It is lovely, there are lots of varients (eg Egyptian Oud; Persian Oud; Leather & Oud; Gucci Oud & many more) & for me they sell well especially to my male customers.
What soapy thing have you done today?
- Thread starter FlybyStardancer
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Well, I didn't manage to do this the other day, but I made my 4 tester batches tonight. I forgot that I wanted to use my OO recipe instead of my RBO recipe, so it was getting pretty thick and hard to stir by the time I got to the 3rd and 4th little loaf. Note to self, soap even cooler next time I try that! I'm glad I decided to do single color soaps this time.
I'm happy to report that it didn't seem like any of my FOs accelerated the batter any more than it was accelerating on its own. Seventh Heaven even seemed to decelerate the batter a little.
I used Mad about Mint, Nirvana, Seventh Heaven, and Sea Myrtle FOs from Nurture.
I started soaping for the first time in around a year in November. I told myself my goal was to make 100 bars before I lose motivation and switch to one of my other hobbies, as I tend to do frequently. I just totaled all of my batches since mid-November, and I'm happy to say that I've made 200 bars! I don't know how long the soaping bug will stay this time, but I'm content that I won't run out of handmade soap for a good while. (My husband gets sad if he runs out and has to use store bought soap. What have I done?!)
Seventh Heaven is hands down my favorite fragrance on the planet. Sadly, it doesn't stick in cold process soap. Also, the maximum usage rate has changed significantly to I think ~ 2.5%.
I had read that it wouldn't stick, that's sad that it doesn't. Also, I have a bottle from before the IFRA change. It said to use 4-6%, and I did. Oops!
I love NS Nirvana!
Made a half and half batch yesterday - both discoloring FOs but they are what my 2 friends wanted a few bars of. I did the FOs only in the bottom sections. Left is FB Dragons Blood with the red and purple on top; Right is BB Sandalwood Vanilla with what was blue and green on top even tho it now just looks like all blues.
Yesterday I made some flower embeds with a new set of flower disks for the extruded and soap dough. Today I made a batch with BB Peach Prosecco to put them in. Looks like I’m following the peach theme you started, @Misschief
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I have never put a soap on the heating pad until this one, so we will see what happens. I’m normally cooling soap down perched on cans with a fan on it but this batch didn’t heat up at all like my GMS normally do, so I figured I should give it some help. I guess I better look up how long to leave it on the heating pad now that I’ve started down this path…..
Yesterday I made some flower embeds with a new set of flower disks for the extruded and soap dough. Today I made a batch with BB Peach Prosecco to put them in. Looks like I’m following the peach theme you started, @Misschief
. I have never put a soap on the heating pad until this one, so we will see what happens. I’m normally cooling soap down perched on cans with a fan on it but this batch didn’t heat up at all like my GMS normally do, so I figured I should give it some help. I guess I better look up how long to leave it on the heating pad now that I’ve started down this path…..
Mine says 4-6% too, but it has the older NS logo. I haven't ordered more since the logo change, so I'm not sure if the newer NH labels will reflect the new usage rate.
Mine has the older label too. I'm glad I made such a tiny batch. I'll have to keep it for personal use only.
I made my first batch of soap just over a year ago, too. I didn't have any specific goals, but I made about 35 batches. Most of them were 4- bar loaves, the most recent were more like 10-15 bars per batch. So I guess our experience level is similar, though you have me beat in the skill department! You're soaps are so beautiful!
Oh, I misread your post. I'm still a baby soaper compared to you. 200 bars since November?! Wow, you're on a roll!
Oh, thank you! I started soaping almost 3 years ago, and made a lot of tiny batches. But then I got into another hobby and it took me a couple years to get back into soaping. I love your soaps though, especially your woodgrain! I think you are quite skilled.
Thank you, I'm blushing. I haven't been able to replicate my ONE successful woodgrain soap in three attempts. I'm going to keep trying though, until I get it down pat.Oh, thank you! I started soaping almost 3 years ago, and made a lot of tiny batches. But then I got into another hobby and it took me a couple years to get back into soaping. I love your soaps though, especially your woodgrain! I think you are quite skilled.
Whaddaya mean 'what have I done?'??!! Brought a little bit of heaven into your home and fambly?! Yeah, 2024 was a super low productive year for me too up til like October when the Christmas clock started tickin'. Do what you can do and be proud of that.
Hope Elisabeth 68
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Here is a chemical supply company I bookmarked a few months ago as the lye seems to be pure, and reasonable. But I honestly haven't looked extremely carefully yet.
https://level7chemical.com/cart.php
I unmolded and cut the soaps today. The Mad About Mint is kinda strong and now my whole kitchen smells like toothpaste.
I'm wondering why you believe it is important to use food grade lye, since the lye will not be used for food products. I doubt that any of the large soapmakers use food-grade lye. As long as the product label indicates something in the range of 96-99% purity, and no other ingredients, it is fine for making soap.
Not @Humblegoat , but for me, it's simply because I'm trying to reduce the chances to zero of anything ever going wrong. I know it's impossible, so I look for opportunities for minimization. I've learned that "food grade" things get extra special attention/treatment. I like that. Overkill, yes. But, that's me
I understand the thought behind that, but if you research the differences between food grade lye, and the different grades of lye sold by chemical supply houses, you may decide that the difference in cost is not worth it. I've never purchased food grade lye, and never had anything go wrong with my soap that wasn't traceable to my own error, or a naughty fragrance. But, that's me.Not @Humblegoat , but for me, it's simply because I'm trying to reduce the chances to zero of anything ever going wrong. I know it's impossible, so I look for opportunities for minimization. I've learned that "food grade" things get extra special attention/treatment. I like that. Overkill, yes. But, that's me
I understand that, but I’m not a large soap maker. I don’t want to deal with heavy metals or impurities that could be issue with less than 99-100%. A personal preference.
@justsomeguy and what you said too. I also find less dust and fumes with food grade. Maybe a hallucinationNot @Humblegoat , but for me, it's simply because I'm trying to reduce the chances to zero of anything ever going wrong. I know it's impossible, so I look for opportunities for minimization. I've learned that "food grade" things get extra special attention/treatment. I like that. Overkill, yes. But, that's me
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