hello, I'm new and this is my first batch

[hcreadinghandcrafted]

hcreading
I understand fibro is different for everyone and sensitivity to chemical/natural products vary greatly too but have you researched salicylates in relation to fibromyalgia?

You might want to test if coffee, coconut oil and olive oil are the base oils you want to use.

I have not, but will look it up, thank you( it took 15 years to get diagnosed as all other dr just said here take this, tons of opiates and muscle relaxers and told me that it was my spine or my muscles or I was just over weight, even though I was almost over active with all of the sports and dance classes and martial arts and gymnastics and mnt biking and swimming. ) so I'm new to finding all of the things to avoid causing a flair.

And I love coconut oil( I use it in almost all of my body care formulations... mixed with beeswax, carnauba wax, cocoa butter and grape seed oil for my lip balm, cuticle balm,, hair balm, ect...) but I have not tried coffee oil or butter, where could I find reasonably priced decent quality coffee oil or butter?

 

[Susie]

I can't even get 10 X Orange to stick in CP. I have tried the following with no luck (just telling you so if you have luck on something else, you can tell me)

Clay
Corn Starch
Litsea

Also, if you can take aspirin, you are not allergic to salicylates.

 

[hcreadinghandcrafted]

I can't even get 10 X Orange to stick in CP. I have tried the following with no luck (just telling you so if you have luck on something else, you can tell me)

Clay
Corn Starch
Litsea

Also, if you can take aspirin, you are not allergic to salicylates.

lol, I just finished reading an article about salicylates and came to the conclusion that I do not have a sensitivity( and yes I can take aspirin lol)

I actually used kaolin clay mixed with coconut milk and added at very thick trace in hp with coffee and I added lavender patchouli and now foods brand "orange oil" the orange and baked goods aroma is the strongest right now, I will keep you updated during the cure to see if it stays ( my husband and mother in law actually said they think it smells like "terry's dark chocolate orange" you know the orange shaped ones that you had to break into little orange slices lol ) I hope it sticks, I didn't add it until it had cooled quite a bit and then put it right in to my ,old( velveeta box lined with plastic wrap lol) and then put the loafs directly into my freezer.
its been cut and curing for about a day and a half and the orange is strong as it was when I cut it about a day and a half ago.
oh, btw, I found an inexpensive stick blender, but it's the same model I had before, has mixed reviews, but is available in town.
and have you ever used chamomile infuse oil or pumpkin spice on soap, or canned pumpkin pure and spices? I have a serious hankering for pumpkin pie but to gluten sensitivity makes it so I can't have it and I'm trying to find an alternate route lol.

 

[rparrny]

Susie, I'm so glad that I was fortunate enough to have you comment on my post. your knowledge is invaluable, thank you so much. I love citrus and cannot get enough of the lemongrass, my sister who also has fibro is also bonkers for lemongrass. I'm slightly sad about citrus not sticking in cp. do you know if orange stays with like clay or something... or if it stays in hp? it's my other citrus fave.

There are companies that sell a 5x and 10x citrus that seems to do well in CP with a stabilizer.

 

[Susie]

I've tried 3 brands of Orange EO at various "folds" (AKA "X") with clay and other things as stabilizers, to no avail. By the end of an 8 week cure, no orange scent was able to be smelled.

 

[hcreadinghandcrafted]

I've tried 3 brands of Orange EO at various "folds" (AKA "X") with clay and other things as stabilizers, to no avail. By the end of an 8 week cure, no orange scent was able to be smelled.

well fewy ! oh well, at least there is still yummy lemongrass lol and YAY, I just got back from grabbing a stick blender and a Pyrex loaf pan with convenient lid so I can line with parchment paper and use as a mold until I can find a recipe that is my fave ( I have a big family spanning 2 continents that all fight over my other handmade goodies. I don't sell and don't really plan to until my daughter is much older as she is way too hyper for a 5yo lol and I can only soap and such after she has gone to bed). I plan on trying one of the recipes that have been suggested and try the one I made with some modifications of course( I plan to take out the coffee and use the last of my grape seed oil) and I will post pics when I'm done

 

[hcreadinghandcrafted]

rparrny... what stabilizer did you use?

 

[rparrny]

rparrny... what stabilizer did you use?

I have never tried them...met a soaper that sells at a local farmers market and her CP smelled orange and I asked her about it. Who knows? Maybe it was a good MP that she made to look like CP...I'm not absolutely sure I could tell the difference.

 

[KristaMarie]

Susie, I'm so glad that I was fortunate enough to have you comment on my post. your knowledge is invaluable, thank you so much. I love citrus and cannot get enough of the lemongrass, my sister who also has fibro is also bonkers for lemongrass. I'm slightly sad about citrus not sticking in cp. do you know if orange stays with like clay or something... or if it stays in hp? it's my other citrus fave.

I have a batch of 10x orange that is holding up fairly well. Just checked my notes and I used 2.5 oz in 3lbs of oils, plus .25 oz litsea. Not sure what I was thinking there lol, because I'm not sure that tiny amount has made any difference. It's been curing just over 2 months and still smells of orange, albeit a teeny bit weaker than it started

 

[Susie]

KristaMarie-if that holds, I am going to want the name of the brand!

 

[hcreadinghandcrafted]

KristaMarie-if that holds, I am going to want the name of the brand!

I Agree wholeheartedly lol, what brand and where did you get it( I'm in small town)

and btw, I came up with a new recipe and was hoping you guys could check it out BEFOREI make it, lol.
I'm cleaning my croc pot right now( the pot does not come out so I've got a good few mins to wait for suggestions, opinions cet...

 

[hcreadinghandcrafted]

my updated recipe

*10% sf( I need serious moisture without loosing too much bubble bc I can't see without my contacts in and need to be able to see that it's getting into my hair lol)
*32% lard
*26.5% coconut oil 76 degree*( I have an oily scalp but dry statiky ends)
*20% olive oil
*12.5% castor oil
*9%shea butter
water : lye ratio 2.8459 :1

I will be doing hp

and soap calc shows that it is a fairly balanced recipe except it's low on the cleansing side( but INS of 156 so it's almost an ideally balanced bar according to the research I did when learning what INS stands for)

no additives * although I kinda really want to try adding some pumpkin pie spice *McCormic brand ground spice mix) to give gentle exfoliation and a light autumn type aroma, Do you think it will work? The batch is pretty mush totally set aside for my mom and sister who obsessed with that pumpkin pie type of aroma.

 

[snappyllama]

I've had good luck with the Orange EO from BB when used with a tiny bit of clove EO in an ungelled batch that had clay. My bars are about a year old and still smell pretty strong.

 

[KristaMarie]

Susie and hc, mine is from BB as well! It's anchored in kaolin clay and spent its first day in the freezer to avoid gel.

I definitely didn't expect it to last a year, so here's hoping mine hold up like snappy's

 

[Susie]

Ah, I gel my soap. Maybe that is the issue. I have tried the orange EO from BB, but again, I gel. I will be trying not gelling on the batch I make tomorrow. (Have to make a day trip today.)

 

[KristaMarie]

That just may be the trick for citrus. Hope it works out for you!