Hello from the Pacific Northwest

[Volossya]

Hello! I'm an engineer looking into making cold-process soap for personal and family use. I expect to enjoy the chemistry and creativity of it.

I have already done some background reading - "Soap Crafting" by Anne-Marie Faiola, then pretty much all of DeeAnna's SoapyStuff page (I appreciated her more scientific approach) and a good number of articles from ModernSoapMaking.com. To better understand how the soap calculator works I have made a spreadsheet version of a soap calculator and verified it against SoapCalc's outputs (agreement within 1% except for the saturated:unsaturated fat ratio, which makes sense given that I copied their SAP and fatty acid values). I spent so much time reading threads from the experienced people here that I decided to go ahead and make an account so I could ask questions directly.

Looking forward to chatting with y'all!

 

[saint_rabia]

Hello!! I am also an engineer and a new soap maker from the PNW. I got into the rabbit hole of soap making after reading Practical Magic and how a witch Maria Owens sold magic black soap that can make one look younger and more beautiful. The movie Practical Magic was filmed on Whidbey Island. I think soap is incredible.
I read "Soap Crafting" by Anne-Marie Faiola as a primer, then started reading Kevin Dunn's "Scientific Soapmaking". If you're into the chemistry, I highly recommend this book. He also has a companion spreadsheet tool called Lye-on.xls on his website cavemanchemistry.com

 

[lsg]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Welcome @Volossya! and @saint_rabia how can I make this soap that males me look younger? Pushing 60 over here..