Ok so I have the next two days off and have been pretty much reading hours and hours about making soap for the last week or two. I decided tomorrow I'll try my hand at making my first batch. I see most of the ingredients you can get at you're everyday store. I saw Hobby Lobby (atleast online) sells different fragrances. I'm thinking about going check them out tomorrow and wanted to know if these are good to use or have you had bad experiences with them?
Hobby Lobby
- Thread starter poppie88
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Saponomancer
Professional Geek
Hobby Lobby fragrances are for melt and pour and seize really badly with cold process soap
commoncenz
Well-Known Member
I believe Hobby Lobby sells the Abbey & Sullivan fragrance oils. They are what I used when I first started back soaping and they are good enough for your first batch. I say "good enough" because if you continue soaping you will find that there are less expensive options out there that provide better scents. That said, if I'm correct and Hobby Lobby sells the Abbey and Sullivan, they have nice renditions of Vanilla-Caramel, Almond Cookie and Burmese Forrest.
OH, and I hope you enjoy your soaping adventure!
OH, and I hope you enjoy your soaping adventure!
commoncenz
Well-Known Member
Ahh, then it must not be the Abbey and Sullivan scents that they carry. I found those at Pat Catans.
commoncenz
Well-Known Member
Artminds ... from Michaels? If so, those are melt and pour fragrances also. If you can't find CP safe/stable fragrance oils where you live, how about essential oils? Many health food stores carry those and have "sniffer" bottles so you can get a sense for what the oils smells like and whether you like it.
Hobby Lobby carries 0.5 oz bottles of a few EO's. They are extremely expensive for what you get. GNC carries some EO's also. I have used one of everything both of them carry with no problems except with palmarosa that started some seizing. But if you are in a hurry to soap, local stores are a lifesaver.
No, melt and pour is not the same as hot process. Melt and pour is a base you buy, chop up, melt in the microwave and pour in a mold. Hot process is handmade soap from scratch cooked in a crock pot.
No, melt and pour is not the same as hot processed. It is just what it sounds like. You get a block, you melt it, then you pour it into a mold. No mixing lye and water or oils. Just add colorant and scent.
Just out of curiosity, why did you want to make HP first?
ETA-Posted the same time as Obsidian.
Just out of curiosity, why did you want to make HP first?
ETA-Posted the same time as Obsidian.
I have an old crock pot that we don't use anymore so I was thinking why not got far it. I'm kind of leaning twords cp now though. So if I do cp or hp I should buy essential oils to give it the fragrance I want since those are for melt and pour. Also this might be a stupid question but could I dissolve Epsom salt in my water before mixing in lye or will it have a bad reaction. Just like the way the salt makes my skim feel and it has a awesome smell.
If you want scent for cp/hp, you need to use pure essential oils or fragrance oils made for cp. Do not use epsom salts in soap, it will ruin the soap.
Most of us order our scents online. There are a lot of places but my two favorites are http://www.naturesgardencandles.com/ and http://www.brambleberry.com/
Most of us order our scents online. There are a lot of places but my two favorites are http://www.naturesgardencandles.com/ and http://www.brambleberry.com/
commoncenz
Well-Known Member
OK, let's back up here just a bit.
1. It seems like you've got an understanding of the differences between Melt and Pour, CP and HP. That's good. Which one you should try first is a matter of personal preference. I tried CP first and have never ventured into the other two because they don't appeal to me.
2. As far as fragrances go there are some things it seems you might be confused about. There are FOs made specifically for MP that do not do well in CP (morphing, dissipating, etc.). There are FOs made specifically for CP also. You can find these online if you can't find any at your local stores. A quick search of the forum should give you a pretty good idea of who the reputable suppliers for CP FOs are. Essential oils can be used in CP. I'd bet that they can also be used in MP; although as I stated, I've never used that method.
3. I've never added Epsom Salts to my soaps. I'm not sure if it would even be safe to add them to your lye water. If someone has, I'm sure they will be along shortly to answer your question. My question about Epsom Salts in soap is: What are you attempting to achieve by adding them?
4. How much actual research have you done? I ask this question only for your own safety. There are a lot of things to be aware of when making CP/HP soap and I would not want you to be unsafe and then ruin the experience for yourself.
ETA: I see Obsidian came along to answer the Epsom Salt question as I was typing. I'd trust that response if I were you.
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Thanks for the info. I've been reading and watching videos about the soap process for a week or two now. Seems like when I start I just sit there for hours lol. Most videos and instructions just say add you're fragrance at this stage. Good to know that there are certain fragrances and essential oils that work with certain methods. I'll look at all what the store have to offer and see what I can find. Think I'll start with cp first now. Have my gloves and goggles ready. If I can't find any scents around here I'll just go without one for my first batch. I'm kind of itching to get started.
I totally understand 'itching to get started' but preparation is key. Sounds like you've been doing your homework and if your mind is set on CP this is my advice. You can buy starter amounts of your base oils at the local grocery or drugstore (lard, olive, palm, coconut, castor).
For fragrances, I would recommend buying EOs at your local health food store or Whole Foods over the fragrance oils that Michaels/Hobby Lobby offers. Many of the craft store fragrances are really meant for M&P and don't play nice with CP.
If you want to use your crockpot for melting oils and mixing your CP soap then go for it. That's how I started out but then realized how heavy the crockpot was when pouring so I swapped to lighter weight plastics for mixing. You can turn almost anything into a make-shift mold. Yogurt containers, milk cartons, wine boxes, pringles containers, etc will work in a pinch.
For fragrances, I would recommend buying EOs at your local health food store or Whole Foods over the fragrance oils that Michaels/Hobby Lobby offers. Many of the craft store fragrances are really meant for M&P and don't play nice with CP.
If you want to use your crockpot for melting oils and mixing your CP soap then go for it. That's how I started out but then realized how heavy the crockpot was when pouring so I swapped to lighter weight plastics for mixing. You can turn almost anything into a make-shift mold. Yogurt containers, milk cartons, wine boxes, pringles containers, etc will work in a pinch.
snappyllama
Supporting Member
Welcome to the addiction! I'd hold off on a scent on your first batch - it's just another variable to contend with when you're learning a process.
If you're watching videos on youtube, please be aware that some folks simply do not know what they are talking about... I highly recommend Soaping101 as a great starting place. Check out the oldest ones first.
If you're watching videos on youtube, please be aware that some folks simply do not know what they are talking about... I highly recommend Soaping101 as a great starting place. Check out the oldest ones first.
One other source of fragrance oils can be from a local candle supplier if you have one. Many of their fragrances are body safe, but that you have to ask them if they are body safe if they are not listed on the bottle. If using fo's from a candle supplier I recommend hot processing. Although many candle fo's are body safe they are not optimized for soapmaking and can mis-behave (seize) in cp but will work fine when hot processing. Several of my most popular fo's come from a local candle supplier. Just a thought
Thanks for all the help. I'll look into a health food store for items. I only have one real small store that may sell in my area. If not I'll take your advice and not do scented unless I find something made for cp. For oils can I use coconut oil and olive oil. Or will I need lard also.
You can use just coconut and olive but your soap will be much better if you add lard. My go to recipe is:
lard 50%
Olive oil 25%
coconut 20%
castor 5%
you can get castor at walmart for just a couple $$, its in the pharmacy area.
lard 50%
Olive oil 25%
coconut 20%
castor 5%
you can get castor at walmart for just a couple $$, its in the pharmacy area.
I buy my lard at Walmart (baking aisle bottom shelf, by the other oils), castor oil at Walmart (pharmacy section by the laxatives), CO and OO at Sam's. If I run out of lye, both Tru Value and Lowe's carry 100% sodium hydroxide lye. EOs I order online, but in a crisis, I will get the lemongrass EO from Hobby Lobby. Remember, though, that lye and EOs are MUCH cheaper online.
