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@AliOop , yes, I know that. I still like to have them within 10 degrees (actually, like 5). I figure I might as well take one variable off the table. One day, when I have more experience, when I don't have so many questions, I'll start going "meh - whateva "

@AliOop I prepare my lye water first. While it's cooling, I heat my oils. So, if I get side tracked/ distracted and my lye water has cooled way down before my solid oils are heated, that is a great suggestion!! The last couple times this happened, I took my heated oils to the back porch, put...

@Barefoot Farm Girl, good experiment! Especially if it keeps on working! I am going to try sifting. If that doesn't work, I'll go on to the microwave technique. How can this little powder be such a bull!?? On stearic spots, do you melt your solid oils first? And at what temperature do you soap...

@MommaSoaper Not me. I bought some neon mica from WSP but i haven't had a chance to use it yet. Did you try Just Pigments after all? what did you think?

@KimLynn I'm sorry to hear that the bolt technique didn't work as well as hoped. Non clumping TD is seeming a bit like a unicorn to me. But, I'm holding out hope.... next time I use TD, I' going to try sifting it first. Hopefully that will work better for me!

@dibbles , I do have 3 different jars of white mica. I bought it for M&P before it occurred to me to just buy a white base.... I might try using white mica, too. It certainly blends into soap batter without a problem. I can't say cream colored soap would be an issue, I'm just trying to get it...

@KimLynn I'm interested to see how your TD and bolts in water compare to your TD and bolts in oil. So, was your squeeze bottle of TD in water enough for more than one batch? So, the idea is you will shake up that pre-mixed TD and use at a later date? I'm interested to see if the TD in the...

@dibbles, I've decided that when it comes to TD, Utube videos give me an inferiority complex ..... 😓 they make it look SO DARN EASY!!! I'm going to try a combo of 1) making a fresh batch each time 2) sifting the TD 3) blending with milk frother in water 4) making a slurry by adding a...

Thank you everyone for sharing your T.D. technique. Utube videos all make using T.D. look like there is nothing to it! I made a batch of soap this weekend and ended up using 1 teaspoon of TD with 2 teaspoons of water. I blended that with a milk frother in a small silicone cup until I thought...

Help needed with using TD. I've really struggled with Titanium Dioxide. It doesn't seem to incorporate well and I get little specs. I saw on some Utubes that TD was mixed ahead of time and put in squirt bottle. Then when needed, the bottle was given a really good shake and then used as needed...

@justsomeguy - nice job!! They really are fabulous!

@DeeAnna thank you! Well, I feel better already! Now to make some soap!!

@aloevero , I've always been a little unhappy that M&P bases seem soft and disappear pretty quickly in the shower. I recently learned that adding stearic acid to an M&P base will increase hardness. Two weeks ago, I added 3% stearic acid to some M&P bars as an experiment. I thought I'd wait a...

@AliOop , i agree with you that M&P has a slightly different feel, a little more waxy or plastic. It's really nice though for detailed designs and embeds though.

@dibbles and @DeeAnna , thank you! And DeeAnna sort of read my mind. I saw that NaOH was the same. I was thinking of the fatty acid profile. When I bought this oil, it says in BIG letters High Oleic Sunflower Oil . It was a great price. When I got it home and looked at the tiny print and did...

Question: On SoapCalc, what to select for sunflower oil that is 61.111% monounsaturated? This is mid-range oleic (according to @DeeAnna on Classic Bells.) I bought some of this today, but now not sure what to choose on SoapCalc, low oleic or high oleic? Should I regret this purchase? Help!!

@Tammyfarms, I have used several kinds of bases, and different brands as well. I don't know if it was my imagination, but it seemed to me like the goatmilk base I bought was a little softer than all other bases. I thought the coconut base seemed a little harder to me- but maybe just because I...

@Tammyfarms , is there a way to know if the person has LEFT the forum, or just not been active? I assume some soapers might be more active early on when they are still trying to figure things out, or really excited about soaping, and then as other interests take over, maybe not active but still...

@Punkerdoodle’s Homestead , no need to hang your head- you've figured it out!!! I'm wondering if my laser thermometer is also starting to flounder. It gave me a really weird reading yesterday. It said my oils were only like 101, when I had check just a couple minute before and both the oils...

:( Now how will I ever know how their M&P worked with their CP soap 😭