New Crafter needs some help

[Commander Blaine]

The majority of my scars are deep and red I have a type of acne and for some reason the red scabs sealed over but instead Of turning pale are just dark and red, I figured that would help I'm no specialist or anything but these aren't normal scars.

My acne has recently been diagnosed as propustular acne, even though I hardly get any spots anymore, spots get burst, few weeks later while healing they get itchy, tear the skin off a few times deep red scars.

But truth be told I'm getting some really good information here about soap making, recipes, skin care, I wish I had found this website ages ago, the app, GENUIS I tip my hat to the whoever made it!

 

[BabyPickles106]

As a nurse and a new soap maker I would recommend going to see a dermatologist and a registered dietitian. Many illness related to what we eat. The best treatments are aimed at prevention. A dermatologist has years of training in skin care and is better informed of new treatments available. As for vanity the best way to look better is diet and exercise.

 

[Commander Blaine]

I completely agree, that's what I am currently aiming to do, eat right and exercise more, dermatologist definately as I said previously I just wanted to try and do what I can this way everything in my power is being done

 

[Lin]

Tanning is going to make scars more noticeable and your problem worse not better. I have quite a lot of scarring, my cause is different than yours but the end result of scar tissue and how it reacts to tanning is the same. I have a genetic disorder that causes me to scar very easily so I get scars from things as simple as mosquito bites and am covered in stretch marks. The best thing for purple or red scars is time so they can fade. Steroid injections from a dermatologist can flatten raised (hypertrophic) scars and help speed up the process of the color fading. Going into the sun or a tanning bed is going to result in the scars standing out more because it will increase the contrast between the healthy tissue and scar tissue since they do not tan. The results will either be the scars staying as they are among the contrast of tanned skin, or burning as the scarred skin can be more sensitive causing them to look angrier and more purple or red.

 

[Commander Blaine]

Thanks Lin this has all been mentioned In earlier posts though I appreciate the concern though

 

[Lin]

I know it had been mentioned, but you seemed to still be interested in tanning so it really can't be said enough that its not going to help your issue.

 

[Susie]

I know it had been mentioned, but you seemed to still be interested in tanning so it really can't be said enough that its not going to help your issue.

^ This. You seem to be more looking to tell us what you want to do, then argue with everything we say. Yet you formed those statements as questions. I will not argue with you. It is your choice as it is your body. However, you are making unwise choices.


Unsaponified oils and lye are dangerous. Period. So are tanning beds. Period. Intentional burning and peeling are a fast route to wrinkles and skin cancer. Period.

You want a magic bullet to fix all your skin problems. We can't do that. Nobody short of a medical professional is truly going to help you. I am done trying to convince you otherwise.

 

[Robert B]

Back to your original post goal ----

I will say I admire your honesty and courtesy. I wish I had more experience with soaping to help guide you but I do not. Some people seem to have given some good soaping advice.

And good luck on the weight loss! I know how that can make one feel...having quit smoking after so many years! Ia m trying myself...

 

[dixiedragon]

I am thinking maybe you are thinking that peeling after a sunburn is the same thing as getting a treatment like a peel from a dermatalogist? If so, I don't think those are the same thing at all.

 

[Dennis]

This thread is becoming argumentative rather than helpful and veering away from its intended use. It is inappropriate and dangerous to give medical advice other than "see a doctor". This is the Cold Process forum, not the General Hospital forum. If continued, the thread will be locked. Play nice ladies and gents.

 

[Commander Blaine]

This thread is becoming argumentative rather than helpful and veering away from its intended use. It is inappropriate and dangerous to give medical advice other than "see a doctor". This is the Cold Process forum, not the General Hospital forum. If continued, the thread will be locked. Play nice ladies and gents.

This^

I didn't come here looking for an argument nor a "magic bullet" to fix all my problems

I simply said what my problem was and how I go about to fixing it with soap and tanning, ok it seems like tanning is a bad idea, but personally I'm still interested in giving it a shot.

Additionally someone else said about thinking of peeling from tanning is the same as dermatologist peeling

I've not even heard of this method, But I digress

I didn't come here to find an argument or start one.

So I will ask nicely can we please go back to the soap aspect of things, if anyone has anything they would lien to say to me regarding tanning, please PM me, there is no need to do this on an open board.

 

[AustinStraight]

I second the notion that you need to learn more before starting to make soap. SoapQueen has really good videos, I started by watching all of her beginner's soapmaking videos and then I just played around in SoapCalc a bit, learned about the different oils, etc. before making soap. You definitely don't want to just "render fat or oil, add lye, let sit, get soap".

Here's the first SoapQueen basic tutorial, just start there & work your way up through her other tutorials :wink: soaping101 has a ton of really good videos on soapmaking, too. soaping101's bastille soap recipe might be a good recipe to start with. Here's the soaping101 bastille recipe:

2 oz castor oil
8 oz coconut oil
22 oz olive oil
4.41 oz sodium hydroxide
10.56 oz distilled water

If you want to use butter in soap, you could clarify it & use the ghee instead

Unfortunately, most of the results I've seen on forums seem poor... besides, ghee is a bit expensive for soap. Stick to the basics for now

Also, you mentioned that you tried "rendering" full fat milk to use in soap - if you want to use milk in soap, you can either replace your water with frozen milk, by weight (so, for the bastille recipe, 10.56 oz milk, frozen into cubes); or you can use half as much water for your lye solution (5.28 oz water for the bastille recipe), and then add the remaining half as milk at trace (so, 5.28 oz chilled milk after the soap mixture is opaque and pudding-like). You can't just replace the water with milk in your recipe because the milk will burn from the lye's heat.

As far as scars go, lemon juice is a popular remedy for scars. Vitamin E oil, onion juice, and carrot seed oil are also used for scars. I've never tested any of those methods though, and I don't think there are any studies to verify that they work - just testimonies.

 

[Commander Blaine]

Thanks man I'll look into those, I also agree I need to learn more about soap making, that's why I'm here, I think I've actually seen the 4 basic tutorial videos from soap queen, someone recommended them to me earlier in this thread, when they came up I watched them, I'll check your link later I'm about to head out unfortunately.

Thanks for the advice though I will look into playing around with soap calculator

 

[shunt2011]

You may also want to watch the tutorials on Soaping 101 on youtube as well. Seriously though, you need to read and do your research. Asking questions after doing research and filling your head with as much information as possible is totally fine. However, you need to do some if the footwork yourself as the rest of us did as well. Soapmaking is a wonderful science, hobby and business ifyou put in the work and learn as much as you can. Good Luck to you!

 

[new12soap]

How to make soap in bars that don't crumble or fall apart? If I am reading your posts correctly you used regular cow butter from the grocery store and added lye (mixed with water? not sure) then let it sit. How much butter did you use? how much lye? how much (if any) water? How long did you let it sit before you used it? Those things all matter. I suspect you need to throw it away and not use it, it sounds dangerously lye heavy.

The first thing you need is a recipe, there are some great very basic recipes on millersoap, or you could use just one oil if you want. Then run it through a lye calculator. You can either use one online or look up the SAP values of your oils and learn to calculate it by hand. Google "how to calculate SAP values" and you will get plenty of info. ANY recipe, no matter what the source MUST be run thru a calculator ALWAYS. Typos and mistakes happen! A lye calculator will tell you how much lye and how much water to use for your recipe. Soapcalc works in ounces or grams and prints in both, and you can use percentages or amounts.

You need to be using OILS, butter contains milk solids and water and is hard to get a correct SAP value. Lard makes great soap that is very mild and is readily available in grocery stores. Other options are cooking shortening (like crisco), olive oil, and coconut oil. Each different oil has a different SAP.

You seem to be referencing the properties of certain oils and butters (cocoa butter, shea butter, not cow butter), but understand those properties often do not translate into soap. Something that is moisturizing as an oil might be the opposite in soap, and vice versa. The two most notable examples that come to mind are coconut oil and castor oil. Coconut oil is very moisturizing to skin and hair, but as soon as it is saponified (turned into soap) it becomes very cleansing and can be stripping to skin. Castor oil is very astringent and somewhat drying on it's own, but turn that into soap and it becomes conditioning! It is important to spend a little time researching the properties of different oils in soap so you can formulate for what you want.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Aye, and look to split out the two objectives - I really think that soap is a bad route to go to help improve the scars, so look at making soap for the sake of making soap (totally worthwhile endeavor!) and look at other options for treating the scars. It will mean less confusion and certainly make it easier to make a decent batch of soap to start off with.

Before I started, I had read so far back through the forums here, especially the recipes and feedback section to understand more about the mystery of why x oil and not y oil. I still have so much to learn, but it was a great foundation for me to build on now with trial and error (for example how does a lard soap feel compared to palm? 25% CO compared to 15% and so on.

There is a thread at the moment about the properties, with some decent recipes that will give a great soap. Play with the lye calcs and look at the numbers - they aren't the be-all and end-all, but will also give some good pointers.

 

[Saponista]

Tanning is going to give you uv damage which will add wrinkles and dark sun damage patches to your skin. You're better off trying to heal your scars with nice moisturising oils. Keep your skin hydrated and cared for and your scars will slowly fade. It will take time though, there are no overnight solutions to scarring.

 

[Relle]

Going in circles here, closing the thread.