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  1. topofmurrayhill

    "Crystal Light" LS Recipe and Procedure

    Perhaps you shouldn't do it. Some people were curious, so I promised to post it. FWIW there are more ingredients than usual, and a few more steps, but most of the steps are not particularly difficult.
  2. topofmurrayhill

    Lots of liquid soap, new formulation

    As promised, I'm in the process of posting the instructions in the Liquid Soap section. http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=61489
  3. topofmurrayhill

    "Crystal Light" LS Recipe and Procedure

    Here are the recipe percentages and the amounts for our approximately quart-sized sample batch: SAPONIFIABLES: 20% Myristic Acid - 46 g 70% Safflower Oil (HO) - 160 g 10% Castor Oil - 23 g Please note the high oleic safflower oil, not the regular linoleic. CAUSTIC AND SOLVENTS...
  4. topofmurrayhill

    Liquid oils that make great bubbles?

    I understand where this stuff comes from, but I wish rationality would prevail. Think of the section of the market where people buy soy, canola, sunflower and safflower oil for frying and similar purposes. In the USA and Europe there is virtually NO palm oil being sold there for any purpose...
  5. topofmurrayhill

    Sooo... How long do oils last? lol

    Oils have no idea when they're supposed to expire and neither do their distributors. It depends on initial quality and storage conditions, so it can't be predicted with any accuracy. As people have suggested, the most practical way to judge is usually with your nose. That said, 10 year old...
  6. topofmurrayhill

    "Crystal Light" LS Recipe and Procedure

    Some contributors have expressed interest in my process for the liquid soap I recently posted in the The Photo Gallery. With apologies for the delay, here it is. Keep in mind I'm still experimenting with the formulation. I'll include percentages in addition to specific amounts for a sample...
  7. topofmurrayhill

    100% tallow soap

    No need for these silly details. Just give me a moment...
  8. topofmurrayhill

    Making green soap

    In reality, indigo doesn't work for soap the way it's intended to. When it's used to dye clothing such as jeans, other chemicals are used to change it to a different form (it actually becomes yellow), then oxygen as it dries turns it blue to color the clothes. I imagine it could dye your hands...
  9. topofmurrayhill

    Making green soap

    Every idea here except the clay (which is nice but not terribly green) is really the same idea -- chlorophyll. That doesn't work. It fades, turns brown, and reportedly could shorten the life of the soap via photo-oxidation. I've gone the route of experimenting with all-natural soaps. They would...
  10. topofmurrayhill

    Candles are Warping in containers

    As lsg says, you need these to hold the wick centered and taut when making container candles. https://www.candlescience.com/equipment/wick-bar But that isn't the only issue. Taper candles are generally made of mostly straight paraffin wax. Paraffin shrinks more when cooling than practically...
  11. topofmurrayhill

    Why is Dr Bronner Baby Mild so soft

    No. I'm not implying anything. Whatever I said is what I meant, no more and no less. We have discussed in this thread which strips work well with soap, and those are useful so I recommend them. As for your point about forgoing strips in favor of pH meters, I think one of our chemist regulars...
  12. topofmurrayhill

    Why is Dr Bronner Baby Mild so soft

    The common grades vary from 85% to 95%. I generally just go with 90%. Considering the wide range, you need to have a whole lot of faith in what your suppliers says you should assume. Do they know what they're talking about? Did they test it analytically? To suggest that there is some procedure...
  13. topofmurrayhill

    Why is Dr Bronner Baby Mild so soft

    I would recommend a 2% lye discount unless you know enough about your materials to be more precise. If you are really, really serious about quality control, you have to get Scientific Soapmaking and invest in learning some analytical techniques to test your oils and caustic. I would be very...
  14. topofmurrayhill

    Palm Kernal Oil vs. Palm Kernal Flakes

    Probably not a huge difference between the two palm kernel oils in the quantity that they're typically used. Even theoretically, I don't think you can look at the amount of any one fatty acid in a recipe and determine how it affects mildness. It's always the balance between fatty acids. You...
  15. topofmurrayhill

    Why is Dr Bronner Baby Mild so soft

    That's exactly right. If you're familiar with the way your soap normally turns out, the strips can be useful for quality control. The particular fatty acid profile in a given recipe should bring the soap to a similar pH each time you make it. If the strips indicate a significantly different...
  16. topofmurrayhill

    Palm Kernal Oil vs. Palm Kernal Flakes

    Hydrogenation is used to harden and stabilize oils. That carries forward into the soap. I've never tried to make these hypothetical single oil soaps, and I only use PKO flakes, but at 100% I imagine you'd notice the extra hardness and stearic properties from the hydrogenated version of the oil.
  17. topofmurrayhill

    Palm Kernal Oil vs. Palm Kernal Flakes

    Hah, you are right! I am used to the more common question. The hydrogenation process converts oleic acid to stearic acid, so that's why the flakes have more stearic and create a slightly harder bar. Stearic is simply oleic with an additional hydrogen atom (hence the term hydrogenation).
  18. topofmurrayhill

    Palm Kernal Oil vs. Palm Kernal Flakes

    They come from different parts of the plant. You should really think of them as completely separate oils. Palm kernel is a "bubbly" oil and interchangeable (or combinable) with coconut oil. Look at the lauric acid and compare with CO. They are both referred to as lauric oils. Palm oil is...
  19. topofmurrayhill

    Measuring "durability"

    Bump the CO to 30% and use 10% shea butter. Take both out of the olive oil.
  20. topofmurrayhill

    Why is Dr Bronner Baby Mild so soft

    Yep, I have only used the Macherey-Nagel strips and they have no problem with soap. Kevin Dunn recommends pH strips for anyone who doesn't wan't to zap test. For anyone who's interested in the pH of their liquid soap, I guess those are the ones to get. If you have slightly lye heavy soap...
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