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Your selection of oils is fine and should create a nice clear soap. Everyone has their own preference in calculators and you should use what works for you. Just be careful with the borax too. But based on your descriptions of how the soap changes based on the temperature, it does look to me...

I am going to assume that the cold is the issue. Each soap will have a cloud point - the temperature at which the insolubles will precipitate out and create cloudiness in your soap. Depending on the viscosity of your soap, it can look like little tiny pellets, white streaks or a complete...

Borax will not take your pH lower than 9.2 as that is the pH of the borax - it is a buffering agent not a pH adjuster like citric acid is. But, even though it will not lower your pH below the its own pH, it can mess up your soap (cause cloudiness, break it apart) if you use too much. I tried...

With that amount of oil and using the Summerbee Meadow calculator with a 3% superfat, you should have used 4.32 ounces KOH and 4.45 for a 0% superfat. It looks to me like your formulated with a lye excess which would be why your initial pH tested so high. Once you add the borax, if you add too...

I am curious what you mean by cold - room temperature or below 65 degrees F. It is normal for liquid soap to get cloudy in colder temperatures (cloud point). Too much borax will also cause your soap to cloud. If you pH is already below 9.2, borax is not going to lower it any further. Using...

The company is selling soap - they don't even have to list any of the ingredients. But they do, however, the FDA labeling rules do not apply and one has much more freedom in ingredient labeling for "Soap" and you don't even have to include them all. While some of you may not like it and may...

DawninWA - I, and many others are glad you shared. Liquid and cream soaps come in many forms and are created in many ways and sharing ideas, methods, failures and successes is what this is all about. I am glad you found a way to make a liquid soap that works for you no matter what the process...

That I do not know - I have never done HP soap..... but, if you really like the Plumeria Fragrance for your CP soap, Elements Bath and Body has a wonderful one (Frangipani) that does not accelerate trace.

The plumeria from brambleberry definitely accelerates trace. They even mention it on the website when describing the fragrance oil " For CP Soapers, this scent moves quickly so be prepared to pour into molds in a hurry."

I no longer use shrink bands because as the soap continues to cure, the shrink bands become a bit loose and end up messy looking. I have tried clear pvc boxes which showcase the soap (especially important if it decorative) but then there are limitations to the size of the soap in order to fit...

Your friend is probably referring to coconut and palm kernel oil/flakes not palm oil - they sound similar but are two different things that bring different qualities to your soap. Palm kernel is similar to coconut oil and can be interchanged.

I would actually start with a small batch of a basic 3 oil (olive, coconut, palm) cold process soap with some added fragrance (one without known issues such as acceleration) and no color to get a feel for the soap making process. It will give you a good idea of what trace looks like, soaping...

There are a lot of people who use "cleansing conditioners" instead of traditional shampoo or liquid soap/shampoo. These are supposed to be good for dry hair especially. I actually have a few customers who use my conditioner bars (and one of the ingredients also acts as a mild surfactant) to...

Not a stupid question at all .... Both 76 degree coconut oil and palm oil are solid at room temperature. Palm oil has a light golden yellow color and the coconut oil will be more of an ivory color. The palm oil should be a bit softer than the coconut oil at room temperature. And I second...

I am so very lucky that Soaper's Choice is a 30 minute drive from me. Low cost, excellent quality and no shipping charges - I order online and pick it up 24 hours later - I can't beat that so I don't need to buy any olive oil from the grocery. I do use their grade A olive oil and organic extra...

When I first started I used 2 basic wood loaf molds that had to be lined with freezer paper. It worked well but I hated the lining process. Now I only use silicone molds (both loaf molds set inside wooden frames and individual cavity silicone molds). So much easier, quick cleanup, less time...

Susie is right - the thinking is that the high pH of liquid soap makes it an undesirable environment for bacterial growth - the higher the pH, the more hostile the environment. Yeast and mold will grow in lower pH products though. Most liquid soaps will settle at a pH of 8.5 - 10 (taking the...

Many people follow older recipes in which dilution water is stated and they just follow that. Current trends are to start slowly and give the soap paste time to dilute before adding more dilution water - patience is key. Some formulations need more water to fully dilute than others and some...

Without an emulsifier, you will never get them to stay together. I thought maybe the coconut oil might help as it is a solid but does not look like it. You can always keep your oils separate as a cleanser (oil cleansing method) and then use the liquid soap as a follow up to remove any...

How do you get your oils to mix with the liquid soap since liquid soap is an aqueous product?