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Welcome, you've found a great place for encouragement and information!

Wintergreen EO is potentially toxic in small amounts, if ingested or as an active ingredient in a leave on product. It's not worth the risk to use in soap, even though it rinses off, IMO. Rosemary and Eucalyptus Radiata also have minty qualities if you want to blend.

I have all of those! Regarding various follow up comments: Both cinnamon leaf and cinnamon bark (cassia) are potential skin irritants but given that cinnamon leaf is only a very small % of this total blend, it should be fine. Clary sage is also a very potent substance, not recommended for use...

Sounds yummy! I would be careful to label it properly, however. Wintergreen essential oil is very potent - a half an ounce has the same amount of naturally occurring methyl salicyclate as 85 adult aspirin tablets (according to Wikipedia). It's the active ingredient in topical creams like...

Great! I love the one with the pink curls.

Great idea! Maybe next year, I won't dread shopping for school supplies so much if I can bring home something for myself. I also stock up on glue sticks for my labels.

I would call it "under the sea." Very well designed soap!

In my opinion, the shea is too high. I have also noticed a 'waxy' feeling from bars high in shea. I'd drop it down to 10-15%. As mentioned by others, I'd also drop the coconut oil down to 25-30%. And I'd make up the balance with palm or lard. You might also experiment with your superfat...

Wow, looks like the real thing!

Do you know about the soap scent review board? http://soapscentreview.obisoap.ca/ Thousands of reviews by real soapers. They will tell you what sticks, fades, discolors, accelerates, etc. In order to register you need a paid internet account. So yahoo, google, AOL, etc. won't work. It's to...

I would sub the grapeseed oil and sub for a small % of your olive oil, bringing your total avocado oil up to 10% so you can detect the difference. I love avocado oil - one of my favorites, especially the virgin green kind.

Beautiful festive colors! The pink one reminds me of the semiprecious stone, rhodochrosite.

You did a fantastic job with a complex process - you should be very proud of this soap!

I typically gel but usually I have so much soap lying around (no pun intended) that I don't use young soap. I do notice the most difference WRT cure with salt bars. Also a 6 month bar is a very different creature than a 6 week bar.

I agree, it's probably the fragrance oil. I can't tell from the picture, but it appears firm and solid in consistency. If it's just a bit slick to the touch on the surface, let it sit. If there are little oozy pockets, then I'd rebatch.

I think a lot depends on your local water supply. The mineral content of the water can contribute to DOS. It will vary from place to place. If you can't find distilled water, try any filtered water, and if that's lacking, try water from the tap.

Deanna beat me to it! You could also use infused oil as your superfat if you want different colors. Make your recipe at 0% superfat, calculate the amount of superfat oils you'd need for 5% or whatever is your preference. Then use the colored oils in the right proportions to make different...

Mmmm, making me hungry!

There are plenty of EOs that stick well that aren't too expensive if you order on line. However, I wouldn't switch over just to claim "all natural." "Natural" is a somewhat meaningless term - there is no standard legal definition. Personally, I use "hand crafted" and sidestep the issue...

Love the colors and the inspiration!