What soapy thing have you done today?

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Also made a batch of Apple Bourbon Butter soap. Used three FOs: BB’s Macintosh Apple, Nature’s Garden Pumpkin Apple Butter, and FB’s Bourbon Barrel.
FDFCB486-AF1E-4943-87E1-FA68D632B07F.jpeg
 
Out of curiosity, what kind of pko are you using? I'm finding refined, unrefined, and flakes (made with soy). I've read that pko is less stripping than coconut, so I'm thinking I should try it at some point.
I’m using the flakes but they’re 100% pko. I think I bought what I have now on Amazon. I adjust my recipes to have the desired lauric and myristic percentages regardless of the source and haven’t noticed a difference between soaps made with PKO vs. CO. CO costs me less and that’t usually the route I go.
 
Last edited:
I’m using the flakes but they’re 100% pko. I think I bought what I have now on Amazon.
I didn't realized pko flakes without soy lecithin in them was even an option! I'll definitely look into this. Thank you!

I adjust my recipes to have the desired lauric and myristic percentages regardless of the source and haven’t noticed a difference between soaps made with PKO vs. CO. CO costs me less and that’t usually the route I go.
...and your desired lauric and myristic numbers are ____?
Now I'm running off to read more on fatty acid profiles. 😁
 
Last edited:
Just home from a market - really nice small town market I did last year. I gave away my “pre-cycled” soaps - zero waste bars made from trimmings. They were a big hit, really helped to draw people to my booth. I had several people tell me that they had bought soap from me last year - I’m not a whiz at face recognition - but I had identical twin men who seem to be always together come and show me the soap they had made. They are quirky and memorable, so I was glad to see them, and it was so cute that they brought their soap just to show me. ❤️
Precycled soap example below.

View attachment 73041

Wow, that's impressive 😲 ....zoomed in on the details, the edge looks like mosaic glass chunks. The centre is so much more beautiful than any other soap I have seen of this type! No garish colours & that slight usage of the blush color at the top is gorgeous! Super classy looking, a product I would expect to find in a higher-end shop which charges $25 / soap.

This is coming from someone who normally does not go for this kind of design, so you know I am genuinely impressed! 😁

Is this your own soap, or one of the twins you spoke about? Well bloody done, either way! 👍 ❤️ Would love to know how this was pulled off!

CONGRATULATIONS! How exciting! ❤️

I appreciate that, thank you, and yes it is 😁 I am feeling a bit freaked out by things happening so quickly, but also very grateful, excited & proud as I put a great deal of effort into every step of my products, from picking wild plants, to infusing them, even growing some of them, to using them in my products, as well as my labels which I custom designed, my product line 'theme', and my marketing. My packaging also rocks, for so many reasons. I am overjoyed with each item I sell, which is important to me. I am a hard customer to please, so I know that if I like them as much as I do, they are at the very least up to my standards, and many other people's from the feedback I receive.

So yeah....TOOT TOOT !¡! 🎺 😂

Poured a large batch of lip balms today, which I had to 'fix' as I adjusted the percentages of herbal oil infusions I make & use. Not the amounts, just the types. This resulted in a much more oily lip balm 💩 (which I choose to use due to censorship 😁) which for me was :nonono: but I managed to rescue it by adding more hard butters & waxes, so it resulted in nearly exactly the same feel as my original formula, but with extra added skin-healing properties, and several more tubes-worth. This stuff would take care of the worst case of chapped lips ever, and even eczema / psoriasis breakouts. I am super proud of this product & cannot wait to have people experiencing it, because it IS an experience to use. Silky, moisturizing, substantial feeling but also lightweight, nicely glossy & heat resistant thanks to small amounts of castor wax, as well as my packaging, which I have managed to get working to my advantage.


It's a good day! Thank you universal energies which work with all of us if we are willing to allow them to do their thing :) Blessings & abundance to all ❤️ And thank you again Martha for the customizations you made to my beautiful birch molds! They are fricken fabulous! 🤘
 
I’m not a huge fan of Raspberry and Vanilla fragrance oils. They’re kinda meh. So I combined Blueberry Thyme from BB and NS’s BRV and it smells lovely. Not as
I’m not a huge fan of Raspberry and Vanilla fragrance oils. They’re kinda meh. So I combined Blueberry Thyme from BB and NS’s BRV and it smells lovely. Not as meh. View attachment 73064
lovely! Is this a hanger swirl?
 
I didn't realized pko flakes without soy lecithin in them was even an option!
The pko flakes from Soapers Choice are processed with soy lecithin, but I think the amount left in the fat is negligible. From a patent application I have bookmarked, lecithin is added to oil to reduce oxidation of the fat, with the final concentration of lecithin being 30 to 300 ppm (0.003% to .03%). Are you worried about soy allergies?
...and your desired lauric and myristic numbers are ____?
Yes, I'm pumping you for information that I'm sure will greatly benefit my soapmaking for years to come!
In all honesty, I really wish I knew where you and so many others find this amazing wealth of info on fatty acid profiles. I've learned to keep my L+L at 10ish or lower and my P+S around 30 (thank you!), but anything beyond that I am still learning. It would be nice to find all this info on one place (preferably a physical book).
The lauric and myristic percentages in my recipes vary depending on how cleansing I want the soap to be. My standard recipes are in the 13-14% range. Do you have a soap that you’re happy with in terms of the cleansing level? If so, record the percentages of lauric and myristic and aim for them in your next recipe. Reverse engineering recipes is fun once you get the hang of it. As for a book, this thread is the best I can offer.
 
I made 2.5 kg of gallseife today, my largest single batch of soap to date! I met my cousin and toddler “niece” over the weekend, and learned that my cousin uses a ton of the stuff to clean the kid’s clothes on the fly, so I thought I’d supply them with more soap 😇

I followed the traditional Swiss recipe and first it took forever for the coconut oil to reach trace, which was a first for me, then once I added the oxgall it basically started ricing for how fast it accelerated, which is par for the course with my luck. I’ll unmold it in a few hours before it gets too hard to cut.
 
Wow, that's impressive 😲 ....zoomed in on the details, the edge looks like mosaic glass chunks. The centre is so much more beautiful than any other soap I have seen of this type! No garish colours & that slight usage of the blush color at the top is gorgeous! Super classy looking, a product I would expect to find in a higher-end shop which charges $25 / soap.

This is coming from someone who normally does not go for this kind of design, so you know I am genuinely impressed! 😁

Is this your own soap, or one of the twins you spoke about? Well bloody done, either way! 👍 ❤️ Would love to know how this was pulled off!
thank you! This was my own soap - the disc in front is an end from a loaf, the mosaic-like sides are shredded trimmings, plantings, and failed soap. The twins’ soap was very modest, looked lye heavy to me, but sweet that they brought it to show me. The lake sunset soap has been selling well, I am still trying to perfect the assembly, I’m going to make another batch today I think. It is a combination of ombré pour, usage of scrapers I made, and embeds. I made the scrapers and embed extruder discs with my 3D printer. Such a blast learning to use it.
 
The pko flakes from Soapers Choice are processed with soy lecithin, but I think the amount left in the fat is negligible. From a patent application I have bookmarked, lecithin is added to oil to reduce oxidation of the fat, with the final concentration of lecithin being 30 to 300 ppm (0.003% to .03%). Are you worried about soy allergies?
I try to avoid soy, but that definitely is a negligible amount. Thanks.
The lauric and myristic percentages in my recipes vary depending on how cleansing I want the soap to be. My standard recipes are in the 13-14% range. Do you have a soap that you’re happy with in terms of the cleansing level? If so, record the percentages of lauric and myristic and aim for them in your next recipe. Reverse engineering recipes is fun once you get the hang of it. As for a book, this thread is the best I can offer.
How funny. I actually am trying to do just that for a friend right now. The ingredients list has only palm oil and pko as base oils.
 
Last edited:
That sounds like commercial batch processed, and possibly milled, soap. There’s a possibly relevant discussion about ”luxury” commercial soap here.
Yes, it's commercially made and triple milled. I'm not looking for a perfect dupe, just a great CP alternative for a friend who I don't believe has ever tried handmade soap.
 
Well, since I am running out of time for my uber marvelous entry, I am going with plan B LOL, AND I need extra points for not making soap for over a month LOL. Just kidding

Anyways, I made soap tonight for this months challenge. I hope it turns out as well as planned.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top