Grocery store soap challenge

[KimW]

Haha. Earlene, dear heart, I give you credit for creative thinking but you get a DQ for stretching the concept... as @FragranceGuy stated the challenge in Post #1:

Attention shoppers! You’ve got lye waiting for you at home, but you have no oils, additives or molds. The challenge is to make an excellent soap using at least 3 oils that can be found in virtually any grocery store. As far as additives go, none or many. You MUST pick a mold from products or containers found in the store. Bonus points if you use the contents of said container in your soap

Please give it another go. I'm certain with all your experience of soaping while being on the road you can come up with a doozie!

I dunno...she DID say she could make a meal for herself out of items from that store. Soooooo - I give it a pass! Just sayin'

 

[Basil]

I dunno...she DID say she could make a meal for herself out of items from that store. Soooooo - I give it a pass! Just sayin'

I have to comment on this one lol! I love our feed stores here! Everything for the animals and the humans! Non traditional meal would be salted peanuts in the shell, pickled beets and pickled eggs, pickled asparagus , applesauce , Jerkey for my husband and gummie bears for dessert . Oops... I may have to go today and look for the soap ingredients too!

 

[earlene]

@Zany_in_CO Good idea, that way we won’t have to scroll through this thread to see results. I’m learning soaps and I’m learning forums ☺

@earlene I’m not familiar with neem oil but I am familiar with pine tar because I live in the Tar Heel State (NC) When I was in elementary school we took a field trip to a location where pine tar is extracted. The fellow giving us a tour asked if anyone wanted to taste it so I volunteered WOW!! It was DISGUSTING!!! And I couldn’t get the taste out of my mouth for the rest of the day So eating pine tar = bad, pine tar in soap = good. I’ll definitely check out neem and look into pine tar. So much to learn, I hope I live a long life ☺

I was never tempted to taste it! You are a rare bird! How did your classmates react? Oh, and I don't recommend tasting the neem.

 

[Basil]

I have to comment on this one lol! I love our feed stores here! Everything for the animals and the humans! Non traditional meal would be salted peanuts in the shell, pickled beets and pickled eggs, pickled asparagus , applesauce , Jerkey for my husband and gummie bears for dessert . Oops... I may have to go today and look for the soap ingredients too!

Oh gosh now I’ll replying to myself but wondering if using pickled beet juice as a colorant in soap would be doable? Not sure if the color would be pink? Turns brown? But it has the vinegar, salt and sugar... has anyone tried that? 4 in one ?

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Turns brown?

Sadly, yes.
Now can we discuss the matter of you replying to your own post?

 

[Basil]

Sadly, yes.
Now can we discuss the matter of you replying to your own post?
View attachment 55967

I THOUGHT maybe you had tried it @Zany_in_CO !!!

 

[Johnez]

Oh this is the perfect challenge for me as I just started and just got nearly everything already locally. Only exception would be stick blender off Amazon since Wally world didn't have one in stock. So does Walmart and Whole Foods count as "grocery" lol? Just found out I can get tons of EOs at WF for a decent price for whole ounces instead of half oz bottles like Wally world sells.

Considering making this recipe from Prairie Homestead:

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2015/05/hot-process-soap-recipe.html

• 10 oz olive oil
• 20 oz coconut oil
• 9 oz distilled water
• 4.78 oz 100% pure lye
• Essential oils for scent (optional)

Being that I have a small crockpot I might have to halve this recipe as I don't want an overflow accident. Would you guys say this is a good recipe to start with? I'm kinda interested in HP soaps and this one has the fewest ingredients I've found.

 

[earlene]

Oh this is the perfect challenge for me as I just started and just got nearly everything already locally. Only exception would be stick blender off Amazon since Wally world didn't have one in stock. So does Walmart and Whole Foods count as "grocery" lol? Just found out I can get tons of EOs at WF for a decent price for whole ounces instead of half oz bottles like Wally world sells.

Considering making this recipe from Prairie Homestead:

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2015/05/hot-process-soap-recipe.html

• 10 oz olive oil
• 20 oz coconut oil
• 9 oz distilled water
• 4.78 oz 100% pure lye
• Essential oils for scent (optional)

Being that I have a small crockpot I might have to halve this recipe as I don't want an overflow accident. Would you guys say this is a good recipe to start with? I'm kinda interested in HP soaps and this one has the fewest ingredients I've found.

First, I couldn't tolerate the harshness of 66% Coconut oil soap.
Second, you need to run it through a lye calculator, and for every change you would make to it.
Third, the author does not address how to determine EO safe usage and this is a serious issue.

So, no, I would not say this is a good recipe. Quite the reverse.

 

[Johnez]

First, I couldn't tolerate the harshness of 66% Coconut oil soap.
Second, you need to run it through a lye calculator, and for every change you would make to it.
Third, the author does not address how to determine EO safe usage and this is a serious issue.

So, no, I would not say this is a good recipe. Quite the reverse.

Thanks! I decided to make a 2/3 batch before your reply (oops) and will reevaluate with the soapcalc for the next batch. I guess this will be one of the learning batches. Perhaps I'll keep these on the sink as a hand wash. :-/ With regards to EOs I went a little conservative at .5 oz total split between bergamot and mandarin EO.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

@Basil Yes! And boy was I disappointed when that gorgeous color didn't work! I also tried Beet Powder. That was a no go also.

 

[Basil]

@Basil Yes! And boy was I disappointed when that gorgeous color didn't work! I also tried Beet Powder. That was a no go also.

I bought beet powder LOL. Thanks for the heads up !

 

[Sudds]

I actually picked up hemp oil at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago, this is a huge employee-owned store located only in WI and it has all sorts of wonderful things that you can't get at your regular stores. Their organic flours are the most reasonable around and it saves me a 1.5 hr. ride to the Mennonite store, which I love but don't like going there in the winter..roads are crummy!

 

[Rockin Robin]

I actually picked up hemp oil at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago, this is a huge employee-owned store located only in WI and it has all sorts of wonderful things that you can't get at your regular stores. Their organic flours are the most reasonable around and it saves me a 1.5 hr. ride to the Mennonite store, which I love but don't like going there in the winter..roads are crummy!

I am curious which Wisconsin store as I am from Wisconsin as well. Woodman's? I love hemp oil in soap and use it all the time.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Oh this is the perfect challenge for me as I just started and just got nearly everything already locally.

Perfect challenge indeed!
When I first started making soap in 2004 "Grocery Store Soap" was widely popular for newbies. Don't forget to scavenge the store shelves for a mold -- not just to get bonus credit but to feed your creative juices as well. FUN!

Considering making this recipe from Prairie Homestead:
Would you guys say this is a good recipe to start with?

Sorry Darlin'. That recipe gets 2 thumbs down -- not just from me but most likely from every experienced soapmaker reading this thread. Like me, they don't want to curb your enthusiasm. You sound confident enough to choose "learning something" over "being offended" by someone's well-intentioned advice that differs from your thinking.

I'm kinda interested in HP soaps and this one has the fewest ingredients I've found.

I have no problem with HP if that is your preference. CP is generally recommended for beginners so you may want to rethink that decision. Simply bring the batch to trace and pour. HP can be a bit tricky -- not knowing what to expect during the cook. Take care not to overcook!

Good thinking! -- to go with the fewest ingredients. Coconut Oil and Olive Oil are standard in many soap recipes. BUT. If you adjust your %s, add one more ingredient like Crisco (the one with the pie crust on the label) you will have a far more satisfactory result and a good foundation to build on. See Basic Trinity of Oils Starter Formula in the Beginners Forum. Substitute Crisco for the Palm and run it through a lye calculator as referenced in this thread.

Also download the attachment in that thread to see how to enter your formula. It is best to use the default settings to start with. You can mess around with the settings later, once you understand why you might want to do that.

Thanks! I decided to make a 2/3 batch before your reply (oops) and will reevaluate with the soapcalc for the next batch.

It is a common Newbie mistake to think you can just cut everything down to 2/3 batch. Doesn't work that way. It is highly recommended that you start with small 12-16 oz. batches of oils and run EVERY recipe through a lye calculator. Less waste in the long run. Take some time to play with it. It will be one of the best tools in your soapmaker's tool box.

With regards to EOs I went a little conservative at .5 oz total split between bergamot and mandarin EO.

Good thinking! 0.5 oz. is the Default setting for Fragrance on the calculator mentioned above. However, when using EOs, the amount varies widely. You must do your homework before using in soap. There are so many things that can go wrong. This has been discussed here many times. Use the magnifying glass icon in the upper right corner of this page to search for more info.

Last but not least, I encourage you to take some time to peruse the Beginner's Forum for "Tried and True" recipes as well as Forum knowledge. In order for us to best help you, it's a good idea to tell us a little about yourself in the Introduction Forum, your other interests and whatever else you like, but especially your knowledge and experience about soapmaking to date.

 

[Johnez]

@Zany_in_CO Thanks for the response, and yeah I try to choose the more useful route of learning rather than getting offended. Sometimes I fall short but eh I'm human!

With regards to trinity, yup that one is my next challenge. I wish I would have started there first.

I've done some reading on EOs, of prime concern is safety. I've read of the the photosensitivity issues with regards to many citrus oils, the irritant potential with clove and cinnamon (I guess this is why Bay Rum shaving soap and after shave have issues for some) and have checked out the thread listing the toxic potential for some EOs even in very small doses. I'm sticking with simple stuff for now but as I branch out I'm definitely going with safety first and conservative.

And yep the beginners forum will likely be my home for a while!

Oh! Almost forgot the pics of the grocery story I made. It appears I didn't tamp it down enough, but overall I'm pleased that I even got it to the stage that could actually cut it. I'll make a thread in Beginners Forum for the soap so as not to derail this one to ask for suggestions. Thanks again guys, so many helpful responses here!

 

[FragranceGuy]

So does Walmart and Whole Foods count as "grocery" lol? Just found out I can get tons of EOs at WF for a decent price for whole ounces instead of half oz bottles like Wally world sells.

Yes! Any place you can buy groceries counts. If your local convenience store sells milk and limited fresh produce, that counts. Tools and lye can be owned or purchased elsewhere. I didn’t lay out specific guidelines for this challenge because I wanted it to be somewhat flexible and I’m mostly interested in what wonderful ideas you all come up with. However, I’ll clarify some points. Oils, additives and molds are the primary requirements to be purchased from your grocery store. Aka, no ingredients should go into your soap if it was purchased online. You’re welcome to go to multiple grocery stores and, again, I define a grocery store as a place that sells at least milk and fresh produce. I hope this helps!! Have fun

 

[Sudds]

I am curious which Wisconsin store as I am from Wisconsin as well. Woodman's? I love hemp oil in soap and use it all the time.

Woodman's it is! I went to a place that produces CBD oil and they told me to go to Woodman's! LOL! I use the Waukesha on main street, there are two in Madison, one on the east side and one on the west side, Kenosha, Oak Creek & Milwaukee. I stay away from their meat for the most part and never buy from the deli, (that's from the guy that works there!) Happy shopping!

 

[Rockin Robin]

Lucky me! I'm in Kenosha. Thank you for the info

 

[FragranceGuy]

Here’s a link to where to post your photos of your grocery store soap

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/grocery-store-soap-challenge-photo-thread.83660/

 

[Tara_H]

I may actually give this a bash tomorrow. I'm curious now to see if I can do any better with the materials I used to use, after months of practice, or if the investment in better kit has made most of the difference...