Search results

I got started making my own bath products a couple years ago because I couldn't find lip balm that actually worked. I take gummy vitamins and something in them kept my lips permanently chapped. I did a little research and started making my own lip balm and that morphed into soap making (and...

I was born in '77 and I love 70s color schemes!

That kind of bill is possible if you have a variable rate plan. We thankfully do not as they are too unpredictable. I'm just infuriated that we weren't better prepared. We had a similar bit of bad weather in Feb 2011 that only lasted a day or two and we had the same type of power failure and...

I got a dehumidifier at Wal-Mart today and I'm going to put it back in the room where I keep my soaps. Now that I have that I'll think I'll try bath bombs again. I won't be able to make any more soap for a while though because I can't find powdered goat milk or distilled water. I'm in Texas and...

There are six teaspoons to one ounce and I can get multiple batches out of one ounce of mica. I don't heavily color my soaps (usually one to 1.5 tsp for a loaf size batch of 52oz).

I get most of my micas from Nurture Soap and I also have a couple from WSP (Wholesale Supplies Plus). Like GemstonePony said, you can get credits at Nurture Soap for reviewing products (and on your first purchase) and that helps lower the price of subsequent orders. I usually order the 1oz bags...

That's what I tell myself too! ;)

Here are my first two attempts at in the pot swirls. I think my soap was a little too thick both times. I'm so used to hot process and I usually get to about medium trace before I leave it to cook so thin trace is hard to do. I think it's not "tracing" enough and then it gets too thick to...

Here's the cut. I think I cut it too soon (I just couldn't wait!!) and I got drag marks. The middle layer isn't very pronounced but I think the tops look neat and I'm happy with it as it's my 1st CP loaf.

Those are beautiful soaps! They look sort of like abstract paintings. Beautiful color scheme too.

This is my 3rd batch of CP soap now (my same HP goat's milk recipe but with added colloidal oatmeal) and my first one in a loaf mold. It's scented with Georgia Peach from WSP (behaved perfectly) and colored with Mango Tango from Nurture Soap on the top and bottom and a middle layer colored with...

I use Sunflower oil in my "standard" recipe. I use 15% and I think the general rule of thumb is no more than 25% (at least that's what I found doing some research).

I've actually had success using these more intricate molds with HP but CP is definitely easier. Right at the end I add in the sodium lactate to the HP soap and stir very vigorously. It's still "gloppy" but easier to work with then without the SL. Then I just slap the molds down on the counter...

It was wild being able to pour soap instead of glopping it into the mold! I love that Texas mold. I found it at HEB (a Texas grocery store chain). They are popular here at craft shows. I also have a Texas shaped ice cube mold and cornbread pan (also found at HEB). :D

Here's my second batch of CP. I've been making hot process using these same molds but it sure works better with the more fluid CP soap.

Thanks AliOop! I made a small 16oz batch with the water discount and it amounted to less than an ounce of water (3.88oz down to 3.50oz) so it probably didn't make a big difference. I'll try the next batch with the whole amount from the 33% lye concentration calculation.

Here's the goat mold soap I used for my first CP batch compared to the same mold with HP (left - as if that's not obvious). I made my second CP batch yesterday in my Texas shaped mold but I'll have to wait a while yet to unmold that one.

I did the lye calculator using Lye Concentration at 33% and then did the water discount. Was that correct?

I've been making hot process soap for a little over a year but yesterday (and again today) I made my first batches of cold process soap. It's the same basic recipe I normally use (goat's milk and colloidal oatmeal soap) but with a 10% water discount. I poured the first batch in the new goat soap...

I have a spreadsheet where I keep all my pricing info so if a gallon (128 oz) tub of coconut oil is $14.99 then that works out to $0.12 per ounce. I do that with all my ingredients and then figure out how much I'm using and what the cost is then. So if I use 8oz of coconut oil in one batch then...