What soapy thing have you done today?

[AliOop]

I finished my day by clearing a few shelves of old National Geographics (moved into storage!) and I now have my first three months worth of soap, except for what I've given away, in one dry and airy place.

I hate to say it again, but please put down some baking paper, silicone/teflon sheets, etc., in between the soap and the shelving. Wood often has finishes that can be absorbed into your soap. Best case, color changes. Worst case, DOS. The high alkalinity can also damage the finish on the shelving, and the SF, FO, EO, etc. can leave oil spots. Ask me how I know.

for the sharp-eyed among you... my wife used to work in doctors' offices and brought home a lot of promo gifts from drug companies over the years...

wouldn't have seen that unless you said something. Of course, once you DID say something, I had to zoom in to find what might have been the basis of that comment.

 

[SSC Oregon]

My huge FO order came today!
And I shipped my first order through the mail.
Now, I'm going to start soaping.

 

[Zing]

I finished my day by clearing a few shelves of old National Geographics (moved into storage!) and I now have my first three months worth of soap, except for what I've given away, in one dry and airy place.

-=-

for the sharp-eyed among you... my wife used to work in doctors' offices and brought home a lot of promo gifts from drug companies over the years...

"Promo gifts" -- got it. Some fortunate folks don't need any extra help....
Also, my soap shop is reserved for, um, making soap. But, whatever floats your boat, I guess, thanks for (over)sharing.

 

[VikingChick]

@dibbles Youre right, it seems kinda lame now that you say it, to enter one soap in two different challenges. And thank you, @Mobjack Bay, for pointing out what I should’ve just looked up myself.

 

[Jorah]

Wow, @Jorah that's a LOT of soap!

When I came upstairs I found a box with another dozen bars....

I hate to say it again, but please put down some baking paper, silicone/teflon sheets, etc., in between the soap and the shelving. Wood often has finishes that can be absorbed into your soap. Best case, color changes. Worst case, DOS. The high alkalinity can also damage the finish on the shelving, and the SF, FO, EO, etc. can leave oil spots. Ask me how I know.


wouldn't have seen that unless you said something. Of course, once you DID say something, I had to zoom in to find what might have been the basis of that comment.

Oi, I figured the bare pine would be okay. (sigh) I'll put some baking paper under it all tomorrow.

 

[Whillow]

I made soap dough on Sunday and last night made some roses. I will be making more but I had enough and went to bed instead lol.

I’m hoping to design a soap that these can sit on top as embeds. Just have to decide the rest of it.

 

[Servant4Christ]

I've figured out that as wonderful as Nurture's Seventh Heaven smells, I am very very allergic. My hands turn red, splotchy and start burning like fire within seconds and if I don't hurry to wash with an unscented soap and slather on lotion, raised bumps appear and the burning sensation persists. Soap with it, don't wash with it. That's the game plan.

 

[paradisi]

I've figured out that as wonderful as Nurture's Seventh Heaven smells, I am very very allergic. My hands turn red, splotchy and start burning like fire within seconds and if I don't hurry to wash with an unscented soap and slather on lotion, raised bumps appear and the burning sensation persists. Soap with it, don't wash with it. That's the game plan.

It might be wiser to not even soap with it, as you'd still be breathing in the vapor, and likely sometimes handling the dry bars without gloves. Your body would still be having contact with it. So there would be a good chance of your reaction continuing to worsen.

With all the fragrance possibilities out there, why risk your health?

And also, if it affects you that strongly, chances are that some customers or people you give it to will have the same reaction.

Lastly, please inform the seller of the reaction, and note it in a review, for the safety of others.

 

[Tammyfarms]

I've figured out that as wonderful as Nurture's Seventh Heaven smells, I am very very allergic. My hands turn red, splotchy and start burning like fire within seconds and if I don't hurry to wash with an unscented soap and slather on lotion, raised bumps appear and the burning sensation persists. Soap with it, don't wash with it. That's the game plan.

I also have allergies and am super sensitive to fragrance especially. Several winters ago I made a soap with a fragrance called Apple Jack and Peel, I think it was a Brambleberry product, and I loved it. I developed a cough that winter that lasted 4 months. After many doctor visits and trying to rule out anything it could be I changed my soap to unscented. Sadly, that soap was the cause of my cough. Don’t underestimate the damage that fragrance can do to our bodies. It’s not just the physical stuff we can see. I’m cautiously trying to find fragrances I can tolerate. Open to suggestions anyone may have.

 

[Blufuz]

I also have allergies and am super sensitive to fragrance especially. Several winters ago I made a soap with a fragrance called Apple Jack and Peel, I think it was a Brambleberry product, and I loved it. I developed a cough that winter that lasted 4 months. After many doctor visits and trying to rule out anything it could be I changed my soap to unscented. Sadly, that soap was the cause of my cough. Don’t underestimate the damage that fragrance can do to our bodies. It’s not just the physical stuff we can see. I’m cautiously trying to find fragrances I can tolerate. Open to suggestions anyone may have.

Do essential oils have the same effect?

 

[Tammyfarms]

Do essential oils have the same effect?

Unfortunately they do. I can somewhat tolerate orange and lemon but haven’t had much luck getting them to stick in cp soap.

 

[AliOop]

Unfortunately they do. I can somewhat tolerate orange and lemon but haven’t had much luck getting them to stick in cp soap.

I feel for you as I have a lot of those same issues. Citrus scents are the best tolerated for me, along with bakery scents. The worst are florals, fruits, and heavy musks. FOs generally tend to be worse than EOs for me, but many EOs also trigger allergic-type reactions, especially with skin contact (even diluted).

Symptoms range from coughing to headaches, migraines, flushed and burning skin, nausea (which progresses to vomiting if I don't remove myself quickly enough), and scariest of all, a super-accelerated heartbeat with skyrocketing blood pressure.

Some of it for me is the type of scent, but the strength of the scent is also a factor. Some FOs I will use to make soap for friends, but they have to take it home to cure because I just can't bear it.

 

[VikingChick]

I can somewhat tolerate orange and lemon but haven’t had much luck getting them to stick in cp soap.

Do you use folded citrus? I use a 5x orange EO for my husband’s soap and I also soak it in kaolin clay for an hour or so prior to soaping. It sticks really well!

 

[KiwiMoose]

“Conference” @AliOop and yes, those are very exaggerated ‘air’ quotes

What happens on conference, stays on conference.

 

[Servant4Christ]

Thanks all. I'm leaning towards trying some EOs, too. Mostly because, though I know skin reactions can also happen with essential oils, it would be easier to pinpoint what my reaction is actually to and avoid using it in other soaps. When I looked at the description of Seventh Heaven, the fragrance is described as lime, bergamot, frankincense, and litsea. However, upon contacting the company and looking at the allergy document, cinnamal (not sure if I spelled that correctly) is in there which I never would've guessed. I am having similar reactions with some other FOs, too, but that one is the worst offender I've encountered so far.

 

[Tammyfarms]

I feel for you as I have a lot of those same issues. Citrus scents are the best tolerated for me, along with bakery scents. The worst are florals, fruits, and heavy musks. FOs generally tend to be worse than EOs for me, but many EOs also trigger allergic-type reactions, especially with skin contact (even diluted).

Symptoms range from coughing to headaches, migraines, flushed and burning skin, nausea (which progresses to vomiting if I don't remove myself quickly enough), and scariest of all, a super-accelerated heartbeat with skyrocketing blood pressure.

Some of it for me is the type of scent, but the strength of the scent is also a factor. Some FOs I will use to make soap for friends, but they have to take it home to cure because I just can't bear it.

@AliOop, Your reactions sound awful. I generally get tinnitus as an early warning system. It’s taken me years to figure out that’s one of my warning signs. Your triggers sound similar to mine. Are there any specific citrus or bakery fragrance oils you do better with? I want to start experimenting to see if there are any I can use sparingly. I drove two hours to the nearest soap shop a month ago and found a few I am going to try when I am feeling brave. Thankfully, I have a climate controlled room in our shop where I can let soap cure so if I have a reaction I won’t be exposed regularly.

 

[AliOop]

@Servant4Christ that is so weird... cinnamal is normally a huge trigger for me, but I don't react to Seventh Heaven at all. So tough to figure this stuff out, isn't it?

@Tammyfarms That's so interesting about the tinnitus; thank you for sharing as I do get that off and on. I've never noticed what might trigger it, so I'll be watching now for the possibility of it coming from a scent reaction. I'm usually good with vanilla, OMH, coffee, chocolate, and "sugar" smells that don't include fruity notes. I can't do anything with cinnamon, clove, or nutmeg though.

 

[Tammyfarms]

Do you use folded citrus? I use a 5x orange EO for my husband’s soap and I also soak it in kaolin clay for an hour or so prior to soaping. It sticks really well!

Thanks! What percentage kaolin clay to EO do you use?

 

[Tammyfarms]

@Tammyfarms That's so interesting about the tinnitus; thank you for sharing as I do get that off and on. I've never noticed what might trigger it, so I'll be watching now for the possibility of it coming from a scent reaction. I'm usually good with vanilla, OMH, coffee, chocolate, and "sugar" smells that don't include fruity notes. I can't do anything with cinnamon, clove, or nutmeg though.

Thanks! I make an OMH soap for a friend and have to ship it off right away as I can’t even have it in the climate controlled room in our shop. Vanilla is another no but I may try coffee and chocolate again.

 

[Savage Daughter]

Made a larger batch of soap yesterday to replenish one of my sold-out scents, which is still nowhere near cooled down, then spent all afternoon afterwards 'masterbatching' my oils & butters for various sized batches of soap, and did the same with my soap essential oil blends for each soap I am currently making.

Went through the same process with my natural colorants today as well, and have everything ready to go to make another 16 pound batch of another scent blend. Then will make a smaller 2kg batch for cavity molds afterwards.

Calculated how many oz / grams each one of my cavity molds holds (per cavity & per tray) so I can tell customers how many of each type / design they would receive from a smaller 2kg batch, or 4kg batch. No way in hell I am going to pour 16 pounds of soap batter into cavity molds at one time Just no....absolutely I never thought I would end up with so many cavity molds, but hey, customers like them & I technically end up making more per gram of soap when I use those, IF I don't factor in the extra labour.

Organized / emptied yet another large shelf in my soaping supplies / curing room for the upcoming un-moldings & cuttings. I am currently looking for an inexpensive rental workshop which I can use to unmold, cut, cure & bevel my soaps in. I have put the word out in my community that I am searching, so it will come, but would very much like for it to come sooner rather than later Have had some offers but they are not suitable, unfortunately. Too hot, too cold, or potential for rodents. It would be nice to be able to have 3-400 pounds of soap curing over the winter so I can take a little bit of a break, but still have everything ready to go next year.

Praying to the soaping gods