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I wasn’t taught about SF. I find my bars are harder and yes, I get a lot of good conditioning. I use a variety of soft oils in different recipes. I guess the answer to your question is that when I started formulating my recipes, I didn’t understand SF!😂

I was taught that the general rule of thumb was 50% hard oils. I always get 5% castor oil. I also do not superfat my recipes unless it is a face bar. When I use lard, it is softer. I cure 6 weeks. I really like avocado oil, and I’m a huge fan of rice bran oil and a small amount of castor oil.

When I use lard, I typically still use CO. The lard is at 25%. It makes for a very nice soap. I also use OO, AVO, RBO and Castor. I don’t usually super fat, except the oils I use for natural colorants and my EOs. I’m still experimenting with different soap recipes. I don’t sell soap and have...

I’m in the mountains of NC. Summers are still hot. I don’t always wear sleeves either. I’ve made the mistake of not wearing gloves and the lye burned my skin. Luckily it was just a small spot. I NEVER soap without eye protection. Hubby got me some with bifocals. I’m so faithful to them that I...

I was beginning to think there was no one who agreed that soap (shampoo) bars were good! Guess it depends on the recipe and on hair/scalp type. Of course, there are always opinions. I will use mine until my trusted beautician sees a problem!

My beautician says it looks so healthy!

I don’t sell soap yet because I haven’t quite figured out recipes I want to sell. I am experimenting, still. I would say I have about 300-400 bars. I give soap to all my friends and tell them to let me know what they think, which was their favorite, etc. I plan to give soap to at least 40 people...

Thanks for telling about soap vs shampoo in labeling. I don’t sell soap (yet) and a friend said her “shampoo bars” were not big sellers. However, I have been using my own shampoo bars (soap!) and I really like it. I use a 50% apple cider vinegar rinse. When I am done, I don’t smell the vinegar...

Just wondering if adding a FO like a sea breeze type of something would make it any better? I’m not really so excited to try it though!

I cut two batches of soap. The green one is Almond and the blue one is Bay Rum. Both of these soaps have lard.

I use lard in several recipes. A friend who soaped for years said for her shop, everything had lard except her vegan line. I have had great luck with lard. I had one batch overheat, and seize but I think it was the Gardenia fragrance oil I used. I like my soaps with lard!

I am new to soaping, as well. I started in January and I’ve done only CP soaps. I’ve had the same experience. You can go to the fragrance calc on Brambleberry and it will tell you how much of the different scents you need per lb of oils. I have experimented enough to know that many citrus oils...

You are way over my head here! I’m relatively new to soapmakimg and have only done CP soap. I’m not sure what salting out means. Completely confused. Maybe I can experiment with that after I’ve experimented with salt! I am now in the process of experimenting with different oil combinations. I...

Then do NOT email me with the post! I checked the date on the post and it was today, so I responded. I’m about to quit this forum because you repeatedly email me with stuff and when I respond, you chastise me. Handle your forum better and there won’t be necroposting!!!!

How much lemon juice did you add per pound of oils?

I had a Gardenia to do that to me. I melted it down in the crock pot and poured it into a mold. It was still quite ugly! However, it smelled so good I hated to waste it. I cut it into pieces and made a mosaic soap outback of it. Still not the prettiest soap but not as bad! My sister wanted...

I would think 40% CO, 15% AvO, 25% RBO, 15 % Sweet Almond, and 5% CO would make a nice soap. I haven’t tried it but would surely be willing.

The most unusual soap I’ve made is from a recipe I found for “Recee’s Peanut Butter Soap”. It used Crisco, Peanut Butter and Cocoa. In the end, it has a slight peanut butter and chocolate scent. However, it is very brown and will certainly stain any fabric it touches!! It doesn’t lather well but...

One of my favorite handsoaps is a coffee soap. I brewed the coffee using espresso. The grinds are so much finer. I added it to my lye with the same measurement for water. I then added the used grinds to my water. I put in a very small amount of cinnamon scent. The soap is amazing because it...

It has been my experience that Crisco is unpredictable. The ingredients are proprietary and we don’t know the real recipe for Crisco. I would use all the others you listed. Lard makes a fairly hard bar. As for colors, you can use some spices and herbs and do lines with coffee grounds. I love...