cmille3

Vegethix (hydrogenated soybean powder) is wonderful!! Heat your oil, add the powder, and let the powder dissolve in the oil. Once it cools down, you'll have a lump of any oil butter.

OK, it's morning...How'd it work?

Yummy! Those look really good.

Sorry I missed it. I think it was only a couple hours away.

I tried to PM you but couldn't. I've had an issue with Bill in the past. When he's on, he's great. The best time to call is after 7 PM.

What a great tutorial! You can try placing a piece of waxed paper on the top and then smoothing it out. Let the waked paper stay on the top until you're ready to cut. I use a freezer bag box to smoothe it.

Sounds like the oils were too hot. It started to saponify and freaked out.

First off, mint tea is fabulous. Take a couple of good sized sprigs, stuff them into a jar and pour boiling water over them. Strain before drinking (or not). DH makes a dry rub that includes mint. He ties sprigs together and hangs them and then just crushes them by hand.

I bugged my husband for 2 years to make me a wooden log mold. This weekend, I got a double log and DH said "THAT'S what you've been bugging me for!?" Now he's going nuts. He's working on dividers for a log mold similar to the ones used in a slab...

Some HP tutorials are misleading. When I started, I did 2 pound batches. I learned it took 2 distinct 30 minute cooks to get it to where I needed it to be. If possible, sit down and watch your batch. That's how I learned. (Heck, I still like watching the soap fold over on itsself. Sometimes, I take pictures - DH thinks I'm nuts.) And DO NOT be tempted to uncover it!!! That was one of my problems. I would get antsy and want to stir it.

I use tea tree all the time. Treat it like any other FO/EO. For the witch hazel, I'd treat it like water.

I'm chiming in late but here's what I absolutely must have when I soap: 1 huge Pyrex measuring cup. I love this thing. 1 small Pyrex (used exculsively for measuring dry lye). I had an incident with static in my lye that left me shaking. I have not had that problem since switching to glass to measure my lye. My pitcher is plastic. 1 empty coconut oil container. I use it to stand my stick blender in and I use the lid to place my rubber scraper on.Everything else is standard stuff - Goggles, gloves, stick blender, rubber scraper.

I use a combo of shea butter and cocoa butter as a deep conditioning treatment. I love it. I can't use it as a leave-in because my hair is fine.

My husband swears by jewelweed.

M&P can be a very creative medium. Take your time with it and have fun.