Sponiebr

Greetings Earthlings! 

I have been FAR and AWAY from reality for quite some time... (Don't ask... I can't even BEGIN to explain.) 

Anywho, I have been called back to do stuff, and by stuff I mean soap. I actually have someone that wants ME (IKR!? ME!!!!!  They don't know me that well, YET... LOL) to be their in-house soapmaker. 

So, they have things that they want to do like 3 scents (yeah fine...) Ethically sourced Palm Oil (this actually broke me out in a sweat), and preferably all vegan...
Pshaw!!! ASSUMING I can find the Palm Oil the rest is easy....
BUT, I has a question!
So, I'm making their soap for their house brand with MY formulation I came up with for THEIR house brand... Do I need to "tweak it" so that the formulation is solely THEIRS or can I use this formulation later for my own brand? Tweaking being yanno, swip swap some FCO for CO and maybe add in some oddball oil to make it THEIRS. 

There is a possibility that my compensation will be to make their soap in exchange for a place to make MY soap... Them purchasing their own materials, or possibly I just buy my own materials and they pay me a discounted rate for a loaf of soap.

They want to sell naked soap and just give a card with the ingredients listing, and not because they have to.
(Don't know WHERE they could have EVER gotten such a BRILLIANT Idea like THAT from... BUHHAHAHHAAUAAHA!!!!) 

Anyway, advice, thorts, et cetera...? 

Sponiebr
The Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Services (still) 

Good idea kicking the temperature up. I had never thought of that, I just mindlessly stirred for 4 days. 

5 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Could be a stearic bloom. I’ve had it from time to time as soap aged.  Certain scents seemed more prone to it, though unscented/uncolored has had it too. 

do you use cocoa butter? Happened more frequently  in my high CB formulas. 

No coco butter BUT there IS a TON of high stearic PO and a good bit of CO in my formulation. I'm like almost positive it's a stearic bloom from the oxidation of the FO.  I mean it's GOTTA be, right? It rubbed right off the bar first use and the scent was primo...  That was DEFINITELY one of my HTFHP bars though.  (This was the last batch of HP before you brought me back into the light...) 😘


 

5 hours ago, Candybee said:

Congrats on your soap sale!

 

Re your pumpkin soap, that looks like ash to me.

It's HTFHP so it's absolutely NOT ash. 

Someone just actually ordered soap from me! Yeah, IKR?

Anywho, while I was assembling their order I happened to spy this older bar of Pumpkin's Pie... It's at least 2 years old because it had the clear tape band around the middle of the labels with the gummed backed paper tape band on it. (All  of my current soaps get the labels stuck directly onto the bar and then shrink wrapped.)

So anyway, this bar has been in COLD, DARK, SUPER DRY storage for it's entire life. I see that it has what would otherwise look like soda ash all over the bar. It's even present under the paper tape but not nearly as much as the areas outside the label. The the whole bar was shrink wrapped with micro perforated polyolefin too so it wasn't just exposed to the air. 

I KNOW that it's NOT soda ash, because that only forms while there is active lye exposed to air, but what IS this milky coating on the surface of this bar. I THINK it's stearic acid that has finally oxidized AND/OR (it IS pumpkin pie scented) it's oxidized FO. It FEELS waxy like stearic acid though... This one's new for me, or maybe I've seen it before but I'm getting early onset senility and don't remember seeing this before (seriously I just found out a week ago that one of my meds was probably the cause of my rapidly deteriorating short term memory). 

Anyway... I claimed the bar as my own because I was due for a new bar anyway and I wanted to unwrap it and see if it's gotten any orange problems going on. (It doesn't... YAY!)

Thorts?

(Yeah, I know, I've been scarce for awhile now, but I JUST SOLD $100 of soap and THAT I HAD to share!)

Slainte,

Sponiebr 

The Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Services 

That's RIGHT! It's MOI!

That where in the world is there in the world a guy so eclectic and obscure! 

C'est MOI! 

I HAVEN'T been making soap. I have grown some mushrooms and I  HAVE been growing trees though... 

OH! And I HAVE made a NEW creation! 

A rather LARGE food dehydrator... 

I CALL my work of art... The DEHYDRATOR! 

(I know it's a bit dry, but so is my humor.) 

This is the glorious food dehydrator that took OH so long to build and nearly as long to post the pictures! 

The cabinet warped rather significantly so the door isn't square like it was when I built it. It even split along some of the prefab glue joints, I guess that's just pro bono airflow. 

Save for the door hardware the ONLY fasteners used in this build are glued dowels. (Yes they REALLY are through doweled.) 

100w light bulb, soon to be replaced with a 100w reptile ceramic heat bulb, is the heat source. Plate glass mirror under the bulb to keep things cool and reflect the heat back up into the cabinet.

The fan switches from left to right are 
OFF/ON. LOW/MEDIUM. NORMAL/TURBO. 
I made a simple resistor bypass system for the speeds, so if you turn on turbo it's just turbo, not low turbo and medium turbo.
It's straight 110V coming off the lamp base to the fan. The fan has a built in 110VAC to 12VDC step down transformer in the base. 

Screens are all aluminum window screening, and are actually TIGHT. 

Works great! 

Thought some of you might want to see it, If not, skip on over to the next unread post (or whatever you  want), but if so, then ENJOY! 

Slainte, 
Sponiebr 
The Executor of Bad Ideas, Sundry Services, and Other Unholy Desiccations.

 



Some of the warping glue joint splits and doweling work. (NONE of MY glue joints failed only the pre-fabricated ones.)








Bottom vent screens AKA: a futile attempt at keeping gnats OUT of my dehydrator... (WELL, IT MIGHT work...) 




Straight 110VAC coming out of the back there... Custom Stainless steel heat shield/diffuser thingamawhatsitmuhbobber... Oh and the MAGIC MIRROR on THE FLOOR! 




 

I got a FEVER and the only prescription is MORE LIGHT BULB!!!!! 


It's straight 110V coming off the lamp base to the fan. The fan has a built in 110VAC to 12VDC step down transformer in the base. 



The fan switches from left to right are
OFF/ON. LOW/MED. NORMAL/TURBO.
I made a simple resistor bypass system for the speeds, so if you turn on turbo it's just turbo, not low turbo and medium turbo.
THIS actually took the LONGEST to figure out and actually make. It's a STUPID simple resistor bypass system but it took me forever to figure out for some reason. 

 

Made of lighterfat pine. Screens are all aluminum window screening.




And SOMEHOW they actually ended up and have stayed TIGHTLY stretched. (There's NO splining under the batons. It's just flat stapled. Yes there is a trick...) 



TA-DA!!!! 

The end. 

On 4/11/2020 at 10:25 AM, Candybee said:

 

Actually, it sounds really nice, like something I may like. I may get a sample next time I shop at CS. Thanks. BTW, does it give your nose a buzz? 🤣

Give my NOSE a buzz? (slow blink) 

(Coughs)

I haven't snorted anything in a LONG time hun... (well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

I'm honestly not sure what you mean. Like alka seltzer "it tickles your nose" ?  IF so, no... 

Namaste Dammit! 

Sponiebr
The Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Services. 

This is PROBABLY not what you are PRECISELY looking for BUTT, I mean BUT... Candle Science's white tea with a little Himalayan Bamboo is REALLY NICE... IJS... (Like white tea with overtones of the Himalayan bambok likely not even full % amounts. I just drop till my nose gets off. IYKWIM...)


YIKES! I've gotta get back to my social distancing...
UH, BUH-BYE!!!! 

😘 

Sponiebr
The Executor of Bad Ideas, Consultant for Best Practices with Non-Social Interaction and Schism Genesis Within Social Organizations, and uh, Sundry Services... 
 

Gin and maybe a little tonic? 

4 hours ago, cbSoapworks said:

GUYS!  y'all were 100% right. I can't believe what I'm about to tell everyone but I messed up.... Big time and its so stupid.  I guess when I was ordering my Lye, I didn't pay attention and I actually ordered Potassium Hydroxide Flakes instead of Sodium Hydroxide Flakes. They come in the exact same containers and I just never took the time to read the container.  I feel like a moron. But you live and you learn. Took me over 384oz of failed soap and this post before it was figured out and Y'all helped massively by making me check all components of my cook. Thank You so much

Yeah, KaOH WOULD give you a much softer soap... (It's SHAMPOO!) 




That thing about the Sodium lactate Nightlight mentioned.... Add in the SL after the cook and after the mix has cooled down to about 150F and then mix in the SL... Oh it can get FLUID.

How fluid you ask!? 

I'm glad you asked! 

 

It gets THAT fluid. (Yeah so there is SOME wizardry involved in THAT but it's mostly because of Sodium Lactate.) 


Sponiebr

The Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Services. 

On 3/21/2020 at 7:32 PM, Sarah S said:

Hopefully someone with HP experience will chime in. @Sponiebr @TallTayl @Candybee

 

Thank you for remembering that I was someone that knew something about anything at one time, now, long ago...❤️ 

I used a foaming feminine wash from dollar tree. The bottle was 103g I used 15g of the soap base 3 grams of 4% Chlorhexidine Gluconate solution and  85g of distilled water. In a pinch you could use the same amount in something like lysol concentrate as the biocide or even clear iodine in a pinch. (well, I wouldn't have a problem with the lysol)
The CHG is a residual biocide so it stays on your skin kill'n junk after it dries. It's a common surgical scrub. 


@TallTayl star san is 50% phosphoric acid so the concentrate can do some harm. (pour some on some junk concrete and you'll see what I mean) It's TOTALLY safe diluted though.


Sponiebr
The Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Service. 

Soaper's Choice  
Websturantstore
Would be my first 2 picks for fats and such
THEN I'd keep my eyes peeled for some specials from:
Bulk Apothocary (I buy my lye in bulk when they have some sort of SUPER special on it and sometimes castor and sodium lactate...)  
Brambleberry All sorts of stuff. (They've gotten much more competitively priced on a lot of things.)  

For colorants and some additives I use Mica's & More and sometimes TKB Trading (mostly bulk oxides).  For FO's I use Mica's and More, Candlescience, and Just Scents. 

Them's my go-to's! 

Cheers, 
Sponiebr
The Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Services 
 

13 hours ago, TallTayl said:

This would be a GREAT time to redo that swap here... are you in?

Am I in? I am INsane if that's what you're ask'n after. (but THAT ain't news to NOBODY) I'm out of business right now, I haven't been able to make any soap since Sept. I am working on trying to get a workspace set up though so I can start making soap again.

I don't disagree that we should have that collection of information again... It was a HUGE and IMPORTANT piece of research. I'm still fuzzy on how this swap'n thing works... Is it kinda like a key party? (Just for the record, I'm not really clear on how THOSE work either...) A whole buncha people make single oil soaps and then send their little cakes'o'suds to some poor unsuspecting soul with a chain letter-esq note informing them of the horrors and disaster that awaits them should they desecrate the sacred foamy swap by breaking the swap code of the latherati? Can you demand anything in return? I don't usually want much... You'd be surprised at just how sketchy I'll go for a Klondike Bar... I think THIS might blow the doors off my hidden potential here... BUT!!! We'll NEED a cover story for when the feds come asking questions! Who's gonna do THAT!? 

So much to do... So few slaves, erm... I mean conscripts,  to get it done... 

Sponiebr
The Prelate of cluttered dark spaces in abandoned shops 'n stuff... 

On 3/7/2020 at 6:53 PM, TallTayl said:

That was on thendish from a different swap.  Lots of interesting ones, including peanut oil if I recall. 

Yeah the single oil thread was really an awesome resource... The one made from stearic acid was a particularly amusing tale of caution. 😂 


Sponiebr
The Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Services

Good evening all! NOT A CHANDLER pundit Sponiebr on the scene at a rather CONFUSING event... 

SO, it would seem the HIGHLY controversial Company EcoSoya that singlehandedly began the greatest decline in mental health of North American chandlers has gone out of business. 
The public response is CRYPTIC at best. It seems difficult to tell if it's vitriolic sarcasm or genuine mourning being expressed at the passing of this rather keynote company in the home candle making industry. 
Is this a blessing or a curse? No one is sure...  One thing is for certain, although this ONE problem seems to have suffered apoptosis, chandlers will soon enough find NEW and inventive ways of reducing their available stock of sanity.  

Back to you Trisha... 



Sponiebr 
The Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Reporting Services.   

P.S.: Seriously, is this a good thing or a bad thing? I honestly can't tell.
 

@Vicy What scents are you shooting for? Take a look at candlescience's soap safe FO's. They have the percentages list as to what the maximum usage rate is AND the IFRA certs to go along with them so you can see the correlations. You REALLY MUST get the IFRA thing down if you want to make scented bath & body products but your learning curve could be helped a LOT by looking at the direct correlation between their usage rates and the actual IFRA document. 

 

On 2/8/2020 at 1:34 PM, TallTayl said:

you’ll be able to quickly identify components such as eugenol that have very low rates.

 
EUGENOL? We don't need no STINK'N EUGENOL! 

(psst: Eugenol is REALLY EVIL stuff in soap... Does BAD things to both the maker and the user. Stay away from eugenol...) (I'm only being a LITTLE over the top  ) 

Sponiebr
The Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Services 

9 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Not sure.  Want to help me find out? We use InVision Power Services as our host. 

Oh! Ok... I thought you had an app for some reason. I can just access it from my web browser on my phone. 

10-Q!

So I'm all over the place... Literally, figuratively, just let your imagination RUN with it you probably won't get too far off base. MOST of the forums I'm "helping" in I have a policy where I REALLY NEED to be disconnected from them so that they don't suck up EVERY SECOND of my time. Craft server is NOT one of those forums though... I really MISS "helping" out in CS... 

SO, I wuz WANDER'N... 

IS there a Craft Server App? 

o.O 
O.O
_ . _ 
O.O 
o.O   
Sponiebr
The Executor of Bad Ideas and Happy Helperton "Services"

On 1/13/2020 at 9:28 PM, Moonstar said:

Weird is good ! And, depends on what your definition of weird is  lol ! You are funny though, I hand you that much.... Your CONTROL BABY answer lol ! 

I had no idea Florida had wild mushrooms . That might explain a few things LMAO ! 

Yeah, there are THOSE mushrooms out in the wild too... Interesting factoid (which is a fact I pulled out of my o.O ) there are NO deadly poisonous boletes in Florida.  Yup! NONE. There are 2 or 3 that will make you so sick you'll WISH you had died, but none that will kill you outright. So down here we "seek the sponge". We also have native oyster mushrooms (3 kinds actually one of which is specific to Florida), native chanterelles, and shiitake &  lion's mane have established themselves down here too. Lotsa good eat'n down here in the swam-(POP).  

21 hours ago, Moonstar said:

This is a serious question. Are you a scientist ? Your very knoweledgable .

I am not a scientist by trade. I DO study things IN DEPTH to get a proper handle on how to best use them and bend them to my purposes. CONTROL BABY!!!  

I was studying to become a Dr. at one time and a lot of the skills I learned have been VERY useful to me over the years. e.g: I hunt wild edible mushrooms in Florida (yeah... there's a BUNCH of them), but I get asked to ID mushrooms that other people find too. I have a NICE binocular microscope with an oil immersion lens for helping me to identify mushrooms that I collect.(Still, I rarely have to break out the scope) 

I think it just boils down to : I'm weird.   

idunno... (shrugs) 

Speaking of silk undies... Did you know that dirty unwashed undies bought online are actually MORE expensive than BRAND NEW ONES!?  I mean A LOT MORE expensive! 

 

 Unbelievable! 

Sponiebr, 
The Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Services

On 1/3/2020 at 9:09 AM, TallTayl said:

The difference is the amount of energy between candles, The energy from a tea light wick is like a little 9 volt battery. A typically wicked 3” Jar is a 220 line.  Stick your tongue on the 9 volt you get a tingle. Your tongue on a live 220 line leaves you a crispy critter. 
 

when  glass cracks and drains wax into the surrounding vessel, the wick flares, often pretty dramatically. The wick heat and flare is potentially sufficient to set the surface of the wax on fire, or the area above/around the candle. I leave a charred table in my living room as a reminder to myself what damage a simple candle can cause.

 

ETA. If it was a great idea Yankee and everyone else would be selling them. 

I were confused. You're talking about LARGE floating candles, uh, right? Yanno... I'm not a chandler... I'm gonna get back to chopping up dirty silk undies for some soap. 

11 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Be super careful about putting candles inside of other things. Container candles are designed to burn with nothing else on or around them. Air currents inside of other containers can increase temps significantly, possibly to the point of cracking glass or setting the wax surface on fire.  differences of temp as little as 10 degrees change everything in a container. 

 

also, noooo to water.  Google wax + fire + water. It equals terrible explosions under the right circumstances. 
 

a pretty pedestal might be nice.  Decorate a sturdy pedestal, like a cake stand or cupcake stand, with seasonal theme. 
 

 

I mean they've had those floating tea lights for decades and I've never found them to be overly dangerous in a large heavy ceramic or glass bowl. The diameter of the candle keeps the flames off the sides  of the bowl if they drift to the side (which they ALWAYS do unless you put a drop of Dawn in the water). 

12 hours ago, Darbla said:

For example, during the Autumn time of the year I have metal pumpkins that I set my container candles down inside of.  And I have a huge orange bucket with cut-outs on the sides forming a picture that is great with candles in it.  Or some people add a hurricane glass over candles.  I'm looking for ideas like that to set glass container candles down in, to make an arrangement for a gift.  What have you found in vases, bowls, or such-like that you liked for placing candles inside?  Even better if this is kind of Christian / religious themed, as it's for a friend who is of that persuasion.

 

Speaking of hurricane glass, have you noticed those significantly holding in heat and not letting it disperse as safely?  The pumpkins and bucket I have are much larger and rather airy, and I've never felt they were getting hot inside at all.

 

Edit:  I just had a possibly cool idea:  a bowl of water.  Put a glass container candle in the middle, fill around it with water, can even dye it if you want, float some flowers or something in the water while the candle is burning.  You couldn't have an arrangement be any safer!  Hmmmmmmm..........

I think a house would be a nice decorative container to put my candles in... 

What TT said, I do but I add a WAD like 2 grams worth or so... It's a WAD of silk fiber. YUGE!!!! 

What I wanna know is if you're using silk unmentionables in SOAP making would you still need to wash them FIRST? Wouldn't them being physically part of the soap make them about as clean as is physically possible? 

Things that make ME go Hmmmmm.... 


Sponiebr
The Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Services 

OMG! I can't BELIEVE I FORGOT the MOST IMPORTANT ONE OF ALL!!! 

CBD
It's A MIRACLE!!! It FIXES EVERYTHING! Jeeze... HOW could I have POSSIBLY overlooked THAT ONE!!!? 

Put it into your lotion, soap, buttwipes, and anything else you can physically get it into, near, or on and I PROMISE even if you make your cold cream with used motor oil you WILL NOT BE ABLE TO KEEP IT IN STOCK it'll sell so FAST. 



This would be really funny if it wasn't absolutely true. 

Sponiebr
The Executor of Bad Ideas and Sundry Services. 
 

This is also a REALLY NICE blend: 

http://www.ingredientstodiefor.com/item/C_E_AntiAging_Facial_Oil/950