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I typically do a 20% sf on my salt bars and love them, did a couple batches at 15% and even that 5% made my skin like them a lot less. My go-to salt bar recipe is 86% coconut oil, 7% shea butter, and 7% castor with 80% salt at a 20% sf, but you can omit the shea and castor and do just 100%...

Thanks, guys. :D I'll definitely post more pics once it finishes darkening up. Dragonkaz, I use the water dispersible TD and mix it up with a little bit of boiling water in a small jar, shake the snot out of it and then open the cap to let it cool. Once it's cooled to room temp, I shake the...

I read this daily since Publix is the store within walking distance for me: http://www.iheartpublix.com/ Being able to match up the weekly and printable coupons with the store's buy one get one deals and other sales lets me save a ton of money. The week before last I saved $34 and paid $48...

I've not been making much soap lately, too much other stuff going on in my life and keeping me distracted, but I did finally soap BB's OMH the other night and I really, really like that scent. It's a bit darker now and will probably end up even more of a brown color, but I added just a...

My salt bars always have a very high cleansing value in SoapCalc due the the large percentage of coconut oil, but the high superfat balances that out.

I'd personally not do a 3% superfat. I won't make anything with lower than 5% and most of my soaps are between 7-10%.

I used 3/4 tsp PPO with Daystar's Salty Sailor and it slowed it down quite a bit, that one didn't seize on me but it zipped right along the first couple times I soaped it. I used a full teaspoon PPO with DS's Patchouli Dusk because it always wants to rice and accelerate like mad, it still riced...

The liquid lecithin is awesome, I picked up a bottle of soy lecithin from the local health food store and it really seemed to make a difference with the fast movers I've tried it with.

The "5% lye discount" your recipe mentions is the Super Fat % on SoapCalc.

The two don't have anything to do with each other. Vegan, as see said, means no animal products or by-products (and you have to look pretty deep, some animal products aren't as easy to spot as others) while organic (as used in marketing) means that something is grown/raised/produced with no...

Ah, but not all of us make all-natural soaps. :wink: I readily use synthetic fragrances and colorants in mine, while there are others who wouldn't dream of using either. What makes the ideal soap for one person won't necessarily suit the next person and I think that diversity is one of the...

She's doing fantastic, 100% crazy and energetic and a typical kitten. I have pics of her playing with Murph and then snoozing on him, lol. Poor Murph, He loves it when she curls up on him, though

I'm in the same camp as MsB, the studies I've seen don't have anything to do with the TD we use in soap, and they aren't looking at its use in a wash-off product like soap to begin with.

I definitely wouldn't do it without making sure that your liability insurance covers classes.

You can also add titanium dioxide to help with a whiter soap.

I adore SoapCalc but it's definitely not 100% accurate on all things. The hardness of olive oil, like you pointed out, is definitely off because everyone who's made Castile knows that it's brick-hard once it's cured. I still pay attention the numbers on SoapCalc and use them as a general...

The part that stuck out to me is the chamomile essential oil, that stuff's soooo pricey to use in soap, especially when you're just starting out. I'd actually suggest making an unscented oatmeal milk and honey to start out, then work in fragrances in future batches. Even with no added fragrance...

I definitely prefer a finished looking bar with beveled edges, I've received some really nice rustic soaps in swaps and such but the smooth and finished ones are just my preference.

A lot of people use a stronger lye solution for castile and other recipes really high in olive oil, which means less water. SoapCalc, by default, uses the "Water as % of Oils" checkbox to determine the water amount, which confused me to no end when I first started using it. People would suggest...

6.67% should be just fine, I use 7-9% in all of my soaps and have never had a problem. That said, I've heard people say that their soap was sticky if they used a really high percent of castor, but most of those posts have been about using it at rates like 15-20%. I love love love castor, and...