Jump to content

Courtney

Members
  • Posts

    29
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Converted

  • Makes
    Soy candles

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

Courtney's Achievements

Newbie

Newbie (1/14)

6

Reputation

  1. For the past year I have only been selling locally but now I'm wanting to start selling online, because I have lots of potential customers who live too far away for me to deliver. I'm thinking of going with Etsy, it seems like the best option starting out. My only problem I've run into so far is shipping. What is the best way to ship soap/aroma beads? How do you calculate what shipping will be? Is it cheaper to use the packaging from USPS or your own? I need to know this before hand because when listing in Etsy you have to put in the weight and dimensions of the package. I want to keep shipping as cheap as possible for my customers because I know when I'm buying online, the shipping price is what decided whether I'm buying or not. And any other tips for starting up would be great.
  2. I am trying to formulate my recipe for some soap cupcakes and I'm not sure how to do it. When you order a mold from a soap company usually it tells you how much oil it holds. I got some silicone molds from Michael's and I just want to make 6 cupcakes. Is it all just guess work? I've tried finding good articles or videos on formulation for different size molds. Does anyone have any advice?
  3. My soap is sticking to my silicone loaf molds. I have never had this problem with them but lately I've only had one batch that hasn't and I'm annoyed. I leave them in the mold for 24 hours and I have never had a problem. I haven't changed anything and these molds I got from Nurture Soap are only a few months old. I've had some beautiful soaps that I can no longer sell because they are basically bottomless. I want to continue using them because these are the only molds I've completely beat getting partial gel phase (I do not gel my soaps). I have a wooden mold as well with a thin silicone liner that this doesn't happen with but I can't stop getting partial with it. So I'd rather use the silicone ones. Any advice?
  4. I have been having trouble with partial gel phase since I started soaping back in September. Finally I have almost conquered this problem. I put 3 of my soaps in the fridge over night. 2 of them avoided gel beautifully but one did not. Although it is almost there. Should I have put it in the freezer instead, it just seems like it didn't have enough time to chill before hardening. This fragrance seemed to heat up the soap more than the others (it is Vanilla Champaign from Nature's Garden). I usually soap anywhere from 90-110 degrees Fahrenheit. I really don't have a preference for whether it gels or not, except if there is any white in the bars then I prefer not to be gelled. This is the smallest amount of partial I've ever had it's usually much bigger than that. Ps. Do your soaps sweat after cutting when you put them in the fridge? It was my first time doing it.
  5. It usually is in the mornings and at night but I usually have a heater running. I'm in Georgia so it's not exceptionally cold. The day I made my Jasmine one it wasn't cold at all.
  6. Hi, so when I make my soaps they are usually ready to cut in 12 hours. I have not changed anything and my last three batches have taken way longer. I had to throw away one because it broke in half. It has been over 24 hours and they are still not close to being ready to unmold. What's going on? I use coconut oil, olive oil and palm oil. The fragrances I've used are Monkey Farts, Loving Spell and Jasmine all from Nature's Garden (if that could have anything to do with it).
  7. Hi, I made some soaps the other day using black oxide and neon pigments. I've only used the black oxide before with no trouble. But I got it from a different supplier this time. Is there any particular reason I may have gotten them? Are pigments and oxides more prone to them? Like titanium dioxide is? Or are they even glycerine rivers? I'm not too mad about it because it works with this soap since it's The Hulk inspired for my 4 yo stepson. Kind of looks like veins to me.
  8. Thank you for all your feedback. I will definitely try some of these tips out.
  9. Does anyone else's soap harden extremely faster in the winter or is it just me? Usually my soaps don't harden enough to cut for like 13 hours at least. But since it has gotten cold it takes like 3 hours for them to completely harden.
  10. Every soap I make goes through partial gel phase. Just a ring around the middle. What can I do to prevent this?
  11. I can't seem to find a vanilla that smells like vanilla. They all smell like caramel. Any suggestions?
  12. For the first time EVER my soap got those dreaded orange spots! I have changed nothing about my recipe, still using the same brands of everything. Coconut oil, Palm oil and olive oil. And I just restocked them so I know they aren't old. I've made two other batches since I restocked and they're fine. So, could it have been the FO? It's the only thing different I've used. I used peppermint fluff from Nature's Garden. I'm baffled. Any guidance would be great.
  13. Yes, the fragrance had lemon and lime in it. And I used the CP method. I use a simple recipe 24%coconut oil 44% olive oil 32% palm oil I've had one other batch rice on me in the mold with an old recipe I was using. I've made about 5 batches with this recipe so far and they've all been wonderful, which is why I'm leaning towards the FO. It's called Black Tie by Nature's Garden. Luckily this was just a test batch. Also I don't know if it makes a difference but I use olive oil from the grocery store. I have used the same exact brand since I've been soaping. I also don't believe it has any active lye in it.
  14. Does anyone know why my soap did this? I didn't change anything. Could it have been the FO. I've never used it before.
  15. I'm having such a hard time finding a wax that works for me. I've used 464, 415 and joy wax from Nature's Garden. Nothing I do gets a good hot throw from any of them. I'm open to any kind of wax except beeswax. I'm currently working with joy wax and I love working with it, it's justreally picky about the fragrances and as for the two soy waxes I've used i got zero got throw from either. I've done tons of testing with wicks, fragrance amounts, temperatures. Sofar I've had the best luckwith joy wax. I'm most definitely done with the soy. Any tips or suggestions on different waxes. I'd really love to try just paraffin.
×
×
  • Create New...