Brenda

:smiley2: I'm going to "hang it up" for a while at the end of this week. Making soap and lotions is a real joy, but I dislike running a business. I've got a list of "to do" things around the house and yard for the coming summer that are calling to me. I will still make my own soaps and lotions, but I've got to let the business go for now. (If I had decided to keep the business going I would have reduced the fragrance line and product line and concentrated on wholesale.) I hope everyone has a wonderful 2008!

Amethyst Pink from MMS is a wonderful pink. Pink oxide works as well. Here's a combination of pink oxide and amethyst pink. Made in three separate layers. Can you see where I dropped the spatula onto the second layer while pouring the third? Good luck with your neapolitan soap!

I make and thin my soap with distilled water and have never used a preservative. No ickies have grown in the original or thinned applications. The reason I make my own is to avoid the preservatives and other unwanted ingredients that are present in commercial products However, my recipe is very simple and doesn't include goat milk, etc. I prefer the foamers as well. They will shoot out too as the nozzle eventually builds up with dry foam. I cup my hand around the nozzle when I pump it and then clear the nozzle from time to time. Good luck with your soap!

In case anyone is interested I wanted to post that this simple stuff is really working on my poor lips. After using it consistently for the past two days my lips are back to good shape. I'll be using it all winter I think. Husband is using it too.

Just a quick inquiry to see if anyone has used castorlatum in any of their formulations or just "neat". It a mix of hydrogenated castor oil and castor oil that looks and feels much like vaseline. I've had some of it for some time now and finally dug it out of storage tonight. I've started taking some medication that dries out my mouth and lips something terrible. My lip balms weren't effective because I didn't formulate them for theraputic use. So I mixed a little coconut flavor oil, sweetener, and vanilla eo to the castorlatum and applied some to my cracked lips. So far, so good. It's soothing. We'll see what happens over the next few days. My husband put some on and he thought it felt soothing too. Like Carmex without the medicinal scent. Just wondered if anyone here has use this product before.

Love your cut rounds! Beautifully swirled - each one is unique! Bet they smell great.

Neat idea with the holly! Looking forward to seeing your tag team soap cut.

Great sets! I love your style! Lucky recipients.

A very nice collection of soaps! All the scents sound delicious. Your little snowflakes on the first bar are neat!

PERFECTION! What a great soap!

I'd use some macadamia or sesame!

CareBear, here's the recipe I use all the time and I do not find it drying, nor do my customers: (Standard soaping precautions apply.) Cherry Kernel Oil Liquid Soap (Soapmaker calculator) Olive (refined) oil 16 oz. Coconut oil 16 oz. Cherry Kernel oil 10 oz. Distilled water 23.15 oz. Potassium Hydroxide 9.64 oz. (3% discount) 29.4% Lye solution Warm the oils. Add KOH to distilled water. Stir until dissolved then pour into warm oils. Stir, then stick blend until trace. Heat over low heat stirring constantly! Be sure to use a stainless steel pot with a thick bottom to prevent hot spots plus a large capacity to allow for the foaming up that will occur shortly before the soap settles down to its paste form. This will take a while but do NOT leave the pot unattended! (I keep a large stainless bowl in my stainless sink because I double the recipe and need some overflow space once it starts to rise up. NO AMOUNT OF STIRRING WILL KEEP THE SOAP FROM CLIMBING UP THE SIDES OF THE POT so turn off the heat and move pot to sink in case of overflow! I've learned this the hard way. I would not recommend doubling the recipe.) This is the basic process I use each time and each time the soap has turned out well. I keep the paste in large Gladware bowls in the fridge until I want to weigh out some and dilute. Usually 1 part paste to 2 parts distilled water. After dilution I scent and color it while it is still warm, but not hot. Some FOs will thicken the soap and some will not. In my experience EOs will not thicken the soap.

Nice bars and a great selection of scents!

Pretty bars! (Mattie's a looker! Very beautiful!)

Congratulations on your first batch of LS! Good luck on your second batch. I've got a simple superfatted recipe I cook on direct heat in a big soap pot on my gas stove where I can really adjust the heat while stirring constantly. It's fun to see the soap go through its changes and then the big "WHAM" boil up phase where it turns from a viscous liquid to a hot frothy mass that rises up in the pot and then settles to a nice clear honey-colored semi-solid. I've never tried any other method. I use distilled water and no preservatives - never had any problem with "ickies" at all. I agree with adillenal - all the liquid soap I sell goes into foamers - customers really like them. Cherry kernel oil is a treat in LS! Perhaps I'll venture into goat milk LS one day. Looking forward to your next batch!