donna4909

Georgia Peach from Peaks is a good one.

Ok, so if you premix the lye and it's at 72 degrees, is it going to hurt anything if the oils are 100 degrees?

No problem. Just let me know if you need any help!

A double boiler just doesn't cut it with gel. The MP is so high, you really need direct heat. Just make sure you keep an eye on it, and never leave the stove.

ICS Coffee Bean Extremely strong, and it's definately a pure coffee smell. I hate coffee and it makes me sick to smell it, but this is dead on.

On direct heat or double boiler method? I use a regular saucepan to melt my gel.

They don't look so bad. And don't feel silly, we've all forgot the FO before. I made a batch of 10 cherry pies with no fragrance, and they were supposed to be chrsitmas gifts. :undecided I personally love gel, and I think it's pretty easy to work with. I melt mine directly on the stove, and gel is much easier to clean up with paraffin. If you drip some on the counter, it just peels right off. Not that I've done that or anything...

They have gel wax, pie crusts, fruit embeds, FO's, wicks, pie tins, color blocks, etc. I bought all my "pie" supplies from them when I first started. http://creativeilluminations.com However, I must say embeds and pie crusts will be MUCH cheaper on eBay. I bought my cherries, blueberries, and apple slices from this seller: http://stores.ebay.com/SimpleSuds_Wax-Embeds_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQftidZ2QQtZkm

Can you premix lye for CP soap and use it at room temp, or does it have to be hot? It's hard for me to get everything timed correctly so the lye & oils will be cool enough to work with. :undecided

Here's a cost calculator, which will help you determine your cost per bar. Remember this doesn't cover packaging though. http://recipes.herbalsoapsbyrj.com/calculators/melt-pour-cost.php

This would be for me and my family only, and none of us have peanut allergies. I heard it made a great lather, so I guess I'll just try it out. I don't sell any of my soap, but I'll use different utensils with this batch, just in case. Don't want any leftover peanut oil causing problems.

They make a paint especially for soap, but it's kinda pricey... http://www.milkywaymolds.com/pages/paints.html

What kind of soap does peanut oil make? I'd like to make an experimental batch with peanut, but I don't want to waste my time if it makes a soft or slimey soap... My recipe would be: 9.6 oz Water 4.6 oz Lye 12 oz Lard 6 oz Coconut Oil 6.5 oz Peanut Oil 8.6 oz Olive Oil 0.4 oz Stearic Acid

Yep, it does with MP too. Here's the link for stabilizer: http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/Product.aspx?Tab=3&CatalogID=4&GroupID=596&CatalogTitle=0&CategoryID=1004&CategoryName=Vanilla+Color+Stabilizer Apparently this also works with HP soap, but I haven't tried it.

White soaps turning brown is usually caused by the fragrance. Anything with vanilla in it will usually turn soap brown. For melt and pour soap, you can get a vanilla stabilizer that will stop it. Edited for spelling...

Yep, you can use just about anything for a M&P soap mold.

Hmm, mine never looks like that. How long did you cook it? Mine always looks like yours does in the middle, except it's all the soap that looks like that, not just the middle on mine. Mine is semi white by the time it gets to the mold. Maybe I am cooking too long? Did you do the tongue test on it?

IMO, a digital postal scale will work almost as well as that one. As long as it can weigh in 0.1 oz increments, it will work for weighing FO. The only big plus for the one you listed is the design & material it's made of. My $20 postal scale will weigh in the exact same increments as that one. If I were going to spend much more than $20 on a scale, it'd have to measure in smaller increments such as 0.01 oz or 0.1 grams. But then again, that's just me, and I'm a bit cheap. *lol* I just think if they both serve the same fuction, why not go for the cheaper one?

So, Liquid Germall Plus has no restrictions? If so, I'll use it because it's a lot cheaper than Optiphen Plus.

Beautiful! I love the swirl. Darn you CP'ers and your smooth pretty soaps... Why must you show me these gorgeous soaps? I got so sick of making my ugly HP, I finally just bought 10 pounds of M & P. If it wasn't for the 2-4 week cure time with CP, I'd go for it in a heartbeat. Ugh, why does it have to take sooo long?!

Can someone recommend paraben free preservatives for the following recipes? I read that Optiphen Plus & Germall Plus are paraben free, but I don't which ones are used for oil or water based products. Lotion: Water 73% Honey 2% Stearic acid 2% Soybean oil 17% Ewax 4% Preservative 1% FO 1% Sugar Scrub: E-wax 10% Stearic acid 8% Olive oil 25% Castor oil 40% Shea butter 14% FO 2% Preservative 1% Also, do I need the EDTA stuff that everyone on the soap dish talks about? I was under the impression that Optiphen Plus and Germall Plus are broad spectrum, and should take care of everything. :undecided

I just got the Wal-Mart brand. I think it's called Great Value, and it's Non-Fat Powdered Milk.

That's a good idea... I'll have to get a blender. I'd bet that it'd get the FO mixed in really well too.

Is powered milk supposed to be grainy? I'm trying to make some bath milks, but mine isn't a soft powder, it's more like sand. Also, where's the cheapest place to buy powdered milk? I bought mine from Wal-Mart and it was around $5 for 10 little packets.

I've seen various milk bath & bath salt recipes using cornstarch and baking soda. Some have only one listed and some use both. Why is this? What are the benefits of each, if any? Also, I read somewhere on a site that "when I combined the wrong ingredient with baking soda, the result was a chemical reaction that blew the top right out of my packaging!" Of course, she's trying to sell an eBook, so she doesn't say what the ingredient is. Anybody know what would make it explode? I know vinegar can cause that to happen, but why would you have vinegar in a bath salt recipe? Edit - did a little more reading, and I'm guessing she was talking about citric acid...