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Jwmelick, I was interested in Sorbitol not for transparency but because it increases bubbles. I actually went quite down far into a scientific rabbit hole to understand whether or not Xylitol would be a substitute/rival. I'm too busy to go into it, but the molecular composition of Xylitol means...

Mary, I have left some of the silk in liquid prior to adding lye (not much in advance though), and I cut it up somewhat (emphasis on the somewhat!). What I find is that it needs more stirring than you would think necessary. In other words, you think it is a hopeless situation and not going to...

Mobjack, I got on to Stephen Cooke (:D!) as I 'read' (a questionable word for a process like reading in a language you don't master by hanging on to the few terms you do understand) a couple of his articles. Anyway, he confirms that sorbitol does increase surface tension but cannot offer us new...

Hi Szaza, yes, I now have 20% cocao and 10% shea, and I've test results! I now love the soap. Also, I put in RBO to keep the palmitic up. Actually, I can even give feedback on the addition of sorbitol because I added it to the soap I made on the 6th of February and it's got big bubbles as well...

That's a lovely rebatch. I think it's the nicest I've ever seen.

Hi Glendam, I think we might be comparing oranges and apples really because my problems only emerged when I reheated the masterbatch. And I do think the source of the problem (in my case) was excessive ROE. And yes, the problem did migrate directly from the mousse on the reheated oils from the...

aha! That, Glendam, is exactly what I see! But a little bit more than in pic 2. I don't seem to be able to stir it out, mine is more of genuine mousse. As I said, I have to skim it off! Can I ask you what percentage of ROE you add?

Yes, we can! LONG ANSWER (sorry, just saw this post) For fragrances: eulenhof seife (my favourite) in Germany sells Nature's Garden, some Brambleberry, Aztec and some others. I find their prices very reasonable. They also have a great range of Umakeitup micas. I think they are right now...

yes, so my tuppence ha'penny contribution to the science of ROE is that if you add too much you get a mousse of bubbles on your oils whenever you heat them and by whatever means!!!:rolleyes:

Good morning DeeAnna, I don't think you are going to think very much of my source. I just checked, and it was the French site Aromazone. It says DE 0,05 À 0,10 % POUR LES ACIDES GRAS SATURÉS (1 À 2 GOUTTES POUR 100 ML) ET DE 0,20 À 0,40 % POUR LES ACIDES GRAS POLYINSATURÉS (4 À 8 GOUTTES POUR...

Me too - just a hobby/passion! but I love every aspect of soapmaking! the science, the colours, the fragrances, the design element. Plus, it requires concentration but on stuff that's not work-related and so it calms me! Yes, no dearth of soaps in this house! And everyone got Xmas presents they...

Hi Penelope, to be honest, I can't say now what percentage I added it at. I did some maths because from what I'd read, the percentage rate for hard oils wasn't the same as for soft oils. So I did the maths (based on my ratio of hard to soft) and added that percentage to the lot. It may have been...

Oh that's interesting Glendam, thank you. Yes, I did wonder about the containers and I thought I cleaned the measuring jug quite scrupulously, but if you say you've never had that reaction then I'll have to check and double-check the next time. Thank you.

Hi all, I was wondering if someone else has noticed that if you add ROE to your masterbatch, when you heat up the oils you need, the top has a film of tiny bubbles, almost a mousse. I decided that maybe heating in the microwave was the source of the problem and so last night heated the oils with...

Ha! Thanks Lisa. I just tried it on a batch the day before you posted that message! And very late in the day discovered that sorbitol is a laxative!!! problem solved - I got some in a pharmacy! So if I make a soap relatively soon, I should be able to compare the two in a couple of months time!

Actually, though, cocoa butter and RBO sorted out the problem for me - I got the numbers up where I wanted them. Funny enough, I've seen mention of people not liking overly palmitic soaps. Don't quite know what that problem is (and am unlikely to discover from personal experience!).

Hi Earlene, and sorry for late response. Yes, I did it in the ratio above. Funny thing, I also use aloe juice as my water for my lye solution, so now my lye solution is aloe juice/tussah silk/NaOH. And it isn't even gel-like. I mean it's definitely not a water consistency, but it pours smoothly...

Hi Linne, yes, I will indeed!!! Actually, what I was trying to do was masterbatch with aloe vera and silk! It's a pain in the neck to melt silk if you've masterbatched your lye solution. I was worried about the aloe burning if the temp got too high (that happens to me) but also worried that I'd...

Sorry, the Gecko and thank you - that was a typo - I meant 1gm of silk for a 2-pound batch of soap. I'm going with .4 % of the masterbatch lye weigh - the .4% weight is silk. I'll see.