CP Newbie Q's

[mamastone]

1) Does it matter what oils I use in a combination, or just that it all adds up and I use the right ammount of lye/water?
I bought 3L Olive Oil (pomace), 1KG coconut oil, and 1KG palm oil. I also got a very small ammount of cocoa butter (100g/3.5oz).
Maybe someone has a tried and true recipe using the above ingredients?
I also got .7 oz peppermint eo, .7 oz 15%vanilla EO and .7oz sweet orange EO with dried mint and dried lavender for additives. Oh, and green clay if those make a difference.

2) Can I use purified water instead of distilled water?

I made a 100% olive oil soap with purified water (I assumed they were the same) ... but I'm a little concerned. My soap is about 12 hours out of the mould (48 hours in), but it seems kind of crumbly. Maybe that's just it's immaturity?

Thanks in advance!

 

[cdwinsby]

Question 2 - Yes you can use purified water - I do all the time.

Question 1 - The combination of oils you use will determine what qualities your soap will have.

Crumbly soap often means that it cooled down too quickly. This is usually because it wasn't insulated properly.

Here are some sites with recipes.

http://millersoap.com/
http://www.teachsoap.com/soapmakingmethods.html
http://www.soap-making-essentials.com/homemade-soap-recipes.html

Get familiar with using a lye calculator as well so you can check all recipes you use and to get to know some of the characteristics of the oils.

This is one many of us use: http://www.soapcalc.com/calc/soapcalcWP.asp

Good luck

 

[mamastone]

Thanks a bunch

and ahah- you're not too far away from me Vancouver girl here.

 

[cdwinsby]

you're not too far away from me Vancouver girl here.

Born and raised on Vancouver Island! And lucky you to be right where all the suppliers are!! Shipping is killing me. Every time we go through Vancouver we have to stop at Cranberry Lane for coconut and palm oil.

 

[mamastone]

I just had a spark of brilliance. Would insulating my soap 'moulding' area with the pink soam wall insulator stuff help, in addition to my blankets, etc? I have a bunch of this on hand, hubby uses it for making scenery for tabletop games.

So weird, now my previously white-green olive oil soap is turning brown, moreso on the ones with more of the peppermint flakes. What gives?

 

[cdwinsby]

Getting the right amount of insulation for each recipe is a matter of trial and error I find. I still have issues at times. Taking lots of notes on temperatures, ingredients, etc. helps to figure it out.

Many herbs and flowers will turn brown in soap. It's due to the soaps high pH level. Calendula petals, dill, comfrey and parsley are a few that stay green.