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How long do you usually wait to cut your bars? (I'm doing CP, by the way) Cheese scale... I'd say it was sharp cheddar/parmesan. I am ordering one of these right now! Thank you :) I think you're right, now that I think about it. How long do you usually wait to cut your bars? (I'm doing CP, by...

Hi all, I am having a problem on a consistent basis and I can't figure out what's causing it. When I cut my bars, they fracture and crack. Usually the bottom corner breaks off but sometimes it's a bigger chunk of the bottom half. Please see attached photos. The middle of the bars have all these...

@szaza There might be something to that. It's the same batch of shea. I bought it in bulk over a year ago. @IrishLass Thank you, yes fatty acids and high temps seem to be the culprit... @Mobjack Bay This is beautiful info! I'm writing all your words down, thank you! @penelopejane The consensus...

Thank you all, this is enormously helpful! I will start experimenting with soaping at lower temperatures.

Soaping around 100, eh? Okay, I'll try that next time. I've been soaping a little while but I still have lots to learn so I take copious notes and take temps on everything constantly. :) Thank you for the info!

Thank you for this. But now I'm really confused... I've read in lots of places that 120-130F is the ideal range for soaping... (source: Brambleberry, etc.) Is that incorrect? I soaped once around 90F as I was using goat's milk and that batch went all wrong, didn't go through gel phase etc and...

Hi DeeAnna! I added the sugar before the NaOH. I mixed it thoroughly for quite a while before adding the NaOH. However, one thing that was slightly different was that the lye solution was ever so slightly slightly slightly orangish... which I'm guessing would be a bit of caramelization...? But...

Wow... looks cool! Well, I'll report back after a day or so when I cut it up and let you know. Thank you for your feedback :)

Hello atiz! My lye solution was about 122 degrees and my oils were around 130 degrees. Everything was liquid until the mix. Then... boom! It was chunks.

Hi KiwiMoose! No, I didn't even get to the fragrance or additives. When I saw this, I decided not to waste any additives on it. When you did yours, did you know what the chunks were? Is it just un-saponified oils?

Hi all, I'm wondering if I can get some advice. I've been soaping for about 2 years and it's been a long time since I had a batch run wild on me without knowing what I did wrong. About 1 year ago, I made a batch of shea butter soap that worked wonderfully. My friends have been begging for more...

Thank you all so much for the feedback! This is my first stab at a shampoo bar so there are a lot of variables for sure. @steffamarie You're right there's a lot that could have combined strangely. It was all mixing fine until I added the FO so that was my first guess.. but from your reply and...

Hi all, I was making a walnut oil shampoo bar. All was going perfectly until I added my FO's and then it became solid in seconds. I spatula'ed the stuff into a mold and hoped for the best. But then the next day I checked on it and it absolutely STINKS... the walnut comes out hugely and is mixed...

Hi dixiedragon, thank you! That helps a lot. If you have used aquarium charcoal and did not have any issues with the soap or with your skin, then that tells me a lot! I'm thinking of getting a cheap blender to use just for charcoal. Powdered charcoal here seems to be imported and expensive, only...

Hi BrewerGeorge, I agree completely. But there's going to be some chemicals in there most likely, it's not "pure" right? So I guess that's the basis of my question: would technical grade make bad soap or even possibly irritate/harm the skin?

Hi Craig, thanks! Yes, I've seen people talking about aquarium activated charcoal... I guess it depends on purity, true. I'll keep searching.

Hi artemis, thanks for the quick reply! I am searching for activated charcoal. But here I can have activated technical grade or I can have activated pharmaceutical grade. Both are activated charcoal. Do you have any experience with this?

Hello all, I'm making my first charcoal soap and I'm looking for charcoal powder. I live in Eastern Europe and options for buying 'soapmaking charcoal' from soapmaking supply shops are nonexistent. Here I can buy 'technical grade activated charcoal' which is used for air filters primarily. Can I...