Post your Gripe

[lenarenee]

So i am starting to research fragrances and colorants for my soaps (after 9 batches i would like to smell pretty and see pretty colors!) so, the good neews is that i found two fragrance sellers that seem to know what they are talking about and i already purchases two small bottles to try. So yay! Then i went ahead and tried to find micas.
Nope.
None.
Nada.
I found some but i’m not sure the sellers even know what is in those “micas”, or if they work on cp soap.
So i used every search term i could think of and i either get 25kg or nothing at all.
So i went to the websites everybody knows (bramble, nature, etc.) and sure they will sell but not send (bramble) or suuuper expensive (20 dll shipping).
So. I will make 100% TD colored soaps forever and ever. I’ve been googling for 3 hours now. Or a few colored with paprika. Oh, and cocoa powder.
Oh! And tried the other colorants too, like blue chamomille and few others: super expensive.
Tried amazon: they dont ship to mexico.
The ones who do are quite expensive (and not prime!).
I’m done. I’m disspointed.

Did you try Micas and More? http://micasandmore.com/ She sells only a few days at the beginning of certain months, then ships.

Btw, I live in San Diego county. I don't know how to ship to Mexico but I'm willing to find out!!

Oh oh oh! This is from Micas and More's website: Her mica's are trusted and well priced!!!



What other policies are there for International orders?

Micas, glitters, and supplies can generally be shipped to any country. However, additives will only be sent if you have determined that your country will allow that product to be imported. Milk powders and botanicals are often not allowed to be imported. If you order additives, I will contact you to be sure that you want the item sent. If the item is not allowed, it may be confiscated, and I cannot refund anything that they choose not to send you. International orders cannot be guaranteed delivery once it leaves the US, and I cannot refund orders that are lost after it has left the US.

 

[Lin19687]

I use M&M Micas, LOVE THEM. It is a Pre-buy at the beginning of the month and she ships out the end of the month.

I am sure she sells out of USA.
This is form her website
"You will receive an email with tracking information. International shipping may contain an over charge that will be refunded, or if additional shipping is required, you will be contacted prior to shipping.

Is $35.00 the total cost for shipping all International orders?

No, the cost is set at $35.00 in the store. If it is less, you will get a refund. If it is more, I will contact you for options.


"

 

[Alfa_Lazcares]

I use M&M Micas, LOVE THEM. It is a Pre-buy at the beginning of the month and she ships out the end of the month.

I am sure she sells out of USA.
This is form her website
"You will receive an email with tracking information. International shipping may contain an over charge that will be refunded, or if additional shipping is required, you will be contacted prior to shipping.

Is $35.00 the total cost for shipping all International orders?

No, the cost is set at $35.00 in the store. If it is less, you will get a refund. If it is more, I will contact you for options.


"

Did you try Micas and More? http://micasandmore.com/ She sells only a few days at the beginning of certain months, then ships.

Btw, I live in San Diego county. I don't know how to ship to Mexico but I'm willing to find out!!

Oh oh oh! This is from Micas and More's website: Her mica's are trusted and well priced!!!



What other policies are there for International orders?

Micas, glitters, and supplies can generally be shipped to any country. However, additives will only be sent if you have determined that your country will allow that product to be imported. Milk powders and botanicals are often not allowed to be imported. If you order additives, I will contact you to be sure that you want the item sent. If the item is not allowed, it may be confiscated, and I cannot refund anything that they choose not to send you. International orders cannot be guaranteed delivery once it leaves the US, and I cannot refund orders that are lost after it has left the US.

Nope, never heard of them but i just went to the website. Yes, it seems like they ship here but 35 dolars for international shipping seems a bit... extreme. Yes, it could be less but i am thinking its gonna be 15-20 for shipping. In comparison i payed 7 for the fragrances i bought. Ah! I dont know. I’m gonna keep researching anyway, maybe even ask exactly what the shipping would be. Either that or make a really big order to compensate!

Thanks so much for the info and the offer i really do appreciate it, specially after 3 long hours of walking in to walls. Thank you!

 

[Lin19687]

FYI, their micas are Super cheap, tested in CP soap by her (she won't sell it if it isn't good) and you only need to use a tiny bit !

International shipping sucks, ask anyone in Canada.

 

[Lin19687]

Gripe, I didn't sleep one WINK last night !

 

[earlene]

Alfa_Lazcares, buying colorants or other products out of country and paying the shipping has to be super expensive. I know several members here have the same problem in their countries, too.

Unless or until you are able to find any reliable vendors more locally, there are some natural colorants that you can try. Some hold the color better than others.

Turmeric powder (a spice available in food markets), infused in oil, strained to keep out as much of the spots as possible. (If you want spots, don't strain.) Turmeric will give you a yellow to orange color. It lasts in CP & HP soap quite well. Some brands of turmeric are costly, but don't bother with those; buy the cheap stuff.

Beta-carotene (a vitamin supplement) capsules, cut open to squeeze out the liquid (wear gloves as this will stain your fingers for several days). One capsule-ful will color a batch of soap pretty strongly, so a little goes a long way. Depending on how much I use, I get a pale yellow to a bright yellow that lasts pretty well. Others have reported that it fades over time and gets washed out. I do believe my oldest bar with beta carotene has faded some, but the yellow is still yellow.

Carrot or pumpkin puree. You can cook and puree them yourself or buy canned or baby food to use as colorant. I have used the baby food with good results. Gives an orange-ish shade, fading to a sort of dark yellow, in my experience. Others report it holds color for them very well. It probably depends on the how much is used and the oils used. Some oils are darker than others and tend to give soap a more beige-ish tint, which does effect the final outcome of the soap, in my experience.

You should be able to get oxides in Mexico. Oxides are used to color soap also. You have to be careful not to use too much because a heavy hand with oxides will create a colored lather. I have use red oxide and black oxide and a yellow oxide. Those are the only ones I have, but the colors are definitely long lasting. There has never been any fading like with some of the natural food-stuffs kind of colorants I have tried. I would think you might be able to find some oxide pigment powders where artists might shop for pigments to mix their own paints. I don't know how safe for skin some of those are going to be, however, but by talking with different artists or staff in such a market, you might learn a bit about other alternatives that would be skin safe and get some information where to find things locally. Maybe using your browser to search local vendors for oxides might give you other ideas.

Other natural colorants: Indigo powder, woad powder, calendula flowers, clays, and much more that I have not personally tried myself. See this link for more ideas: https://lovelygreens.com/how-to-naturally-color-handmade-soap/

Giving up on color is of course an option, but there are more possibilities if you are unable to find micas in Mexico.

 

[Alfa_Lazcares]

Alfa_Lazcares, buying colorants or other products out of country and paying the shipping has to be super expensive. I know several members here have the same problem in their countries, too.

Unless or until you are able to find any reliable vendors more locally, there are some natural colorants that you can try. Some hold the color better than others.

Turmeric powder (a spice available in food markets), infused in oil, strained to keep out as much of the spots as possible. (If you want spots, don't strain.) Turmeric will give you a yellow to orange color. It lasts in CP & HP soap quite well. Some brands of turmeric are costly, but don't bother with those; buy the cheap stuff.

Beta-carotene (a vitamin supplement) capsules, cut open to squeeze out the liquid (wear gloves as this will stain your fingers for several days). One capsule-ful will color a batch of soap pretty strongly, so a little goes a long way. Depending on how much I use, I get a pale yellow to a bright yellow that lasts pretty well. Others have reported that it fades over time and gets washed out. I do believe my oldest bar with beta carotene has faded some, but the yellow is still yellow.

Carrot or pumpkin puree. You can cook and puree them yourself or buy canned or baby food to use as colorant. I have used the baby food with good results. Gives an orange-ish shade, fading to a sort of dark yellow, in my experience. Others report it holds color for them very well. It probably depends on the how much is used and the oils used. Some oils are darker than others and tend to give soap a more beige-ish tint, which does effect the final outcome of the soap, in my experience.

You should be able to get oxides in Mexico. Oxides are used to color soap also. You have to be careful not to use too much because a heavy hand with oxides will create a colored lather. I have use red oxide and black oxide and a yellow oxide. Those are the only ones I have, but the colors are definitely long lasting. There has never been any fading like with some of the natural food-stuffs kind of colorants I have tried. I would think you might be able to find some oxide pigment powders where artists might shop for pigments to mix their own paints. I don't know how safe for skin some of those are going to be, however, but by talking with different artists or staff in such a market, you might learn a bit about other alternatives that would be skin safe and get some information where to find things locally. Maybe using your browser to search local vendors for oxides might give you other ideas.

Other natural colorants: Indigo powder, woad powder, calendula flowers, clays, and much more that I have not personally tried myself. See this link for more ideas: https://lovelygreens.com/how-to-naturally-color-handmade-soap/

Giving up on color is of course an option, but there are more possibilities if you are unable to find micas in Mexico.

Yeah. I have order stuff from the us and the shipping is expensive (plust it takes a lifetime to arrive) thats why i wanted to find someone local and to, you know, support small bussiness and the local economy and what have you, but i found ONE reputable vendor but you really have to stalk them to know when they bring more colors.
Also found the mercadolibre guys one of which just says the colors come from China. Price is cheap.
Then i thought, well, maybe “mica” is too specific a term so i searched for oxides, for cosmetic colorant, soap colorant, color soap, color for lye soap, color for oil soap, and with all the searches i made i came up with a bunch of places selling food colorants and another bunch that sell cosmetic... the kicker is that they dont sell small amounts, they only sell big amounts (25 kg and up).
I am gonna research more the oxides however, i know i saw a list somewhere that talks about which ones are skin safe.
A website from Spain or something kept coming up, but shipping and euros is not gonna be cheap.
So finally i went to the popular soaper websites and yes, the shipping is very expensive as i thought.

Turmeric is in the shopping list
Beta carotene is quite expensive so it is off the list.
Carrot is in the “to try” list haha. Same with pumpkin.
I keep hearing about indigo powder but never seen it, i am gonna keep looking for it.
Never heard of woad powder, i am adding it to the research list!
Calendula is also on the shopping list.
I read that alfalfa and mexican parsley give a pretty green color so i have to try those. I already tried the cocoa powder and am insusing some olive oil with paprika.

The clays are my next step. But i was expecting to find colorants easier. And truth be told, i wanted to try thise bright, fun and sparkly colors!

 

[earlene]

One other possibility, although not totally reliable for stability of color in highly alkalai environments (lye soap), is eye shadow mica. In a pinch while making soap while traveling, I have used cheap eye shadow. Some micas are stable in the presence of lye, some are not. Of course, one never knows which one is used in an eye shadow, but sometimes they stay true to color in soap. Sometimes they morph, and sometimes they disappear altogether. It's something to test if you have access to some very cheap eye shadow somewhere.

 

[Alfa_Lazcares]

One other possibility, although not totally reliable for stability of color in highly alkalai environments (lye soap), is eye shadow mica. In a pinch while making soap while traveling, I have used cheap eye shadow. Some micas are stable in the presence of lye, some are not. Of course, one never knows which one is used in an eye shadow, but sometimes they stay true to color in soap. Sometimes they morph, and sometimes they disappear altogether. It's something to test if you have access to some very cheap eye shadow somewhere.

Oh! I do! Mexico is like the number one place for cheap eyeshadow (a dolar or less). And I have a brand that i like and use (for eyeshadow) so i bought all their collection and that is more eyeshadow than i will ever be able to use. Might be worth a try!

 

[cmzaha]

Gripe, I wish I could get 5 MILLION people to march with me to DC to OUST that pres monster for this border thing !

On a good note, the Governor of our state said he won't send our Guard Troops to the border ! Yay ! and he is a Rep, so that is another standing up !

Careful Dear, politics are bad in forums and other places, I never allowed politics to be discussed in my Beauty Shop, since it was a good way to lose customers. But I do have to add a comment,(you made me do it)Live in Calif and you might just change your mind...
When your Granddaughter get bullied because she is the 1% with light color hair and gray eyes you just might think twice about it.

 

[Alfa_Lazcares]

View attachment 30665

So this guy is Bo. We adopted him and his brother Tristan years ago. We have finally come to the end of a nightmare, of numerous Vet visits, injections, oral meds, etc

It turns out that after 2 years of loudly vocalizing his pain, with no relief no matter what we did, we found the cause:

View attachment 30667

He got a hold of some of my beading needles, 2 of them or so from the pieces they took out yesterday, and had swallowed them. They went through his digestive system and lodged in different areas. Don't ask how he got a hold of them. Like the soap room, you need a retinal scan to get into the craft room. Those rules are set in stone, because I have kids that visit, and I take safety seriously. (joking about the retinal scan but 2 deadbolts on each door.)



So I gripe here, because I need to vent. After 2 years, 2 states, 5 vets and over $23,000 in vet bills/medication we finally found a vet that agreed with me about it not being arthritis, and decided to go hunting after hearing our story. He was supposed to do Xrays for his teeth cleaning, and the “arthritis” area but he just told the tech to do a full body because “This guy has been hurting for a while. I want to see what is going on” Most of the x rays taken up until this point were localized to specific areas that each Vet thought was the issue. Most blamed it on a fall he took and said that “arthritis” was setting in on his hind legs. Even medicated him for it including injections twice a month that I administered, and numerous other oral medications. Not one of those 5 Vets thought to X ray anything else, certainly not the stomach area even though I had asked. I would get the usual dismissal of "you have not been to Vet school", but politely put.

This time around, what the new vet found made me just break down into tears of frustration, anger, and relief. 2 years my boy suffered. Two years of helplessness, and friends asking me to put him down because of the cost. As if it would be ok to put them down if they were sick for a period of time. He was still eating, running, being a cat. There were moments when we thought we had found the right combination of medication, because he would not scream in pain for weeks. Then it would start again, so his quality of life was there in between the madness.
3 hours on the operating table and 14 staples later he is home and resting. The long road to recovery commences.


I hope this helps someone out there that are in the same situation I was. Question your vets because even though they have the degree, they still lack common sense. I fought with every single vet we had. One of them even told us not to come back anymore. She wanted to put him on Science Diet and I told her it was crap food, and that what does that have to do with him being in pain. She proceeded to tell me all the “good qualities” of it and how all was natural, so I told her since it was so natural and good she should eat it. As if changing the food was going to relieve the pain. So be persistent, and never stop looking for another opinion when it comes to fixing whats medically wrong with your pets. Remember that these little guys cant talk, and we are their voices.



Be of good courage.

If it was me i would let every single vet i went to what was the problem. Specially the one that asked me not to go anymore.
Hope he recovers soon!

 

[cmzaha]

I am so glad someone finally found out what was wrong with your boy who is beautiful and looks to be very sweet. Now he does not have to be in pain anymore, or at least once he gets through this healing process. To have survived for 2 yrs with needles in his tummy shows how resilient cats can be. I would also be calling every vet and telling them what they missed with their Holier-than-Thou attitudes. Think I would ask the one vet that prescribed Science Diet if it was tasty I get so mad when they think no one knows anything but them. I also praise you for your persistence, with the cost of vet bills it is hard sometimes.

He looks so much like my Harley that I lost several years ago. Still miss that cat :-(.

 

[Lin19687]

@cmzaha no one should get bullied, by Anyone, no matter what color, sex,what ever... and that is what this prez is doing, just a bully.
separating kids is just - not- right.

Anyway... Gripe ... Grocery shopping with a Teenage DD .... 2 hours and all we got were, milk, OJ, Gatorade, juice, deli meat/cheese, bread, soup ..mmmm yeah that was pretty much it for $70

Le Sigh

 

[cmzaha]

@cmzaha no one should get bullied, by Anyone, no matter what color, sex,what ever... and that is what this prez is doing, just a bully.
separating kids is just - not- right.

Anyway... Gripe ... Grocery shopping with a Teenage DD .... 2 hours and all we got were, milk, OJ, Gatorade, juice, deli meat/cheese, bread, soup ..mmmm yeah that was pretty much it for $70

Le Sigh

Don't get me wrong, I do not agree with the separating of the kids, they should stay with their parents no matter where the parents have to go

 

[earlene]

Gripe: My husband left a pen in one of his shirt pockets and it ruined 3 items in the laundry. One of his shirts (serves him right, I don't really care about the shirt and he has an excess of shirts, so this could be a plus), but also a couple of other items I didn't want to have to toss out. Thankfully, I didn't put any of my own clothes into the washer with that pen.

Yeah, I know, some wives search pockets before they toss clothes into the washer. I'm not one of them.

 

[Lin19687]

I do my DS laundry seperate, but HAVE to check his pockets.... darn slob that he is

Gripe, I am still in my PJ's because I have been working on the website all morning but have errands that I really need to get done !!

 

[amd]

I work for a company that is owned by a German corporation, so all of our main servers are located in Germany. Today, something is broken between Europe and North America, so our systems are completely down. I have the option of sitting here and getting paid to twiddle my thumbs hoping it will come back on, or I can take PTO and go home and get stuff done there. I guess my gripe is that I have to make a decision and I do not feel like adulting.

 

[amd]

I work for a company that is owned by a German corporation, so all of our main servers are located in Germany. Today, something is broken between Europe and North America, so our systems are completely down. I have the option of sitting here and getting paid to twiddle my thumbs hoping it will come back on, or I can take PTO and go home and get stuff done there. I guess my gripe is that I have to make a decision and I do not feel like adulting.

 

[steffamarie]

Gripe: I have this week off of work (thought I would be moving but we moved earlier than expected) and many ideas for soaps to make but I have to wait for my fragrance oil and mica order to come in!! This gets addicting very quickly, ladies, gents, and variations thereupon. [edit: though I'm sure I don't need to tell any of YOU that!] EVERYONE is getting soap for Christmas this year!! ;P

Every hobby I enjoy entails so much cleaning afterwards...I would decorate cakes if I didn't have to do the washing up. I love making soap but then I have to do soap dishes. I hear tell of the soap gremlins but where are the soap fairies that come scrub my bowls and line my molds?!?

 

[Misschief]

Every hobby I enjoy entails so much cleaning afterwards...I would decorate cakes if I didn't have to do the washing up. I love making soap but then I have to do soap dishes. I hear tell of the soap gremlins but where are the soap fairies that come scrub my bowls and line my molds?!?

I actually don't mind lining my molds. I love seeing how it comes together so perfectly. As for the soap dishes, leave them to sit overnight. They're much easier to clean 24 hours later.