Hello from Wales!

[Chickenpoopshoes]

After browsing this forum a zillion times I have finally decided to join. So, hello everyone! I have REALLY garnered a lot of useful information already and I hope I can tap you up for some more now that I am on here?
I started soaping at the beginning of this year after binge-watching Royalty soaps videos on YouTube and then devouring most of the info on Humblebee and Me.
The very sensible advice there led me to take the plunge, especially once I read her article on Tallow and Lard in soaping.
I chose a few recipes I wanted to try, bought what I could in the shops, bought the rest from Soapkitchen and then went to the butcher with a Tupperware tub in hand to ask for some fat!
Anyhoo, I made three soaps which were variously successful- a chocolate/hazlenut/coffee scented one made using the Humblebee and Me chocolate roses soap recipe as my base ( I couldn't find some of the ingredients and didn't want to use others so I subbed things I knew to be safe swaps), a soap based on Humblebee's peppermint shampoo bar (I used an orange flower fragrance oil that didn't smell much like orange flowers, but hey ho), and finally I went made and formulated my own un scented bar based on Tallow and oatmilk.
So that's all the soaping experience I've got! The chocolate and oat soaps seem fine and smell great, but I think the orange flower one may be succumbing to DOS. I'll use it anyway because I hate waste and it's a nice feeling soap.
I have also started branching out into making balms because I'd love to be able to supply all my family's skincare. I'll have a few lotion bar and Balm questions for you guys soon!

 

[IrishLass]

Welcome, Chickenpoopshoes! I love your fanciful name! lol

I love Humblebee & Me, and also Royalty Soaps, too.


IrishLass

 

[lsg]

Welcome to the forum. I just gathered the eggs; so I know how you feel.

 

[earlene]

Welcome! Maybe you can clean your poor shoes with some of your new soap.

 

[Relle]

Welcome , do we call you chicken, poop or shoes for short .

 

[Chickenpoopshoes]

Ha ha! Thanks guys! To be honest, if you give me good advice you can call me what you like. Made me think, though - can you put egg in soap? Is there any point? What does it add? Hmmmm......

 

[Hils67]

After browsing this forum a zillion times I have finally decided to join. So, hello everyone! I have REALLY garnered a lot of useful information already and I hope I can tap you up for some more now that I am on here?
I started soaping at the beginning of this year after binge-watching Royalty soaps videos on YouTube and then devouring most of the info on Humblebee and Me.
The very sensible advice there led me to take the plunge, especially once I read her article on Tallow and Lard in soaping.
I chose a few recipes I wanted to try, bought what I could in the shops, bought the rest from Soapkitchen and then went to the butcher with a Tupperware tub in hand to ask for some fat!
Anyhoo, I made three soaps which were variously successful- a chocolate/hazlenut/coffee scented one made using the Humblebee and Me chocolate roses soap recipe as my base ( I couldn't find some of the ingredients and didn't want to use others so I subbed things I knew to be safe swaps), a soap based on Humblebee's peppermint shampoo bar (I used an orange flower fragrance oil that didn't smell much like orange flowers, but hey ho), and finally I went made and formulated my own un scented bar based on Tallow and oatmilk.
So that's all the soaping experience I've got! The chocolate and oat soaps seem fine and smell great, but I think the orange flower one may be succumbing to DOS. I'll use it anyway because I hate waste and it's a nice feeling soap.
I have also started branching out into making balms because I'd love to be able to supply all my family's skincare. I'll have a few lotion bar and Balm questions for you guys soon!

Welcome to the forum! I too am from Wales...great to see another Welsh soap maker on here. Where in Wales are you from? I’m from Pembrokeshire in West Wales

 

[lsg]

Yes, you can put egg in soap. Many just use the yolk; but I use the whole egg, (not including the chalaza or stringy part).

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/using-egg-in-soap.14322/

 

[earlene]

Ha ha! Thanks guys! To be honest, if you give me good advice you can call me what you like. Made me think, though - can you put egg in soap? Is there any point? What does it add? Hmmmm......

One of my most happy surprises was how well egg yolk soap works. I adapted the recipe from a soaping book (by Anne Watson) that I borrowed from the library. Here's a link to the recipe: http://www.annelwatson.com/soapmaking/creative/april/eggsoap.html#yolk

At the time I made this soap I didn't have some of the ingredients Anne Watson put into her recipe, so I created my own recipe trying to follow her quidelines somewhat, using a lye calculator and ended up with a very nice soap that my family liked as well. It bubbled and lathered nicely, my skin felt very nice washing and it was just a very nice experience.

I also made soap with egg whites for a white soap. It was nice soap, too, and with the added bonus of not turning my soap yellow, I was happy. Yellow soap is fine, but sometimes you want white soap.

 

[Chris_S]

Welcome to the forum! I too am from Wales...great to see another Welsh soap maker on here. Where in Wales are you from? I’m from Pembrokeshire in West Wales

I live in Wigan so not far from wales but definatly not welsh, however i did go on many many many trips round wales both north wales and snowdonia when i was going to uni in Wrexham I absolutly love wales its a beautiful place to explore wasnt keen on living in wrexham town center mind. My folks used to keep thier yacht on the welsh coast just beside Anglesey and i loved visiting that part of wales too such natural beauty.

@Chickenpoopshoes the soap kitchen is good for lye thats cheapest place iv found but the oils and butters tend to be expensive i use the soapery for micas and oils and the soy wax iv just got delivered this week was from livemoor i got 10kg because it works out cheaper and if i dont like it in soap i can just use it in container candles so wont go to waste oh and welcome

 

[Chickenpoopshoes]

I live in Abergavenny but I'm afraid I'm not a genuine welsh person! We moved here ten years ago. I'm a Spaniard (half Scottish, but not automatically entitled to British citizenship. Hey ho, such is life!) and my Husband is from Northern Ireland so we are bringing a bit of hybrid vigour to the area.
That is so interesting about the soap! I originally got into soaping out of a desire to reduce plastic packaging and to develop some old fashioned skills. I love baking, crochet, embroidery- all that sort of chat. So I'm hoping to use 'things we already have' in soaping because everything else had to be bought in a plastic bag or bottle! I loved the humblebee soaps I made, but when I opened my order from soapkitchen and beheld the individually bagged ingredients I felt like I had personally murdered ten baby turtles all by myself. Future soaps will not, sadly, involve fancy butters and oils from distant lands! Eggs, however, are shooting directly out of my chickens on a daily basis, so I might have to tinker with that...

 

[Chris_S]

I live in Abergavenny but I'm afraid I'm not a genuine welsh person! We moved here ten years ago. I'm a Spaniard (half Scottish, but not automatically entitled to British citizenship. Hey ho, such is life!) and my Husband is from Northern Ireland so we are bringing a bit of hybrid vigour to the area.
That is so interesting about the soap! I originally got into soaping out of a desire to reduce plastic packaging and to develop some old fashioned skills. I love baking, crochet, embroidery- all that sort of chat. So I'm hoping to use 'things we already have' in soaping because everything else had to be bought in a plastic bag or bottle! I loved the humblebee soaps I made, but when I opened my order from soapkitchen and beheld the individually bagged ingredients I felt like I had personally murdered ten baby turtles all by myself. Future soaps will not, sadly, involve fancy butters and oils from distant lands! Eggs, however, are shooting directly out of my chickens on a daily basis, so I might have to tinker with that...

Will be interested to see how you get on with eggs. I do use stuff like butters and coconut oil which obviously arent native to the uk and they come in plastic buckets but i have loads of uses for stuff like that which is why i tend to buy the bigger quantities than just a kg at a time because the buckets are much more likely to get resused by myself than the tiny tubs.

I started soaping because i got interested in bees and beekeeping and it just progressed to making soap.

I think its great that you are doing this to be more plastic free thats as good a reason as any! Think of it this way though for the amount of plastic that you would use for the equivalent to whats used in the manufacturing of mass produxed soap to what you will make with your own ingredients and you are much more likely to be able to reuse the plastic you got in your delivery. Plus all those unprenounable chemicals that probably cause polution in manufacturing a mass produced soap theres good and bad to both sides although the good swings more in favour of hand made soap in my view

 

[Hils67]

I live in Abergavenny but I'm afraid I'm not a genuine welsh person! We moved here ten years ago. I'm a Spaniard (half Scottish, but not automatically entitled to British citizenship. Hey ho, such is life!) and my Husband is from Northern Ireland so we are bringing a bit of hybrid vigour to the area.
That is so interesting about the soap! I originally got into soaping out of a desire to reduce plastic packaging and to develop some old fashioned skills. I love baking, crochet, embroidery- all that sort of chat. So I'm hoping to use 'things we already have' in soaping because everything else had to be bought in a plastic bag or bottle! I loved the humblebee soaps I made, but when I opened my order from soapkitchen and beheld the individually bagged ingredients I felt like I had personally murdered ten baby turtles all by myself. Future soaps will not, sadly, involve fancy butters and oils from distant lands! Eggs, however, are shooting directly out of my chickens on a daily basis, so I might have to tinker with that...

Ha, I’m not actually technically Welsh either! I was born in the West Country but moved here 40 years ago...so pretty ?Welsh now.
I’ve got into soap making for the same reason...my claim to fame is getting the microbeads legislation implemented in Wales, whilst I was a marine policy officer...something I’m pretty proud of. I know what you mean about the plastic packaging...more really needs to be done about unnecessary packaging.

Aw, shame you don’t get British citizenship...Abergavenny is beautiful. I use lard quite a bit in my soap...makes a lovely bar. Never tried eggs in soap, but it is done...Can’t wait to see your creations.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

...can you put egg in soap? Is there any point? What does it add?

Hiya CPS!
Like lsg I use the whole egg in my Guinness Beer Shampoo bar. It's said the the egg adds protein which is good for hair. I whip it into the castor oil before adding it to the batch.

 

[shunt2011]

Hello and Welcome!

 

[Fiona Robertson]

Hello Chickenpoopshoes! I am new to this forum and to soap making too. Like you I have arrived here in the hope of making soap that has a low carbon footprint, maybe as we both gain experience we can start a thread on such a topic!! If you hadn't have said hello I would never have known that eggs in soap was a thing....so now I am off to follow the links and get lost in here for a few more hours!! I am Scottish by the way....