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I highly recommend using silicone molds or heat resistant mylar for larger wooden molds. The mylar in particular is so much less of a pain to use and is reusable. It's just a touch tricky to score the sheets to fit your molds. I made my own wooden molds and the way I've set up my mylar is I...

Out of curiosity, has anyone tried 10% KOH and compared it to 5% KOH? I've seen both numbers used with reports of similar results but I haven't seen any information on the difference (or any reported threshold for KOH percentage where see the bar get too soft and/or diminished returns). :think:

I agree... but it does really depend on the recipe/EOs/FOs. I've set my oven to 170 degrees for 30 minutes on my CPOP batches and they have all come out perfectly gelled without any adverse side effects. More likely than not, you just have a normal gelled soap. Bubbles can happen if you...

Welp, I've got a HP batch going now. Using a 50% lard recipe to try it out. Thank you all for the suggestions! I'll have to try some avocado oil next and compare.

Irony and alliteration can help make a memorable brand name. How about something like "Mojave Monsoon Bath & Body"?

It's just a matter of not going too high and balancing it out with other oils and butters (I like cocoa and shea, myself) to ride the line between slick and snot-like :lol: Unless, of course you're doing castile bars. Then you're in for a snot-fest.

High OO soaps with Castor oil tend to be like this in my experience. There's little to no lather, depending on other oils, but it's super slick. I'm going to give lard a shot though. It's cheap and easy to come by.

I really like the feel of super thick, slick lather. I've got the lather bit down and I'm getting good results on the slick bit, but I feel like I can do even better. I've noted that Olive and Safflower oils along with Avocado Butter tend to add a good amount of slickness to the lather...

I've tried using Soy Wax in shave soap a few times and the biggest issue I've found is you can't tell how hydrogenated it actually is. I don't think any of the stuff I've tried is fully hydrogenated. You will get a very full lather that just doesn't last quite as long. It will be great on the...

I've never had this happen, either. Usually after about 30 minutes or so of boiling the carbonation is gone. After letting it sit a few hours I'm able to use the beer in soap without issue. I wonder what's in that beer that makes it behave so differently? I've never used an IPA, though. I...

George nailed it. Well put!

I initially became interested in shave soaps when I tried a few that I really fell in love with and wanted to learn how to somehow make something similar but even better. I figured while I had all the ingredients in hand anyway, why not try making bath and shampoo bars while I'm at it? My...

CA can help with soap scum. The reason it is useful due to the reaction with lye to get converted into Sodium/Potassium Citrate. This post may help provide greater detail: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=56643 I find it easier to just use Sodium Citrate to achieve the...

Thanks for correcting me, DeeAnna. That actually makes sense. I suppose it would only be useful in possibly identifying oddball ingredients like lanolin or jojoba since they have much, much lower SAP values but "normal" oils should be left out of such comparisons (keeps the apples with the...

Think of the soap and the additives + SF as separate parts. Soap being your "base", you will determine whether and to what degree it strips the skin of oils (cleansing over a value of 0) and what little bit of leftovers you'll have present in the way of unsaponifiable material. Lanolin and...

While we may agree to disagree, I think a more valid test of your candle example would be to see what happens when pure EO hits that 180F surface. Not while it's in a solution of candle wax already. As I mentioned, once it's in the soap and blended up it's not really a concern. The example...

If you soap at too high of a temp you risk evaporating those expensive oils. For example, when I make a high SA% shave soap I bring in the SA while it's still fluid at around 150-ish degrees. Let's say I want to add Bergamot EO (flash point @ 122F), I wait until the batter has cooled a bit...

As others have mentioned, there are a multitude of other ways to get a harder bar aside from using SA. However, if you do choose to use SA in any amount, I have found it easier to work with in CP and HP settings by following a few recommendations: 1) Don't skimp on the water (or water...

Here's a pic of the test soap and a boar hair brush after about 5 seconds of loading. Soap had a little water added to wet the surface and brush had excess water shaken out. After 20 seconds of hand lathering: 40 seconds: Piled on the brush: Not amazing in the after...

After a recent experiment, I'd like to add to the discussion on Castor oil for lather. Let's assume that the 100% SA soap test described on TheSage's site (http://blog.thesage.com/2012/03/26/single-oil-soap-stearic-acid/) accurately states the result of no lather (I haven't personally tried...