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Yep. I thought of that when deciding that 2% was "good enough"

I tossed together what was supposed to be a straightforward batch of confetti soap with tea tree for my mother last night. This should have been a cakewalk: no swirls just TiO2 in the oils, pussycat tea tree EO in the oils, fewer oils than I typically use. Should have been... I got the oils...

You've probably heard this before, but I consider 4 week the absolute minimum before it even starts to function correctly, much less feel the way it should. I don't even give stuff to my kids (adults) before its 8 weeks old, and usually wait 12 weks before giving to friends. What I personally...

Ignore me if you've gone over this elsewhere and I've missed it, but if not could you post your whole recipe and an overview of your process, please?

I like 'em a little harder for hands only. I use 1/3 butter(s) 1/3 soft oil and 1/3 beeswax. I package in pushup containers that hold an ounce, and one of those will typically last one person about 3 months (hands only). The most recent batch was 1/3 mango butter, 1/3 sweet almond oil and 1/3...

It's not surprising you're not having success at wiping off charcoal. IME, it can be hard to wash off with soap and water, much less just a wipe. I've even had it survive the dishwasher on molds.

It's worth a try, but I'm not sure how you'll keep from having an 1/8" white border on the side where the cardboard covers the soap as well as the side. The two times I've made pencil lines, I've just planed off the messy sides, or washed them off.

Ok, got it. I didn't realize you were describing 100g TOTAL. My fault; it's right there clear as day, I just missed it. But the bigger question is that even at 7.5g in 1000g, that's not enough acetate to do what we want, right?

Thank you! So if I'm making soap with 700g of oils (one 1501's worth), using approximately 200g of lye solution and 100g vinegar, ending with 1000g finished soap, I should have about 2.5g of acetate in it. That's not enough to bother with, is it?

Let's say I make a recipe set to 33% lye concentration and 0% superfat. Normally I use a 50% lye pre-mix and "switch" the water and lye recommendations from the calculator, using 2/3 of the total as lye solution and 1/3 as additional distilled water. If I use 5% white vinegar for that 1/3...

For anybody else reading this, you don't need a complicated modification for a cheese cutter. How often do you change the thickness of your bars, really? All you have to do is make a stop for the soap to butt against while cutting and screw it down to the cutter. Drill two holes, sink two screws.

I get these with wire cutter, too. I find that they tend to become less noticeable after a cure, and whatever is left becomes a non-issue after a rinse.

If you can find it in pastilles, it is super easy to measure. Probably not the most economical way to buy it, but I don't use much (a pound will last me a year) and it's worth it to be able to just pour.

Pretty much just like olive. That is: not very well.

Break the vacuum. Poke a hole in the bottom or cut a slit.

I suspect that like many of us, you'll find exfoliants are a better idea in theory than in practice, but the six-bay mold will be GREAT for testing several things without committing to a big batch of soap you won't want to use. The problem with most of this stuff is that the soap matrix holds...

I don't know the percentage of palm vs tallow in the GV shortening. It might not even be guaranteed the same between batches; who knows? But since they have the same saponification number, it doesn't matter as far as safety is concerned. I make almost everything at 33% lye solution.

Twelve ounces out of 15 lbs is a 5% rate of failure. I would personally consider that acceptable and assume those 3 bars were somehow contaminated from outside. That said, the ROE/EDTA definitely can't hurt, but I probably wouldn't alter the SF if that's what I liked.

I use both GV shortenings. The palm and tallow one is directly in Soapcalc. This is my primary and makes an excellent balanced bar with lard, coconut and olive/safflower. For the vegetable one, I use 'Crisco, New' for vegan soaps. While it may not be a perfect match, I've done it half a...

That's what people do with home made soda or sparkling cider. Naturally carbonated home brew is somewhat similar, as well. One caution, though. Use soda bottles for this, as they are meant to safely contain pressure. Water bottles are much, much weaker. Whatever you do, don't use glass!