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I am not selling (yet), I'm just obsessed with soap making ;). I have 2 reliable recipes - one with lard and the other vegetarian - and I use them for gifts etc. However, I constantly try to improve or try something new since I am still in the process of learning, so I experiment a lot, too...

it is possible to add both sugar and salt, just make sure it dissolves well before adding lye. ppo means per pound of oils :) I use 3-5% of sugar based on my oil weight (for example if my oils weigh 1000g, I add from 30 to 50g of sugar to my water). I don't use salt at all, but I have seen...

It also helps to take a sniff of coffee (beans or even instant coffee) if your nose is attacked by numerous scents (in a perfumery, when composing eos, sniffing soaps etc). It allows you to 'reset' your nose and get rid of olfactory fatigue. Maybe then you will feel a faint sign of ylang ylang...

It seems nice already! however I would probably lower coconut to 20% or even 19% and have more olive oil instead. It would still give a hard, not so easily soluble soap, but less stripping on skin and a bit more conditioning. And with 20% coconut and 5% castor I still get nice bubbles!

This is truly amazing! What strikes me is that the credits for the secret feather swirl probably go to the girl who already invented once the "Dandelion swirl" technique, named after her! She posted the photo of feather secret swirl early in April and perfected it since then. And her friend...

There are some quite famous and very talented bloggers from German/Austrian-speaking countries (miniseifen, punkthandwerk, dandelion) who publish exact amount of oils used in their recipes and very often the amount of coconut exceeds 25% which is like an absolute maximum for me (I use up to 20%...

Mama Calendula :))) great! The papa must have had the stripe of calendula flowers right opposite to where Mama has and thus the babies are striped in the middle! :D Very nice

Yes, I will definitely try to bend the wire soon :) and my husband will ask me 'what are you doing' even though he will be 100% sure it has something to do with soaps :))))

I never use thermometer, too and I wasted money on beet root extract, hoping to achieve reddish hue in cp soap - made a quick test batch and it turned yellow-grey-brown (like a poo). Yuck. Also, I admit that I hate ylang-ylang eo, however I bought the cheapest one so maybe more expensive...

this is such a cool, neat and elegant way of texturing/decorating the top of soap! http://auntieclaras.com/2014/04/tutorial-inverted-stamp-technique-lattice-tops-more/ I make plain single coloured soaps nearly as often as swirled ones, so this is a perfect way to add a final touch. I felt...

On one hand, I see sometimes that olive oil can go cloudy overtime if stored in a cool place. However it is strange that only the lavender-infused one went this way. Is it cold in your basement? Was lavender totally dry when you used it? When you move infusion to a warmer place. is it still...

I wrote this earlier in the "share your favourite recipe" section. There is no other additive that I could compare to almond oil! It is a discovery for me, really. It feels superb to the skin - really luxurious, outstanding and very soft. 12% for me does wonders. When I have tried it, it was...

I have only made carrot soap with puree (I used pureed carrot from a jar, a meal for babies, to make sure it was really well blended) and added 4 tablespoons ppo soap at trace (I weighted puree and substracted appropriate amount from my water). I did not freeze my soap and it heated a lot, to...

Alprinceton, vielen Dank for your answer! :) I assume ultramarine blue might be just as you say unstable. However, one reliable supplier we have locally claims that this one can be used in soaps. I'm a bit confused. Your English is perfectly understandable! Anna

Maybe less complicated would be to grate the lard soap very finely and then make a new batch of soap using your favourite recipe and mix it at trace with the grated white scraps? This looks very beautiful especially when the new batch is coloured. I attach a picture of a soap I made to use some...

My leg got fractured (unluckily) and I have plenty of time (luckily). I tried to make a camo soap yesterday. It is a very gentle recipe with cleansing value 13 and it is too early to unmold so I don't know what it's like on the inside. Scented with a lot of patchouli eo and a bit of litsea &...

I believe scale is absolutely necessary. However, the first 3 soaps I have ever made in my life I stirred by hand, using wooden spoon. It is OK at the beginning if you just want to check if soap making is fun without investing a lot. There is a certain reason why there were only 3 batches...

I have had this idea to make a totally white soap with plenty of lard in it and some colour accent made with blue clay. I have never before used such high amount of lard (50%) and sunflower (20%). I also used 10% castor and 20% coconut, with water discount (30% lye concentration) and 5%...

DeeAnna, the reason for this mess was definitely a weigh scale gone crazy due to the old batteries inside :/ Thank you all for your help. As I said before, to save this soap I have made some brave estimations regarding the additional amount of lye needed. Then I had some slight ricing...

hehe InNae, good point. I would also reweigh if only I didn't combine all the oils in one container already. I don't really want to loose these i gredients so will give it a try and see if I can rescue it.