My first soap making attempt :-)

[Menny]

@Menny may I suggest doing a bit of reading? This sticky will also help you with most of your questions I'm sure.

I'm too excited and abit lazy so I'm looking for a right now answers but ok I'll do so

In the calc, put in CO at 15-20. You're young so your skin can probably tolerate 20.
Add castor at 5% if you want to use it.
Choose your hard oil. Adjust the percentage in 5% increments until you get your hardness factor between about 50-54 %. I like a hard bar that doesn't turn to mush when gets small so I go hard.
Choose your high oleic and just add that to make up the difference.

Will do Dean. Thank you Sean your recipe, how do you blend that small amount?

Hey I cut my third soap. It took around 18 hours to look like a block of cheddar. The upper part looks good, but when I cut it I notice lots of difference. The activated charcoal did not spread as I expected and the Mica gold did not sink as I thought it would. But I'm quite satisfied from it anyways

 

[Iluminameluna]

I'm not a veteran soaper but I'd like to add something here.
@Menny You're doing a beautiful job with the swirls and colors! I'm impressed!
However, from all your questions, I get the feeling that you've watched quite a few videos without really paying attention to how and why those people are using certain oils and the amounts. Nothing terribly wrong with that, IF you were following some of those recipes. When you use your own recipe, though, the methods for mixing oils and additives will change because the properties of the ingredients you are using are different from the soapers'.
As an example: you say you expected the gold mica to sink. However, micas, no matter their color, don't act like metals but more like talcum powder (baby powder), it will want to clump and float. Also, some micas will behave better with oil, others with water, depending on their color (sometimes). Until you're familiar with each ingredient, it's better to start working only with the fats and oils, THEN start adding other things to see how the soap behaves with each addition.
I don't want to discourage you by ANY means! Just would like you to have a better experience with soaping so you don't give it up. Most of us here, before we ever made our first batch, we read blogs and forums, watched videos (my favorite all-time soaping channel on YouTube is Soaping101, and her website, Soaping101.com), and asked lots of questions.
The one thing that's important though, is to learn a bit of patience. You won't avoid many mistakes, but you'll avoid little ones that will annoy you.
I hope you'll keep up the great start on your soaping journey!

 

[Zing]

Castor oil was a game changer for me! I always use it at 4 to 5% and can't believe what a big difference a small amount makes!

 

[Dean]

I'm too excited and abit lazy so I'm looking for a right now answers but ok I'll do so

Will do Dean. Thank you Sean your recipe, how do you blend that small amount?

Nice job on the third batch.

Two bars of batter is just enough to cover a stick blender in a pint measuring cup. U can’t really SB less. Plus u get to make soap often with tiny batches which is good for experimenting and learning.

More good reading...
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/thr...ou-give-to-your-beginning-soaping-self.62916/

 

[Menny]

Iliuminameluna its ok, you're not discouraging me, I will learn and get better, thank you.
Dean that link you gave me has tons of knowledge in it thank you very much I'm going to dig it deep

 

[Cherrydene soapy]

Hi Menny,

This is quite an interesting read:https://www.modernsoapmaking.com/the-most-popular-fatty-acid-profiles-in-soapmaking/

This is very interesting thank you

@Menny hi I am new to soap making and found this forum full of really interesting threads. I spend most evenings reading about oil properties, mica, FO and EO. Like others have said read, read then read some more. I work out what type of soap I want then I researched the oils and quantities. If I struggle I post on here and someone is always around to give me help. As a newby my advice would be listen to the experienced soapers and stay simple. Get your recipe right for you. Hope this helps happy soaping

 

[Menny]

@Menny hi I am new to soap making and found this forum full of really interesting threads. I spend most evenings reading about oil properties, mica, FO and EO. Like others have said read, read then read some more. I work out what type of soap I want then I researched the oils and quantities. If I struggle I post on here and someone is always around to give me help. As a newby my advice would be listen to the experienced soapers and stay simple. Get your recipe right for you. Hope this helps happy soaping

Hi Cerrydene yes I'll do it. Thing is, I'am suffering from ADHD, so lots of reading as you wrote is quite difficult for me to handle... that's why for example am allways looking for youtube videos tutorials of soap making insted of articles. But hey, you are all right, I'll read more and try to "bother" you less, I promise

 

[Cherrydene soapy]

Hi Cerrydene yes I'll do it. Thing is, I'am suffering from ADHD, so lots of reading as you wrote is quite difficult for me to handle... that's why for example am allways looking for youtube videos tutorials of soap making insted of articles. But hey, you are all right, I'll read more and try to "bother" you less, I promise

Always bother that’s what people are here for

 

[Iluminameluna]

Hi Cerrydene yes I'll do it. Thing is, I'am suffering from ADHD, so lots of reading as you wrote is quite difficult for me to handle... that's why for example am allways looking for youtube videos tutorials of soap making insted of articles.

@Menny I have a son who also has ADHD, I think to some degree I also have it, and it's all a matter of learning what your strengths and weaknesses are, it doesn't need to make you "suffer".
I too do MUCH better with watching than reading to learn. That's why Soaping101's videos made my soaping journey so much easier. She, Kathy, is a master at explaining almost everything you need to know to make great soap. Her voice is easy to listen to, she doesn't use complicated language, and she breaks down the process of soap making into easy to understand steps so that even absolute noobs like I used to be, can follow along.
I would highly recommend her videos, more than anyone else's, because she has published the base recipes for soap that work great with almost any additive. I've used her Bastile recipe as a base since I started by making it with nothing added, then began experimenting with adding fruit, milk, and then honey. None of them failed because her base recipe is THAT good. You won't regret it, and it'll be fun!
Just as an aside: if you were to get yourself a 1kg container of yogurt, even in Europe, it should be good for making your lye mixture and your soap batter. Your stick blender will work great in it.
Happy soaping!