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Regarding the milk - you can do the split method as long as the water equals the amount of lye you are using. Never go less water then lye. You could put the milk in an ice cube tray and freeze it, then slowly add the lye to that. I do it that way and avoid scorching the milk. My bars turn a...

I am no expert so someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding of adjusting the water allows for quicker trace, a denser soap at pour and immediately after and less water to evaporate out during cure. However, you should still cure for the 4-6 weeks and never go less than a 1 to 1...

I was wondering about that. I thought the olive oil looked really dark and muddy but figured since it was on an industrial level maybe it was just darker. The first oil being the laurel oil makes sense.

Wow that video you linked in the other thread is pretty awesome. Why do they add the laurel oil after the lye has been added to the olive oil? I noticed that in the Soapmaing 101 video also.

Looks great! Buttermilk bastile are my go to soap for my daughters. Great lather after a good cure!

Good video link. I love all of those videos, though be sure to double check the lye calculations. This sounds like an interesting soap. If the oil wasn't so darn hard to find I'd give it a shot.

One of the Soaping 101 videos shows the women using a cheese slicer. She was getting really nice, straight bars. Makes me kick myself for not getting the pretty myrtlewood ones that were on sale everywhere on the Oregon coast. I'm sure I can get a regular cheese slicer somewhere but the...

That's some good looking soap! Congrats on a very successful first batch!

What are the dimensions of the mold? I have one that is 3.5 inches wide by about 2.75 inches tall and 12 inches long (it's only a 2-3 lb mold). I only fill it to about 2.5 inches high and get bars that are a little over 5 oz when I cut them at one inch.

I've never experienced that. Most salt bars are made with a high superfat so they are not very drying, though some people's skin just doesn't like Coconut Oil period so for them it might.

Bastile is bastardized castile. If you want to get technical, the only thing that makes a true castile is OO, lye and water. Anything else used and its not a true castile, though some companies have modified the definition to "vegetable based soaps." So the soaping community uses the term...

I've been debating doing the same thing but our basement is really damp. Right now I have my soap curing in the garage but it gets really warm in there.

Moody Glen - Soap Naturally was the first book I ever saw about soap making. My sister got it second hand and used it as her primary guide while she was learning. I learned from watching her and she showed me the book. I can't remember where I got it from but I do have a copy, along with The...

The tan color made me wonder if it might have milk in it. I make 100% OO, 100% buttermilk soap for my girls. I freeze the buttermilk and combine lye/oil at room temp and they came out a light tan color. And other than the whiteness, mine are exactly like atihcnoc describes after 6 months -...

Buttermilk bastille for my girls, 100% coconut oil/coconut milk salt bars for me, and I think maybe a coffee soap with coffee grinds for scrubbiness.

I actually kind of like the brown of a honey or milk soap that has gelled. i guess I'm one of those that has embraced the brown (vanilla FO!). I just made a honeycomb designed honey soap and it's a really pretty tan/brown color. Kind of actually looks like honeycomb. I usually prefer to gell...

If you are going to continue using the muffin pan you can coat it with mineral oil (baby oil) as a releasing agent. Or if they are silicone and flexible you can just let them be and push the soap out after it sets up. I have a silicone cavity mold I do that with. I don't coat the inside with...

If you do a search on hear for "acne face soap" there are some good discussion about it. Lots of people sharing their recipes and tips for acne prone skin.

I had the same thing happen to my wood mold when I used wax paper. I think it may have even warped a bit - go figure. I see it mostly as cosmetic, other than the warping, and just use parchment paper now to line it with (I never could find freezer paper in the last place I lived. Found some...

Is it possible there are different grades of lanolin? The only lanolin I've personally dealt with is Lansinoh ;) and that is orderless and supposedly 100% lanolin. Is it possible this lanolin from china is just refined more or something to remove the odor? I really don't know, just throwing...