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I live in the UK, and I don't think either of those have UK stores. Importing them would cost more than it'd be worth to make them sadly. According to the supplier, it can be used up to 100% without issue. The only thing I can think is that it had some kind of weird chemical reaction with one...

Maybe I'll contact the supplier and check with them. Usually they mark soaps as M&P only if they're not compatible. Perhaps I'll just have to do what you said, try blending it into the oils and only working the batter lightly until a very light trace and see what happens. It didn't just...

See the pic for the recipe I use. The fragrance comes from a soap making supplier: Coffee Fragrance Oil Maybe I just need to stick to scenting it naturally with actual coffee. :/ It comes from a soap making supplier and is listed as for use in soaps. I think it's quite vanilla heavy, but I've...

Hi all, So, I have my lovely batter which gives me a lovely long working time. Until it meets coffee fragrance, it seems. I added the fragrance just before light trace and blended for another 15 seconds, maybe. Before I knew it, the batter had seized and I was digging it out of the mixing bowl...

I've bought soaps in the past with the pink salts in and never had a problem - maybe I've just been lucky. When I've made soap in the past, I've used it on top (albeit the fine version) and not had any issues either. Maybe I'll give it a miss from now on just in case. It's really there for...

Maybe I just don't rub myself with it hard enough. lol I do usually use the fine version, as opposed to the coarse version, so maybe that's why I've never had any trouble. Will coarse sea salt be ok? Or do I need to use fine stuff?

Really? That's weird. I use them all the time without any issues.

It looks like it's been through the gel phase... but I've decided to leave it for another day before cutting the rest. The Himalayan salt was recommended because it doesn't melt into the batter when hot as some of them can. Either way, I've decided not to put it in the soap again and only use it...

Hello, The recipe I used was this: Shea Butter 10 oz. Cocoa Butter 10 oz. Babassu Oil 7 oz. Castor Oil 4 oz. Olive Oil 4 oz. Coconut Oil (76 deg.) 3 oz. Sweet Almond Oil 3 oz. 1 tblsp. Vit-E Oil. 10.95 oz. Water 5.48 oz. lye I fragranced using distilled Lime EO and Peppermint EO. I also used...

So: I tried the 2:1 water to lye ratio, and the soap I have just made, after nearly 24 of curing still have a very soft texture which is almost like an oil pastel crayon. Do I just need to leave this longer to get it to finish setting - or is it scuppered at this point? I ran the recipe through...

Hello, Has anyone got any recommendations on where to buy micas for cold process soaps in the UK? I've looked at a few sites, but I'm not entirely convinced by their legitimacy. Cheers, Andy

Ah, right - okay, I understand. I might re-work my 'original' recipes myself and see how they differ then if the consensus is that is generally better. I only ever make CP and not HP soaps - and long may that live so far as I am concerned. I did make an amazing bath of soap the other day using...

Ah, ok. I got you - I think. So in SoapCalc (for example), I put in a water to lye ratio of 2:1, along with the quantities of the oils and the calculator will spit out the recipe with the right amount of lye, but it'll just be with a 2:1 ratio with water as opposed to based on a 38% water...

I don't think I'm smart enough to understand this. lol Surely you need the correct proportion of lye to water for the process to work? Or do you mean the relevant bit is having the correct quantity of lye to oil, and the water ratio is less relevant provided it's at least 1:1 in order to...

I did indeed use the default. How does the water:lye ratio differ? I assumed that there was a specific amount of water and lye you needed for each recipe and that was that... am I being really naive?

Thanks. Maybe I'll give that a go next time! :) I do need to learn how to get soap to just the right consistency before pouring: I tend to over blend... although this batter caught me completely by surprise. I ran the recipe through SoapCalc to check the quantities used in the original recipe...

Yeah, the knife I used wasn't as sharp as I hoped and the batter hadn't set as firm as it sometimes has by the time I cut it! And the air holes, as you point out, were a result of the seizing. The recipe is: 12.92 oz Water 4.44 oz Lye 1.06 oz Fragrance (I used .8 oz Pink grapefruit essential...

Hi all, I tested a new soap the other day using a recipe from a book. I used all the same ingredients as called for in the recipe; however, I noticed the following morning when it had set that it looked kind of 'streaky' and patchy in places. Could this be lye pockets? Picture below. It seized...

I use SoapCalc.

Sorry - that was me! They're both in ounces; I was just discussing something in grams with my partner and my brain misfired! lol