Yeah, I realized my mistake after I had posted. I'm well aware that people use salt in the bath tub. The name of the recipe threw me for a minute, "Moisturizing Bath Powder Blend". Whoopsie.

Has anyone made bath powder with Epsom salt as an ingredient? I found a recipe in the www.makeyourown.buzz formulary that includes it at 29%. That seems odd to me, but maybe it's normal.

15 hours ago, Moonstar said:

Im wondering if aloe can be used in place of water ? thanks for proving these links  

You're welcome.

The Lotioncrafter site states that you can use aloe juice, hydrosols, etc. An aside, I did try a couple of versions of the recipes based on both the CME & AquaEM but neither were strong enough emulsifiers on their own. If I tried it again I would do as TallTayl had previously suggested and add RE's FO modifier.

I've used the bags & the canning jars. While the jars do take up a lot of space they really do work the best for me, much better than the bags really. Like kandlekrazy said, I would give a good shake every time I passed them. Shake-shake-shake! Unfortunately they're not popular around here. I have butt load of them just sitting around.

Maybe you have to create an account. I have one. Sorry.

Well that's weird. Does this work?  www.makeyourown.buzz/formulary

11 minutes ago, Candybee said:

Thanks for starting this thread. I had just assumed that customers would be turned off by some of the ingredients that I've been looking at that would go into a good shampoo. Good to know there is a market for handmade shampoos.

I was concerned about customers as well although I had really wanted to make shampoo for myself. I can't find any sulfate-free shampoo that I like. My scalp has an actual reaction to sulfates. I've tried a couple of Swift's recipes, but I need to make some adjustments to them. I recently found some recipes here I'm planning to try, with some tweaking of course.

Thank you. I've read about certain EOs thinning out shampoos & washes but I don't think I've heard of one seizing. Yikes. Again, thanks for sharing. You are a wealth of knowledge.

@TallTayl How long do you sequester your products?

Thanks. Where do you get your perfumers alcohol, if you don't mind me asking? I never thought about coloring it. That would be pretty.

Please forgive me, I've asked before & have looked through previous posts, but I keep finding contradicting info (everywhere) about making body mists/sprays; how to make them, which ingredients to use, how much, etc. I know people like to use bases but I want to make my own. I like making everything as close to "from scratch" as possible. I know I don't have to do it, I like to do it.   So is it cyclo? Perfumers alcohol? Pixie dust? Something that will leave a scent lingering longer than two seconds? Am I asking for too much?

That happened to my husband recently. He ordered through Amazon & had all transactions/emails on their site. He tried to communicate with the original company several times but they ignored him. He finally filed a complaint with Amazon & the next day he had a refund. Amazon don't play. 

That's good know, thanks. I want to test the waters with some products. I agree about the extras. I check out Swiftcraftymonkey a lot & she loves that stuff, but I don't see how they make much difference, if any. Customers do like seeing it.

Does anyone create surfactant based products? If you sell, are customers put off by the ingredients?

Also, do you think ingredients like herbal extracts, hydrosols, hydrolyzed proteins, etc. really add anything to products or is it really label appeal?

Thanks! I'll check them both out.

Any suggestions as to where I could purchase bath poufs? I've bought the ones from NG before & they're fine but I'd like to find some smaller ones or maybe some that come in different colors. Thanks!

Has anyone tried any of the clay mask recipes from WSP? The ones that are packaged & sold dry. I'd like to try them but I've not been thrilled with other recipes from WSP so I'm hesitant to make any.

I think beveling can look nice, although I don't think soap has to be beveled to look nice, but it's a pain in the butt & I hate doing it so I rarely bevel soap. Plus, it can waste so much soap. I know a lot of soapers keep the scraps to make more soaps, but that's not for me.

*I've got a blue million molds, thank you though! I only ask because I've seen some MP soaps on etsy being sold in Solo & clear plastic cups that are really cute. Plus I've seen an older Soapmaker's Challenge with dessert soaps & there were some plastic cups used with CP soap. It seems like it would be a nightmare to get the soap out though.

Has anyone successfully used plastic cups like the red Solo cup (or any other plastic cup) as a soap mold? CP or MP? As a mold only or as the mold & packaging combo? Can you get the soap out without destroying it (the soap) or losing your mind? Thanks!

Huh. I've never had those issues unless I've had an FO that accelerates. Now, if I wait a week to cut a soap, then yeah, it can be pretty hard.

@Moonstar I use 92* CO & as long as it's above that then it's always good for me. My lye solution is usually pretty cool as well. I haven't had DOS with CO. When using water I will use distilled, but sometimes I'll use coconut milk. I think I used some yesterday. If I use powdered I will add it to the warm oil & blend it in before adding the lye solution. I don't freeze milks/liquids because it gives me more trouble than it's worth. It takes sooo long to melt (IME). I forgot & I used some prepared frozen coffee this week. It took all day to melt (after the lye was added). Milks will still stink for a little while even if you freeze them (again, IME).

That looks really good!

The easiest CP recipe you can make is 100% Coconut Oil. You only need to use a high Super Fat. Most people go with 20%, I do 25% because 20 is still too drying for my sensitive skin. A 100% CO soap breaks a soaping rule of some sort, but it really does make a nice soap

I started with CP. I make MP on occasion if I think I need some extra product for a show. I enjoy making CP much more & I like the feel of CP much more. I find making intricate MP soaps far too tedious & my hands/fingers can't take it.