Sharing recipes

[wbocrafter]

Soapmaking forum

Thanks for the input Susie. Yes I've been a member from 2010. However, I have ADD and I go from hobby to hobby. I've been a quilter for a number of years. But for a while I will focus on quilting, then I will focus on knitting or spinning wool, or even soapmaking. So by the time I get interested in that hobby again I have forgotten a lot of the info I learned. Right now I'm working on knitting socks, I have a few quilts in the works & just became interested in soapmaking again. That was spurred by a stay at a bed and breakfast that provided us with homemade soap and I thought to myself that I would like to get back into it again. I'm not trying to be smart but don't judge a person until you've walked in their shoes. I'm in the process of reviewing all my notes and soaps that I've made. I was just looking for some really good recipes. I, myself, am not a real creative person. I can do it if I see someone else do it but to come with it myself is a challenge. Just looking for some good ideas. I wasn't asking for anyone's secret recipe and I should have notated that in my question.

 

[wbocrafter]

So sorry

I'm sorry that I asked such a stupid question. I am not a person to just try things because if it doesn't turn out then I've wasted all those expensive oils and my time. It's just easier for me to take someone else's recipe and make the soap for my own use. I'm not a professional and do not intend to make this a business. I'm so sorry if I offended anyone. Lesson learned. I didn't realize I would be so chastized when I thought I was just asking a simple question. Thank you everyone for your input. I'll just use the recipes from the books I have on soapmaking.

 

[Obsidian]

I don't think it was a stupid question and personally, I don't think there is anything wrong with asking if there are recipes posted some where. It can be hard to find recipes here, they are all over the place and it an take a long time to hunt them all down.

I realize not everyone who comes here is looking to make this a serious, long term hobby. Some people just want to make a couple batches for personal use or are on a budget and can't afford to experiment. Being told to go to soapcalc and come up with your own recipe doesn't help if you have no idea how a recipe should be formulated. I'd rather share a good recipe that I know is pretty much fool proof and will make a nice bar then see someone leave the hobby from frustration.

The only thing I don't like is when I get a PM from a newbie that I've never spoken too flat out asking for a recipe for such and such soap. I have private recipes and I have public recipe, if I want to share a recipe it will be posted somewhere.

Maybe we need a sticky with some of the more popular recipes posted, make it easier for newbies to get started.

 

[wbocrafter]

Thank you so much

Thanks so much for your response. I'm glad at least one person understands. That is why when I posted I stated that I wasn't asking for anything proprietary. I understand that the professional soapmakers put a lot of time & money in experimenting different formulas. I only make soap once in a while because it doesn't dry my skin & I like doing it. But I don't make it very frequently which is why I asked. I thought I was asking a truly innocent question. Guess I shouldn't be so ignorant.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I think that it is less the fact that you're looking for a recipe - we need a basis from which we advance - but your question was if we share them and where they are. They are all over, and if you look over just a few pages of the forums you'll find beginner recipes being shared very often.

Plus, even when you are at the stage of thinking up recipes, I would always post them here before hand so that people can look over them and let you know if anything is majorly wrong and if there is anything to look out for. That way you don't have to waste time and money making something that would be very bad all round.

 

[artemis]

Maybe we need a sticky with some of the more popular recipes posted, make it easier for newbies to get started.

Personally, I think this sounds like a great idea. Just a few basic recipes that are a good starting point for beginners to experiment with.

 

[Steve85569]

One of my favorite recipes that I've been using lately:
6 cups fresh blueberries
6 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 package pectin
1 cup water
Mash about 1 1/2 cups of the berries, add water, lemon juice and pectin bring to boil, add sugar and boil for 5 or 6 minutes.
Have 8 pint jars, rings and lids ready. I put the jars in a canner and bring them to a boil to sterilize and to preheat. I also process these for 6 to 10 minutes in a canner just to be sure they are sterile.
Yummie jam!

 

[Susie]

I really did not mean to sound confrontational, I do truly apologize. It is just that to me, the forum is crammed with recipes. Here's my favorite standard recipe (I don't sell, so I don't care who all makes it.)

Lard 65%
Olive Oil 15%
Coconut Oil 15%
Castor Oil 5%

Superfat 5-8%

I also add 7 gms of sugar PPO/500 gm oil to twice that amount of hot water, which is subtracted from my total water amount.

I don't know your mold size, so you can run this through a soap calculator to size it to your preference. My favorite calculator is Soapee.com.

 

[Steve85569]

I agree that a sticky with some of our more common and cost effective recipes would be a great idea.

I do NOT think that wbocrafter was asking a bad question in any way.
I do something very similar to Susie's posted recipe. It is nice soap and very cost neutral.

 

[Susie]

I fourth or fifth the nomination for a sticky of recipes! They should be tried and true recipes only. Like one that at least one mod/min has also made to verify it is a decent soap and safe recipe.

I never assumed that the OP was asking the question in a bad way. It just astounded me.

 

[topofmurrayhill]

I'm sorry that I asked such a stupid question. I am not a person to just try things because if it doesn't turn out then I've wasted all those expensive oils and my time. It's just easier for me to take someone else's recipe and make the soap for my own use. I'm not a professional and do not intend to make this a business. I'm so sorry if I offended anyone. Lesson learned. I didn't realize I would be so chastized when I thought I was just asking a simple question. Thank you everyone for your input. I'll just use the recipes from the books I have on soapmaking.

Sorry, there was nothing wrong with your question. When it comes to making soap, you can use anything from a totally scientific to a totally cookbook approach.

Many of the people who participate actively here go beyond the cookbook and become interested in the whys and wherefores of ingredients and process. You may or may not, but your intentions weren't bad and there is no reason you shouldn't search for a recipe if you want to. Stay away from complicated or exotic recipes, because they are often nonsense. Many of the best soaps use ordinary fats and are no more complicated than Obsidian's suggestion.

We do occasionally get a person saying they want to start a soap business and what is a good recipe. THAT is a little clueless.

 

[Dahila]

I do not remember asking for recipes either. I spend hours on soapcalc studying the numbers of different oils. there is range so when I am in the middle I knew I am good. My first soap was white, hard and cleansing of 14 .
We used it up, my hubby enjoyed it, I not so much. Internet is full of recipes too. I do not think when someone in need should be served fish, I would rather give them the fishing rod

 

[earlene]

Thanks for the input Susie. Yes I've been a member from 2010. However, I have ADD and I go from hobby to hobby. I've been a quilter for a number of years. But for a while I will focus on quilting, then I will focus on knitting or spinning wool, or even soapmaking. So by the time I get interested in that hobby again I have forgotten a lot of the info I learned. Right now I'm working on knitting socks, I have a few quilts in the works & just became interested in soapmaking again. That was spurred by a stay at a bed and breakfast that provided us with homemade soap and I thought to myself that I would like to get back into it again. I'm not trying to be smart but don't judge a person until you've walked in their shoes. I'm in the process of reviewing all my notes and soaps that I've made. I was just looking for some really good recipes. I, myself, am not a real creative person. I can do it if I see someone else do it but to come with it myself is a challenge. Just looking for some good ideas. I wasn't asking for anyone's secret recipe and I should have notated that in my question.

wbocrafter, I sometimes put down a hobby for a long time and pick it up again. I don't think that is at all unusual. I used to quilt and keep thinking I'll go back to it someday, which is why I don't get rid of anything quilting related (except all my quilting magazines, those I did purge). My SIL quilted for at least 4 decades before she has begun to weave and now says 'I am a weaver now' when anyone mentions her quilting. I have not asked her if that means she plans to never quilt again. I just cannot believe that and as far as I know she hasn't gotten rid of any of her sewing machines or sergers. Or other quilting supplies.

Anyway, here is a link to one of my favorites, an egg yolk soap which I adapted from Anne Watson's recipe. It makes a wonderfully bubbly soap that feels like it softens and conditions my skin. In spite of the high Coconut content of this one, it does not feel at all stripping like some other soaps I have made with high CO content. I think the egg yolk and milk must have counteracted the usually too-oil-stipping CO (for me.) If you want to give it a try, I think you might enjoy it.

Since making that recipe, I have tried an adjusted recipe to use different oils, but at the time I first made it, I used what I had on hand. I still have some of this soap made originally on Oct 10, 2015 and it is really very wonderful. It is my favorite hand washing soap. Until I test the new formulation, I will not share it because I don't yet know its quality.

 

[Arimara]

Thanks so much for your response. I'm glad at least one person understands. That is why when I posted I stated that I wasn't asking for anything proprietary. I understand that the professional soapmakers put a lot of time & money in experimenting different formulas. I only make soap once in a while because it doesn't dry my skin & I like doing it. But I don't make it very frequently which is why I asked. I thought I was asking a truly innocent question. Guess I shouldn't be so ignorant.

Like others have said, there was nothing wrong with your question. In my case, I don't remember asking for any recipes. I liked playing around on soapcalc to make my other recipes or to check borrowed recipes because it helped me learn what my skin likes and how to formulate my soaps. Generally, I like 50-70% soft oils and the rest hard. My favorite vegetarian recipes include avocado and olive oils in equal parts or with slightly more olive oil, a heft amount of cocoa butter and or shea/mango butter and some cleansing oil not to exceed 10% unless I am NOT using coconut oil.

One of my favorite recipes that I've been using lately:
6 cups fresh blueberries
6 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 package pectin
1 cup water
Mash about 1 1/2 cups of the berries, add water, lemon juice and pectin bring to boil, add sugar and boil for 5 or 6 minutes.
Have 8 pint jars, rings and lids ready. I put the jars in a canner and bring them to a boil to sterilize and to preheat. I also process these for 6 to 10 minutes in a canner just to be sure they are sterile.
Yummie jam!

I've never used pectin. I just boiled my selected fruits (usually strawberries) in some water with sugar and a little lemon juice. I also don't can nothin'. That said, I could use a change in pace once apple season starts. Who doesn't love galas and fuji apples together?

 

[CaraBou]

One of my favorite recipes that I've been using lately:
6 cups fresh blueberries...

You have blueberries already?? Maybe I was in Alaska too long - should I be on the prowl? I did harvest morels early this year

 

[gdawgs]

Oooh, that egg yolk recipe sounds interesting.

 

[wbocrafter]

Many thanks

Thanks so much to all of you who have been so understanding & helpful. I was pretty upset & hurt by some of the comments that were posted.. I have looked for the advanced search and have not found it yet. I have also gone back about 10 pages, I'm assuming they meant in the beginner section, and I have not found recipes. I put "soap recipes" in the search section & all I've gotten are the threads from my question. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. For those of you who gave me suggestions for soap I will give them a try. The egg yolk recipe sounds good but I have a question. The recipe calls for milk. Is that milk you can get from the grocery store or do they mean raw milk from a farm which is not easily accessible in our area? If I can use milk from store I'm assuming I need to use whole milk. Again thanks to those who were so understanding to a rather newbie.

 

[Dahila]

oh you are a beginner, do not start with milk or yolk. Make a simple soap then start adding something each time you make a soap

 

[gdawgs]

As a newbie myself, I don't think you should even consider that egg yolk soap yet. Working with milk adds some complexity. Start out with some simple recipes. You don't need to look any further than this thread for now. Obsidian's recipe on page 1 or Susie's recipe on page 3 would be perfect. I have made a few batches of Susie's recipe and it is great. Obsidian's is on my list to try as well. Good luck!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I would do ten pages in - beginner, lye soap, recipe feedback, and soap making recipes.