Now that we have some ideas, here are the Challenge rules:
Feb 2025 Specific Challenge Rules
- Make a cold processed or hot processed soap that contains at least one exfoliant, added to at least 50% of each soap bar. Use of multiple exfoliants is encouraged, but not required.
- Suggested exfoliants: pumice (ground, or a whole piece); loofah (whole slices, or ground); very fine coffee grinds; poppyseeds; ground oats; ground beans; ground rice; ground apricot seeds; ground walnut hulls; salt (avoid Dead Sea salt or Epsom salts); jojoba beads; and play sand.
- Don’t feel limited by this list. If you have tried something that works well, share it with your SMF friends... or save it as your secret winner for this Challenge!
- The soap can be colored or uncolored; scented or unscented; plain, swirled, textured, or layered – or any combination thereof. You may also include extra “cleaners” such as borax, de-greasing EOs, etc.
- Other than an exfoliating item such as loofah slices, or chunks of pumice stone, no embeds may be used to make the soap.
- Cavity molds are great for scrubby soaps; use plain or patterned, as you please.
- If you decide to use a loaf mold or slab mold, feel free to add an impression mat on the top, bottom, or sides; or to texture or shape the top. Do keep in mind that cutting scrubby loaves often results in drag marks due to the exfoliants.
SMF Challenge General Rules
To enter, you must have been an active SMF member for at least one month and have a minimum of 50 posts at the time the Challenge is posted. “Fluff” posts written with the sole intention of boosting post numbers do not apply. The only exception to this rule, is that the time and post requirements are removed for (do not apply to) Supporting Members. All eligible members may sign up and submit an entry at any time before the Entry Thread closes.
Your soap must be made after the monthly challenge has been announced. Your entry must consist of
at least two bars made from a single batch of soap. In other words, your entry cannot include bars from different batches.
The sign-up list will be posted in this General Challenge Thread. Please add your name to the sign-up list if you’d like to participate. You don’t have to enter a soap if you don’t feel happy with what you have made, and you will still be able to vote. Still, we hope you will post about your experiences here in the General Challenge thread, along with non-entry photos (be prepared to be encouraged to keep trying).
In the spirit of advancing our soap making skills, all members who sign-up for the SMF Challenge do so with the intent that they will make every attempt to submit an entry. We do understand that life happens, and that you may end up without an entry. However, signing up with no intent to participate and only to vote goes against the spirit of the challenge and is not allowed.
Throughout the month, we encourage you to use this General Challenge Thread (not the Entry Thread) to ask for advice, discuss techniques with other members, upload pictures of your non-entry challenge attempts, and provide helpful hints you learned along the way. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but please keep your comments polite.
A separate Entry Thread will be created towards the end of the month. Please do not post photos anywhere of your entry until the Entry Thread is opened. Breaking this rule will disqualify that soap from this Challenge. The Entry Thread is for challenge entries only; please don't post any comments there.
Your entry photo must include at least two bars of soap from a single batch. We encourage (but do not require) you to include in your entry post a description and additional photos demonstrating how you made your soap: the process, the technique, the fragrance, any special meaning behind your selected colors or design, etc. This gives voters a better understanding of, and appreciation for, what went into creating your soap.
Please post the photo you would like used for the voting survey first, before any other photos.
Entries must be posted to the Entry Thread (not to this General Challenge thread) before the Entry Thread is closed. Late entries will not be accepted. If you miss the Challenge deadline, please upload pictures of your soap to the General Challenge Thread instead. While it won’t be included in the voting, we always love to see anything you have created!
There is no prize attached to this Challenge. However, this is still a competition. If your entry is deemed non-compliant, you will be given the opportunity to amend your entry
if there is time to do so before the Entry Thread closes. Otherwise, your entry will be excluded from voting. The challenge mods have the final say as to whether any given soap, photo, or registrant is eligible for entry and voting.
All eligible registrants who have signed up before the Entry Thread closes will be eligible to vote, even if they do not submit an entry. A password-protected voting link and password will be sent to eligible registrants only, by private message via SMF conversations. Please check your SMF messages/conversations when the voting begins.
* The Entry Thread will open on
February 16, 2025 by 11:59 PM GMT.
* The Entry Thread will close on
February 23, 2025 at 11:59 PM GMT.
* Voting information will be sent via SMF Conversations (messages) to all eligible participants shortly thereafter.
* The voting survey will remain open until
February 26, 2025 at 11:59 PM GMT, or until all votes are in, whichever is sooner.
* The winner will be announced by
February 28, 2025 by 11:59 PM GMT.
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Note: all times listed above are Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). It is your responsibility to convert times to your own time zone. You can use World Time Buddy or a similar converter to assist you with that.
