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It's nice to know I'm not alone on this! I'd love to try this!

The Boswellia serratta from ND. That made me laugh! It seems to me that both anise and fennel decimate just about everything! I like licorice candy and anise holiday cookies, but of all my EO's, anise seems to be one of the most potent and long lasting. Soap will still smell strong YEARS later...

Yes, straight up Lavender always seems to be in demand, and those who LOVE it can tell between a lavender FO and the real thing. On a personal level, it's ok, but I'm not fond of it mixed with many other oils unless it's in the background. I tried a lavender/patchouli 50/50 blend (I LOVE...

Interesting. My lye water will do the same thing - sometimes - and sometimes not - so I always strain it. Obsidian, I'm really curious, how does the air cause it? After pouring my lye water in the oils, I'll fill up the container with water, and once I'm done stick blending, use that water and...

Peppermint is more overpowering than Spearmint and doesn't play as well with others in blends IMO. Of course, it depends on what you're going for. A more medicinal blend - Peppermint. More non-medicinal - Spearmint. Two of my best sellers are Orange & Spearmint and Lemongrass & Rosemary. I...

Don't know how well our soap would really clean a garbage disposal. I know my soap doesn't wash dishes very well! With water and disposal off, I just dump a good bit of baking soda down there, follow with a few glugs of white vinegar and let it do it's work. Once fizzing stops, I follow with a...

I grew up saying ANN-ise and that's how my husband's German family also pronounces it, and their tradional holiday Ansie Claw cookies are the bomb! At least for people who love licorice! I never even heard a-NIECE until I started selling soap and a customer called it that! lol I thought 'What?'...

Count of Monte Cristo

So ... substituting vinegar for water (with the proper increase of lye) creates sodium acetate, which helps to harden the soap. Adding yogurt creates sodium lactate, which also hardens the soap (this I've done). I prefer to OHP my soaps, and the yogurt/sodium lactate not only adds to the...

Somebody told me that some 'old fashioned lye soap' at a local store contained 'lysol' ... thought that was weird, so I checked it out to see what was really in it. To my surprise, sure enough, the label lists 'lysol' as an ingredient. It also contains ammonia, which I thought was strange, so I...

OK ... so I'm looking for something natural to use to color my soap green ... not a bright or light green, but a dark 'natural-y' green color. Here's the catch, though ... something that doesn't turn brown! Anyway - I know greens are hard to keep green without turning brown ... just wondering...

Good to know! Thanks!

What are the advantages to using High Oleic Sunflower Oil in soap vs. regular Sunflower Oil? According to soapcalc, reg. sunflower oil's numbers are: Hardness -11 Condition - 87 Creamy - 11 while the High Oleic Sunflower Oil's numbers are: Hardness - 7 Condition - 88 Creamy - 7 The reg...

That's my guess too. People who aren't familiar with handmade soap will a lot of times just use them to set around their guest bathrooms because they're 'special'. Then, after the scent fades, they end up just chunking them instead of using them. Sad. On top of that, those types of people tend...

If all the things people have said so far are just 'simple obstacles', then good for you! That being said ... I think you're coming at this from the wrong direction. You shouldn't be asking us which of the oils you listed are best for soaping (you can use about any oil) ... you should be...

Quick question for those of you who have used aloe vera juice ... I'm thinking of using in instead of water ... does the lye react with it badly or is it OK? I've tried various liquids instead of water, and most times the chemical reactions aren't too nice. (DON'T add lye to oat water -...

When tweaking/creating recipes, I've found that it's kind of difficult to get BOTH high bubbly (which usually = hard) and high conditioning.

What would the purpose of the titanium dioxide be if not for whitening?

lol - that's totally me! Good point, saurian ... I'd have not thought of that.

Think I could still end up with honey pockets if I thin it with a bit of water first? And stir, stir, stir, of course! The other reason I was thinking of adding it after the cook is to keep the overall color lighter. Overcooked. Hmm. I doubt it, but if that could cause flakyness, I'll be sure...