When soap goes bad....life isn't the same

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Here is a pictures of the the mess and the triumph.:bunny: HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL.

Test soap.jpg
 
I am so sorry to hear that your loyal friends time was up. It's hard, living longer than the creatures we come to love.

Happy to hear that soaping is good for you again!

I need to learn to get a new language, I keep referring to my little pet that is left, "My dogs", or "I'll be back doggies". 11 year language is hard to change. They didn't suffer to much before I let them go.
 
penelopejane, I thought it was DOS, at first, then when the entire bar was a yucky brownish yellow, I knew at that point I had something very bad. Yes I noticed it first with the Lavender EO.

cmzaha, what is a COA? I plan on sticking with the chem house that I have now and will ask for the MSDS too. I never used lard before, I have heard its a nice soap though. The thing about the lye, worries me because I used that for a year or more, it was 50 pounds of lye.
If you constantly open your container of lye you can be causing it to lose strength. I purchase in 50 lbs but master a couple of gallon at a time so I do not open the bucket often. You can also split the bag of lye into smaller buckets. COA is a certificate of Authentication and will give you info on the strength. MSDS should be standard paperwork from a chem house. Your lye could have been picking up moisture when you opened up the bucket to take out your lye thus weakening it a little each time. Some chem houses do sell in 25 lb or smaller increments which might be better for you.
 
Sorry for your challenges Spice, and I really hope 2018 will be a better year for you!

I am not a fan of those natural colorants. I find them unpredictable, but it could be that I just don't know how to use them properly .... I prefer my micas!

Wishing and praying that 2018 is full of good vibes and positive outcomes for all!

I made MP for 10+ years, HP for a year and only started CP November 2016, then did not do it again until early 2017, and would not even think about selling. Had my first bazar this December, and I do sell some MP occasionally on eBay. It would not even cross my mind to sell before, it scared me!

Not sure I want to do the whole farmers market selling thing. I do have an opportunity coming up and I am pondering it. But I think is not really worth it money wise.
 
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This one soap I've been making for 2 years.. Which I sell. Thanks for ur advice
But the post Relle quoted was you saying that you sold it AS a newbie, back when you started. Her point being, what would happen if those pieces that you kept for observations went mouldy and disgusting after 3 months and you had already sold some bars?

Sorry for the hijack, spice. Sorry it was such a horrid year. Hope you get back in to the flow and are able to make soaps which meet your expectations again
 
But the post Relle quoted was you saying that you sold it AS a newbie, back when you started. Her point being, what would happen if those pieces that you kept for observations went mouldy and disgusting after 3 months and you had already sold some bars?

Sorry for the hijack, spice. Sorry it was such a horrid year. Hope you get back in to the flow and are able to make soaps which meet your expectations again

I read Tabitha's post, that was great, when and if I ever get a brick and mortar place, this is where I will go to. I wonder if soaping will ever be predictable? We mix FO/EO and hope for the best, knowing that every batch is different. We use micas vs natural colorants, neither is predictable. Our oils, we hope, have been processed to the fullest care of the vendor, but how often do we soapers, try and get away with a "little bit of this and that"?

When something isn't right, if we know our product, we know it right away. We can see it, feel it, and sometimes smell it. Most soapers know when something isn't right. I was able to tell, something was wrong within 24 hrs, the soap was still in it's mold. I could tell by the way I ran my finger across the top. My hackles were straight up.:)
 
Sorry for your challenges Spice, and I really hope 2018 will be a better year for you!

I am not a fan of those natural colorants. I find them unpredictable, but it could be that I just don't know how to use them properly .... I prefer my micas!

Wishing and praying that 2018 is full of good vibes and positive outcomes for all!

I made MP for 10+ years, HP for a year and only started CP November 2016, then did not do it again until early 2017, and would not even think about selling. Had my first bazar this December, and I do sell some MP occasionally on eBay. It would not even cross my mind to sell before, it scared me!

Not sure I want to do the whole farmers market selling thing. I do have an opportunity coming up and I am pondering it. But I think is not really worth it money wise.

Where do you buy your micas at? I was going to see about getting into using micas.
 
I buy most of my micas at justpigments.com, and they ship free if you spend 10 dollars, which is pretty cool. Just make sure your mica is good for soap, it will say so in the description.

But I know you can find the at brambleberry, natures garden, nurture, etc. Toxicon posted the other day a lavender soap which had a purple to die for, and I think it was from nurture.
 
I buy most of my micas at justpigments.com, and they ship free if you spend 10 dollars, which is pretty cool. Just make sure your mica is good for soap, it will say so in the description.

But I know you can find the at brambleberry, natures garden, nurture, etc. Toxicon posted the other day a lavender soap which had a purple to die for, and I think it was from nurture.
Yes indeedy! Nurture micas are quite lovely.
 
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