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To everyone, I used this recipe as a broad guide. Having said that, it has NO indication of SF, and I'm having some cognitive impairment these days so I'm not sure if I did the comparison of the recipe through the Soapmaking Friend with mine or not. @shunt2011 I didn't think about that SF being...

@mishmish The linens wouldn't be boiled. If they were stained or really dirty, they'd be spread out on busses bushes or clean rocks near the washing "pilas" (pronounced pee'-las) while still damp to be bleached by a combination of the lye water and the sun. It worked amazingly well! Try it...

I don't know if this is relevant or even tangential, but when I would spend vacations with my country grandma in rural El Salvador, there was no electricity or running water, so ironing was done with wood charcoal in a hollow iron and all her kitchen cloths were made of raw cotton. This is to...

I'm in a pickle. I've read through a lot of posts and I can't seem to find a clear answer to my question/problem. I want to make a brine soap, not a salt one, and about the only information that I've found is: 1) I shouldn't use more than 25% salt in my water or it'll precipitate out, and in my...

I know I'm late to respond to this post but what I do, and I have 3 grandkids, all with ADHD, and 2 grown kids (my son, who has ADHD) and his SO, plus myself, who's always in the kitchen, is put the soaps on face towels. They are NOT for getting wet, only for putting the soaps to rest. It works...

Has anyone here heard of or tried Soapmaking Recipe Builder & Lye Calculator. You can add additives, with as much detail as you want, notes, with each batch, and add ingredients that aren't included in the list of need be. It was created by members of this forum, and the many of the older...

Like any first time soaper, you'll see the tiniest of imperfections that no one else will. They look beautiful! Don't worry so much! Truly. You did fine. 😍 Lots better than I did, that's for sure! And now the wait begins. Write down somewhere today's date, put those beauties somewhere where...

I really don't think you need to be overly concerned about the lye damaging your sink. Mostly because you shouldn't be pouring pure lye crystals onto ANY surface anywhere, unless it's by accident!! In which case, you're to flood that, or those, surface(s) with plenty of fresh water and NOT...

If you have access to a Dollar Tree, they have these containers of humidity control beads. I can't think of the name right now, but they carry them in the section where they have the closet items like hangers and dusters. Ask the cashiers or the store manager if you've never been in one. It'll...

That's exactly what you do when you start. It's how you learn! Then, when stuff goes sideways, as they inevitably do, it's MUCH easier for the more experienced to help you. A tried and true recipe that someone else has made numerous times means they've worked out all the kinks, knows where it's...

I'm just gonna add my little bit here. I've been soaping since 2014 and I started because I realized no matter the commercial "soap" or gel, my skin was always dry and itchy, even when I used lotion. Then YouTube recommended a video by Soaping101. My life changed. I think I watched her videos...

I lived in a 500sf efficiency for over 2 years and I baked bread, made CP soap, and made crib-sized quilts for gifts. You can really do anything you set your mind to do. If you have sensitive skin, you probably won't need the fragrances or colors to start. Keep it simple. Check out Soaping101's...

I use not only Bertolli but also Ottavio brand "light tasting" olive oil without issues. They're cheaper and from a well-known Texas market that has a high turnover in their inventory so I know that their products are rarely if ever stale. I too have watched Brambleberry's videos and don't...

Can you give us the recipe you used and how you made it? Most of the time it's not the ingredients, but the process, that produces unexpected results. Without knowing what oils and/or fats you used, whether you used room temperature lye and oils, or you made sure to keep them within a certain...

I'm an apt dweller without a properly vented kitchen stove (I'm in TX) so I mix my small batch of lye outside on my stoop. Then I do my mixing inside. The first few hours of the saponification takes place on my stoop as well. All of this because my entire son's family, as well as myself, suffer...

Frankly, that's about all that was left in my piggy bank! Really though, my favorite place to learn to soap was soaping101.com's YouTube channel. She's a marvelous teacher, with excellent communication skills, great recipes, and does exciting ones for those who've advanced. I watched her...

Hi. Welcome to the soap side. I'll put in my 2 cents if I may? I'm on a strict budget and have never had a silicone mold or been able to afford micas or FO's. However, I've made do with what's on my kitchen counter to great advantage. Olive oil from Costco, in Mason jars together with turmeric...

I’m going to chime in though I don’t have eczema, but after yrs of lupus, something is breaking down my skin. I can no longer use any kind of soap. In desperation, one day I took my olive oil into my bath and, pouring some into a container with some water just for dispersion, I used a clean...

Fwiw, I can only get "brown" lard here in El Salvador so I've been experimenting with how to clean it. My best results have been with a salt water bath. I heat water and the lard separately then pour them into a quart mason jar. I put it in the fridge overnight. Once the lard is hard, I open a...

I only used safety goggles once, with my very first batch. Ditto for the gloves, until just recently. I washed the stick blender right after soaping (crazy, I know) and it took a week of moisturizing to get my hands to heal. Now I use gloves every time. Thermometer? I only use it when I make...