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I've read that virgin coconut oil can last nearly indefinitely. Not sure if that's true or not, but I've never come across coconut oil that has gone bad (to my nose, that is), whereas I have thrown away more other oils than I care to think about.

As long as your other oils aren't cold, I don't think you'll need to worry about them solidifying as you work - this has not been an issue for me at least. I've had issues with body butters and belly butters getting grainy, but not soap (yet). And at just 10% of your bar, I doubt it will be an...

+1 on the above sentiment. I often soap at a 45% lye solution and they dry out pretty fast in my dry, warm So Cal. home, but my soaps still aren't that great until they've cured for 4-8 weeks and they seem to just get better as time goes by.

We just let them sit out at room temp for a little bit, but a warm water bath would work well too. We also keep a bit out for daily use, but leave the gallon jugs in the fridge.

Yes! We keep many of our oils refrigerated. Keep in mind that some will solidify and/or seperate a bit though - this won't harm them, but you'll want to warm them up and give them a shake before using them.

15-25% coconut oil 5-7% castor 5-40% natural butters 5-40% oils some essential oils a touch of natural clays seems to help with lather 6+ weeks of waiting, and.... BOOM - AWESOME SOAP! [works for me]

The closest thing I can get to for a natural bath without preservatives and other junk is just mainly coco glucoside (pushing the envelope on 'natural' there) along with some essential oils and maybe a touch of glycerin. Bubbles up well enough for the kiddos.

Just checked a few different makers of cans of coconut milk online, and they've got 1 gram of sugars per 1/3 cup of coconut milk. Coconut cream's got a bit more sugars. I've got some coconut butter at home with even more sugar at 1 gram per 14 grams serving, but still, this doesn't seem like...

Thanks everyone for the tips! It's interesting how some of you find it heats things up (which I've also read elsewhere) while others didn't notice this at all. I wonder if it could have anything to do with the additives sometimes included in coconut milk (thickeners and such)? Thanks for the...

I hadn't considered the superfat aspect of this - good point! Not sure how to accurately adjust for that, but I will keep it in mind. Fires are pretty far away from us, but the smoke has been working it's way into our valley. Nothing too bad, just lots of gray days and mild smokey notes in the...

I plan on making a soap with coconut milk, once I get some additive-free coconut milk (made some coconut curry tonight, so it's on my mind)... Any tips? Looks like I'll need to go with an overall higher lye percentage than I typically do (40-45) and I'm thinking I'll add my milk just before...

Google picked out my avatar for me and pure laziness decided my username ;)

I'm curious as to what the 60%+ base is as well... +1 on not packaging till you have to. And, at least for my soaps, 4 weeks has not been long enough to maximize the soaps awesomeness.

I don't have any direct experience with using dried whole flowers, though I have used powdered herbs, and I am very doubtful there will be any scent from the dried flowers noticeable while soaping. My 2 cents.

Rosehip seed oil is often used for 'anti aging' type applications, and is often thought to help with healing and skin issues in general. It is a very 'dry' oil and is best suited for oily skin when used alone. It absorbs into the skin super quickly leaving little to no residue. If I use it on my...

I'm always looking for new natural additives to try Zing - thanks for the post! What do you mean by "that color will go inward" - I don't follow? And since every computer and/pic renders colors different...are your soaps still red? I wonder if they'll stay that color.

I recently made a salt bar with 40% salt (% of oils) and 8% Shea that is super lathery and awesome. Good luck!

If someone gives me a sweet, handmade soap for free with a cool essential oil blend that, yeah, doesn't match the 'look' of the soap, I'm getting over the cognitive dissonance real fast and taking a nice, long shower! Just saying... I certainly see what you're saying though. But then, I...

Just curious as to what your concern is about have the window open? The more air the better, for the most part. I suppose if it's really humid outside then your soap would be better of with the windows closed, assuming your house is air-conditioned and drier...but other than that, it seems like...

+1 on not keeping them sealed up in plastic bag - seems like airflow would be better, and combine that with the fact that you tossed one in that put one back after exposing it to your hand-germs...trouble! I dry mine on racks and then leave them in cardboard boxes after that.