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Costco (Kirtland brand) grade A OO consistently comes back as unadulterated in testing and it's relatively affordable.

To the OP, essential oils, if bought on line from soap suppliers, can be as economical as fragrance oils. Try New Directions Aromatics, which I believe has a branch either in Australia or NZ. There are many that can be purchased for USD $2/30 grams or less if you buy at least 100 grams at a...

Just make sure you dissolve it well first. If it's in granules, it will melt out the first time the finished soap hits water. Don't ask me how I know.

Wow, that is a great list! If you don't care for patchouli, use it very sparingly - say 10% of your total blend and it will add depth without overpowering it. I do the drop method but use small perfume vials - you can get them at many fragrance and soap suppliers. I save the vials for...

The dark part might be oxidation. The rest may develop that darker shade as the soap cures. Either way, it's very pretty.

To answer your initial question, Alicia Grosso's Everything Soap Book is a great comprehensive introduction if you want all the basic information in one reference work. Aside from youtube videos, you can also learn just about anything you need to know right here!

The soft pastel hues are really lovely!

While it may not have been what you intended, I think it's really beautiful!

Perfect for Halloween!

For me, the sweet spot is between 6 months and a year. Beyond a year, while the soap may be fine, the fragrance may be fading or gone altogether. I prefer essential oils; if you use fragrance oils, you could probably stretch it out to 1.5 or 2 years. I have soap lying about that is 3-4 years...

There are many! You might want to try Nature's Garden as it's located in the midwest. Other options are Wholesale Supplies Plus and Brambleberry.

I use A grade. Pomace is fine but can speed up trace. Virgin is wasted in soap, IMO, unless you like the greenish color it imparts.

My shaving soap recipe is very high in castor oil (over 25%) and it has never developed DOS. While I wouldn't recommend more than 8% for a regular bar soap, you can certainly use 7% without incident.

In my experience, it moves fast and you don't need a lot. I prefer it in a blend so it's not too overpowering.

Regardless of whether or not the lye is problematic, I would stay away from CPOP. Especially if you have a fragrance that might also cause overheating. I have never gotten good results from that method. Instead, I just insulate my molds to achieve full gel. I hope you get some satisfaction...

Hi and welcome! There are many kinds of M&P base - you might want to try another brand and see if you like it better. The ones sold at craft stores like Michael's or Hobby Lobby are generally not very good. Regarding CP, I ran your original recipe through soapcalc and it looks fine. However...

Very pretty. I like the contrast and the pencil line.

Cool, looks like a formica countertop!

I also recommend individual molds or cutting almost immediately. When I do CP as soon as it's in full gel, I cut. Of course, I wear gloves to protect from the heat and alkalinity.

It might have been your essential oil. I don't remember if palmarosa has a reputation for seizing or not, but other florals certainly do. I routinely soap at around 115 with no incident unless I'm using a fussy additive or fragance.