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I've been contemplating planting some herbs such as rosemary for infusing in oil, not just for soap but also for its great taste in OO (rosemary, garlic, basil & oregano infused OO is the best on fresh bread!). Do any of you grow items specifically for soaping?

Can you expand on the silk? What kind of silk, how is it used, where do you find it?

I'd like to make an authentic castile and would really like it to be "authentic" but I would also like the lather from some castor oil and if I'm SF'ing (or lye discount by 5%), then is the 5% castor actually making it not fully castile soap? here is a print out of the 4 different recipes...

I've found that some EO's are less expensive than FO's which I kind of find fascinating. From what I understand, EO's are naturally extracted from plants, while FO's are strictly for scent having no botanical/medicinal values. I'm really confused as to what EO's to but when it comes to...

I love it! That is exactly what it looks like, lint from the dryer foating in water, lol!!:p

I just switched from the Lye I purchased at the hardware store, which was packaged for drain clearing, to "food grade, high quality NaOH beads". These beads are almost 4x larger than the drain cleaner. I am also noticing that the water is not clean and clear after adding the lye and dissolving...

I came across some raw unrefined "Ivory Shea butter "top grade" from Ghana and I'm curious about the difference between the raw and a refined butter. Is one preferred over another?

I made a batch where 7 different molds were made and I got different results on some of them. This is all color related as the consistency and other qualities are excelent in them. I did us Titanium Dioxide in the mix but that was in the entire mix and it was very well blended before pouring...

Thanks. I'm planning on using a machine press that is capable of 40,000 lbs of pressure (won't be using the full amount though). I'm going to try to build a smaller portable version that does 3-4 tons which is still a lot but will be very interesting to see the results. Has anyone done...

I was reading an article about castor oil and they named at least 5 different types of oil and they were all used for something different. They all seemed to be produced or processed differently, some labeled "hexane free" (so maybe hexane is a problem in this oil??), which may lead to it...

It seems that this hobby has either really taken off in the last 5 or so years, and I've seen a lot more hand crafted/made soaps in the stores. I'm curious if there has been an increase in interest or if there is just more recognition and access to the hobby. So, how long have you been doing...

I'm wondering if cure time is related to thickness of the soap or if it is just a factor of chemical reaction. I've grated some soap into a very fine grating (finer than angel hair pasta) and I'd like to press it into some shapes. I'm curious if the very fine shavings will cure faster than it...

I thought about shaving some soap like cheese with a cheese grater and then pressing it into a mold with a machine press (big bottle jack pressing against a metal base). I'm wondering if anyone has done this and if there is anything to be concerned about (like getting it out of a mold b/c there...

How much cocoa do you add in your recipes?

I just tried cutting with an egg slicer (cuts in thin slices) and it seems to work pretty sell. It is smooth but it doesn't seem like the cuts are totally straight. Has anyone else noticed this with wire cutters? I have a very thin & very sharp knife (almost a fillet knife) that works VERY...

Unfortunately the smell didn't seem to dissapate after curing which was really dissappointing. I'm going to try using frozen coffee cubes and dividing the lye into 5-6 equal amounts and add them after the previous amount has cooled to say 100-120 degrees. This way the temp doesn't get too hot...

I agree with the pricing thing. I saw this stuff for something like $450/gal at a relatively well known/large soap oil supplier. Are there different kinds and qualities of this oil?

Do you know how they keep it from smelling bad when mixing the lye?

So can anyone suggest a way to sanitize/sterilize water collected from dehumidifiers? I am thinking of making a large activated carbon (AC) filter and running the water through that - possibly boil the water first. I know that I could also just dump some AC in a water container, stir/settle...

I'm looking to hear what ingredients/additives you use, have used or plan to use in your soaps. I'm not really looking for oils unless you have a passion for one and it isn't a well known oil (like cherry seed oil I just found - expensive stuff!!) - but more like clays, infusions (herbs or...