Search results

HP (and CP) are safe to use within a few days of making, but they aren't very nice. I made favors for my friends big fat gay wedding, they included lotion bars, bath bombs and little candles. We boxed them up and called them "D & D's Love Boxes" (You have to say that in a voice like Barry White...

I had an issue similar (but not that spectacular) with what I thought was tea tree EO but was tea tree scented oil. The problem is you don't know the ingredients of the oil (or in your case lotion) - at the best you are over superfatting it, at worst you are adding unsaponifiables like mineral...

My apologies! I only just noticed you're in Australia. That site was quoting USDA regs. Want some GMO corn? :headbanging:

According to that wikki article, rotenone (the ingredient in roundup) and also pyrethrins and azadirachtin are allowed on organic foods. I guess Im not so surprised about roundup - its half life is very short, but Im a bit surprised about the pyrethrins and azadirachtin because of the damage to...

I use Aloe powder, which was recommended on the SwiftyCraftyMonkey site, and I really like it in lotions. +1 to it being addictive.

Wow those came out nice!!

My 3" PVC mold has a rubber "boot" that seals with a hose clamp. Dig around in the PVC sections at a big hardware store, you'll find something. And yes, I've forgotten to tighten it as well :p

I like cocoa butter because it adds solidity to the bomb. I also like making half rounds using a melamine bowl as a mold because its sosoSO much easier (bam bam bam on the cookie sheet done). I haven't tried an emulsifier because I didnt have any, but it sounds like a good idea. I have also had...

I've always wanted to try ground up salt soap in oil as a scrub....(instead of just sugar and oil, or an emulsified sugar/salt scrub).

I get really good lather with sweet almond oil, coconut & sugar in the mix.

Have you ever worked with stearic acid? I find it to be a pain and avoid it when I can. It needs to be really hot to melt, it coats the container and mixing utensils (use disposable if you can) and can give you soap on a stick. Id use a butter first, but nobody is saying you can't try it with...

So the basic question is - since it didn't behave the same as the other batches (did not fold into itself), you are worried it's not ok? I have never had 2 HP batches behave the same that I don't even pay attention to behavior. I look for that translucency and if it passes the zap test. It...

I would treat it as a liquid and sugar addition, and I think it might be nice :) I'd be tempted to add it to the water before the lye just because it's mostly sugar, but what do I know? Try it both ways and report back!

This is genius! When I'm done, I put my bowls and stuff in a plastic bag out of the way and just leave them until the batter is soap. Makes clean up SO much easier, and I don't waste a ton of paper towels.

Embeds or confetti is a lot easier than rebatching and I really like the look. I just rinse or dip the soap bits briefly to wet them before mixing in with the batter. I think you don't want any more than 1/3 of the new soap to the old soap.

It's the same as any citrus in my experience you can use it, but it likes to fade or morph. Better in bath products or liquid soaps where the lye monster doesn't eat it. I've actually taken to swirling a few drops in a jar and adding dry tea leaves and lemon peels to make my own earl grey tea...

I'm so sorry for your loss! I don't think M&P is cheating. There are some very high quality bases out there, and the soaps themselves can be absolutely beautiful. I've even made my own M&P, and I don't think its any "less natural" than CP or HP soap, because hey - lye and the resulting alkali...

I could be wrong, but I think I used some oil infused with alkanet and got a nice purple once on some bath bombs.

Or mix with glycerin - either way it looks super pretty, and would serve your purposes as well.

Hey and welcome! My first molds were drawer dividers lined with plastic wrap. Just don't make your first batches too small or too large - say between 1/2 -1 kilo. Too small and measuring errors become large, and you dont want large batches of test soaps in case you don't like them. I wouldn't...