Welcome to the SMF Family!! Please read this first :)

[lngrid]

I really want to make an olive oil castile (haha...I sound like I know more about this than I do)

but the oil is so much more expensive than shortening. I can understand why now.

But I went out and bought a stick blender today. I bought a tiny crock pot because I have a tiny kitchen. I just put my second batch in the molds and it was just like the tutorial! I'm so glad I did everything wrong in the first batch because I appreciate the tutorials so much better now. And I'm much more happy with this batch because I have the Baroque Beyond Repair Batch to compare it to.

The Castelbel soap I really love has palm oil, palm kernel oil, salt and glycerin in it. I want to figure out that recipe and copy it. It gives me skin TO DIE FOR. I don't have to exfoliate or use lotion. If it didn't smell so girly I bet it would be wonderful for a man to shave with.

What part of Italy did your family come from? Rosaria says "mozzarell" just like you do, dropping the final "a." I thought it was a regional dialect. I've been helping her and her husband track down their ancestors in Italy so they can claim dual citizenship. I learned that Cosenza has had a very heavy Greek influence for millennia. It strongly flavors the dialect they speak.

Me? My name's Norwegian, but my mom was born in France and my paternal grandmother's francophone Canadian. So three-quarters of my heritage is total foodie culture and one quarter comes from a country whose national dish translates to "lye fish." It's as bad as it sounds. It's the reason Aquavit is the national drink.

 

[IanT]

I really want to make an olive oil castile (haha...I sound like I know more about this than I do)

but the oil is so much more expensive than shortening. I can understand why now.

But I went out and bought a stick blender today. I bought a tiny crock pot because I have a tiny kitchen. I just put my second batch in the molds and it was just like the tutorial! I'm so glad I did everything wrong in the first batch because I appreciate the tutorials so much better now. And I'm much more happy with this batch because I have the Baroque Beyond Repair Batch to compare it to.

The Castelbel soap I really love has palm oil, palm kernel oil, salt and glycerin in it. I want to figure out that recipe and copy it. It gives me skin TO DIE FOR. I don't have to exfoliate or use lotion. If it didn't smell so girly I bet it would be wonderful for a man to shave with.

What part of Italy did your family come from? Rosaria says "mozzarell" just like you do, dropping the final "a." I thought it was a regional dialect. I've been helping her and her husband track down their ancestors in Italy so they can claim dual citizenship. I learned that Cosenza has had a very heavy Greek influence for millennia. It strongly flavors the dialect they speak.

Me? My name's Norwegian, but my mom was born in France and my paternal grandmother's francophone Canadian. So three-quarters of my heritage is total foodie culture and one quarter comes from a country whose national dish translates to "lye fish." It's as bad as it sounds. It's the reason Aquavit is the national drink.

LOL well that is awesome! Im glad you are happy with the new batch!

that is so awesome! Seee I told ya! you learn alot from the flubs . Yeah I think I try to dupe soaps I like a lot as well, I wind up doing that with food too, if I like a dish, or a soap, Ill try to recreate it... I love that aspect of the craft, its pretty fun!

My family comes out Da' Bruzzo, Italy (also know as Da'Bruzzi, it apparently was one province at one point but was then split into two parts)

From what I have learned from research, its a very small farm type province, peaceful and serene... I would LOVE to visit there one day.....
Maybe meet some of my living relatives over there if I can track them down, its really hard though...

(sooo sleepy ...3AM aaaaah!) lol

 

[lovestocreate]

Hi Everyone! Im so excited to come across this site. I want to learn as much about soap making as I can. I am a newbie to it! I want to try Cold Process sometime but I will try the French Milled first!! Im soooo excited!!!!

 

[IanT]

welcome to the site!!! glad to have you here!!!

Cant wait to see all of your creations and chat with ya!

 

[amethyst]

Hi,

I am very new to soap making.. I am supposed to get my first soap making kit either today or tomorrow. I can't wait for it !
I want to know if there is anyone out there from the Sydney area and where can we get soap supplies locally. I ordered mine online from Perth. Any leads would be appreciated.

 

[IanT]

Welcome!! this link was recommended to me, though I have never ordered from them....

www.aussiesoapsupplies.com.au

 

[amethyst]

thank you. I ordered from this website..I think it is based in Perth. I was looking for soap making suppliers in the sydney area. But, thank you anyway. I feel so welcome here..I hope to learn from all the experienced soap makers here!

 

[IanT]

thank you. I ordered from this website..I think it is based in Perth. I was looking for soap making suppliers in the sydney area. But, thank you anyway. I feel so welcome here..I hope to learn from all the experienced soap makers here!

No worries!! (oops I thought Perth was a supplier ) lol


I know nothing about Australia except theyve got good beer. Wild dingos, Aboriginies (I can play (and own) the didgeridoo!! lol), and AWESOME waves but lots of big sharks...

 

[amethyst]

haha that is funny. But don't worry, I'm new to Australia ..so still finding my way around. I actually moved here after almost living 10 years in the midwest...Hello Wisconsin !!! My second home !

Anyway, I got my kit yesterday and I can't wait to dig in and make my first soap...will keep everyone posted.

 

[JR]

Hello everyone,

I'm not new to soap making. I have been doing it for a couple of years. However, I feel that I am far from being an expert. My wife and I are going to start selling our soaps this year. I hope to get to know everyone here...chao

 

[babyanne168]

hi my name is anne. from the Philippines. I'm actually new to soap making, but i'm looking forward to have it as a business venture. but i'm more into laundry soaps..
Everyones been so nice here. big thanks to all..

anne

 

[naturesphilosophy]

Also, let me explain more who I am and why I decided to make soaps, to clarify further.

I'm a SAHM of a 14 month old boy with sensitive skin. When he was born, I started making my own baby wipe solutions and experimenting with several different "natural" soaps. HE had very bad cradle cap and it has still not completely gone away. I have always wanted to make my own soaps, but this is my driving force behind actually doing it. That, and I finally have the support form my SO, as I mentioned in my first post on here.

I'm also pregnant with my second now and figure if both of my children are going to possibly have such sensitive skin, this is the best thing I can do for them.

 

[naturesphilosophy]

Ok, after the second reply being called a troll, I'm sorry if I've offended anyone else by mentioning Etsy. I wouldn't ever expect other soap makers to become customers of mine. That just seems ridiculous because we're all here making soap, not looking for a place to buy it, so I just didn't see it as trolling, but I can tell when I'm not welcome.

Again, I apologize. It really bothers me that I have offended someone.

Good luck to all of you in your soap making.

 

[Deda]

Making soap to help your children is a noble effort. We wholeheartedly support that. The members here will help you with everything you ever wanted to know about soapmaking.

Learning to make soap with the intention of *someday* making it a business is an exciting idea. This is a great place to share ideas, rejoice in your successes and cry of your mistakes.

Announcing your intention to sell your first batch of CP soap is dangerous and reckless. Under no circumstances do we support that.

 

[naturesphilosophy]

Making soap to help your children is a noble effort. We wholeheartedly support that. The members here will help you with everything you ever wanted to know about soapmaking.

Learning to make soap with the intention of *someday* making it a business is an exciting idea. This is a great place to share ideas, rejoice in your successes and cry of your mistakes.

Announcing your intention to sell your first batch of CP soap is dangerous and reckless. Under no circumstances do we support that.

I really do apologize. I obviously got ahead of myself. I wasn't implying that the batch would just go from being made to being sold to anyone without our family using it. The intention that I had, really was that friends of mine who wanted it from across the country (because I am a member of an online community) would order through there. I guess I shouldn't have even mentioned it, but I was excited because I've been working on everything in preparation for a while now.

I do understand that many things can go wrong with making your own soap, especially when you first get started and I didn't mean to imply that I would sell a potentially unsafe product to anyone just for the sake of selling it. I will no longer mention anything "business" related unless it is a question for advice when the time comes.

Thank you for bringing it to my attention.

 

[uniquewolf]

Hello from N. Tx

I began making CP soap earlier this year. I just made my fourth batch today and ran into my first problem. My lye/water solution cooled off too quickly before my oils were ready. I ended up setting my bowl in hot water to bring the temp back up. Was this a good idea? Are there any other solutions? Should I throw it out this batch of soap? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Annette "uniquewolf"

 

[Faru]

Hello from UK

Hi everyone,

My name is Faru and I live in UK. I am so glad that I Have found this site. I love CP soapmaking and have been making CP soaps for a couple of months.

I'm looking forward to learning from all of you and meeting people here on this site.

 

[mrstlcolbert]

• Hi I'm Temeka!
  
  I'm new to the forum and am interested in making soap, i have never done it before and can't wait to learn how. any suggestions or any thing you think i might need to know before i start out would be greatly apreciated. thanks for having me

 

[Best Natural Soap]

I never saw this introduction place before!!!
So, as long as I'm here, and I'm still a "Newcomer" I'll introduce myself!!

My name's Erin, I live in Maryland (but grew up in Michigan), and am an absolutely crazed soaping addict. I joined the forum about a month ago, and LOVE all the advice and wisdom and kindness that everyone here gives!

I'm an at-home mom for now- but have a forensic science degree. Someday, I may go back to work, but for now, I'm busy with 3 kids, 2 cats (one that's psycho), and a home business. Sounds like work, afterall...

Our family enjoys "adventuring"- that's getting in the car and driving somewhere we've never been, or re-exploring somewhere we have been. We live about an hour from DC, so that's always a great place to discover something new. We like to camp, and go to festivals, and all sorts of "fun" family things. Our latest adventure was to Yellowstone, Rushmore, Craters of the Moon, Badlands and Devil's Tower. We got back last week- SO MUCH FUN! But I really missed making soap!!!!

My latest endeavor is my website- everyone was always asking if I had one, so now (thanks to a joint effort with my computer genious brother) we have one! WHAT A LOT OF WORK! And, it's still not done. I need to work on the appearance, now that the functionality is there...
www.barsoapnatural.com

Anyway-- welcome to all other newcomers!!! I hope you enjoy this forum as much as I do!

 

[PrairieCraft]

I never saw this introduction place before!!!
So, as long as I'm here, and I'm still a "Newcomer" I'll introduce myself!!

My name's Erin, I live in Maryland (but grew up in Michigan), and am an absolutely crazed soaping addict. I joined the forum about a month ago, and LOVE all the advice and wisdom and kindness that everyone here gives!

I'm an at-home mom for now- but have a forensic science degree. Someday, I may go back to work, but for now, I'm busy with 3 kids, 2 cats (one that's psycho), and a home business. Sounds like work, afterall...

Our family enjoys "adventuring"- that's getting in the car and driving somewhere we've never been, or re-exploring somewhere we have been. We live about an hour from DC, so that's always a great place to discover something new. We like to camp, and go to festivals, and all sorts of "fun" family things. Our latest adventure was to Yellowstone, Rushmore, Craters of the Moon, Badlands and Devil's Tower. We got back last week- SO MUCH FUN! But I really missed making soap!!!!

My latest endeavor is my website- everyone was always asking if I had one, so now (thanks to a joint effort with my computer genious brother) we have one! WHAT A LOT OF WORK! And, it's still not done. I need to work on the appearance, now that the functionality is there...
www.barsoapnatural.com

Anyway-- welcome to all other newcomers!!! I hope you enjoy this forum as much as I do!

I think your website and soaps look great. Wonderful pictures very clear and easy to see, not cluttered but also not sparse. For me it's all about the pictures of the product and yours are so easy to see even before you click on it and get an even better close up, if only we could smell them