Newbie question

[law]

I have been buying stuff and looking at recipes. I have the safety gear, the scales, the lye, olive oil, coconut oil, and lard. As soon as I have a few hours available, I'm going to make some (hopefully) soap. Do I need to buy palm or caster? They seem to be very popular. I am going to buy some stuff from Amazon, so I could add things to the order. It would be higher /oz, but N/C shipping is an advantage, since I don't know if I will love making soap, small amounts may be better-at least for the first few batches.

Not planning on any scents, and if I do color, it will only be a cocoa, paprika, etc line, and maybe I'll try playing with the top.

Has anyone not been hooked after the first batch?

Thanks!

 

[TJ]

You don't have to have palm or castor oils. You can make a single oil soap, or add as many oils as you like.
I was hooked after my first batch. I'm sure most people are hooked after their first batch.
Have fun making yours! Let us know how it turns out -or better yet: Post some pictures when you're finished!

 

[Lynnz]

Welcome to the world of soaping :0) I use castor in all my soaps as adds to the lather. Only use at a small percentage l think mine is at 3%, once you have made that first batch there is no looking back and pics please we love pics :0)

 

[Hazel]

I don't know about other people but I definitely became addicted after my first batch.

I'm looking forward to seeing your pics.

 

[MissMori]

Has anyone not been hooked after the first batch?

YES!! Soap making is more addictive than crack.

Have you checked out your local grocery stores, Walmart and pharmacy? You can get lots of oils in most. If you want to start with small quantities to see if you like soap making, this may be the route to go. Most pharmacies and big box stores with pharmacy sections have castor oil. You can get coconut and palm oils at "health" food grocery stores. Last time I checked the grocery stores around me, I counted 18 different oils available. That should get you started.

 

[carebear]

Have fun!

I never use castor.

In my opinion the only oil I cannot live without is coconut. If you have coconut, lard, and olive you are good to go. Or you can use other oils.

 

[dOttY]

I've done 2 batches so far and I'm totally addicted!

Good luck, and post pics!

 

[dcornett]

I also use castor in every batch, it's one of few oils that does seem to make a noticable difference, but the three you've mentioned should turn out a very nice soap. But be prepared to want to try a second...and then a third batch... LOL. Looking forward to pics.

 

[xyxoxy]

I use Castor and Palm in almost every batch but it's not a must. What *IS* a must is to learn to use a soap calculator so that you will get an idea what to expect from the oils that you DO use (and of course so you know how much lye to use).

 

[law]

Thanks for all the replys! I'm not always able to read the forum. I ordered the castor, and waited on the palm. My schedule looks like about 2+ weeks until a day off, but I'm going to do it on my first day off. My hubby will make anything I ask for, or will buy anything he doesn't want to make. But I think I'll just use a cardboard box for the first batch or two. I'll line it of course.

I have spent time playing with all the calculators, and I think I understand the basic numbers, although translation into soap may be a little different. My sister is a chemist, and her hubby is a research chemist, so if I need help, they are available. They may not know soap, but they do know the chemistry part, they don't call it soap, they call it surfactant! It's all perspective. LOL!!!!

Lynn...I love your soaps!, and I see lots of Aussies doing beautiful stuff. We own an international business, love the Aussies. They are so fun to deal with!

 

[Iris Reola]

I got... uh... ridiculously hooked on soap making after my first batch. I made my first batch of soap almost exactly a month ago and just made my twelfth three pound batch of soap (third one that I've used castor oil in, though).

 

[Dragonkaz]

Totally hooked and loving it!

I didn't use castor oil in my first few batches, but since I've been adding 5%, the lather is amazing! I don't use palm oil ... but that's just a personal preference.

 

[dOttY]

What do you use instead of Palm? Or do you just adjust the amounts of the oils you use to compensate?

 

[Dragonkaz]

My hard oil is coconut oil at 20% ... and I also use cocoa butter at 8%.

 

[Kenaslan]

WARNING
Once you start it is like crack. You wont be able to stop. It will consume every waking and sleeping moment.

 

[lsg]

I have been buying stuff and looking at recipes. I have the safety gear, the scales, the lye, olive oil, coconut oil, and lard. As soon as I have a few hours available, I'm going to make some (hopefully) soap. Do I need to buy palm or caster? They seem to be very popular. I am going to buy some stuff from Amazon, so I could add things to the order. It would be higher /oz, but N/C shipping is an advantage, since I don't know if I will love making soap, small amounts may be better-at least for the first few batches.

Not planning on any scents, and if I do color, it will only be a cocoa, paprika, etc line, and maybe I'll try playing with the top.

Has anyone not been hooked after the first batch?


Thanks!

I know Wholesale Supplies Plus gets a lot of knocks from some of the members, but you get free shipping there also. You don't have to buy Castor oil, but it makes nice bubbles. You can find the new Crisco at most stores. It has palm oil in it and it is listed as an ingredient in the SoapCalc lye calculator. As to your last question, I don't think we would be on the forum if we hadn't gotten hooked after the first batch. But, I think it is a somewhat harmless addiction.

 

[Hazel]

I know Wholesale Supplies Plus gets a lot of knocks from some of the members, but you get free shipping there also.

That's because they don't have free shipping. They said they were offering free shipping but incorporated the shipping costs into the price of supplies. Some of the prices have gone up quite a bit - doubled and almost tripled. I used to buy almost all of my supplies from WSP but now I can't afford it. I can get the same supplies elsewhere for less or a comparable price and that's even with paying shipping on them.

To be fair, there are a few items that are actually less now but I wonder how long that's going to last.

 

[law]

I should not have used "free shipping". It was only "no additional shipping". We own a mail order company-not soap. Amazon and Ebay love to push free shipping, but in truth they should be saying "Shipping already included in the price of each item". The buyer never wins.

We sell a lot of items on ebay, and we're a really good company, so we have over 50% return buyers each week, and many of those buy 5-10 items. We charge a flat rate for each package. Before "free shipping" a buyer buying 10-$10. items paid $108. If we use free shipping and included the $8. shipping fee in the opening bid, the buyer would now pay $180.

We are fighting the "free shipping" model, but believe me, there is a lot of pressure from Ebay and Amazon. Ebay gets 9% of the shipping fee, plus another 2.5% on paypal. And buyers, thinking they are being overcharged for shipping are happy to leave a 4. for the seller. So, sellers are being pressured to move to free shipping by buyers, even though they will pay much more for the fun of free shipping.

Forgive my rant! That's why I need to make soap!

 

[xyxoxy]

I think it's kind of silly for anyone to actually expect a seller to pay shipping costs without including it in the purchase price.

As buyers we just have to be savvy enough to compare our different options and include shipping costs in the comparison when they are charged seperately.

If a company DOES charge seperate shipping (as most do) but does not provide a simple means to calculate the shipping costs of an order then I usually skip them... especially if I have to create an account and go up to the point of submitting the order.

Having the shipping costs included in the price actually makes price comparison much easier. Included or not, if the total cost comes out higher and everything else is equal - I buy from the other guy.

 

[Hazel]

I think it's kind of silly for anyone to actually expect a seller to pay shipping costs without including it in the purchase price.

As buyers we just have to be savvy enough to compare our different options and include shipping costs in the comparison when they are charged seperately.

If a company DOES charge seperate shipping (as most do) but does not provide a simple means to calculate the shipping costs of an order then I usually skip them... especially if I have to create an account and go up to the point of submitting the order.

Having the shipping costs included in the price actually makes price comparison much easier. Included or not, if the total cost comes out higher and everything else is equal - I buy from the other guy.

I think that’s the most roundabout way I’ve ever been called an idiot.

I don't consider myself a silly person. I can be foolish and do stupid things but I am very cost conscious about supplies because I don’t have much money. I am savvy enough to look at what I paid before policy changes and at what I will be paying afterwards because of the new changes. Heck, I can even figure out charges that include shipping and charges which add on shipping at checkout. Fortunately, I own a calculator so I don’t have to take off my shoes and use my toes to help me count.

I expect to pay for shipping and I am well aware that sellers add shipping costs into the retail price and then advertise “free shipping”.

I started buying from WSP over 5 years ago and purchased almost all of my supplies from them. I have seen a few changes over the years. I didn't object when WSP first switched over to their new shipping policy of including shipping rates in the retail prices in the spring of 2010. I went through older invoices and did a price comparison. I thought the prices were reasonable and still economical. (I also was able to comprehend the reasoning behind the change. It would make it easier for buyers who sell to be able to figure out their total cost.)

My objection occurred a short time later when they announced free international shipping and their prices increased dramatically right after this announcement.

Yes, I expect to pay shipping. No, I don’t appreciate being gouged. I have since found supplies for less or the same prices elsewhere.

Will I continue to buy from WSP? Yes. There are still a few FOs I haven’t found a replacement for yet. However, I have to wait and make sure I need them all before I purchase in order to meet the minimum $30 purchase.

There have been a few posts in the past 15 months or so which has discussed these policy changes in depth. I’ve only been able to find a couple but you can find more if go back further in time. I know there was a couple which discussed the policy changes in more detail.

http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25885
http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24773