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I have been nicknamed laundry guru...LOL. I do make good natural laundry products. I have been on a soaping kick here lately....made liquid, cold process, hot process, stain sticks...a lot of the motivation is I stupidly bought a huge bucket of coconut oil I need to use before it goes bad. I...

I make a 70% lard or soybean, 30% coconut oil LS that I use on dishes. I make it lye heavy and then neutralize with 33% borax solution. I find that the coconut adds the initial bubble explosion I am looking for with dish soap, and the other "filler" oils keep a good stable lather going. It's...

Back in the day when soap ruled, the king of built soaps, also known as washing powder, was Gold Dust Washing Powder. I found an ancient book with formulations (days before trade secrets were so guarded) and found that it was about 50% soap and 50% sodium carbonate. This is by weight. So you are...

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So have I...takes a lot to kill a batch of CP soap (but I have done it :oops:).

This...in astronomical units...especially the simplicity and curing time. :)

This. Although you may luck out because you have some oils with a long shelf life in there as well. It all depends. Good luck.

Another good one would be: 50% Olive Oil 25% Coconut Oil 20% Vegetable Shortening 5 % Castor Would cut down on some of the sliminess that newer OO bars have.

Agreed.

I just ran into your video on Youtube....it ROCKS! It is such a perfect demonstration of the whole process. I was not offended at all but flattered. I haven't been soaping a lot lately (too much on my plate at work) but I did take some time to do some experiments. For ages, I have said to take...

Actually, I kind of like it. It's crisper and easier for my middle aged eyes to read.

I superfat at 7% for my grandmother and mother who are both seniors. I haven't noticed a large difference in the hardness of bars, although I do tend to use a fairly large amount of hard oils.

If you up the superfat to the range that Irena recommends, you could up the coconut to about 25%, add about 5% castor for some extra creaminess and bubbles, and have a very nice and luxurious soap with a longer shelf life. Olive is so emolient that it shouldn't be drying with a decent lye...

Is it antibacterial? No...not really, since it doesn't have an antibacterial agent like triclocarban or triclosan. Does it wash bacteria away with the dirt? Yes...like any other soap or detergent. Are you using hot water for her diapers? Hot water (140F) and a good hot dry or dry in the sun...

I use my cheap plastic miter box, and a good sharp knife....never have had a reason to upgrade.

Yep, Brambleberry, Essential Wholesale, Saveonscents, and several other online vendors all carry excellent liquid soap, shampoo, lotion, and other bases that you can color and scent to your heart's content. They also tend to carry a higher quality line of product than the stuff you find at the...

Well...the thread has been up for a long time. :)

Actually, it would probably be far more cost effective to just add them as you need them. That's what I do....most things don't need that kind of a kick all the time, and clothes last longer with simpler ingredients, in my experience.

Uh.....don't expect miracles on stains like that. It works well enough on everyday laundry but you really need an enzyme and bleaching agent for the best results on things like grass, blood, etc.

Lightly colored soaps with oxide shouldn't hurt....never has for me. The slightly lye heavy stuff actually cleans better than the 0% superfat. A little zap won't matter where it's so dilute and not in contact with skin.