HP advice needed

[Vickymejia4]

Hello Everyone, I am new making soap. So far I love it. I try to keep simple. I just do Coconut oil + Olive O + water + lye. I have a few questions:
1. What sugar do to your recipe?
2. How to color your mix? Mica or liquid coloring? Any brand?
3. Where to buy your oils? Bulk?
4. Fragrances: where to buy a good one flr a reasonable price?
Thak you so much for your help!!!

 

[shunt2011]

I don't do much in the way of HP except shave soap. I prefer micas in my soapmaking. There are some liquid colors that are generally either micas or dyes mixed in glycerin. I get most of my micas from Nurture Soap, TKB Trading or Mica's and More.

Bulk soaping oils/butters I get mostly from Soaper's Choice. Though I do check around when it's time to restock. I purchase lard/palm 50 lbs at a time. Oils mostly by the gallon. Olive oil I get from Costco.

There are lots of suppliers of fragrance. Unfortunately, there's not a one stop shop for all things FO. I use several. Nature's Garden has some good scents at reasonable prices, there's also Wholesale Supplies Plus, Nurture Soap, Element's Bath and Body, Micas and More, Fragrance Lab, Soapalooza and many others. Look under the shopping recommendations portion of the forum or the Fragrance Review.

 

[lsg]

You can use oxides mixed with a little oil. I would mix my mica with a little glycerin before adding to hot process as HP is usually pretty thick. I also wait to add colorants until after the cook. I like Nurture Soap mica. Soaper's Choice is a great place to buy bulk oils. Depending on your location, shipping can be a little pricey. I use white granulated sugar and completely dissolve it in the water before adding lye. Camden Grey, Wholesale Supplies Plus and Bramble Berry are three of my favorites for FOs.

 

[bookreader451]

Hello Everyone, I am new making soap. So far I love it. I try to keep simple. I just do Coconut oil + Olive O + water + lye. I have a few questions:
1. What sugar do to your recipe?
2. How to color your mix? Mica or liquid coloring? Any brand?
3. Where to buy your oils? Bulk?
4. Fragrances: where to buy a good one flr a reasonable price?
Thak you so much for your help!!!

Vicky I am new too but I have really liked doing HP. For the sugars, I have used honey, sugar and maple syrup. I use 1tbs ppo and warm it with 1tbs of distilled water or apple cider and add it after the cook.

I usually use micas to color the soap. I usually mix them with a little sweet almond oil but if I am doing one color I add them to the superfat I add at the end of the cook.

The best part about HP is you can use FO that will accelerate in CP soap. FO are available from many suppliers and you can look for sales.

 

[Vickymejia4]

Thank you so much for taking your time and your valuables advises!!!!!

 

[bookreader451]

Thank you so much for taking your time and your valuables advises!!!!!

I learned a lot on youtube. I found one woman who was sweet as can be and really encouraged me. She answered my questions and was very patient and kind.

This is her channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLYte9VZzTnhDXkbFeY_RTg

 

[Vickymejia4]

I just saw a couple of her videos and love her. Thank you again. You are so nice helping me. Any advice will be very welcome!!!!!!! Do you have any Instagram acc so I can follow you? Mine is @monatelierb

I am so frustrated now. I just made a batch and didn't like the result . I don't know what I am doing wrong.....

 

[Arimara]

I am so frustrated now. I just made a batch and didn't like the result . I don't know what I am doing wrong.....

List the measurements of the ingredients you used for the recipe and each step, if possible.

 

[bookreader451]

I just saw a couple of her videos and love her. Thank you again. You are so nice helping me. Any advice will be very welcome!!!!!!! Do you have any Instagram acc so I can follow you? Mine is @monatelierb

I am so frustrated now. I just made a batch and didn't like the result . I don't know what I am doing wrong.....

Alas, no instagram. I tend to shy away from social media. I leave that to the young ones lol.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I love when someone comes on asking where to find scents I always hear names of new companies .
I like micas and get mine from either Nurture of Micas and More--I like I that I can get some of my scents while ordering micas. I use lard, coconut and safflower and I get them in the stores around town which saves on shipping. you can get sugars from beer, aloe vera, milks, honey, fruits and vegies etc

 

[Dawni]

Hello Everyone, I am new making soap. So far I love it. I try to keep simple. I just do Coconut oil + Olive O + water + lye. I have a few questions:
1. What sugar do to your recipe?
2. How to color your mix? Mica or liquid coloring? Any brand?
3. Where to buy your oils? Bulk?
4. Fragrances: where to buy a good one flr a reasonable price?
Thak you so much for your help!!!

Hi Vicky! I can answer your first question with certainty. Sugar boosts bubbles. I have some recipes that don't contain castor oil, which sustains bubbles and they lather up fine with just sugar. Beer for example, is used in place of water for the sugars it contains. If you do a search, others have successfully used others, but I use whatever sugar I have on hand haha.

The rest I'll leave to the others, me being in a different continent n all hehe.. However, I use solely natural colorants coz they're fun to play around with, and I buy most my oils from the supermarket with a couple of exceptions only

And oh, yogurt added after the cook really helps with fluidity, now that you'll be playing with colors. Lastly, some HPers use less scent than one would normally use for CP, since most of it will stick around coz it's added after saponification is mostly done.

 

[Arimara]

Hi Vicky! I can answer your first question with certainty. Sugar boosts bubbles. I have some recipes that don't contain castor oil, which sustains bubbles and they lather up fine with just sugar. Beer for example, is used in place of water for the sugars it contains. If you do a search, others have successfully used others, but I use whatever sugar I have on hand haha.

The rest I'll leave to the others, me being in a different continent n all hehe.. However, I use solely natural colorants coz they're fun to play around with, and I buy most my oils from the supermarket with a couple of exceptions only

And oh, yogurt added after the cook really helps with fluidity, now that you'll be playing with colors. Lastly, some HPers use less scent than one would normally use for CP, since most of it will stick around coz it's added after saponification is mostly done.

Beer is a nice choice but a safer one for a newbie is aloe vera juice. I've had some close calls with making my lye with beer (lye volcanos are real). Beer has a bit of a learning curve being in that you are dealing with a slightly carbonated alcoholic drink. Alcohol and CO2 will react with lye and you could potentially deal with a really nasty volcano.

 

[Dawni]

Beer is a nice choice but a safer one for a newbie is aloe vera juice. I've had some close calls with making my lye with beer (lye volcanos are real). Beer has a bit of a learning curve being in that you are dealing with a slightly carbonated alcoholic drink. Alcohol and CO2 will react with lye and you could potentially deal with a really nasty volcano.

Ah yes, I forgot about that.

I should have then mentioned that it's easier to boil off the alcohol, and cook the liquid down to a syrup and use it as part of your liquid. It's what I do, and I picked that up from here in this forum.

Thanks for the reminder

 

[Arimara]

Ah yes, I forgot about that.

I should have then mentioned that it's easier to boil off the alcohol, and cook the liquid down to a syrup and use it as part of your liquid. It's what I do, and I picked that up from here in this forum.

Thanks for the reminder

That's what I've done too but sometimes, I did not do as good a job reducing my beer and I thought. Each type and/or brand of beer may have a different alcohol level in it.

 

[bookreader451]

When you say aloe vera juice are you talking about juicing an plant or buying the juice that is made from aloe vera gel?