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Hello all, I've been having a bit of a skin outbreak of pimples lately, and it made me think about trying to make some soap to help. If I were to use Witch Hazel and Tea Tree Oil, for instance, how would you guys use them? I.E. What percentages etc.? I am making the assumption that the WH...

In fairness, this was a pretty cheap FO, so that might have something to do with it. I have a nice Lime EO which lasts; it works really well in combination with peppermint too, at least, in my opinion. It creates a really 'zingy' scent. I put it in one of my soaps that I use in the shower in...

Phew! That's reassuring. It was Pink Grapefruit - which smelled *amazing* out of the bottle and while mixing... now it's lost some of that oomph and smells a bit like a kid's art project. lol Ah! Thank you. I guess I'll know in a few weeks time if this has turned into a Shakespearean tragedy...

So, I made some soap yesterday, in the process of testing out a new recipe. I used a 2:1 Water - Lye ratio, and used FO at 3% of the oils. Throughout the stirring process, the FO smelt great, but after cutting it, there is a not so pleasant Play-Dough type smell coming from the soap. Could this...

Well, these are my results. The coffee one looks marginally better than I thought it would... but I'm determined to get it right at a later date. It smells great, and the coffee grounds give a nice, light exfoliation, which is what I wanted. The sea shanty soaps smell amazing, but the problem I...

I literally only used it when the ricing happened, and that was only for a few seconds; I did everything else by hand this time. The colours didn't mix in quite so well - but otherwise it was all good. With my non-liquid pigments, I tend to use an ice cream stick to mix them into a bit of oil...

Oh!

Unless I'm misunderstanding, my recipe was only 45% hard oils/butters. Although I am not using that one anymore.

I brought the batter to emulsion, split it between my jugs and mixed in the colourants and fragrances by hand. There was a tiny bit of ricing, so I gave it a SB of a second or so, which brought it together, but then in the minute or so it took me to mix them in the pot, it was seizing. I was...

Well, I tried it with that new mix of oils. They didn't give me quite as much working time as the other recipe (I had maybe 3-4 minutes, the other one probably gave me about 5-6, so there's not a lot in it), but it was a decent amount. I'm not sure what it is, but there's something about that...

Obviously I will update the recipe once I run out of Babassu, but for now I might try this with a 2:1 water-lye ratio.

I just can't do it. Again, not a judgement on anyone, but I don't drink dairy milk or wear leather etc. I'm not a vegan (I have hens, so I eat eggs), and I eat honey. I just try to avoid animal products - especially when it results in them going to the big farmyard in the sky!

I've used SoapCalc in the past. The one I use now the the one of SoapMakingFriend - purely because it allows you to save your recipes, which is handy for me because my note taking is appalling and my memory is shocking! :/ I'll use up the Babassu and then focus on Coconut Oil instead if it's...

What I want to come up with is a single base batter that I can then customise with fragrances, and clays and the occasional additives etc. It doesn't have to be fantastically fancy or anything; I only make them for me and my friends. My partner did talk about maybe at some point in the far flung...

Umm, so for the novice that I am: Are you saying ditch some of them altogether and just concentrate on a few ingredients instead? At the moment, my most "in stock" items are: Olive Oil, Babassu Oil, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, and then I have a pretty even choice of Shea or Cocoa butter, TBH. If I...

It wasn't a dig! Don't think that. I always take advice on board. I tweak my recipes quite a lot, this was the first time I'd had any disasters with this one... but I'm still perfecting it. :) I've made a few soaps with this one, and it's been ok so far. I like experimenting with new things and...

Maybe I'll mix up the recipe tomorrow and see what I can come up with. How about something like this?

I use the batter for all my other soaps without too much of an issue. I've started using a 2.5:1 water to lye ratio which seems to provide a decent amount of working time. I might try reducing the amount of OO or something. He* And for the most part, he doesn't have any problems.

That's great - thank you. I actually have some of these bookmarked, but I'll check out the others too! :) I generally buy my stuff from either The Soap Kitchen or The Soapery, both of whom are very good. I'll have to try and find an alternative source for the coffee fragrance and see if that's...

If it goes wrong, you'll probably hear the sobbing from where you are. lol