when they tell you to cure salt bars for months - don't believe them!


 
Oh, I'm so glad you like it!  I'm perfectly fine with mine at 4 weeks.


IrishLass


----------



## paillo (Apr 8, 2016)

Marshall said:


> I am still new to soaping and while I enjoy it immensely I still get nervous when I get started. As such to make sure all goes well I lay EVERYTHING out in EXACTLY the order it will be needed, in that process I completely take over the kitchen. ...



Hah, me too. Been soaping for years now but know myself well enough to know that a phone call or any other distraction can easily lead to my totally forgetting where I am in the process and really messing something up. For that reason I always put away every ingredient right after I've added it. Mistakes due to distraction, oh been there, done that way too many times.


----------



## SuzieOz (Apr 8, 2016)

I've ruined a little piece of the kitchen bench top where I spilt some EOs ... shhhhhh ... :shh:


----------



## navigator9 (Apr 8, 2016)

It's not a secret, because I've mentioned it here several times, but I discovered it on my own. I may have been among many who discovered it, but I've never read it anywhere else. I used to often get streaks in my soaps. Just areas of uneven color. Not a problem, except that it wasn't the look I was going for.  I thought about it a lot, and I came up with the idea that the stick blender does a good job of mixing, but it doesn't mix all areas of the batter evenly. I think there are a lot of variables, including the power of the particular stick blender, the size of the batch, the shape of the container, and how much you move the stick blender around. Anyway, I decided to try an experiment to see if I could eliminate the streaks. What I did was really simple. After I reach the point where I'm ready to pour, I just stir with my spatula, making sure to scrape the bottom and the sides of the pot really well, and stir it all in. This only takes a few seconds, and I already have the spatula handy to scrape the pot after I pour, so it's all pretty easy. Ever since trying this, I've never had another streaky batch, so I've incorporated it into my soapmaking routine for every batch.


----------



## mzimm (Apr 8, 2016)

I visit "My Preciouses" on the curing rack several times a day, but if anyone comes in while I'm there, I pretend I came for something else.

I adore my family members, but when I'm soaping I hate them.  Especially if they speak.  Being asked, "Hi Mom, how's it going?" as they walk in is just sooooo inconsiderate!  Can't they see I'm on the verge of solving world hunger?

On the other hand, when I'm not soaping, I'm liable to insert soaping into any and every conversation with any unsuspecting soul who unwittingly opens the door to it, and would proselytize the meanest character to the marvels of soaping if only they let me talk long enough.


----------



## LisaAnne (Apr 8, 2016)

That I have a hard time following directions to a tee.  My measuring, weighing and safety is all in order. But to follow a swirl technique exactly is very difficult for me. Everything inside me fights it. That's why this month's challenge is so important to me. I'm afraid when that hanger goes into the soap I won't be able to control myself. I couldn't on my last effort.


----------



## grassyriver (Apr 8, 2016)

Not a juicy secret but I have a FO that I asked my husband to give an opinion on. He hated it OOB and said it smelled like marshmallows. He was really repulsed by it. Well I soaped with it and months later a bar made its way into our shower. After using it he raved on and on about how awesome that soap was and how amazing it smelled. He would never admit it but some of his favorite scents are the girly ones.

I also soap barefoot. 

If I soap in long sleeves I WILL get soap batter all over the sleeves. If I soap in short sleeves I never get it on myself.

I have a crazy amount of soaps in my shower. I just love testing them all but it's really getting ridiculous.


----------



## TBandCW (Apr 8, 2016)

I'm luv'in this thread!  My one (of many) obsessions:  I love the head coverings that the doctor (Loretta)uses in NCIS New Orleans.  I was using a hair net, looking like the cafeteria lady, and thought her surgical hats (whatever they are called) were so cool looking!  I searched high and low, finally got into town (Reno), found a surgical uniform supply store and ordered one.  Now I look so cool (in my world
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




) when I'm making soap!


----------



## Swampy (Apr 8, 2016)

I learnt the hard way always to wear safety glasses,not from making soap but from making Superhot chillie sauce out of the worlds hottest chillies(Carolina Reapers)
I was stick blending a batch and some flew into my eye.Probably the most painful and uncomfortable experience I have ever had.
Glasses for soap,glasses for chillie sauce.I like my eyes.


----------



## dibbles (Apr 8, 2016)

I try to get my soaps to gel, because I can unmold them sooner and I am impatient. When they don't gel I usually unmold them too early, because I am impatient, and invariably leave at least a corner behind. I also will cut softer soaps too early (just to have a peek), and one peek leads to another... I know better and swear I won't do it again. But then I do.

I want my soap colors to make sense with the fragrance. 

No matter how hard I try to be a 'neat' soaper, I almost always manage to get soap batter slopped on the mold and usually the table too. I am in awe of those who can make a batch of soap and hardly have a single wayward drip.


----------



## Navaria (Apr 8, 2016)

I'm loving all these! I see myself in so many posts lol. BF starts a very strict diet Sunday and we went grocery shopping tonight to prepare for it. Of course I had to walk through the kitchen department and see if there was anything I just _had _to have! And then I got 2 big jugs of Great Value olive oil (my fave to use) he looked at it and said "I don't think that's on my diet" lol

Also, I may be the only one but I'm not that crazy about salt bars. They don't impress me much.


----------



## jblaney (Apr 8, 2016)

My trick to making TD with no specks, the only thing that has worked for me:

Put 2 cups oil soluble TD into a fine mesh strainer over a container of 3 cups warm oil, push through with a spoon.   This takes about 10 minutes or so.   Stick blend for 3 minutes, scraping it often.   Put mixture into a food processor and process for about 2-3 minutes, scraping it a few times.   I put this into a plastic squirt bottle and shake before using.   If I miss one step I get specks.   This works so well that I can add this to soap batter and not stick blend it and it mixes in perfectly.   I don't like water soluble TD since it makes my soap brittle.


----------



## snappyllama (Apr 8, 2016)

Y'all are cracking me up.

I soap in frog slippers while wearing a 1970's-inspired flower apron and green onion goggles while wearing plaid flannel pajama bottoms in a clashing color (everything clashes with the apron). Hawt!

I never weigh my oils into separate containers either. If I do a small over-pour (about 5-10ish gms), I just reduce another oil. I got bored one day and determined with my SF for any batch size I make, I'm okay. 

I always weigh my oils in the same order. I like to match my spatula color to my batter color.


----------



## Navaria (Apr 8, 2016)

<Giggle> I can picture you in my mind. Girl, you're a hot mess! I don't measure my oils separately either. My hard oils go in one container to be melted. The others go right in my soaping bowl. The only one I ever have trouble with is olive oil. I think because the container is so big. I have a syringe the came with one of the kids' medicines that is used strictly to suck the extra olive oil out of the bowl and squirt it back into the bottle. If I go a bit over on another liquid, I just look at it as extra superfat lol.
But the matching your spatula to your batter? That's funny stuff right there!


----------



## Navaria (Apr 8, 2016)

jblaney said:


> My trick to making TD with no specks, the only thing that has worked for me:
> 
> Put 2 cups oil soluble TD into a fine mesh strainer over a container of 3 cups warm oil, push through with a spoon.   This takes about 10 minutes or so.   Stick blend for 3 minutes, scraping it often.   Put mixture into a food processor and process for about 2-3 minutes, scraping it a few times.   I put this into a plastic squirt bottle and shake before using.   If I miss one step I get specks.   This works so well that I can add this to soap batter and not stick blend it and it mixes in perfectly.   I don't like water soluble TD since it makes my soap brittle.



I picked up some 4 oz containers with screw on lids tonight to mix my TD in. I'll have to try this method and hope I can make it work. Thanks!


----------



## KristaY (Apr 8, 2016)

snappyllama said:


> Y'all are cracking me up.
> 
> I soap in frog slippers while wearing a 1970's-inspired flower apron and green onion goggles while wearing plaid flannel pajama bottoms in a clashing color (everything clashes with the apron). Hawt!
> 
> ...



Snappy, the next time I'm in Denver hanging with my kiddos I'm SOOO contacting you for a soaping session. AND I'm bringing my camera. I'm ROTFL picturing you in all that garb. I've gotta get pics to share with the SMF fam! BTW, I'm not as OCD as you with the spatulas ~ all mine are black & white from Ikea, ON PURPOSE so they don't clash! 

PS - Will I be able to pee at your place???


----------



## newbie (Apr 8, 2016)

I am massively disorganized and a slob, including when soaping. Because I am a professional slob, it is pretty easy for me to work in this environment. I have never made a soap without making a huge mess. I've ruined two kitchen countertops because of soaping so I now put some plastic down before I put my kitchen cloths, because I always dribble and it was soaking through the cloths. I will have to replace the counters before I can sell my house.

I'm another one who weighs all my oils into the same container and I always weigh them in the same order. It is probably the only spot of organization in my life. I rarely over-pour.

Even though I have separate soaping bowls, spatulas and utensils, I would still somehow manage to make food that tasted just like soap. Even guests would say so. I really don't know how that happened, but it hasn't happened in a while.


----------



## shunt2011 (Apr 9, 2016)

^^^^this is exactly me to a tee.

I am also a stringent scraper.  I too soap in bare feet and either a tank top or short sleeves.


----------



## MySoapyHeart (Apr 9, 2016)

*DYING here people!! : D*

I have been baking as long as I can remember. I have baked for friends parties, wedding receptions, for big family gatherings etc. I have made every cake under the sun that you can think of, big or small.

So my soapy secret are simply that, I make my soaps the way I bake. No, don`t worry, I don`t taste the soap batter. Anymore...

But I think soaping and baking has a lot of the same principles and "secrets" to them. And you can be creative on so many levels. Which is why I think I enjoy it so much.

Here are my take on secrets, that aren`t really secrets at all, just similarities to how I try to make things go as planned and with a nice result when I bake. Nothing revolutionary here, just how I do it.

*1)* Preparation is key! Lay out your ingredients, weigh things carefully, use clean utensils, have papertowels or clean rags on hand & take hygiene very seriously. Remember, people will be exposed to your end product - wether it is a cake or a bar of soap. Let us give them a good and pleasant experience.

*2)* Don`t overwork the dough if you want a nice soft cake!
(as in don`t stickblend your soapbatter into oblivion, sometimes less is more)

*3)* Use good ingredients and no skimping on quality. This will make everything so much better in the end
(i.e fresh eggs and real butter / or for soap - good oils that aren`t rancid or smelly butters)

*4)* Take your time and TRY and do things in the right order. 

If you stress, or you are really short on time, this is not  the time do it. Save it for another time if you can,  it will make everything go so much smoother and your experience will be more fun.

*5) *All the fancy stuff in the world won`t make a good cake/soap. Seriously. 

Focusing on learning the basics, and nail the simple things first and foremost, then work your way up to things that are more elaborate. A simple recipe done well can often be sooo much better, than something intricate done not so good. Any chef will tell you this is true. 

*6)* Follow the recipe.

Yes, sometimes you can play along with some ingredients, (vanilla/no vanilla, color/fragrance /no color/fragrance etc)
But in the whole - let`s stick to the plan, shall we?

Adding things in a carefully balanced recipe will make things unbalanced!

Know what you are doing before you start to add and subtract ingredients that may affect the batter in a negative way - this goes for cakes as well as soaps.

This is how I always have done it since I started to bake over 30 years ago, and I just found it aplickable to soaping too. So no secrets really, but anyway...


----------



## navigator9 (Apr 9, 2016)

newbie said:


> I am massively disorganized and a slob, including when soaping. Because I am a professional slob, it is pretty easy for me to work in this environment. I have never made a soap without making a huge mess. I've ruined two kitchen countertops because of soaping so I now put some plastic down before I put my kitchen cloths, because I always dribble and it was soaking through the cloths. I will have to replace the counters before I can sell my house.
> 
> I'm another one who weighs all my oils into the same container and I always weigh them in the same order. It is probably the only spot of organization in my life. I rarely over-pour.
> 
> Even though I have separate soaping bowls, spatulas and utensils, I would still somehow manage to make food that tasted just like soap. Even guests would say so. I really don't know how that happened, but it hasn't happened in a while.



Newb, your organizational difficulties are the result of finishing off two bottles of wine before you soap! (You forgot to hide the bottles.) :-D


----------



## Navaria (Apr 9, 2016)

mzimm said:


> I visit "My Preciouses" on the curing rack several times a day, but if anyone comes in while I'm there, I pretend I came for something else.
> 
> I adore my family members, but when I'm soaping I hate them. Especially if they speak. Being asked, "Hi Mom, how's it going?" as they walk in is just sooooo inconsiderate! Can't they see I'm on the verge of solving world hunger?
> 
> On the other hand, when I'm not soaping, I'm liable to insert soaping into any and every conversation with any unsuspecting soul who unwittingly opens the door to it, and would proselytize the meanest character to the marvels of soaping if only they let me talk long enough.


 
I read your post to BF and he said I could have written that one myself lol. Especially the "inserting soap into any conversation" part! I'm really, really bad at that. My friends/family now know more about making soap than they ever desired to know lmao


----------



## dibbles (Apr 9, 2016)

newbie said:


> I am massively disorganized and a slob, including when soaping. Because I am a professional slob, it is pretty easy for me to work in this environment. I have never made a soap without making a huge mess.



Newbie, I can't tell you how happy this picture makes me - I make a mess, but you win!!!


----------



## newbie (Apr 9, 2016)

I wasn't certain I should publicly post my shame but trusting my lovely SMF family,I screwed my courage to the sticking point. I am happy to hear other people are this bad or almost. Needless to say, I don't sell. 

If only alcohol were the problem with my messiness! I could control it but alas, one of those bottles has never been opened (it was given to me for label appeal, not for taste, and my son brought it up one night months ago. Because I'm disorganzied, it hasn't made it way back downstairs) and the other is a Chateau Neuf du Pape that I've held for 20 years and finally opened. It was okay but not great and I had 1 glass. I tried to pull the cork out and it broke and corkscrewing made it worse, so now I just look at it.


----------



## amd (Apr 9, 2016)

If I'm wearing my eyeglasses I might or might not wear goggles over them.

I use cheap dollar store mixing bowls. (I never use the handle to pour or hold onto)

I doodle soap designs during work meetings.

I have 3 shoe boxes full of "personal" soaps - most of which have not been made by me.

I like to make soap with food ingredients. Pumpkin puree, tomato paste, coffee, beer - I've been holding an avocado hostage to get it to the perfect ripeness.


----------



## BlackDog (Apr 9, 2016)

Like snappyllama and others, I pour all my oils into the same bowl and always pour in the same order. The one time I didnt, I botched my measurements. Never again! 

I am obsessive about organization though! I have everything lined up in order before I start and as I finish with one thing, the container goes to the opposite countertop! Otherwise I'm sure to forget something.  Newbie your countertop would cause me to have a panic attack lol!  But if it works for you, girl, you do you!

Shameful secret: I sometimes get ash even on insulated soaps because I can't stop myself from peeking like 50 times


----------



## Arimara (Apr 9, 2016)

I haven't come across anyone who takes temps of their lye solution. It's one thing I like to do while I'm mixing it. Once I see that the temp is dropping, I get a-pouring. It's yet to fail me thus far and the only time I didn't do it, I made a soap that left my hand just like TeresaT's.


----------



## penelopejane (Apr 10, 2016)

newbie said:


> I am massively disorganized and a slob, including when soaping. Because I am a professional slob, it is pretty easy for me to work in this environment. I have never made a soap without making a huge mess. I've ruined two kitchen countertops because of soaping so I now put some plastic down before I put my kitchen cloths, because I always dribble and it was soaking through the cloths. el.



Newbie I soap in the laundry because I know I will wreck the kitchen My son (so neat I am envious) came home for a visit last week and we spent an entire day cleaning up my laundry. It used to look very much like yours but now it's great.  I couldn't take a photo of the sink because I made soap yesterday and it's now a mess.  I am determined to clean it up though and keep it clean!


----------



## fuzz-juzz (Apr 10, 2016)

Well, my soapy secret is that it is a sort of a secret. Only closest family and friends know.
Ages ago, I've taken some as gifts to a friend's house and their comment was: "what is this? do we smell to you and you give us soap as a gift?" 
So... I've just kind of given up explaining to people why and how, etc...

I also soap in short sleeves. I've burnt my forearms by smudging raw soap so many times but I obviously never learnt a lesson.
I only use one Pyrex bowl for oils, hard oils in first, melt in the microwave then weigh all the other soft oils by just topping the container up. Never made a mistake in the last 4.5 years.
And maybe the most shameful one from the soapmaker point of view, I NEVER touch my soaps until they are at least 8 weeks old. I know they should be cured at 4-6 but they are just not perfect for my taste. I can still smell raw soap in the middle of the bar and it's kind of mushy. I like them well cured.


----------



## Navaria (Apr 10, 2016)

fuzz-juzz said:


> Well, my soapy secret is that it is a sort of a secret. Only closest family and friends know.
> Ages ago, I've taken some as gifts to a friend's house and their comment was: "what is this? do we smell to you and you give us soap as a gift?"
> So... I've just kind of given up explaining to people why and how, etc...


Wait...what?? They were offended because you gave them a gift? Wow! So, if no one knows you make soap, WHO DO YOU TALK TO ABOUT IT?? I talk to absolutely everyone about soap. I can't STOP talking about it! 



fuzz-juzz said:


> I also soap in short sleeves. I've burnt my forearms by smudging raw soap so many times but I obviously never learnt a lesson.
> I only use one Pyrex bowl for oils, hard oils in first, melt in the microwave then weigh all the other soft oils by just topping the container up. Never made a mistake in the last 4.5 years.
> And maybe the most shameful one from the soapmaker point of view, I NEVER touch my soaps until they are at least 8 weeks old. I know they should be cured at 4-6 but they are just not perfect for my taste. I can still smell raw soap in the middle of the bar and it's kind of mushy. I like them well cured.


 
You have more self control than I do! I'm lucky to let them cure 3 weeks before I just have to try them. The only exception is if I have too many bars in the shower already, then I might get 4 weeks cure in lol


----------



## newbie (Apr 10, 2016)

Lucky you, Navaria! I cleaned up my work bench were I have all my oils, scale and lye. It looked great for about a week but now it's a mess again. I can't maintain. I am dreadful with clutter and keeping things neat but I am very good at cleaning. The problem is that decluttering generally has to come first. I have a cleaning lady but I actually clean better than she does, however she won't/can't declutter my stuff. I wish we could reverse roles.


----------



## penelopejane (Apr 10, 2016)

newbie said:


> Lucky you, Navaria! I cleaned up my work bench were I have all my oils, scale and lye. It looked great for about a week but now it's a mess again. I can't maintain. I am dreadful with clutter and keeping things neat but I am very good at cleaning. The problem is that decluttering generally has to come first. I have a cleaning lady but I actually clean better than she does, however she won't/can't declutter my stuff. I wish we could reverse roles.



This is so me, Newbie.  I am determined to keep the laundry clean but already (after 1 soap) it's a mess.  First thing, when I get home I am going to clean it again and keep it as a priority. 

Lucky you having a cleaner, no matter how she cleans at least it is done to some degree.  I have a friend who has to tidy before the cleaner comes or the cleaner won't clean.


----------



## LisaAnne (Apr 10, 2016)

Although I have two longer counters to soap on, I soap in the corner with all my small appliances. Crowded, but it works for me. Everything has to be set up the same each time and the only light on is the one over the stove. My stickblender never gets put away. I like looking at it.


----------



## TwystedPryncess (Apr 10, 2016)

Since the kids have moved out I have made a soaping room, a sewing and needlework room, and a the-rest-of-my-crafts room. Three craft rooms. Glee!!!! So, I am a supplies hoarder, clearly. But the soaping room is the biggest and it also spills into two kitchen shelves and two cabinets full of stuff. Le sigh. 

I am a scraper, and lately


----------



## fuzz-juzz (Apr 10, 2016)

Navaria, yes lol. Great friends right? 
There are few who appreciate my soaps and I always gift some to them.
I used to talk a lot about it but everyone in the family got tired of soap yap haha.


----------



## TwystedPryncess (Apr 10, 2016)

Cats I swear. Lately I grate my soap scraps into my home made laundry detergent because I am too lazy to HP re batch them anymore. (it works pretty dern well IMO). 

I have gotten both my twin girls totally addicted to soap. One is more crafty than the other so one just likes to add colors and stir. The other is getting eat up with it. 

I can leave dirty dishes for three days but I can NOT leave dirty soaping equipment, even though that's not how it's supposed to go. 

I really have to stop myself from washing the cats in my soap. 

My fiancé and I have three hanging soap shower thingos in the bathroom , hanging off the shower curtain rod, with about ten different soaps. He is as bad as I am now about 'what scent do I want to use today?'

I am on a quest to create the best mechanic soap ever, (although I have been lazy about it) because my fiancé smells like a Diesel engine. And my brother like a transmission. And my nephew like a mix of all of it. So one day I will create something that will totally get rid of smelling like the innards of an 18 wheeler in the first wash.

I still stir my Lye outside and wear all my not so fancy protective wear and just wonder when the cops are going to come. So far, not yet. 

My nose likes 99.9% of all fragrances, except patchouli and NG peach. 

I could probably ramble on but I will stop.


----------



## Momsta5 (Apr 10, 2016)

My family tells me I look like the guy from Breaking Bad when I soap. I have big goggles on, a mask over my nose and mouth, long yellow gloves, an ugly long sleeved flannel shirt (worn backwards), long pants and old shoes. This is my soap uniform. 

I love treasure hunting for soap stuff at thrift stores. I've scored some great stainless steel items, silicone molds, measuring cups and spoons and spatulas. 

I make soapy wish lists when I am stressed out. I have a lot of lists.

I still get a thrill watching my favorite soapers on YT.  Especially in between seasons of Walking Dead.

Kelp powder in soap makes me gag.


----------



## TeresaT (Apr 10, 2016)

I had to make some soap today to see if I had anything worth sharing.  I'm actually quite neurotic.  As if I didn't already know that...   All dishes and the normal kitchen clutter has to be washed, dried and put away before the soaping can begin.  Then there has to be a dishpan full of hot soapy (Dawn) water in one of the double sinks.  The other must be empty.  Every oil gets its own measuring bowl and spatula so I don't cross-contaminate.  I melt the lard first and weigh it into the mixing bowl, remove bowl from scale and make sure it goes back to zero, then replace bowl on scale to reweigh again (a few times).  The bowl is put to the side as a "receiver of all things fatty to come."  Next I grab the Shea butter container, melt that down, weigh the appropriate amount into a bowl, lift the bowl to see the scale go to zero, replace bowl to verify weight (do this twice more) then scrape the contents into the lard and return empty bowl to scale to make sure it weighs "0" grams.   Bowl and spatula go into hot water for cleaning.  Coconut oil into microwave for melting and follow exact same procedure as Shea butter.  (Wash Shea butter bowl & spatula while coconut oil melts.). Next comes the olive oil and the exact same procedure (except for the melting part) - new bowl, new spatula.  Finally comes the castor oil and I get to clean up the all of the oily dishes and spatulas.  If I use a FO, that is weighed (and double checked a couple of times) before getting dumped into the oils and that dish is washed.  Oils are all SBd to mix well.  (Any additives that have to be measured and added in get done the same way, too. Weigh, reweigh a few times, dump, weigh empty container, wash.)  Once the lye solution is poured into the oils, that container is put in the sink under running water while I hand stir the batter for a few minutes.  Then the water gets turned off, the container goes in the soapy water and I actually make soap.  After the mold(s) are full and doing their gel thing, all of the bowls and pitchers and utensils  that have batter on them get scraped as clean as possible and wiped out with paper towels.  I dump the cold water out of the dishpan and put the scraped dishes and utensils in the empty pan until the next day.  Because by that time, I'm exhausted, really sick of washing dishes, and I want to get the heck out of the hazmat suit I'm wearing.  Now I know why I am only able to make one -- maybe two -- batches of soap in a day.  I don't have enough dishes & spatulas, hours in the day or energy to do more than that!


----------



## lenarenee (Apr 10, 2016)

I just read your post Teresa.

I'm tired!


----------



## Navaria (Apr 10, 2016)

lenarenee said:


> I just read your post Teresa.
> 
> I'm tired!



I was going to quote Teresa's  post, but it was too dang long!  I agree! I'm wore out just from reading it! T, you crack me up! It reminds me of my cousin who can't let the food touch on his plate and if he gets seconds, he gets a clean plate. Can't let anything "contaminate" anything else even though it all ends up in the same place lol


----------



## TeresaT (Apr 10, 2016)

I know.  I need help.  That's why I'm always so tired.  If the rest of the world can do something in 10 steps, you can be sure I'll get it done in 25!


----------



## Arimara (Apr 10, 2016)

TeresaT said:


> I had to make some soap today to see if I had anything worth sharing.  I'm actually quite neurotic.  As if I didn't already know that...   All dishes and the normal kitchen clutter has to be washed, dried and put away before the soaping can begin.  Then there has to be a dishpan full of hot soapy (Dawn) water in one of the double sinks.  The other must be empty.  Every oil gets its own measuring bowl and spatula so I don't cross-contaminate.  I melt the lard first and weigh it into the mixing bowl, remove bowl from scale and make sure it goes back to zero, then replace bowl on scale to reweigh again (a few times).  The bowl is put to the side as a "receiver of all things fatty to come."  Next I grab the Shea butter container, melt that down, weigh the appropriate amount into a bowl, lift the bowl to see the scale go to zero, replace bowl to verify weight (do this twice more) then scrape the contents into the lard and return empty bowl to scale to make sure it weighs "0" grams.   Bowl and spatula go into hot water for cleaning.  Coconut oil into microwave for melting and follow exact same procedure as Shea butter.  (Wash Shea butter bowl & spatula while coconut oil melts.). Next comes the olive oil and the exact same procedure (except for the melting part) - new bowl, new spatula.  Finally comes the castor oil and I get to clean up the all of the oily dishes and spatulas.  If I use a FO, that is weighed (and double checked a couple of times) before getting dumped into the oils and that dish is washed.  Oils are all SBd to mix well.  (Any additives that have to be measured and added in get done the same way, too. Weigh, reweigh a few times, dump, weigh empty container, wash.)  Once the lye solution is poured into the oils, that container is put in the sink under running water while I hand stir the batter for a few minutes.  Then the water gets turned off, the container goes in the soapy water and I actually make soap.  After the mold(s) are full and doing their gel thing, all of the bowls and pitchers and utensils  that have batter on them get scraped as clean as possible and wiped out with paper towels.  I dump the cold water out of the dishpan and put the scraped dishes and utensils in the empty pan until the next day.  Because by that time, I'm exhausted, really sick of washing dishes, and I want to get the heck out of the hazmat suit I'm wearing.  Now I know why I am only able to make one -- maybe two -- batches of soap in a day.  I don't have enough dishes & spatulas, hours in the day or energy to do more than that!



You just justified my laziness in measuring all oils into crockpot for melting, measuring water and lye in two other containers, mix soap up, pour soap into molds and place it on my heating pad, wash everything in the bathroom, and clean up soaping area. So I clean 2 measuring cups, a spatula, crockpot stoneware and the SB attachment plus bathroom sink.


----------



## galaxyMLP (Apr 10, 2016)

TeresaT said:


> I had to make some soap today to see if I had anything worth sharing.  I'm actually quite neurotic.  As if I didn't already know that...   All dishes and the normal kitchen clutter has to be washed, dried and put away before the soaping can begin.  Then there has to be a dishpan full of hot soapy (Dawn) water in one of the double sinks.  The other must be empty.  Every oil gets its own measuring bowl and spatula so I don't cross-contaminate.  I melt the lard first and weigh it into the mixing bowl, remove bowl from scale and make sure it goes back to zero, then replace bowl on scale to reweigh again (a few times).  The bowl is put to the side as a "receiver of all things fatty to come."  Next I grab the Shea butter container, melt that down, weigh the appropriate amount into a bowl, lift the bowl to see the scale go to zero, replace bowl to verify weight (do this twice more) then scrape the contents into the lard and return empty bowl to scale to make sure it weighs "0" grams.   Bowl and spatula go into hot water for cleaning.  Coconut oil into microwave for melting and follow exact same procedure as Shea butter.  (Wash Shea butter bowl & spatula while coconut oil melts.). Next comes the olive oil and the exact same procedure (except for the melting part) - new bowl, new spatula.  Finally comes the castor oil and I get to clean up the all of the oily dishes and spatulas.  If I use a FO, that is weighed (and double checked a couple of times) before getting dumped into the oils and that dish is washed.  Oils are all SBd to mix well.  (Any additives that have to be measured and added in get done the same way, too. Weigh, reweigh a few times, dump, weigh empty container, wash.)  Once the lye solution is poured into the oils, that container is put in the sink under running water while I hand stir the batter for a few minutes.  Then the water gets turned off, the container goes in the soapy water and I actually make soap.  After the mold(s) are full and doing their gel thing, all of the bowls and pitchers and utensils  that have batter on them get scraped as clean as possible and wiped out with paper towels.  I dump the cold water out of the dishpan and put the scraped dishes and utensils in the empty pan until the next day.  Because by that time, I'm exhausted, really sick of washing dishes, and I want to get the heck out of the hazmat suit I'm wearing.  Now I know why I am only able to make one -- maybe two -- batches of soap in a day.  I don't have enough dishes & spatulas, hours in the day or energy to do more than that!




Believe it or not, I do most of what you do. I always grab clean utensils for different oils because I don't want to contaminate my stock. Sometimes that means stopping mid weigh to clean one. I also check my weights especially with lighter items (less than 1 oz) so that I can be sure. I've learned some tricks with my scale like it has a floating zero and if I tare it and add less than 1 g at a time, it will just keep adding that weight to the tare amount! So now I don't tare my bowls with lighter things I weigh. 

I always stop after I pour my lye solution and rinse that container. Always! It's a safety thing for me. I have to have 1 sink cleared before I soap although I prefer a completely clean kitchen when I do. Sometimes that doesn't happen. 

You know, from reading you post, I think you'd make a great lab technician or chemist!


----------



## SuzieOz (Apr 11, 2016)

galaxyMLP said:


> You know, from reading you post, I think you'd make a great lab technician or chemist!



Even though she "Sux-at-Math" LOL :razz:


----------



## fuzz-juzz (Apr 11, 2016)

Arimara said:


> You just justified my laziness in measuring all oils into crockpot for melting, measuring water and lye in two other containers, mix soap up, pour soap into molds and place it on my heating pad, wash everything in the bathroom, and clean up soaping area. So I clean 2 measuring cups, a spatula, crockpot stoneware and the SB attachment plus bathroom sink.



That's pretty much me. 

I wash:
- one 2L Pyrex jug (where I measure ALL my oils in, hard oils are zapped in the microwave, then soft oils are poured in and measured one by one).
- one plastic jug and spoon (for lye)
- one whisk, one spatula
- container in which I measure lye - this one is just rinsed well under water and wiped dry with paper towel, together with lye jug and spoon as soon as lye is poured into oils
- SB attachment
- if I do swirls or additional FOs then for each colour/FO another plastic jug and small whisk

I wash everything as soon as I'm done.
Holy moly TeresaT - I also got tired just by reading your post :razz:


----------



## TeresaT (Apr 11, 2016)

Arimara said:


> You just justified my laziness in measuring all oils into crockpot for melting, measuring water and lye in two other containers, mix soap up, pour soap into molds and place it on my heating pad, wash everything in the bathroom, and clean up soaping area. So I clean 2 measuring cups, a spatula, crockpot stoneware and the SB attachment plus bathroom sink.



I am so glad I'm able to help you out!!


----------



## Arimara (Apr 11, 2016)

TeresaT said:


> I am so glad I'm able to help you out!!



At least you're thorough. Not hating there. :mrgreen:


----------



## TeresaT (Apr 11, 2016)

Arimara said:


> At least you're thorough. Not hating there. :mrgreen:



I didn't think you were (or anyone else, for that matter).  I'm enjoying the jokes at my expense.   I know how ridiculous that post is.  I almost deleted it because I thought people might think, "Holy cow! She's nuts!"  But I am.  So what?  If it wasn't for us nuts how would the normal people know they were normal?   I embrace my OCD.  I used to get upset by it and tried to be normal; but I'm not.  I expend more energy trying to fight the OCD than I do just living with it.  It's going to be a really sad day when I can't laugh at myself and the ridiculous situations I get into.  What ever doesn't kill me is going to have me laughing my butt off about it in an hour.


----------



## dixiedragon (Apr 11, 2016)

I'm also a one-container pour-er. And if I get, say, a bit extra olive oil, then I just subtract that from the next liquid oil.


----------



## lenarenee (Apr 11, 2016)

TeresaT said:


> I didn't think you were (or anyone else, for that matter). I'm enjoying the jokes at my expense. I know how ridiculous that post is. I almost deleted it because I thought people might think, "Holy cow! She's nuts!" But I am. So what? If it wasn't for us nuts how would the normal people know they were normal? I embrace my OCD. I used to get upset by it and tried to be normal; but I'm not. I expend more energy trying to fight the OCD than I do just living with it. It's going to be a really sad day when I can't laugh at myself and the ridiculous situations I get into. What ever doesn't kill me is going to have me laughing my butt off about it in an hour.


 

Honesty Teresa, that attitude is a very healthy way to live. And tough toasties to anyone who needs to judge us - far too many years of a person's life are wasted worrying about what someone else thinks.


----------



## lenarenee (Apr 11, 2016)

I'm horrible at putting stuff away immediately after soaping, because...."I'll just be making more in a couple days".  

Except, it's been 2 weeks and nobody can eat off the dining table!

But, I really do intend to make soap in a couple of days...!


----------



## Arimara (Apr 11, 2016)

TeresaT said:


> I didn't think you were (or anyone else, for that matter).  I'm enjoying the jokes at my expense.   I know how ridiculous that post is.  I almost deleted it because I thought people might think, "Holy cow! She's nuts!"  But I am.  So what?  If it wasn't for us nuts how would the normal people know they were normal?   I embrace my OCD.  I used to get upset by it and tried to be normal; but I'm not.  I expend more energy trying to fight the OCD than I do just living with it.  It's going to be a really sad day when I can't laugh at myself and the ridiculous situations I get into.  What ever doesn't kill me is going to have me laughing my butt off about it in an hour.




My memory leaves a lot to be desired so if I simplify things where I can and work slowly when I can, I find that I can keep track of what I'm doing better. It also helps that I'm a bag lady when it comes to soaping so I just keep different supplies in certain bags so I know where things are. I just try my best to make sure everything is kept in their place and put away or I will risk freaking out because I forgot where my gloves or spatulas are and search the house in circles.


----------



## TeresaT (Apr 11, 2016)

Arimara said:


> My memory leaves a lot to be desired so if I simplify things where I can and work slowly when I can, I find that I can keep track of what I'm doing better. It also helps that I'm a bag lady when it comes to soaping so I just keep different supplies in certain bags so I know where things are. I just try my best to make sure everything is kept in their place and put away or I will risk freaking out because I forgot where my gloves or spatulas are and *search the house in circles*.



Arimara, I understand.  That's where my ADHD comes in.  I have so many half finished things because, OH LOOK!  A SQUIRREL!  

For me, a routine and an order are keys to getting anything done. When I am learning something, I literally break it down into baby steps on a checklist and tick them off as I go along.  If I don't, there's that squirrel again!  Once it becomes ingrained and second nature, I can relax the regiment and make changes to be more efficient.   I am nowhere near there yet with soaping.


----------



## TeresaT (Apr 11, 2016)

lenarenee said:


> Honesty Teresa, that attitude is a very healthy way to live. And tough toasties to anyone who needs to judge us - far too many years of a person's life are wasted worrying about what someone else thinks.



Thanks.  It took a long time to reach this point.  Laughter is truly the greatest medicine.  At least for me.


----------



## Sagebrush (Apr 11, 2016)

I'm finding bits and pieces of my soaping habits in all of your posts! 

I'm definitely a scraper (but not compulsively so). 

I've used the same Pyrex measuring container for my lye mixture for six years. 

I have to make sure my kitchen is clean before I start measuring out oils and other ingredients. 

I'm also very OCD about cross-contamination of oils (I use a separate spoon to scoop out each individual oil). I've worked in restaurants all my life, so when I'm making soap I behave as if I'm preparing food for the public. 

I mix my lye and oils outside and wash my dishes outside. (Instead of wearing a mask when I'm mixing the lye into the water, I just hold my breath and keep ducking back inside to breathe. Anyone else do this??)

I've always used slab molds. I've never once used a loaf mold in six years. 

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of!


----------



## paillo (Apr 11, 2016)

I always measure oils in the same container too, and make two batches at a time (tried to make more but couldn't keep track of the over- under-pours, memory not that sharp). And I leave the shea butter for last, 'cuz if I'ver overpoured or underpoured on any others it's easy to fix with a semi-hard oil. Never had any problems with this method. 

My soaping milieu: sleeveless or short sleeves, if I get any on me it's easy to clean, long sleeves for me are a DISASTAH. Capri leggings, sandles with socks, nitrile or other safe gloves, my biggest eyeglasses. Newspapers over all countertops in reach and stovetop.  Hardwood floors in kitchen and I'm super paranoid, clean them immediately after soaping and again after cleanup. In my 5 years soaping I only have one small lye spot on them from my beginner days.

Metallica or other metal that isn't too hard-core to concentrate. Or quiet. I can't concentrate on more than one thing at a time while soaping 

And I'm always scared. Every single time. Especially so with one I haven't made in a while, or a new one. Probably never will get completely comfortable with the process, and IMHO that's fine as I won't get complacent


----------



## LisaAnne (Apr 12, 2016)

TeresaT said:


> Arimara, I understand.  That's where my ADHD comes in.  I have so many half finished things because, OH LOOK!  A SQUIRREL!
> 
> Oh my God! I'm severe ADD! I get that squirrel thing so well! I have so many good notes, index cards, files on my phone and can't find a thing when I need it. My notes have notes. I have containers of mixed oils and butter  batches I have lost the recipe for, I have no idea how much lye to use. I hang onto them, just in case. Soaps curing, no idea what's in them.
> If someone comes up with a soaping organizational tracking book I'm in. But, I'd forget to use it.


----------



## SuzieOz (Apr 12, 2016)

LisaAnne said:


> Soaps curing, no idea what's in them.
> If someone comes up with a soaping organizational tracking book I'm in. But, I'd forget to use it.



Oh no! I have a template I made up in a Word doc that I use to record everything I need to know about every soap, dates, batch numbers, all the oils used including their Best Before dates, every ingredient down to the pinch of glitter, photos and copious notes at various stages, what I did, how I did it, what I would change for next time ... etc, etc 

Every soap ... keeping those files organised on my computer is a feat in itself.

That's not OCD, just well organised right? ... :razz:


----------



## LisaAnne (Apr 12, 2016)

SuzieOz I wish I was like that! I would love it, I'm sloooowly getting better as my soap is getting better I don't change up much and that helps. OCD! Maybe lol


----------



## Navaria (Apr 12, 2016)

This thread sure has taken on a life of its own! So glad to know I'm not the only odd ball out there lol!
Bf pointed another one out to me this morning. Apparently I'm a container hoarder. I have almost every container I've emptied since I started soaping. Like I told him, you never know when you'll need them! Good for master batching, infusions, and storing all that diluted LS lol


----------



## Sagebrush (Apr 12, 2016)

Navaria said:


> This thread sure has taken on a life of its own! So glad to know I'm not the only odd ball out there lol!
> Bf pointed another one out to me this morning. Apparently I'm a container hoarder. I have almost every container I've emptied since I started soaping. Like I told him, you never know when you'll need them! Good for master batching, infusions, and storing all that diluted LS lol




I'm a bucket hoarder and a box hoarder. I've always hoarded boxes, but after I started selling soap, it got worse! I know exactly how many wrapped batches will fit in certain boxes and I have certain boxes I like best.


----------



## BattleGnome (Apr 12, 2016)

I haven't seen this in the thread yet. Am I the only one who measures oils then rechecks my exact weights in soap all before setting up my lye solution? I know .01g might not effect the whole but I feel better with the exact. 

(And then if I miss measure or eyeball something wrong I'm not super off on my sf in my final soap)


----------



## Soapsense (Apr 12, 2016)

I am a scraper, looks like the dog licked the bowl.
Every time I get a new mold, I tweak my recipe until it's exactly filled, not a hair under or over. 
Did I say I was a scraper??  I also scrape the soap off my molds before I wash them, and save it in a small crockpot, and also my bevel shavings. This is the soap I get to use.
I have a problem with fragrances, I have to try them all, I've bought so many now, it will take years to make soap with them.
I use two bowls.  My main bowl I measure the liquid oils in, then I use a second bowl to individually measure hard oils and dump into the main bowl.
I two measure everything in the same order every time.
I wear all my old shirts, and usually my pajama bottoms, socks and slippers.  Yes I go outside to mix my lye....


----------



## TeresaT (Apr 12, 2016)

BattleGnome said:


> I haven't seen this in the thread yet. Am I the only one who measures oils then rechecks my exact weights in soap all before setting up my lye solution? I know .01g might not effect the whole but I feel better with the exact.
> 
> (And then if I miss measure or eyeball something wrong I'm not super off on my sf in my final soap)



I just weigh each oil three or four times then weigh the empty container to make sure it reads zero so that every last bit went into the bowl.  I tried weighing the bowl after I was finished filling it one time and it was off a few grams.  Oh. My. Gosh.  Never again!  Do you know the absolute panic that had me in?  I was near tears and almost tossed all the oils and started over.  But, then I realized I soap with an 8% SF just in case of emergencies like that.  A gram or two either way isn't a big deal when you have such a high SF.  Or so I tell myself.  (Do not spoil my illusion.)


----------



## MoonStruck (Apr 12, 2016)

I measure everything into one bowl, I always measure in the same order, from largest percentage to smallest. I always add my fragrance to my colours after the colours have mixed. Unless I am doing a swirl that requires it, I go for emulsification vs true trace. If I am working with an accelerator, I only scent a few portions in order to still swirl on top of those layers. Also separate my scent components to make us of discolouration. When figuring out a scent I go to perfume sides to decide if the notes make sense.

I've got a template on my computer so I can sketch out swirl plans. I can't plan for what the swirl will precisely look out but I can visualize how I want to divide the batter, it and Soapmaker are the cornerstone of my soaping plans.


----------



## Navaria (Apr 12, 2016)

You can sketch your swirls on the computer?!?! How cool! How do you do that??


----------



## Chefmom (Apr 12, 2016)

I'm a neat freak when I work.  I check and double check my numbers.  Even a recipe that I've made many times gets its own soap calc print out with everything written on it.  I have fatigue issues and so even a simple batch of soap for me is many many small steps to completion.  My professional baking background has me working clean (work clean...clean less) and I am meticulous about how I scale and set up my oils.  Before I left the baking industry for good, I worked in a busy bakery and restaurant.  At any moment someone could walk in and ask a question that made you stop what you were doing to answer, so if I was in the middle of scaling or mixing it was easy to lose your place and forget if an ingredient was added.  I learned to line my ingredients up, in order so that I could go back to what I was doing after an interruption and pick back up where I left off.  This habit has come in handy for soap making.  A fatigue day also means my head gets muddled and I can confuse myself or get caught up in something else very easily.  I stay organized so that I stay on track.  

I do lots of experiments.  So I take lots of notes, prep notes, batch notes, afterthought notes, cure notes, in use notes.  I hope to get my studio to make soap as well as candles, but for now I keep half my ingredients stored downstairs and half in the kitchen.  Being organized is probably my biggest "secret".


----------



## MoonStruck (Apr 12, 2016)

Navaria said:


> You can sketch your swirls on the computer?!?! How cool! How do you do that??


Thanks . I have a template in Photoshop, really any paint program would work. I have sheets printed out so I can sketch with a pencil or make notes as well.


----------



## Saipan (Apr 13, 2016)

TeresaT said:


> Thanks.  It took a long time to reach this point.  Laughter is truly the greatest medicine.  At least for me.



Puppies are great medicine also, here is your soulmate Stripe.


----------



## TeresaT (Apr 13, 2016)

Thanks Saipan!!  What is not to love about that face?  That is the cutest nose!! I've said this before, but I've got to say it again, I wish they sold a "puppy breath" FO.  I would buy gallons of it!!


----------



## Navaria (Apr 13, 2016)

Saipan said:


> Puppies are great medicine also, here is your soulmate Stripe.


 
He has a moustache!! And a little smutz of dirt on his nose!


----------



## lenarenee (Apr 13, 2016)

When I fall into temptation and order fo's, I purposely forget which ones I ordered. ( there's always way more in my cart than i actually buy) That way it's a surprise when I open the box!


----------



## Deola (Apr 14, 2016)

I adore my soap room, it's like a my temple...sometimes I just enter to smell my soaps and leave. A place I'm so proud of.

I have strong love for coconut oil

If a soap didn't turn as I planned, I will turn it into a fresh batch...more like a new design 

I try using mot of my soap before the third week, and I keep one bar of each batch for about a year or more.


----------



## SuzieOz (Apr 22, 2016)

I have trouble getting out of the shower ... I wash myself 2 or 3 times all over ... with different soaps ...

Okay, sometimes MORE than 2 or 3 times! :razz: 

Even then I'm reluctant to get out cos there are more bars in there I haven't tried today yet.


----------



## TheDragonGirl (Apr 22, 2016)

Even though I've been reading about how to soap since I was in elementary school I finally took the plunge one fall to make Christmas soap for the family- something that embarrasses me every time it comes up on the forum now

My first soap was the one and only time I followed someone else's recipe exactly instead of tweaking it for myself or making it completely from scratch, I got one of the brambleberry kits.

I soap on the dining room table and I've manage to strip all the varnish off one side of it over the course of the last year.

I wear my PPE but I also soap barefooted and short sleeved- I always mean to wear one of my million aprons and never remember to put it on.

I measure all of my oils into one container in the same order every time: Lard, which is melted, then coconut oil into the lard to melt it, then my liquid oils, and then all the additives but the colourants so it has a good chance to soak completely through and get out all the lumps while the lye is cooling down

Sometimes I don't completely disperse my colourants and just live with the speckling

I scrape down all of my bowls within an inch of their lives, and then wipe with a wash cloth- and the washcloth goes in the laundry.

My shower has been completely overtaken by my and other people's soaps 

When I'm soaping I lay out every single thing I need to soap and then meticulously put away each container as I use it

I always immediately rinse out my lye bowls as soon as they're finished being used because I'm forever nervous about an accident involving them

My husband yells at me for making lavender soap because I'm allergic to it but its one of my best sellers

I want to use all EOs in my soap between branding and me being allergic to some of the fragrances, but I really really like a lot of the foody smells and they sell spectacularly 

I told myself I wasn't going to do hightops and glitter but I have two bars that feature hightops and one with glitter because they're so much fun even if they aren't my aesthetic


----------



## Slnsgirl (May 17, 2016)

*Me, too!*

I definitely feel a kinship with most of my fellow soapers. I, too, am a little OCD. Kitchen must be clean before I start and all ingredients are measured and prepared for my recipe. It's really hard for me to wait the 6 weeks for curing. Ugh. And in my shower are several new pieces to "try out". I am laughing out loud because I understand everything you (we) all do while we enjoy this hobby of ours:think:


----------



## SoapsMcGotes (May 17, 2016)

*sigh*

I rarely wear gloves and often wear flip flops when making soap. 

I can't bring myself to make soap that looks like food. I just don't get it. 

I use Dawn. 

I usually wait a week to wash my pots and pans.  

Cannot make soap without music playing.


----------



## McMomWV (May 23, 2016)

SoapsMcGotes said:


> *sigh*
> I can't bring myself to make soap that looks like food. I just don't get it.


Haha, I've found my true opposite.  
Wearing flip flops in my soap kitchen would freak me out and gloves are a must.  Fuzzy slippers are perfectly acceptable, though. 
Making food soaps is one of my favorite things to do.  Pie slices, tea cakes, truffles, cupcakes.  Love them all.  I recently made the ice cream bubble bath bomb posted by another forum member.  I also crochet food.  (It drives my sister nuts, but her grandchildren love it as do mine.)
Dishes are scraped within an inch of their lives and soap kitchen is scrubbed down daily (my laundry pile has been known to walk under its own power, but my soap kitchen is another story).
I use 7th generation liquid soap.
CNN is usually on in the background and I yell at the tv - more frequently when my batter traces too fast or my design doesn't translate from head to hand.  Apparently abusing Wolf Blitzer is my stress ball. (Feel free to steal that idea, it really works well.)


----------



## SoapsMcGotes (May 29, 2016)

McMomWV said:


> Haha, I've found my true opposite.
> Wearing flip flops in my soap kitchen would freak me out and gloves are a must.  Fuzzy slippers are perfectly acceptable, though.
> Making food soaps is one of my favorite things to do.  Pie slices, tea cakes, truffles, cupcakes.  Love them all.  I recently made the ice cream bubble bath bomb posted by another forum member.  I also crochet food.  (It drives my sister nuts, but her grandchildren love it as do mine.)
> Dishes are scraped within an inch of their lives and soap kitchen is scrubbed down daily (my laundry pile has been known to walk under its own power, but my soap kitchen is another story).
> ...




Oh, CNN or any news channel for that matter-would ruin my soap day experience, lol. I need music-I can tell customers exactly what song was on when a particular soap batch was being poured. Honestly, That sometimes influences the name of the soap. I have a soap called "The Boxer" that was aptly named due to listening to Simon and Garfunkel's song bearing the same name.


----------



## SoapsMcGotes (May 29, 2016)

Fuzzy slippers are perfectly acceptable, though. 




I have, however, been known to wear fuzzy slippers, myself.


----------



## niclycha (Jun 5, 2016)

penelopejane said:


> BTW
> If you buy water soluble TD mix it a a tiny amount of water from your liquid amount as soon as you decide to make soap. By the time you need to use it it will be a lovely, speckle free paste.



Also warmed distilled water dissolves it good too


----------



## niclycha (Jun 5, 2016)

My kitchen has to be clean but oh LORD look at all of my Soaping STUFF, I don't have a dining room anymore lol look at this mess and BTW I JUST started Soaping like maybe in Feb or March, 
I think I like buying stuff for Soaping as much as Soaping 
I always NEED this or NEED that and especially if it's on sale 
I work in a restaurant that has a bar so I save everything that is EMPTY and cash hold SOMETHING IN 
Micas, fo, batter, stirrer sticks, olive jars, plastic cherry jars for lye 50 50 concentrate, empty plastic bottles, chipped wine glasses OMG I MEAN I SAVE EVERYTHING LOL


----------



## sjconner (Jun 13, 2016)

My biggest soapy secret is that I am soaping ... again.  I first learned how to make soap 18 years ago at a university extension course.  The batch I made in class was perfect but the next two batches failed horribly.  I quit.  

I tried again about 9 years ago and ended up with a small soaping business.  I tried and made just about everything bath and body related.  I even had SOAPMKR on my license plates.  Four years ago, after I was diagnosed with cancer, I quit soaping.  

I can't seem to help myself ... my soaping urge kicked in again.  My daughter (11 years old) has given me a convenient excuse to start up again ... she asked me to teach her how to make CP.  I get to soap again! (Rubbing hands together and laughing maniacally)


----------



## Raiyn (Jun 19, 2016)

I'm new to soap making. I'm still in the reading and accumulating supplies stage. I have not yet made my own batch but I'm close! This forum and thread is helping me a lot because I can see myself doing these same kinds of things. Lol. 

Here is my newbie soapy secret though... As I've been accumulating different bars to try to find types I prefer... My shower corner rack gets super over run by bars.. I also wash with at least 3 different bars during my shower and I can't wait until the next day to use yummy hand made soaps again. I have a lucious Greek sponge that I can't live without now! I'm addicted! It makes me anxious to try my own batch! 

Here is my tip about drying and organizing bars in the shower or anywhere... 

Office letter sorters. I have them on every shelf in my showe, lol. But I must say, my bars have never been drier between showers  

This might not be revolutionary to you all but for someone new to using bars... It's a huge improvement to gummy soap wasting! 

So happy to have found this forum. I'm becoming obsessed with soap making, but wowza.... I can see this will be an expensive habit. I'm slowly gathering my supplies and hope to batch up soon


----------



## earlene (Jun 21, 2016)

Raiyn said:


> Here is my tip about drying and organizing bars in the shower or anywhere...
> 
> Office letter sorters. I have them on every shelf in my showe, lol. But I must say, my bars have never been drier between showers
> 
> ...




I'm having trouble picturing this.  There are so many different ones out there.  I wonder what you are using?


----------



## nikkisessence (Jun 21, 2016)

I often use old cereal bags to line my molds, and save ice cream pails and yogurt containers to mix soap and weigh lye into.


----------



## Consuela (Jun 22, 2016)

It never fails... when I decide to make soap - that's the day I have a hang nail or a small cut on a prominent finger like my pointer - or an (insignificant one) like my pinky - that just happens to keep hitting the rim of the bowl which is no doubt covered in soap. And I almost always rinse that f****r out 294 million times in a soaping session. (I hate to wear gloves. I really feel limited... I don't wear gloves house cleaning either).

I sometimes wear flip flops - but I DO have designated soaping shoes, slippers and flip flops - that live in the soap room and nowhere else. (I have a toddler now and I take about a zillion precautions to keep all my soap-related things in one place.)

I decontaminate after an afternoon of soap making - especially if it was a messy disorganized day. (See above: toddler. Definition of decontamination: full shower, change of clothes)

I sometimes don't wash my pots and pans right away - (like as long as a month, depending what's happening in my life) - but I do like to fill them with water to soak. I use a really expensive body wash my Auntie gave me for Christmas to wash my soap dishes...because it's a good super stripper - and sometimes it just gets ALL the oils out. 

Don't tell her.

Not soap relevant, but when I make lotions, I scrape the bowls and make my husband moisturize after his shower - and I often save the beaters, spatulas - to collect said scrapings.


----------

