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It was another rainy weekend, so I did my favorite thing on such days... I made soap! (surprise LOL) I went though my supplies and noticed that I had some Rice Bran oil that was nearing a year old, so I created a recipe to use that up. I decided it would be a batch of Manly Man Soap, and was...

No worries. If you did 3 separate batches, then my first suspicion is your scale. Either low batteries or just old/inaccurate. I had a very similar experience when I first started soaping and tracked it back to my scale. Do some tests, replace the batteries or get a new scale. It’s worth the...

Just to clarify your method; did you make one large batch and separated into 3 containers, then mixed in your additives, or did you make 3 separate batches?

Sorry for the delay, I got distracted last night. Attached is my basic beer recipe, with a few examples of variations. On the left is a soap made with dark beer and ground oatmeal, middle is my black and tan soap made with a dry lager, and on the right is a batch made with an IPA and green...

I received my latest order from BB the other night, so I just had to test out my new 10" mold and the Modern Floral Fragrance kit. Used the Daisy Chain FO and my wife's favorite soap recipe. Was kinda surprised at the glycerin rivers in the AC layer, but I think it looks cool so I'm not...

I've made several batches of beer soup, all with good results so far (darn it, now I've jinxed myself!). A few thoughts: 1) What type of beer are you using? "Light", Lager, or Ale? Are they light or dark? Ales and dark lagers have more residual sugars in them, so no need to add any more...

It was rainy and cold (30f) all weekend, so I decided to do some soaping. Made a batch of my favorite shaving soap, a pound of a Dr. Bonner type liquid soap concentrate for the wife, a batch of my favorite man soap with charcoal, pumpkin seed oil and tamanu oil, and a batch of my wife’s fav...

I also have a wire shelf to store / cure my soaps. I have tried two different liners with great results. My first shelf I lined with cardstock I got from Office Depot. Nice thick white paper that let's the soap breath while curing and protects at the same time. Think it was $10 for 100 sheets...

2 batches Everyone went to bed early last night but me, so I decided to have a little soaping party. Put on an old movie (Desk Set with Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn) and made two batches of soap. I've been experimenting with some new EO's and FO's, so I had some fun mixing and...

Thanks everyone. We have a relatively small house, so a few years ago I converted our garage into a man cave for extra room. Insulated the walls, ceiling, and door and put in an AC. The only down side is now when we have the rare ice storm / hail storm we can't bring the cars in. It's a trade...

Lets get organized! It's been cold and wet here in central Texas, so decided to get my soaping house in order :snowman: Yesterday I made 5 batches of soap to start curing: 1. My first re-batch using all my scraps and least favorite soaps I've collected over my 5 whole months of soaping LOL...

lol he has two toys in his mouth. He wants to play.

I bought a plastic miter box from the Hardware Store (Lowes) for $4.99 and use a long thin knife to cut the soap. I get nice straight even cuts now.

Mark, I had exactly the same thing happen to me recently. After a lot of troubleshooting I found that my scale was inaccurate and the measurements "drifted" from day to day by 3-4%. Also, it was more accurate with weights less than 1 Lb, even though it was a 0-7 lb scale. The cumulative...

Have you tried a Soleseife soap? It a German Brine soap where you basically dissolve as much salt into your water as you can, then dissolve your lye and soap normally. Since the salt is dissolved first it makes a very smooth hard bar and (supposedly) only requires the standard 4-8 week minimum...

Thanks everyone. My oil should arrive on Wednesday and I plan on making a few mini test batches. Also, all of my recipes would be in the 5-8% max range, so that should also help. I'll post an update after a few months of cure time! Steve

I've been trying to expand my comfort zone and be more adventurous in my recipes, so made the following batches of soaps: #1 Moisturizing charcoal bar; "Black Beauty" #2 Bar incorporating Beeswax, tallow, and cocoa butter; "DK01 Blue Hombre" #3 Cucumber and Yogurt Bar "Green Balm" #4...

Has anyone used / had success with pumpkin seed oil in CP soap? I really like the look and feel that Tamanu oil (at 5%) gives my soap, but it's really expense, and PSO seems to have a similar oil property profile, and it's 1/20th the cost. Thanks - Steve

Received a great compliment from a co-worker yesterday. I had made a batch of shaving soap last month and shared some out with my work buddies. (5% Cocoa Butter, 10% Coco, 5% Shea Butter, 50% SA, 30% Beef Tallow, 25% / 75% NaOH/KOH) Well, when I walked into work yesterday, one of my buddies...

Mica Line Was experimenting with Mica Lines last weekend. But what surprised me was the pretty lines of color that naturally formed in the mold. Guarantee that if I tried to get it to do that it would come out solid as usual! LOL