My newbie soaping adventure and things I've learned along the way...

[gigisiguenza]

54. Soaping withdrawals will always feel worse when the only reason you can't soap is lack on one or two ingredients. Ugh! LOL

 

[fionasfrightsoap]

Loving this thread! I so needed some of this today. Glad to know I am not the only one

 

[penelopejane]

55. Castile soap is great because there is:
no need to choose a fragrance
no need to add anything (you can if you want to but it is not necessary)
no colour (whoooo!)
no measuring out three different quantities for three different colours.
no need to worry if the swirl worked out.
no need to worry if you forgot to add an oil
no worries about going past light trace. Just plop it in the mold.
an easy clean up.

After a year it is lovely.

What a relaxing way to soap.
Simple is wonderful.

 

[penelopejane]

56. Take notes.
Not just while you are soaping (essential because 10 minutes later you will forget if you added 1 or 2 tsp) but also which soaps you give to friends to try.

Absolutely useless to hear "the pink one" was great!!!

 

[Navaria]

57) You will ask distant acquaintances terribly personal questions just to find "test subjects". "You look like you have sensitive skin. Do you?" "Would you by chance be looking for a soap that's good for mature skin?"

 

[Navaria]

45. When you end up with an entire shelf of FO's and get frozen trying to figure out what to use next.....so you unstick yourself and finally decide on two. After making the two and using up the last of your castor oil, your sgnificant other texts you and begs for more of a scent you hadn't even CONSIDERED making. Order of castor oil, here we come.

In a desperate situation, Walmart carries Castor oil in their pharmacy. Not that I know from experience or anything :shifty:

 

[Steve85569]

In a desperate situation, Walmart carries Castor oil in their pharmacy. Not that I know from experience or anything :shifty:

Vitamin Shoppe ( and others like them) have it for less Pesos.

 

[Navaria]

Vitamin Shoppe ( and others like them) have it for less Pesos.

We have a Walmart and a CVS. Lol. I love small town living but getting supplies can be a witch!

 

[Steve85569]

I know how you feel. UPS and Fedex know me and the mail lady and I are on a first name basis.

 

[penelopejane]

I know how you feel. UPS and Fedex know me and the mail lady and I are on a first name basis.

This is so funny. I meet the mailman for a chat every morning! [emoji2][emoji2]
Not just soaping supplies. It's the joy of living in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Navaria]

I have learned I don't know the meaning of 2 words: patience and mederation. I get so impatient for soap to set or my first ever liquid soap to dilute. And since I started this all I think about is soap. And what new thing I can try next.

 

[penelopejane]

58. I showered all week using one soap on one side of my body and another soap on the other side of my body so I could test the different recipes. The mistake I made was telling my DH he now thinks I am crazy.

The lesson I've learnt is that even your most trusted confidant doesn't always understand your obsession.

 

[Navaria]

You know you have found "the one" when you can constantly ramble on about soap, using terms they couldn't begin to understand, and they still look interested. And when you ask if they're sick of hearing about soap they say "No baby, I love hearing about what you do!" Yep, he's a keeper!

 

[Barbsbreakingbath]

Fragrance oils

47. After spending 2 weeks reading reviews you frugally choose 5 fragrant oils all with 5 star rave reviews out of the 495 FOs available to buy.

Only one them turns out to be a keeper and after the third time using it in the shower even that one isn't anything special.

ho hum.

48. You watch the how to videos religiously and start out your soaping day with everything laid out professionally and neatly determined to be calm and collected like the video person.

After 1/2 hour wrestling with scales, heating, shea butter, colours, the SB, the mix, the FO and the mold you are grateful for the personal protection gear you wore but look around at the area and realise it looks like a bomb dropped and it is going to take a little more than a bit of kitchen paper (like the video person uses to wipe up her spills) to clean up before you DH comes home and asks why there is a fleck of blue batter on the cupboard, the floor and the ceiling...

Batch 21 and still learning. At least this time I remembered the salt and the FO.

I got into cp soap as a way to use up some of my oils and fragrances, which has led to buying even more oils (because one simply must have Palm oil) and even more fragrances, because soaping uses up a lot, and now you need the BIG bottles. Then there's gloves, and goggles, and colorants oh my.
And, yes, there's the mess. The metal parts of my dishwasher have turned a really weird color, thanks, I think to fragrance oil....

 

[shunt2011]

You know you have found "the one" when you can constantly ramble on about soap, using terms they couldn't begin to understand, and they still look interested. And when you ask if they're sick of hearing about soap they say "No baby, I love hearing about what you do!" Yep, he's a keeper!

I so agree, my husband is one of my biggest supporters. Thank goodness as my house has been overtaken with soap, supplies, molds oils etc. Last weekend he even build a guide for my tables to slide into in my van and another box type thingy to hold my weights. He never complains where we have to eat in front of the TV because the dining room table is covered in soap fresh made or cut being packaged, labeled etc.

 

[penelopejane]

^^^^
Hoe lovely.
My DH hand grated a whole lot of old soap (aka failed) into colour coordinated lots for me. So patient. I think he worried I'd wreck the food processor if I used it!

 

[Dahila]

Can not use word "Soap" in house
I wish I had one who would talk about my adventure in soap business ..................well I talk to my soaps )

 

[Arthur Dent]

Can not use word "Soap" in house
I wish I had one who would talk about my adventure in soap business ..................well I talk to my soaps )

But you have us!

 

[Dahila]

But you have us!

He builds all my molds and displays, so it somehow balanced itself, thank you :mrgreen:

 

[shunt2011]

He builds all my molds and displays, so it somehow balanced itself, thank you :mrgreen:

My husband made all my displays, molds to fit silicone liners, boxes that contain my tables and weights in my van. I am so fortunate for sure.