fabulousfunfur

I don't know where, but I've just gotta ask why. Nobody else has yet............. I thought someone would!

I used a 100% real fruit juice (strawberry, banana etc.) and yes it made the soap smell really disgusting! It was the only batch of soap I have ever thrown out! I let it sit for near 2 months and still it was a bad smell. I would really say no to doing this because of personal experience.

I absolutely agree about the crayons. I have seen people mention they use crayons to colour their soaps and it just seems so silly! Melt and pour soap and cold process soap I believe is a really different thing........Cold process soap was meant to be natural and I don't think people would like the idea of crayons in their soap. I know it's just a wax, but there are so many other options to colouring your soap! Cocoa, tumeric, paprika, beet root powder and so much more. This is only an opinion of mine. I am not stating that my opinion is right. Let us know how it all goes..............I love pictures of soaps...........

I am all done with soap making for Christmas, and was wondering if anyone had any good ideas for VALENTINE'S DAY Cold Process soap. I don't like using individual molds......because they always stick and I've just had bad luck with that......I like making loafs of soap and cutting them myself. I also would like to make smaller soaps to give out for my kids classmates at school instead of valentine's day cards. Thought that would be a cute idea. Anyways.......suggestions are appreciated.......maybe something you've done before that was a hit.......or some idea you have......... Thanks!

I'm not a complete soap professional here, but I would maybe say it's a bit too much hard oils.........Just my opinion........Might be a bit drying.......

There are alot of natural colorants you can use. Cinnamon, Cocoa, Paprika, Tumeric, beetroot powder, rose hips powder etc. I haven't used any fake colorants yet. I figure with natural soap, why add non-natural ingredients. I usually make sure my lye/water mixture and oils are 95-100 F. I try to be exact but you don't have to..........

My regular supplier of palm/coconut oil was not available and I needed some coconut oil. I bought some coconut oil in a glass jar from a local indian grocery store. It looks nothing like the coconut oil I have been getting from my supplier. This natural 100% pure coconut oil is a tan colour with brown on the bottom. It looks like honey when it has sat around for a while. The container has a notice on it that says "it is not filtered to retain all the essential nutrients. This is why the colour is grayish and not white. It is natural to have a dark ring settle on the bottom, this is the natural part of the shell. Please be confident that you are buying a quality product" Is this coconut oil going to be okay to make CP soap with?

My head always got really itchy too when I used store bought shampoos. (So I used a 2 in 1 dandruff shampoo and a conditioner) After years of trying every conditioner to find one that made my hair feel soft afterwards, I finally found a really inexpensive conditioner that works really well; but since I made shampoo bars, I want to go the same route with conditioner.

I looked at the website. Sounds like a good recipe but wow the shipping is quite expensive........I always try Ebay as well just incase, but it doesn't sell the conditioner pellets or thickener. Hmmmm.....:embarasse

I made a shampoo bar for the first time and finally it is ready and I used it this morning. It suds up wonderfully, and my hair felt sooooo clean compared to using bottled shampoo. The only problem was my hair is super long, and curly, and normally I need a good conditioner after a shampoo, and since I didn't use one...... It was a tangled mess and so hard to brush. Usually conditioner softens it up to brush easier. This was the recipe Coconut Oil 25%, Cocoa butter 6.25%, Castor Oil 6.25%, Jojoba Oil 6.25%, Soybean Oil 25%, Olive Oil 31.25% Is there a bottled conditioner that can be made that is moisturizing for my really dry/dyed hair? :embarasse

NICE IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That would definately be a space saver! Might just do it...........

I make alot of soaps with soymilk, milk, buttermilk etc. and the milks always turn yellow like that! No worries! The soap always turns out fine!

I have a big table in the basement for curing soap on, but it such a waste of space, and I've run out of room on the table. Does anyone have any inexpensive ideas on how to vertically make space for lots of soap to cure? I keep thinking........in the Ikea Cafeteria where you store your used trays....you just slide in and out your tray........something like that would be so useful!

Well I made a recipe with Soymilk finally. Oh my Goodness! It is to die for! It was a vanilla soymilk, and I added a vanilla fragrance oil at trace. It is for sure my favourite soap I've made! I was really surprised it didn't curdle, but I really made it slushy in the freezer before I added the lye. I don't know how to add a picture, as it's not on a website or anything.... Do most soaps take 3 weeks to cure? How do you know if it's ready? I haven't seen sheep's milk anywhere....Is it hard to come by?

I usually make Soap but Ii want to make some candles for Christmas. I have a quick question! I bought a 2 Lbs. container of 'superior quality container wax' I bought at Michael's Craft store. It is called 'Creme'....a creamy wax. I don't know what it is made of........ It says I can add scent and dye, but how do I know how much fragrance oil to put in. I want to make a few different scents with this 2 lb container. Is there a rule.......so many ounces of fragrance per so many ounces of wax? Please help!

Okay so I switched the palm and coconut around so I have 35.8% palm and 24% coconut. Although I also think I am going to take 5% of the palm away and add in cocoa butter in it's place. I just needed a second opinion on that. I am going to use the complete 10 oz of soymilk and no water in this recipe. Has anyone tried using pure milk and no water in a recipe? How did that work? I undertstand you make it slushy........but is it okay to completely use milk and no water?

Since you said you use milk alot in soaps, do you find that they curdle when lye is added? If so, does it all work out in the end? I made the oatmeal soap yesterdayst ....all went well but the powdered milk combined with water curdled even though the 'milk' was slushy.......but it ended up being just fine..........The soap looks so creamy. This is the first soap I added milk to. I bought vanilla soymilk today. I'm going to make 'Soymilk and Vanilla' soap....with Vanilla FO, or EO. Should you totally substitute water for milk? Or should you only add so much milk to a recipe as well as water?

Does anyone know of a list, website or can tell me what kinds of oils can be substituted for others in a recipe? I keep hearing RICE BRAN OIL, PALM KERNEL OIL, AVACODO OIL.......AND OTHERS that are not usual for me in soapmaking. I see alot of recipe's I'd like to make but don't know what I could subsitute an oil for.......... Is Rice Bran Oil something I can come by at a grocery store? Is it considered an expensive oil? Thanks.............!

I have a recipe I found with 35% coconut oil.......That seems like too big a percentage. Would this soap be too drying? Olive oil = 38.22% sweet almond oil = 1.9% coconut oil = 35.8% Palm Oil 24.04% The liquid is Soymilk and water........plus vanilla fragrance I have cocoa butter I could substitute for some of the coconut? Would that be okay? Any other suggestions? I want to make it Thursday night........ so any opinions before then is appreciated.

Siberia You have been SOOOOOO helpful. Thankyou so much!!!!!! You have given me great ideas. I am going to make that batch this morning.....I will send pictures in a few days when i cut it. Can I ask why you chose those amounts for the lye and water? Normally when I make a 2 lb batch, I use 10 oz water and usually 7 or 8 on the lye percentage......I am going to use the 5 for your recipe.... What will the difference make compared to my other soaps I've made.....Ha ha...I'm talking like a professional. I've made 2 batches of soap before!!! What kind of soap do you usually make? Would you happen to have a good tea tree oil soap? Or tea tree oil Shampoo bar? I want to make another recipe with soymilk......slushy before the lye is added. What do you think??? Thanks for all your help!

What great recipes! Thanks to the both of you......... I think I'm going to use Kimberly's recipe with the amounts...... What could I replace instead of apricot Kernel Oil? (Sweet Almond Oil?) Is there a trick with the powdered milk? I like the oats on the top idea........ I usually only make 2 lb (32 oz) batches.......So I'll really need to cut down on the oils......But you think it should still work? Should i add the honey to the lye water mix, after it's cooled to 100 or should I put the honey in with the water, then dissolve the honey then add lye mixture?

I made a batch of shampoo bar soap 2 days ago.... I put it in individual molds.....the cheap plastic kinds.....with 5 mold spots.....and 2 days later, when I wanted to take them out........they wouldn't come out.....They were too sticky still........... So I had to take it all out, now it's just one play-doh looking mess........ what can I do? Melt it to a certain degree and try again, spraying the molds first or something? There's not that much.....12 oz maybe........as I put most of the molds in a wood mold, this was just the extra....... I wouldn't mind melting it down, and putting it into something flatter and making tester soaps.... Any suggestions?

Anyone have a great tried and true Oatmeal and honey soap? I like the look of the oats on the top of the bars.......... it's so obvious what the soap is!

Thank you all so much for your replies..... Okay get the lye water to 100 F and the oils to 100 F and combine..... AHHHHHHHHH Gotchya!

Yesterday I made a batch of soap and added cocoa at trace. Worked like a charm for a brown color. I actually added cinnamon as well but the cocoa worked alot better!