Badly need advice

[rjalex]

Dear friends,
in the past with your help I did make several kilos of wonderful soap but now I have finished my last 5 Kgs batch and should start anew.

Problem 1: I lost all of my recipes (had printed with handwritten notes them but they have disappeared) :-(

Problem 2: the soapcalc.com website I used does not seem to work anymore :-(
EDIT: Problem 2 fixed. Doh ... it was soapcalc.net not .com !!!

The reason I started to make soap at home was the reading of this wonderful book:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13418346-breasts

and scared about the potential impact of several oestrogen-like substances in commercial soaps and their potential impact on breast cancer promotion I started making soaps for the women in my family (mother, wife, daughter).

I now would like to make some more and would be grateful for a suggestion of a simple soap esp. for their delicate armpits in order to clean them well but avoid irritiating (in the past I used no scents nor coloring to be as mild as possible).

If anyone can share I'd be very happy.

All the oils I had bought are either finished or rancid so I'd have to buy everything from scratch. Over here in Italy good quality OO is cheapish and can also find most other edible oils (sunflower, peanut, soybean etc.) at the local supermarket and also lard. All the rest I have to buy from European vendors on EBay.

Thank you very much.

 

[Obsidian]

My favorite recipe is simple and gentle enough for all but the driest of skins. use 5% SF

lard 50% (you can use palm if you prefer)
OO 25% (I use HO safflower instead)
coconut oil 20% (can use 15% for even gentler, add the extra 5% to lard)
castor oil 5%

 

[Arimara]

truth be told, some of those commercial soap are actually soap, albeit unbalanced. Others are syndets designed to be more gentle that soaps since as surfactants, soap can still be quite harsh for more sensitive skin and people with certain conditions. If you're interested in estrogen disrupters, I strongly suggest you visit the Swift Crafty Monkey blog. The owner of that blog has posted about a lot of different ingredients, some of which can be used in soap.

 

[rjalex]

If you're interested in estrogen disrupters, I strongly suggest you visit the Swift Crafty Monkey blog. The owner of that blog has posted about a lot of different ingredients, some of which can be used in soap.

Thank you very much. My work has to do with oncology and I am doing what I can to minimize risks for my loved ones and having natural soap is one little way on that path.

My favorite recipe is simple and gentle enough for all but the driest of skins. use 5% SF

lard 50% (you can use palm if you prefer)
OO 25% (I use HO safflower instead)
coconut oil 20% (can use 15% for even gentler, add the extra 5% to lard)
castor oil 5%

Thank you very very much. A good starting point for my horrible memory

 

[Zany_in_CO]

TIP: Save your recipes right on SoapCalc.net. After you finish formulating, click on "Save Recipe" and it's there for you the next time you soap. Just be sure to start with 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or whatever your next recipe is before you click "Save".

Here's my #11 -- a Savon de Marseilles type soap I make with Faux Sea Water to harden quickly and reduce slime. Fragrance free. Lovely soap for babies and for those with sensitive skin. I use pomace but you can use whatever OO you have available:

 

[SudsanSoaps]

TIP: Save your recipes right on SoapCalc.net. Here's my #11 -- a Savon de Marseilles type soap I make with Faux Sea Water to harden quickly and reduce slime. Fragrance free. Lovely soap for babies and for those with sensitive skin. I use pomace but you can use whatever OO you have available:
View attachment 31162

Best not to place too many bets on it always being there. If you happen to reset the cookies it will be gone.

 

[Dean]

Best not to place too many bets on it always being there. If you happen to reset the cookies it will be gone.

Is that the same for soapee?!

 

[rjalex]

I remember I used to print them and also scribble the results on the printed recipes. They were really cool even with a few splashes and stains from the process but alas "someone" (dear wife probably) must have "tidied up" my drawer and they're lost for good :-(

TIP: Save your recipes right on SoapCalc.net. After you finish formulating, click on "Save Recipe" and it's there for you the next time you soap. Just be sure to start with 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or whatever your next recipe is before you click "Save".

Here's my #11 -- a Savon de Marseilles type soap I make with Faux Sea Water to harden quickly and reduce slime. Fragrance free. Lovely soap for babies and for those with sensitive skin. I use pomace but you can use whatever OO you have available:
View attachment 31162

Thank you very much!

One question: my suppliers only list "coconut oil 100% pure" ... what are those 76 deg or 92deg or fractionated I see on soapcalc?

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Best not to place too many bets on it always being there. If you happen to reset the cookies it will be gone.

YIKES! I didn't know that, but then I've never had the problem. Good to know!
So the next TIP is: Print out the recipe, use it to make notes when you make the soap; keep it with the soap while it cures; then put it in a plastic sleeve protector and store it in a 3-ring binder. Works for me!

Thank you very much!

You're welcome very much!

One question: my suppliers only list "coconut oil 100% pure" ... what are those 76 deg or 92deg or fractionated I see on soapcalc?

Here's a link to a thread that reponds to that question:
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/92-vs-76-coconut-oil.12508/

 

[SudsanSoaps]

Is that the same for soapee?!

I don’t believe it’s the same. I believe that to save on soapee you set up an account with a password so I think you’d be fine. Maybe someone else knows better though.

 

[Terri E]

Here are 2 good ones. I really like the Bubbly Lard recipe, it makes wonderful creamy soap!

 

[zolveria]

Miller soaps is A good Site for soap making Tons of infomation

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Miller soaps is A good Site for soap making Tons of infomation

I agree. Also, there's lots of good info/recipes, including Miller's, in the Beginner's Forum, Beginners Learn to Soap Online thread... here's a link
http:// https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/beginners-learn-to-soap-online.64426/
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/beginners-learn-to-soap-online.64426/

 

[earlene]

I don’t believe it’s the same. I believe that to save on soapee you set up an account with a password so I think you’d be fine. Maybe someone else knows better though.

That is correct. If you have an account (free) it saves it to the cloud or on soapee's servers (which are probably in the cloud.)

With soapcalc or soapee or any other lye calculator, you can always save to your computer (back-up is still a VERY good idea, though - I lost all my recipes when my hard drive failed a few months back. Luckily I have them all hand-written in a notebook.

The method for saving as a file is usually pretty easy these days. You choose print as usual, but when the option of which printer to use pops up, choose pdf or xps or whatever document file is available to you on your computer. Then choose print and it is saved on your computer. That's how it works with Windows, but I know it can be done with other Operating Systems as well. If you've never done this before, I would suggest testing the method, setting up your folder where you will save the files, then make sure you can open the file and check to see if it will actually print for you as well.

 

[Obsidian]

I use evernote to keep my digital recipes organized. You can get a desktop program and a app for your phone/tablet.

Now I can access my recipes whenever and wherever I am. Need to have internet when using mobile devices though.

 

[redhead1226]

About 6 years ago I got Soapmaker3 and I cannot live without it. For the $99 it is worth it's weight in gold. Keeps my inventory of materials, costs and inventory. Before that I used a notebook and printed recipes, put them in plastic and a 3 ring binder. I back up my data on my computer, a portable hard drive and the cloud. Because if I lose them I think Ill be on anti-depressants.

 

[amd]

About 6 years ago I got Soapmaker3 and I cannot live without it. For the $99 it is worth it's weight in gold. Keeps my inventory of materials, costs and inventory. Before that I used a notebook and printed recipes, put them in plastic and a 3 ring binder. I back up my data on my computer, a portable hard drive and the cloud. Because if I lose them I think Ill be on anti-depressants.

I do the same thing: keep my recipes in SM3 backed up to dropbox, but I still print copies and keep in sheet protectors in 3 ring binder, because I'm anal like that. I do keep more notes in my binder copies than on SM3 though, because if I'm remaking a recipe and I haven't changed anything I'm more likely to look at the printed copy than reprint it from SM3.

 

[cmzaha]

I print all my recipes to Microsoft One Note, even the recipes I have saved in Soapee. In Soap Calc my recipes always went away when I cleared my cache and cookies

 

[Dahila]

I have three copies, one with curing soap, one in sleeve in binder downstairs in workshop, One in special binder named " Health Canada" with recipe and variables I send to them, and cosmetic numbers. I still have like 20 CDs so every two months I do back up of soapmaker, labels and things from HC. So 3 hard copies and 1 digital. I have also binder with my things, when I started, so many times I go back to the simple formulation. While I print from Soap calc I had made a few copies each went with soap, date, scent, additives, notes about batch, It is useful while you design labels

 

[redhead1226]

I do the same thing: keep my recipes in SM3 backed up to dropbox, but I still print copies and keep in sheet protectors in 3 ring binder, because I'm anal like that. I do keep more notes in my binder copies than on SM3 though, because if I'm remaking a recipe and I haven't changed anything I'm more likely to look at the printed copy than reprint it from SM3.

I find the program very capable of managing everything for me. I do not however keep tract of my products through the invoice part. Just too much. So based upon SM3 I have a lot of soap! Which of course I do not have. I give away more then I sell. Its not a business really for me - More of my obsession and joy.