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Those are Incredible with a capital I! Absolutely stunning - well done!! By the way, do you like the EO blend? It sounds intriguing. I've found great success with a lot of EOCalc's blends and have been meaning to start a post where people can discuss which ones they've tried/liked.

Thanks for the update! I recently started experimenting with soy wax and only have one batch cured enough to use (the SW was 25% in place of beef tallow). I LOVE the lather and it seems to stay more firm in the shower as compared to its beef tallow counterpart. It's interesting you mention...

I'd be most interested to hear how the batter behaves if you try a higher lye concentration. A couple years ago I did a high/low water soap and discovered the low water soap (45% lye concentration) took forever to trace, while the high water soap (30% lye concentration) traced much, much...

I make liquid shampoo, not bars, but two of the surfactants I use are Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI) and Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate. The SCI are stubby noodles and the Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate is a powder (the third surfactant I use is the liquid Cocamidopropyl Betaine), and all of them, as...

I've been experimenting with these ingredients since Feb. 2018, and using this particular recipe since January 2019 and loving it. The experiments where I used 3% each ewax and cetyl alcohol was too little (deodorant wasn't firm enough for my liking and resulted in applying way too much), and...

I LOVE her soaps. They are all so exquisite and she has such an eye for detail and color (like that pink hue on the third soap as if it's sunrise/set!). Thanks for sharing!

My current iteration of this deodorant is: 49% Babassu oil 33% Magnesium Hydroxide 8.5% E-Wax (Mountain Rose Herbs) 9% Cetyl Alcohol 0.5% Fragrance As you can see, there is no BTMS-50 in the recipe (ewax, instead) and I do not get any of the pilling you mention - do you think it could be...

I've been making my own liquid (syndet) shampoo and conditioner for a year and half. At the time I started, SwiftCraftyMonkey's site was still free and I learned a TON from Susan. If you pay a very small monthly fee, you will have access to a treasure trove of information that will help you...

Awww, thanks everyone! And congratulations to dibbles and artemis! I also extend many congrats to everyone who submitted both an entry and non-entry because there is just so much creativity in this group and all of the ideas and creations are inspiring. earlene, thanks so much for hosting...

Regarding the metal, a few months ago I had a whim to try an old hotel soap I'd saved (it was new in the package, but several years old). I used it a few times and then put it on the metal shower caddy on the top shelf. The other day I noticed it was completely yellow and had gone rancid. I...

Thank you for the other recommendations. In the past I've usually purchased shampoo/conditioner ingredients from Lotioncrafter (I really like them) and ITDF, but next time instead of ITDF I'll check out one of the ones you suggested. I've also been wanting to check out Essential Wholesale &...

I am sorry this happened, and feel your frustration. I buy some things from ITDF and overall feel pretty ambivalent about them, so this gives me food for thought when needing to place another order for surfactants and such. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for the clarification, earlene!

Thanks, earlene! When I added it before I used the camera icon (in the tool bar) and then clicked on the entry photo when the "your media" box opened. I'm not sure why it added it the way it did, and it seems every time I try to add a photo I somehow go about it a little bit differently...

I just posted my soap on the entry thread, but feel as though I have no idea how to really post pictures. Ok, I don't just feel that way, it's a fact. o_O earlene, if the photo should be posted a different way, I'm all ears and can change it (well, I think)! Especially since it seems the...

We adopted a dog about a year ago, and she's, um, become my life. As such, I had paw prints on the brain. This was the third attempt at a single-layer rim, as I seemed to be having troubles with the gel stage. In fact, this soap rim actually overheated a little, which mysteriously caused just...

A bit of this and that

Yes, the tackiness has diminished! It still has some "texture" on the rim from when it was tacky and then handled, but there wasn't much I could do about it. There was also a bit of soda ash. And stearic spots. And issues with cutting the soap straight. *sigh* Here is a photo: I made a...

My attempts at rimmed soap in the past have been mostly, well, disasters, so before I signed up here I made a small batch the other day to test the recipe as well as my patience level. The recipe was a variation of the one @earlene generously shared in Post #21 (changes were due to what...