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Most recently, my favorite recipe is a three-oil one with tallow: 90% tallow 5% coconut 5% castor I do like a touch of coconut for some larger bubbles, and the castor to sustain the lather, of course. But I find tallow is a strong enough actor to carry the stage almost by itself. If I were...

With the qualification that, if you ask my husband, he'll say "not spicy enough" to any dish. My response will be, "Too spicy." I'm definitely at the far end of the bell curve, so I wouldn't expect a special recipe. Just give me the least spicy one you have. So to speak.

I just twigged on that "constructive criticism" thing. My mother will give an opinion if it's positive, so I have to read her in the reverse. The fact that she said nothing about the lather of my first soap spoke volumes--whereas she commented on how much she liked the color and scent. I...

While I can't get GV, I can get VT (Valu Time), which is essentially the same stuff. Way back when, I found the listing somewhere for what's actually in it, and GV is probably nearly identical. VT is 96-98% tallow, and 2-4% partially hydrogenated (27.5%) soybean oil. It contains BHA as a...

I call that "priming" a bar, and it happens pretty much every time with mine, too! I can't tell if it's water penetrating the bar for the first time and loosening it up, or getting rid of an invisible layer of sodium carbonate that's gumming up the works a bit, or just that the outermost layer...

I've noticed this, particularly with olive soap that isn't aged enough! If it's over 50% olive, I'm fine with it as long as it cured a year. Castile I never like, but I can tolerate it at the 2 year mark. At that point, it's certainly not drying, but I dislike the stringy, snotty lather...

I more homed in on what *I* liked, which may be very different than what others enjoy. But I've certainly heard of people creating a form and handing it out. Many won't return the form. Refuse to give them any more soap until you get an opinion out of it. :-)

Just tell everybody it's Carnelian Marble and that was the look you intended. It's gorgeous as-is, and I like the fracture marks that make it look like a clouded natural stone.

And The Last for Christmas. It's a high-lard formula, which really only requires 4 weeks. It's in the oven enjoying a CPOP session at 170°. Predictably, it's peppermint with a dash of evergreen and a drop of musk to anchor it a little bit.

I made the mistake of photographing one of my soaps a little too early; it turns out the red (and, by extension, the purple) needed some time to oxidize to hit electric pink and purple...

High olive recipes won't be ready--or at least not very good--by Christmas. They'll be safe, but the lather won't be good. Like Obsidian noted, the "average" recipe that requires the 4 week minimum will just squeak in under the gun.

I've had exactly the same issue with Pumpkin Spice and, last night, Lick Me All Over accelerated seriously on me. I do the same--slam it into the mold, let it gel, and hope for the best. Usually it works out, and in the case of the Pumpkin Spice, the rustic look works well.

https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/why-did-my-soap-turn-brown/ Soap Queen did a demo. While the lowest is 2.5%, I'd call that significant browning. 1% would be about 40% that, or a middling taupe, but still a noticeable deviation off white. One of my fragrances...

I don't, but mostly because I already have orange marigold--including some taller ones that aren't specifically featured here.

I love you and everything you stand for. (sorry, my other major, major hobby is gardening and, needless to say, I grow most of my own botanicals...)

Did you ever have a bad day? A murderously bad day (not literally, of course)? A day where you have abundant excess energy, a headache, and need an outlet for your energy? Today was that day. I don't do complex swirls. I can't do complex swirls. I definitely never do patterned tops. This...

I do place similar scents together, so the cross-over wouldn't be too bad. I also keep the flats in open air, so cross-over would be limited. I have heard of people placing physical barriers between soap scents, like little mazes the odors can't escape from or something. Essentially a...

Uh, not to hijack too much, but...I've always labeled them with cigar bands at about a month (or later if the soap isn't solid at that point, which is rare). I hope that's OK and I'm not risking DOS or anything from the slightly restricted airflow...

I have a couple storage options. In-the-pipeline, shortly to be used soap is in the bathroom. That definition is loose and there are currently 30 bars in there on the center vanity. I don't recommend this for neatness... I got a cheap, rough-wood storage cabinet at my local craft store, with...

Ziploc baggies are #4 or #2. https://recyclenation.com/2014/10/recycle-ziploc-bags/ I...uh...yeah...a friend told me that you can store soap in them for an indefinite period...uh...yeah, a friend... Nobody you know, uh....she's Alberta...from...Ontario. But I'd recommend #5 or #2 plastics...