lovebug7480

I've been looking at some recipes for shea butter melts and lotion bars that contain beeswax. Can I substitute my Ecosoy Pure or Ecosoy PB instead of the beeswax?

So would you suggest I take 5% of another oil out, and add in 5% shea butter? It has to equal 100% I am assuming. Then say for example, if I took out...maybe 5% of the canola (I'm probably wrong with this) and added in 5% shea, would that make too soft a bar? What do you suggest I take out to add in the shea butter? Also, how exactly do you calculate for water discount and how much do you generally discount for a recipe such as this? Thanks very much everyone!

Hey everyone, I think I found a recipe that I wanted to try from Millers Soap.com. This is the recipe: Sherry's Fantastic Soap 24 oz canola 18 oz coconut oil 6 oz cocoa butter 6 oz castor oil 16 oz olive oil (pomace or pomace/olive blend is fine) 9.8 oz lye 21-23 oz water Fragrance Oil or Essential Oil of choice Temps: Water/Lye 105-110 degrees / Oils 110-115 degrees I ran it through the calculator and I think it is already superfatted at 5%. Now I was wondering if at trace, I could add some shea butter? Or would that be too much superfatting? I guess I'm confused about discouting and superfatting. I will be doing the CPOP method and from what I read, lots of people seem to do a water discount. Would I do the 5% lye discount AND a water discount? I do want a short cure time, I really don't want to wait 4 to 6 weeks. So if this recipe is already at 5% discount, can I still add some shea butter at the end for extra moisturizing? I think I understand water and lye discount, but do you do both or just one? When you want to water discount, do you do that instead of a lye discount?? Sorry about all the questions, I am just in need of some clarification. Thanks very much everyone!

Hey there, I came across this recipe and was curious about a substitution Sweet Almond Oil 2 oz (2.50%) Avocado Oil 6 oz (7.50%) Castor Oil 2 oz (2.50%) Cocoa Butter 5 oz (6.25%) Coconut Oil 15 oz (18.75%) Olive Oil 30 oz (37.50%) Palm Oil 9 oz (11.25%) Palm Kernel Oil 4 oz (5.00%) Shea Butter 7 oz (8.75%) Super Fat at 8% Lye 10.7 oz Water 24 oz I have all of the above except for the avacado oil. What can I substitue for it? Could I just replace the avacado oil with almond and have 8 oz total almond oil? Also, how big of a batch is this? It seems fairly large and I was wondering if I could safely half everything to make a smaller batch. I am very new to this and not sure if I can do that. If I do half it, what size mold would be best. TIA everyone!

Ooops, guess I wasn't paying very good attention hehehe!

I am new to soap making and am looking for a really creamy soap to make. Preferably an easy recipe without huge amounts of ingredients. I would like to do a bar that lathers really well and has nice creamy suds. There are tons of recipes out there but I do not know what to look for in a recipe that would make a creamy soap. Which oils make a bar creamy and lather well? Does anyone have any recipes the could share for a soap such as this? I would like to do the CPOP method as well. Thanks so much for any info!

Hi there, I was wondering if you can take any CP soap recipe and use it with the CPOP method? Or do you have to use special recipes for that particular method? TIA!

Hey everyone, I am in search of an easy and NON-greasy whipped body butter recipe. Any good suggestions on recipes? I am new to this and was hoping there was an easy recipe out there. Also, do you need a preservative for whipped body butter? TIA everyone!

Hey everyone, I have a question about bath bomb recipes. I have seen some recipes with epsom salts and some without. I have also heard different things about the recipes with the epsom salts in them. I used to make bath bombs and the recipe I had didn't use epsom salts. I am wanting to start up again making bath bombs but am curious about using epsom salts in the bombs. What is the pros and cons of using epsom salts and do they make working with the bombs more difficult or dry them out too much? Also, I was also wondering if someone out there has a really great recipe for bombs they would like to share! TIA!

Thanks for your help everyone! How much FO do you generally use in making soap? I'm used to making candles, so using FO in soap will be a new thing for me. I know that some are skin safe and some are not. Can you use FO and EO in the same batch? Using just EO makes me nervous if the smell can dissipate over time. I know that people must appreciate a continuously great smelling bar of soap!

Hey everyone, my husband and I are on the way to starting CPOP soap making. We want to keep our soaps as natural as possible and were curious about EO vs FO in soaps. What do you guys prefer and is there any pros and cons to either? We're also wondering if soy soap (I'm assuming soybean oil) makes good soap. We have no clue to what type of recipes are best. We want a really creamy, lathery and natural bar that works well with the CPOP method. Any suggestions or recipes would be oh so helpful! Also, we don't really want to use synthetic dyes. What are some natural dyes that work. I've seen people mention tumeric for yellow. Do these natural dyes work as well as synthetic dyes? Sorry this was so long, TIA everyone!!!

Hey everyone, thank you so much for your replies! Since I adore the swirl soap, my husband and I will most likely attempt the CP method and check out more on CPOP. How does CPOP work? How much does it reduce the curing time by and are there any adverse reactions to the soap if you do the CPOP method? TIA again!!!

Hey everyone, I'm brand new to soap making and was wondering what some of the advantages and disadvantages are to CP and HP soapmaking. I'm trying to decide which to try first. Which method do you guys prefer and for what reasons? Thanks so very much for any info!

Hey there, I was going to be using EcoSoya CB PURE to make some wickless candles in my 10 oz (could be 9 oz) hexagon jars. Any special recommendations for wickless candles or do I just make them like regular candles, just with no wick. Thanks everyone!

Alright, I've hit the 3 1/2 hour mark now. By the way, each jar has a different brand of FO. The one that has Peaks FO - lavender in it, the MP has reached to the edges but has a touch of residue as well as a little bit in the corners. The pool is about 1/4 inch deep. The other jar is a clean burn pretty much all across and the MP is 1/4 inch deep. Since I'm new to PURE soy, is there supposed to be some residue and does it usually burn off on the next burn? Is 1/4 inch a good mp for this stage/timeframe? Also, do you guys think that trying a HTP 126 is necessary or do you think that the stage my jars are at now good enough? Thank you guys so much for any info.

Hey everyone, I was just testing my EcoSoya CB PURE in 10 oz hexagon jars. I measure the bottom of the jar from side to side and it measures 3 inches exactly. I tried RRD55 - slightly too small. Tried LX 20 - too small. I am now trying out HTP 105. It is coming up on the 2 hour and 40 minute mark and the melt pool has hit all the sides almost with a slight film left but at the "points" on the corners, there is a little bit of wax left. What do you guys think for this timeframe? I know the general rule is "1 hour per inch diameter" but if it takes 3 1/2 hours, is that still ok? I suppose I could try a HTP 126 but I just have a feeling it may burn too hot since there seems to be a big difference in flame height stats and melt pool stats in comparison to the HTP 105's. Has anyone tried an HTP126 with this type and size of jar? What about HTP 105's? The reason I am wondering if an HTP 126 would be way too hot/big is because when I tried the HTP 105 in the Ecosoya CBAdvanced, it burned just perfectly. I know that the advanced is different than the PURE, but I just wonder if a HTP126 would just eat up the wax in the hex jar with PURE soy seeing as how the HTP 105 is juuuuust about hot enough. Thanks for any input and ideas!

I just received my samples of EcosoyaCB PURE, EcoSoyaCB 135, and EcoSoyaCB Advanced. From what I have read everywhere, it is said that the EcosoyCB 100% PURE soy frosts alot but the scent throw is excellent. Then I read that the EcoSoyaCB Advanced didn't really frost and had nice tops to them but the scent throw was rather poor. Well, two of my jars have just finished drying pretty much fully and I'm quite confused. The EcoSoya PURE looks so creamy and there are absolutely NO frost marks and the top is beautiful and the scent throw is amazing. The Ecosoya Advanced has no smell but like the PURE, has no frosting at all. I do notice that the Advanced is much more opaque and not as creamy looking. I used the exact same dye, FO, and FO measurements. So those factors were exactly the same. I'm terribly worried about the scent throw of the Advanced since the PURE soy smelled so wonderful. I'm worried a customer will smell the Advanced one and think it has no scent. My hubby even said he smelt nothing. I am heating to 175 then adding my FO and dye, cooling to 125 and pouring. I do not preheat my containers. Anyone out there have good luck with the Ecosoya 100% pure and have no frosting with it? I'm going to try another brand FO and different dye and maybe it will change. Any thoughts? Thanks very much for any info!

Hey everyone! I am starting to do 10 oz hex jars using EcoSoy CB Advanced and was hoping someone had an idea on which wick and size is best. I would like to use either RRD, LX or HTP since I cannot find Eco or CD in canada. Thanks everyone!

Thanks very much for the info! I did try HTP 73 and found them just a tad small. The only thing I don't like about hte HTP's is the tunnelling at first. I will be trying them in my hex jars. I have HTP 1212 (I think) coming for my jars candles. I am currently burning my test LX18 and LX20 for my votives. I find that the LX wicks tend to get weak as well, just like the 44-24-18 Cottons that I have. I have been told by quite a few people that the LX18 are WAAAAY to big for votives and that worries me that I am doing something wrong. They have burned the best for me so far despite the flame getting weak on occassion. Meridith, in regard to the RRD wicks, I will be getting some from my supplier in the next day or so. Like I said, the RRD40 is what was suggested to me by a supplier and they burned wonderfully except for the large 1 inch flame, which is apparently too big for a votive. I'm still relatively new to this, so I'm just learning about the whole ROC and flame height and melt pool diameter stuff hehehe. I suppose I just get worried because I'm using such big wicks in comparision to what everyone else is using for the same soy wax and it makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong lol. Thanks for the info everyone!

Hey everyone, good to be back up and running!!! I was hoping that someone could give me some insight on a wicking issue. I have been testing my ecosoy PB votives with many different wicks. So far these are what I've tested: 36-18P - way too small 44-24-18C - ok but flame tends to get weak HTP 62 - too small HTP 73 - ok but I don't like the hangup LX 12 - way too small LX 16 - ok, but slightly too small I am at the point of testing LX 18 (which apparently are way too big for votives) but they seem to be doing ok so far. I've tried LX 20 but they're too big. It was suggested to me to try the RRD 40 and I was sent some samples from my supplier. She said all her customers use RRD40 with soy votives and are very happy with them. Well, I've tried them and although they burned quite well, the flame height was an inch tall and danced too much. So I was wondering if any one had tried an RRD 40 with votives and how were the results? My supplier is getting in RRD 34 & RRD 37 soy maybe those will work. If anyone out there uses LX wicks for their soy votives, which do you find works best? I'm finding that the LX 18 and 20 burn well initially, but then do not burn fully to the edges on 2nd and 3rd burns, I'm thinking that they are burning way too hot and just burn down and not out. But the flame is always nice. Sorry that this post is so terribly long, I'm just quite confused as to this whole wicking thing. I know it's been suggested to try Eco Wicks, but I cannot seem to find them in Canada and shipping can be quite costly from the USA. Any thoughts? I appreciate any info, thanks everyone!!