What soapy thing have you done today?

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As a former EO blender, I recognize that bit of cedarwood in there to give that blend depth. :thumbs: :thumbs: If you don't mind my asking, do you prefer Atlas or Virginia?
Yes, bass notes are important, doncha know! I use Virginia. Quite frankly, I haven't smelled Atlas, it's out of my budget, at least on the Bramble Berry site.
 
Had a great farmers market today. It was my first one since Christmas. It rained a little, but it wasn’t too bad. I had bought an assortment of small colored gift bags, and people were really happy I had them! A lot of my products are super colorful and I really love watching kids faces light up when they come over! Sold a LOT of bath bombs too! It sure is a lot of work!!! But if I want to keep making, I have to keep the goods moving.
 
I’m going to the market to purchase some Pine Tar to make Lard/Pine Tar soap for my Mama. She has Psoriasis and I am hoping it will help. I’m not scenting it, and adding Pine Tar at 12%. For those of you that are experts in Pine Tar soap, does this sound like a good amount to add?
12 should be good. I use 20% in mine but it can get tricky. My best advice; Don't stick blend, hand blend. And if it feels like it's starting to stiffen up, even a little, it's time to pour if you don't want to glop it in the mold. It doesn't need a lot, just enough to get everything mixed. I don't even look for trace. It sounds crazy but it's a fine line between not mixed enough and soap on a stick. It usually only takes a few minutes at most after adding lye. @Zing said he cooled the lye overnight and got 14 minutes of stir time. I think I'll try that next time. I'm lucky to get 2 or 3 minutes.

I have had two batches separate a little (oozing liquid) out of about 20 batches total. But if you can swing it, the stuff is awesome. It's the only soap my family wants to use now. I do add essential oils though. But my kids like it for acne. And I think it makes my skin super soft and keeps my skin from feeling dry and itchy. Especially in the winter months.
 
Jumping on the oatmilk soap train by preparing my own for soaping either tonight or tomorrow. I'm also freezing some distilled water into cubes. Could using frozen distilled water eliminate the use of an ice bath?
 
Jumping on the oatmilk soap train by preparing my own for soaping either tonight or tomorrow. I'm also freezing some distilled water into cubes. Could using frozen distilled water eliminate the use of an ice bath?
I always have part of water content as frozen and rarely need an ice bath.
 
I didnt ice anything. I just used 1/2 distilled water to the lye solution, and 1/2 oatmilk to the batter. I made my own, so it was distilled water and oats.
 
This morning I did my 10th batch of the most recent effort. 18 bars. This makes a total of 138 bars. The molds were a bit full. I'm going to change the recipe to 35 oz of oil. 4 quarts of LARD to go. I added 1 oz of Bourbon and Brown sugar FO.
 
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Sorry guys, not having much fun in this thread anymore. I think we all like pictures...
IMG_9366.JPG
 
Sorry guys, not having much fun in this thread anymore. I think we all like pictures...
Simple remedy: Post pics in the Photo Gallery, where they belong, as Relle mentioned, and where ALL members can see them, and are easy to access for future reference. THEN post a link here. :nodding:
That way nobody misses out... like me, for one. ;)

I don't mean to rain on everyone's parade here, but If t'were up to me, I would close this thread so everyone would have to use the Forum for it's intended purpose -- i.e. -- posting questions (or whatever) in the appropriate section where all members can see it and can contribute if they so desire.

As it is, pictures are posted, questions are asked and answered, all to a limited audience. That info gets buried as soon as the next subject takes over the discussion. :rolleyes:

Once we get back to properly using the Forum format, then i would open the What Soapy Thing... again for its intended purpose -- simply stating what soapy thing you've been up to. It's easy enough to post a link to whatever you want to share -- a recipe, a colorant, a fragrance, a tip, a video, etc, if needed.

But that's just me. I'm at that age where I like to put things where I can find them again when I need them. 😁
 

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