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I like the blobs... Try mixing your charcoal with glycerine to make a thick paste before adding it to the oils. Stick Blend until incorporated and add your lye - I will sometimes add additional water (just a bit) to give me a little more time.

Just started mega batching for Christmas... tried adding my kaolin, titanium and EO's before my lye solution... the batch (my first triple batch) traced wonderfully - it is now in the molds and my fingers are crossed it continues to behave well!

I have had decent lather off my bars 10 days after batching... Despite the fact that I always test with PH strips and Phenolphthalein but I make a point of using end cuts two weeks after batching to make sure it is not irritating.

Hi all, A couple of weeks ago a friend (professional chemist) were discussing the possibility of bar soap using KOH and the additional possibility of a full cook to gel as you would for liquid soap but adding hardeners (sodium lactate or salt) to get something that might cure hard... even if it...

I mold mine in individual molds... I just cannot get the timing right for a cut bar. I find that covering them with a silicone sheet helps keep the heat in for a nice gel and limits soda ash. Anything that gets air during the first week ashes like crazy and I am discounting 10-15% so it is not...

I have to take that one back... this was not a fail. I put the batch into a pail so I could toss it in the garbage and the next morning before I tossed it peeked under the lid. There was some pretty weird saponification going on in there and the lump was solid; no longer a mix of riced bits and...

I try to get all my CP soaps to fully gel. Seems I have to get them out of the mold and cut pronto the next day or they become unreasonably tough. If I unmold one that is a bit mushy I let it sit and air dry some more. I have heard that sodium lactate will help with hardening soft soap but have...

In my efforts to do something 'different' at the beginning I did things like include mint leaves, topped soap with calendula and chamomile flowers from my garden. The mint soap cured and ended up looking like Stilton Cheese, the Mint is still giving me the gears and a recent batch with only EO...

No sillies... not that one this one; FAIL!!!! Tried making a batch of liquid soap using Tallow and Olive oil... burned out two blenders (thankfully cheap ones I don't care about) and wasted 2 hours fighting to get it to trace. I was just messing about because I had left over tallow... but...

Lotions.... Lotions, Lotions, lotions... maybe some body butter or thick creams... I love that stuff and slap it on straight out of the bottle.

There is nothing quite like the general public. I am legally disabled, sometimes it is obvious when I walk, sometimes it is not. Sometimes I I get the well meaninged verbally attacking me for parking in a handicapped spot, sometimes I have to deal with pity or abuse because I am different. I...

Will do! Thanks... Couldn't be worse than what I experienced... LOL! The air was blue in the kitchen for all the cussing that was going on!

Just need to vent... I've always added my EO room temp at trace. I am racing with some of my blends to get the oils fully incorporated before the soap becomes too thick to handle easily. I read that warming your EO can help with this. So I tried it. On a batch of Eucalyptus soap I have made...

Thank you!!!!!!

I keep on gently cooking until I get a clear test. I usually dilute about a teaspoon to a third cup of distilled water. As far as thinning goes; I just keep on, keeping on adding water in small quantities until I get no lumps and no skin... I am sure that environment, humidity, ingredients all...

I had similar with a rose soap I made last weekend. First batch will need to be rebatched. Second batch needed to be blended until almost so thick i had trouble getting it into the mold in a nice fashion... The soap itself is fantastic will have to try more water next time to see if I can slow...

I would suggest no for laundry soap....it would be like using a superfatted soap and then there is the possibility of a slightly 'off' smell developing in your clothes... ;-) But I wonder if there is a possibility of rebatching this and cooking it into a liquid soap. If the PH tests ok in the...

Thanks! I have some of that for making sun cream for horses (yes... their pink little noses crisp up pretty good in the summer). So, Misschief... what is your ratio for adding? 1, 2, 3 or more oz per pound... TIA-muchly!

Well, I took the loaf out of the fridge but didn't have enough time to cut it into bars (had a show to go to). The darn thing gelled... If I had cut it into bars I suspect I would have got a partial gel... yes/no? Can anyone confirm? And for my next question; how do people in the group get a...