Volunteer guinea pigs in Canada?

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

squidstings

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2024
Messages
100
Reaction score
70
Location
Hamilton Ontario
I'm looking for a handful of volunteers to test my KOH Bar batch that's currently curing. At my expense.

As it contains THC and CBD, I'm limited to mailing within Canada. Unless someone knows how to get THC "crafts" across the border legally.

the 90% KOH recipe. https://www.soapmakingforum.com/goto/post?id=1022157

Anyone interested in checking out a bar? Now that we have snail-mail up and running again. :) Or if Hamilton Ontario Canada is convenient for you.
 
@squidstings , I don't know how to private message!!!
I have responded to a couple private messages on this forum but I don't know how to actually start one on my own.
Do I do this by starting a conversation with you?
 
I'm in Guelph....and since I just gave away *literally hundreds* of bars to ppl at work this season, I might even be allowed to rebuild my soap stash. Would love to be a guinea pig! Am DMing address.
 
I’m in Alberta - if that’s not too far for you to post a sample, I’d love to try your soap!

I'm in Guelph....and since I just gave away *literally hundreds* of bars to ppl at work this season, I might even be allowed to rebuild my soap stash. Would love to be a guinea pig! Am DMing address.
Samples on the way to both of you.
Apologies to @akseattle. found a couple small pieces of My Gift after telling them they were getting the last piece.

Big piece is the KOH bar. If you could give that a few days before trying the little chunk.

Since I can't think of good questions to ask, I want what you are inspired to share with me. Hold nothing back. Even the obvious. :)
 
@squidstings , I try anything you send me, in what ever order you say yoda ;)
can't wait!
Although my intent is to be thorough in feedback, I'll find out if I'm as terrible as my family and friends are in giving feedback...
I'm of the thought that because we're strangers, there's less likelihood of trying to spare the feelings of a loved one. I'm looking forward to such honesty :)
Just wish I could send THC crafts to the US. :(
 
Soap testing Jan. 2nd 2025

Location Ottawa Ontario Canada
Water used: city treated water
Current Weather: Winter
Temperature outside: -6⁰C or 21.2⁰F
Humidity outside: 73%

Temperature inside the house: 19⁰C
Humidity insure the house: 45%
Way more than I expected or would have thought to ask :)
Smell of soap in the box it came in:
Very Mild, like anise or a sweet herbal smell. Scents usually bother me. The smell of this bar is very mild and does not bother me at all
EOs not used for scent. You might have caught a bit of the little bar? It had eucalyptus. Otherwise, they were common with Frank and Myrrh
Looks:
Soap has a yellow single tone, typical look of hot process soap, minor bubbles in the bar, some dry patches mainly on top and these have lighter spots on them that are a little flaky on the top of the bar.
Bar was somewhat flattered after pouring into the mold. Soap bar has moderate translucency to it.
Slightly soft/rubbery in texture, it dents easily if I push it with my nails,
Sounds hollow when I hit the counter with it.
"minor bubbles" Thank you for being kind lol
Using soap:
Soap lathered readily and easily. It did form big bubbles at first. Then, as I worked it in my hands without water, the bubbles kept a good volume and were small in size.
I find the suds feel creamy the more work they get.
Soap felt sticky during use. It had no slime, just some stickiness, similar in stickiness, like when you touch a silicone stretchy lid, even was sticky when the soap was dry in soap dish about an hour late after use. Stickiness was accentuate when soap was wet.
I like the characteristic that it's not easy to drop.
Soap rinses well. It did not leave residue.
My hands felt very clean.

My hands felt dry, and I needed some moisturizer afterward.
I found my hands seemed whiter, as if some of my tan got washed away. Had that happen when I got rid of the psoriasis damage earlier this year. I also notice my skin looks dry. Whitish around the edged of the infividual cells, like they're about to start flaking if scratched, but no flaking for me.

Does your skin feel any different otherwise?
I could not notice any scent from the soap while I was using it to wash my hands. And no scent on my hands after having used the soap to wash my hands with it.
Good news. Not scented. EOs used for skin benefits.
Overall, I would give this soap a 6 out of 10.
Aside from obvious adjustments.. Consider it was meant for low water consumption use. Washing your hands with the last drops of water in a bottle. Camping/hiking use. A bar to keep by the laundry/garage sink?
For looks 7
Because it looks like a nice bar of soap. Nothing fancy.
Looks like soap! I'm happy lol
Bubbles: 8
Because it instantly and readily bubbled up. Also, my hands felt really clean
I tried going small. Wet my hands and wiped dry bar with fewer and fewer wipes. About 1 second, 2 wipes (forth, then back) and was able to get a nice creamy lather that almost dissipeared with the mere thought of rinse water. I did notice the dryness in my hands at first use, however that was also less than a week into cure.
Feel of bar on my hands while soap is being used: 5
Because soap felt sticky, and it did not glide smoothly on my hands.
bar be thirsty? Will it absorb moisture? I did turn the water down a bit for the sake of hardness.
Also, it seems like this bar will not last long.
It's hard to say for sure after a couple of uses on my hands. I'm mainly mentioning this from the look of the edges of the bar after 2 uses and the sticky feel on the hands. I did not rate this because I did not use the soap long enough to confirm the longevity.
Area for tweaking the recipe.
Next day,I decided to weigh the bar before and after using it, to see if it dissolves too quickly. It was used only once to wash my hands. I held it under water for a short period of time, to get soap on my hands.
Soap was left to dry in between uses.
Weigh before: 66.02gr
Weight after: 65.89gr

Overall, feel on hands after using the test soap: 4
My hands were too dry after using it. And I needed some moisturizer right away.
If you wouldn't mind trying what I did with using less and less soap. This might be durability suffering due to water's affinity for K soap. Not enough water in the bar. I found my hands felt less dry when I did this. Even creaming the lather didn't seem to dry my skin AS bad. It is winter too lol 20% hunidity in our house.
In summary:
Would I buy this soap? Yes. Would I be a repeat customer and buy this soap again? No.
I hope I got everything lol
GREAT JOB!! I think ;)
 
Here are some pictures
I took too long to dry my hands, so the lather should have looked more abundant than whats on the picture
20250102_222038.jpg
20250102_222047.jpg
20250102_222055.jpg
20250102_222742.jpg


Trying to explain the stickiness from the soap bar


Trying to compare hardness of bar.
Round soap is high lard NaOH bar
Yellow soap is a KOH bar

I also diluted the KOH bar to made liquid soap. 3:1 water to soap ratio.

Warmed up the distilled water, dropped thin slices of the soap inside and left it alone to dissolve all night.

Then added it to a soap foam pump.
I liked this soap much better in the liquid form
20250107_072459.jpg
20250107_072459.jpg
20250107_081030.jpg


20250107_072541.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 20250102_222537.mp4
    28.4 MB
  • 20250107_072628.jpg
    20250107_072628.jpg
    1.2 MB
FAST dissolving!!! Holly doodle!
2:1 water:soap.
29 minutes for every shaving to dissolve. Those are just the thick pieces that my finger tips protected.
Room temp water. Zero agitation once all solids were submerged.
 

Attachments

  • KOHBAR 2to1 liqify39mins .jpg
    KOHBAR 2to1 liqify39mins .jpg
    1.3 MB
  • Liquify 2to1 KOHbar.jpg
    Liquify 2to1 KOHbar.jpg
    395.3 KB
I'm chiming in late because I wanted to try the bar at the sink and then in the shower, but kept forgetting to take it into the shower with me (doesn't help that we're getting the main bathroom redone so everything's all over the place --- I'm lucky if I get a towel! :p). First thoughts were that the bar had a nice soft fragrance...I wonder if it was from the other bar or the packaging, as now it doesn't smell like anything :). On first use on hands, it had a nice creamy lather (my preference over big bubbles) and rinsed off well. It was a bit tacky but not bothersome. I noticed that within a few days of using, it was becoming soft. It wasn't sitting in water, and it's pretty dry in the house (Ontario in winter), but the overall consistency was softer than other soaps in the same environment. So by the time I got it in the shower, it was already quite soft. But it lathered nicely and felt clean. I can't say that it made my hands feel drier than other soaps, and I use lotion after a shower anyway, so it's hard to say whether it's more drying than I would expect.

I feel like these comments are very generic, so feel free to ask specific questions @squidstings and I'll either answer based on memory or take the soap in the shower again (it's currently chilling at a second sink to get different testers to use it :p)
 
I'm chiming in late because I wanted to try the bar at the sink and then in the shower, but kept forgetting to take it into the shower with me (doesn't help that we're getting the main bathroom redone so everything's all over the place --- I'm lucky if I get a towel! :p). First thoughts were that the bar had a nice soft fragrance...I wonder if it was from the other bar or the packaging, as now it doesn't smell like anything :). On first use on hands, it had a nice creamy lather (my preference over big bubbles) and rinsed off well. It was a bit tacky but not bothersome.
I take it you mean that the bar was tacky while you were handling it? I use the wording it's a little thirsty. I've got a piece sealed in a tupper-ware container with/beside a portion cup of water. absorbed 3.9 grams of water as of the other day (still in process). Might just be downright Hydrophilic.
I noticed that within a few days of using, it was becoming soft. It wasn't sitting in water, and it's pretty dry in the house (Ontario in winter), but the overall consistency was softer than other soaps in the same environment. So by the time I got it in the shower, it was already quite soft. But it lathered nicely and felt clean. I can't say that it made my hands feel drier than other soaps, and I use lotion after a shower anyway, so it's hard to say whether it's more drying than I would expect.
I used a piece in a bath, used half the bar. See my last post.... dissolves FAST lol Well, faster than I've ever dons and I assume @LidiaG didn't leave it to dissolve over night because she expected it to complete in an hour.
I feel like these comments are very generic, so feel free to ask specific questions @squidstings and I'll either answer based on memory or take the soap in the shower again (it's currently chilling at a second sink to get different testers to use it :p)
One more piece out there so I haven't thought about specific questions yet lol

Thank you and your family SO MUCH for their time and feedback. I think the only thing I wanted to suggest was to pretend I'm trying to sell you the recipe. Would you use/sell it?

I'm back and forth on changing it. As much as there's other characteristics I'd like to see, I also keep thinking of uses for what it already is. I might ask more in the future. Thank you
 
Hello! I have been storing my piece of soap for a week now, as it felt soft when I got it and I thought it could use a bit more curing. The humidity in my house has been pretty low - 19% a week ago and got up to 30% today with warmer weather. Today the bar was a lot harder than when I unwrapped it (last week I could make a dent with my fingertip) so I thought I’d give it a go.
I got a nice amount of big bubbles right away, but the bar immediately got really tacky, which is a feeling I’m not used to with soap. My hands kind of dragged over the bar. Scent that I noticed last week had dissipated.
I’ll put it away for another week and see if/how it changes as it continues to cure!
IMG_4382.jpeg
IMG_4384.jpeg
 
Hello! I have been storing my piece of soap for a week now, as it felt soft when I got it and I thought it could use a bit more curing. The humidity in my house has been pretty low - 19% a week ago and got up to 30% today with warmer weather. Today the bar was a lot harder than when I unwrapped it (last week I could make a dent with my fingertip) so I thought I’d give it a go.
How did you wrap it?
Pretty sure it's hydrophilic to a degree. Time is still doing my experiment in a tupper-ware container for me. More to follow.
I got a nice amount of big bubbles right away, but the bar immediately got really tacky, which is a feeling I’m not used to with soap. My hands kind of dragged over the bar.

Almost like it would stick to your hand if you turned it over. Part of whatever makes it so fast dissolving I think. I hope someone on the forum has a clue how I achieved that.
The lather gets very creamy the more you work it.

Scent that I noticed last week had dissipated.
I’ll put it away for another week and see if/how it changes as it continues to cure!
Amazing!! Thank you for your time and attention

I gave samples to volunteers with my last batch and didn't get ANY of the promised feedback so I sent out less than would be my nature. I wish I'd done that the other way around. This feedback is great! Thank you for testing my soap :)
 
Last edited:

Latest posts

Back
Top