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I'm guessing they were trying to be courteous, since I have heard of the fans of some media-famous soap makers attacking less famous soap makers who they think are copy-catting their favorite (and with only so many colors and swirl techniques, coincidental copy-catting is almost inevitable). I...

I beveled my newest soap badly (sorry Lily of the Valley), planed and re-beveled an older soap that nobody was looking at because it ashed badly (both the ash and my cleanup were bad, but at least it looks more like soap), and no, I'm not posting pictures of my misdeeds. I also discovered that...

I think it looks good. At this point there's not much to do but make soap and let it cure for at least 4-8 weeks before deciding if there's anything about it you want to change. One note about using frozen cubes -you really do want to start with some liquid in the bottom so the lye doesn't end...

Ok, so freezing it is so that I can add it to the lye solution without the lye solution getting as warm (usually cools it off, in fact). The reason I add it to the lye solution is so the lye interacts with the sugar and any alcohol that could possibly still be there ahead of time. As long as you...

It's not unusual. If you want the bar to last a little longer, you could up the Shea, but I'd keep it under 30% so you don't have soap on a stick between the Shea and the beer. Side note, another reason I've heard for adding salt to beer is to help the alcohol boil off faster and to be very...

Yes, just replace it with olive oil.

Brambleberry, and it's fantastic! So, my FO blend was 3:1 Lily of the Valley : Earth meets Sky (sweet/Patchouli), which does not accelerate. My first time soaping Lily of the Valley, and I doubt it decelerates, but it took 2 hours to get all 3 mini-batches mixed and layered (starting once I had...

Unmolded and cut my Lily of the Valley soap, which was very soft, and I should probably have waited. Way too soft to bevel, and I might need to do touch-ups on the surfaces I smudged, but I'm fairly pleased. Not exactly a glamour pic, but they aren't cleaned up yet, either.

I do feel like people who like to craft things by hand enjoy the sensory feel of making something. Whether or not that directly corresponds to a heightened sense of touch (or other senses) or not, most of us do highly value at least one of our senses. I'm highly visual: I got into soap making...

Cherry blossom batch 3 was cut, mostly to see how my design ideas turned out: the TD I put in the lye solution hid that the lye had flaked since the solution was too cold, and thus the soap is unusable because it has lye chunks. Also, the colors were off because I forgot how much purple I really...

Japanese Cherry Blossom attempt #3 in the mold, not gelling it this time to see if the FO doesn't weep as much or yellow as much. This time I added Aloe Vera Gel, which I haven't done for a while. And I ended up soaping way cooler than normal, and there were flakes of something in my soap. Maybe...

Ewww. I already have a goal of eventually being in a space where I can make my own clothing that both fits and lasts (I don't think that's a thing that's available commercially... At least, not in a price range for my everyday wear), but for now I get to be grossed out by my wardrobe because...

I've sort of assumed the fact that there isn't one is the reason almost identical batches can turn out different/weird. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it. 😁

Welcome!

My best bad idea: Disperse a bit more black oxide in a tiny bit of oil using one corner of a plastic bag, which you will not be able to clean. Carefully snip the corner, add it to the soap dough, and work it in thoroughly using gloves, which will also turn black or at least gray.

Whereas it would cost me (Midwest US) on average US$25-55 for 3-day shipping, depending on which company, how much stuff, etc. I'm just a bit envious, TBH.

Lol, does reworking some of my soap recipes to exclude RBO based on the the oils I have on hand count as a soapy thing? I was silly enough to believe my usual store would have it back in stock by now, and they do not. I'm too tired at the moment to go search-shopping, and don't want to spend...

A number of US soapers feel powdered sugar gives better/different bubbles than plain sugar, honey, or sorbitol, possibly due to the cornstarch component in most US Powdered Sugar products. If your powdered sugar is just sugar, your statement is true, but since the OP is from the US, it's...

I'm with Impkit on this. Used outer clothing-sure (almost my entire wardrobe, TBH). But used underwear, swimsuits, etc.? Nope, not for me. Skin is constantly shedding cells, has bacteria (even if you just washed it), and a towel picks up that plus water. Even if it gets hung to dry and washed...

In my last batch of soap (2lbs), I used 2 tsp powdered sugar, and then threw in another tsp of corn starch for good measure. While the lye mixture did thicken into a marvelous sauce, the FO and recipe behaved as normal, and I spent a good 45 minutes putting it in the mold (complicated design)...