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Yup, don't have a loaf mould yet...

yes, I was wondering about that. How does size affect a soap. smaller =greater surface are and therefore faster water loss (I imagine) I've chatted to my husband about my plans and he seems to think I'm pretty much on the right track so I think I will go ahead and start Round 1...

So I think i am coming up with a good plan for my test batches of soap. I have narrowed it down to three rounds of testing. I have friends and family lined up to help me test them. Round 1 will be attempting to come up with a formula of fats that can make up my base for future soaps. I currently...

Ok, So after the second wash and leaving it in the fridge for a full 48hrs (I'm tired... can't be bothered with it at the mo!) the lard is much more solid - not scoopable any more but still less together than the muscle fat tallow I made. The water that drained out was clean! shocker! So I think...

Ah, so it’s normal. Good to know. Does that mean that a lard/tallow mix would work well? DeeAnna- I only asked for leaf lard so that is what they prepared for me. It’s a high-end farm producing fancy pork for posh London restaurateurs so I think much of the fat is left on the meat... certainly...

So, I sauntered up the road the other day to bag six sweet, sweet kilos of finest grass-reared leaf lard from my very local pig farm. As usual I cursed my over-enthusiasm whilst sitting at the kitchen table later that day chopping half of it into tiny pieces before throwing the other half into...

Yes, that’s exactly what concerns me. Royalty Soaps seem to be able to source ethical micas in the states and I think it is very backward of the UK if we can’t do the same.

Hmmm, I might have to try it anyway... it is just too much to waste!

Hoping perhaps someone knows specifically if I can wash tallow to remove the rancidity? I read on Classic Bells that it can be done and since I found just over a kilo of glass-hard, pure white suet that I rendered a year ago I would love to know if anyone has done it and what the outcome was?! I...

I had really only spent time on Youtube and a few associated blogs but they all unanimously declared Wordpress the best website building platform and more or less dismissed the likes of Wix and Squarespace for being less good... somehow... It's just interesting to see that in real life that...

Ethics in micas, as I define it, relates to the mining of mica. You can get hold of mica that has not been mined by children, for example. I shall look up those companies- thank you!

Hmmm, that’s a real shame about the oat and wheat. I kind of liked the idea of incorporating those but definitely not worth it if they reduce the shelf life. After all, they all get saponified AND it’s a wash off product so there is really no point in going fancy and having a manky sporty soap...

I render my tallow without salt or baking soda. Perhaps it is the Scottish part of me that becomes anxious at the thought of baking soda making some of my fat into soap and being washed away? Anyhoo, about 5 washes left mine pure white and entirely odourless. I chop the fat up and then stick...

Second question tonight for all my British soapers- where do you get your supplies from? I’ve really only used Soapkitchen so far but, by gum! Those micas are pricey! And there seems to be no mention of ethics? Resin8 make a big point of their ethical micas but they seem to come in tiny...

Hello my helpful people! I am about to embark upon a bit of soap formula creation and I could do with dredging through your collected wisdom first. I have already searched the site but haven’t found exactly what I was curious about, so here goes! I want to make soaps cheaply and sustainably but...

Thanks for the advice, guys. Most interestingly all the advice goes exactly against what I have already researched! Bleh.... I’m going to stick to formulating my recipes for now and cross the website bridge when I come to it. I have 6kg leaf lard in the fridge waiting to be processed... sheesh...

yeah, honestly I thought I might NEED to make vegetarian soaps incase my customer base ends up being too squeamish about the animal fats. perhaps if I focussed less on the origins of the ingredients and more on design I could avoid the vegan crowd altogether. I knew there was a reason rapeseed...

I haven't made soap in a while but I've really got the itch again and it is annoying me every time I look at the shop bars that my husband bought. It's like they are saying "Hey! Lazy bum! You could be using a home-made soap but instead you will be having to use me, ha ha ha ha!!!" So, I have...

Not soap related 100% although if I ever do manage to sort out my soaps then I would like to be able to sell them and will probably sue a website at that point... Anyway, I have been doing some research for the past couple of days on how to start a website. My sister and a long-time friend are...

It was 0.1%! That man's research that you quoted! Phew! Major faux pas averted...