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I typically do CP and not CPOP. For CP I wipe down all my bowls and utensils with paper towels before washing. That way I don't have a bunch of oily soap batter going down the drain. I don't want my drains to get clogged so I am very careful to clean off as much as as possible. Paper towels...

For now I am using a recycled gallon size plastic white vinegar bottle. I typically master batch the day before for one or two days of soaping so a gallon pretty much works for me. I know it will keep for months but I tend to use it up withing 24-36 hours. For my soaping oils I recycled some...

I do this full time after I retired. Personally I love doing markets and craft fairs and work year round most every weekend. I tend to do 2-3 markets a week during market season (May through October) and craft shows during the fall and holiday season (September through December). It keeps me...

I add the evaporated gm to my oils and use liquid/water for my lye solution. I usually use aloe vera juice for my lye solution so I have an aloe and goat milk soap.

My favorite facial soap is 75-80% OO, 10-15% CO, 5-10% castor. Different % are because sometimes I vary it depending on what I have available at the time. So mild and soft with nice creamy suds. I use it when my face breaks out especially in the summer.

My Big Lots sells the 30.5oz containers for $4 ea. I just buy out the whole lot while I'm there. When you consider you are also not paying for shipping and need CO quick its a great buy! But beware and check the freshness dates. Make sure the oil is not past its freshness date.

I used to get soda ash when I was a beginner soaper. I remember reading a post about that time that ash is formed when unsaponified soap can oxidize creating a layer of ash due to being exposed to air. So I made sure my soap was always covered completely so no air exposure could get into the...

Seeing the use of flowers and herbs in soaps is a pet peeve of mine. They may look cool but are impractical. Who wants to use a scratchy soap that leaves garbage stuck in the drain?!!! Ick!

well I never gel, never get ash, and get bold brilliant colors. Plus my soap batches are mostly saponified leaving them covered overnight.

I used to use MW's Autumn Embers and it was fabulous in soap. A lot of MW's FOs were duped but I haven't seen a dupe of Autumn Embers. If anyone knows of a FO that is similar I would love to try it. I have tried AH Bonfire Bliss and it is not the same or even close. Any suggestions would be...

I love using sunflower oil in my soap. But if you are buying your sunflower oil from your local grocer's it is regular sunflower oil and not the high oleic. There is a huge difference in these oils fatty acid profiles. Regular sunflower oil is high in linoleic fatty acid where high oleic is high...

I know what you mean. I was the same way at first thinking I had to stay within the range listed on the calc. But when it comes to some soaps they are all over the place. Castile and salt bars come to mind. What I look at now are the fatty acid profiles. An experienced soaper gave me some great...

The sediment in ACV you mention, are you sure that is not the "mother"? Not all ACV's have the mother in them, but those that do look like they have a lot of sediment in them. You usually have to shake the bottle to mix it back in.

For a 5 lb batch I use about 2 tsp. Too much charcoal and you could get grey lather. I don't force gel. I make coconut milk or goat milk soaps and let them saponify naturally in a wood mold with a wood cover. No other covering just the lid.

Nice video for beginners. For those with lighting issues I use a clamp light I put anywhere so when I am soaping I put it above my mixing bowl giving me the perfect light to see detail. This is in addition to my regular overhead ceiling light. I just found that ceiling light is too far away from...

Same here. Most of my soaps I do multi colored swirls so I just SB enough to emulsify the batter, split into seperate bowls for coloring then pour into mold. I almost never SB to trace with the exception of my goat milk & oatmeal soaps. I don't color these and I want to be able to do a stick...

Haven't bought soap since 2005. Use my own. Last time I remember using a commercial soap I had to run back into the shower and wash with my own soap. I used Dove that time and after my skin felt dry, itchy, and filmy and just plain icky. Never again!

With those high % of CO and cocoa butter you are going to end up with a very high cleansing and low conditioning bar. I would lower several of those oils like the castor, almond, cocoa butter, shea, even the coconut and raise your olive oil a lot higher. Slow trace oils are fats/oils that slow...

I make a dog soap that has been very successful for me. It took at least 2 yrs in the development and research to get it just right. I almost gave up because there are a lot of ingredients that are not dog friendly and studying EOs for the soap was not as easy as it sounds. But I finally came up...

I have a bastile soap I make that is really slow to trace. Its 75-80% olive oil with a bit of CO, Almond, and castor in the recipe too. I have loads of time to do nice swirls with multiple colors. I learned some time ago for soaps I want to do swirls with to simply emulsify the batter making...