funnygirl

There is food grade lye? What on earth for? I cant think of anything food related off the top of my head. Please enlighten me, LOL!

Ahww! I know you must be so upset. I think it still looks nice though, even thpugh it's not what you wanted. Post some cuts pics for us when it's done. That scent sounds devine.

The color/swirl looks really good. Im anxiouse to see the cut pics!

Well, thats good to know at least. I just made a batch of GM soap useing MC's Sweet Orange & Chili Pepper. OMG! It smells devine!!!!!!!!! Then I read this thread and thought "Oh Crap"! Maybe mine will hang in there being it's GM. I sure hope so.

Hmmm, I am certainly no expert, but one thing that is going through my mind is that you have made this recipe before, so that is not it. The FO's are new, so it could be an FO issue, but then there is the zap. I may be completely off base, but are you positive that your scale is still accurate? I know that with mine when the battery is getting low, it starts getting off. Even if it's not off by much it can screw up my candle making, and with soap it could be a disaster. Sorry I can't help more, thats just what came to my mind.

I would try a swirl in your bowl before you pour it. Just put in some liquid dye, give a stir or two, not too much, then pour into your molds. Not sure how this will work, but it is what I would do if I was going to try it. Let us know.

PM'd ya Paul!

The problem I seem to be having, is that when I up the conditioning, the hardness goes down. Right now the hardness is at 32, but the crisco should actually harden it up a bit more than that. Blah! I will check out those other 2 recipes and see how they fair. Thanks!

Well, my first batch of soap appears to be way too drying. Not what I was looking for at all. Im having a hard time finding a moisturizing recipe to use that includes the oils I have on hand. I went back to soap calc and came up with the following recipe. crisco 30% canola 20% coconut 15% palm kernal 15% sweet almond oil 10% castor oil 10% Can one of you experts run it through the calc and tell me what you think of the qualities? I just havent learned all the properties of different oils yet, so I just want an experts opinion on how this recipe looks. I want a fairly hard bar, that will clean the skin, but leave sto skin moisturized, not dry and tight. I will be useing GM again, as I like the creaminess it provides. I think I am useing the oils in amounts that should hold/store well, but Im not positive about that either. Any help will be very much apprieciated! Oh, also. Should I change the Lye Concentration % to 33%? This seems to be a number I keep seeing.

LOL Paul! Im going over your method in my mind. Im doing GM soap too, but I am useing the canned evaporated. If I understand you correctly, I could do the following. Instead of mixing my water/GM in equal parts and then adding lye, I could add the water part to the lye, then after I add the lye water to my oils, put in the GM. For example. If I needed 4 oz. of lye and 12 oz. liquid, I could mix 4 oz. lye and 6 oz. water. Add that to my oils, then add the other 6 oz. GM directly to the oils? Just want to make sure before I do something silly. Also, when I use soapcalc, it has a default setting of the following: water as % of oils: 38, and super fat: 5%. Should I change the water to 33 instead of 38?

Glad you got it to work. I stayed up for awhile last night to see if you posted back, but I guess you waited until I went to bed, LOL!

I dont know. It's working for me. If you cant get it to work just let me know what you need and I will tell you the results.

Those are Beautiful! Love those wispy swirls!

With the little bit of M&P I did I figured out real quick that olive oil M&P isnt very bubby at all. The Ultra White I tried was pretty bubbly. I also found out that the longer it sat, the better lather I got. I too just started soap making. The miller site mentioned is great for study. I wanted to do CP and there is a wealth of info there. I also ordered a CP DVD from Bramble Berry. Havent watched it yet, but I will let you know how informative it is after I do. I wanted to get something where I could "see" instead of only reading, so that sounded good to me I would start with the miller site and read until you cant stand it anymore. Then I would find a basic type recipe and give it a shot. While your reading, you could start playing with the lye calculator and getting familuar with that. I just started plugging in recipes I found and getting a feel for it. Then I started plugging in new recipes that I made up and getting a feel for what oils/butters contribute what properties to a soap. It's very fun and addicting. Just study and act on that studyinhg by doing. Good luck and have fun!

I mixed it myself. I searched for a good true Patchouli for a LOOOOOOONG time, and finally settled on Candle Cocoons. Never could get it wicked right, so it's great to be able to use it in a soap. I got the Blackberry (actually is's Blackberry sage) from Natures Garden. They are beautiful together. I have some oils I got from bramble berry, love all of them. BB & NG give you alot of information as far as soaping is concerned. They let you know how the oils do in CP. Whether they discoler, accelerate, etc. HTH! Thanks again for the compliments!

Speaking of ash, the first batch of CP I did went into my unheated oven with the light on. I did this instead of insulating. It looked great at first, but has since devoloped a chalky looking film. It can be wiped off, but it looks weird. Is this the ash you spoke of? My 2nd batch I did the same way, but I had a pan of water in the oven too. I didnt get that chalky look on that batch. Did I discover anything? Does a pan of water change something? Also, I am a little confused about "zap". I kept reading about people testing with their tounge for "zap". Now my soaps are very fresh! But, being the moran I am, I decided to test it. I get nothing! Tastes like soap???? Is it possible I am immune to zap? Or could my warm oven from the light have sped up the process and my soap is safe? I left it in overnight that way. I also observed a full gel in each batch. ????? Im such a newb!

I have been reading about CPOP and have some questions. So far I have made a couple of batches of CP and last night I did some HP to test my recipe. My HP was so ugly, LOL! But, it served it's purpose as far as testing my recipe. I came across directions for CPOP and it sounds great! A soap I can use much quicker like HP, and that is still smooth and pretty like CP. So, what are the draw backs? Can the soap really be used after cutting? I know it gets better with time, but is it really safe to use immediatly? Does it change the look at all? I read that it can cause some colors to fade over what they would be in plain CP, but that was all I found. Any info would be much appreciated!

I would add up the cost of what it takes to make the entire mold, and then double that. That would be a wholesale price.

Yep. I was asking about the 100% pure soy flakes I use in candle making. I use Golden Brands 415, so I thought if I could use it in soaps too that would be great. I got ahold of a recipe and used it in my Patchouli & Blackberry soap I just made. Of course I wont know how it acts as far as lather/conditioning until about Feb 1st, LOL! But it was really nice to work with.

Thanks so much everyone! I couldnt have done it without all your help. I sure hope the recipes I used are good, cause everything smells great. I want to make more, but need to see how these turn out before I use up all my supplies, LOL! Thanks again for the nice compliments.

My 2nd batch of CP. Im having sooooo much fun with this!

Lookin good so far, hehehe. Scented Blackberry & Patchouli, a custom blend. I did a swirl in the bowl this time, and think it's gonna be a WHOLE lot better than my 1st attemp. Actually, I think it would have been perfect if I hadnt been a duffus and gone to smooth out the top, LOL! Oh well, batch number 3 will be the best yet. Tried yet another recipe, that I made up myself. :pWe shall see how that works out ?????? Anyway, will post pics tomorrow. Thanks to everyone that has so patiently answered my questions and offered their help. You guys ROCK! :highfive:

o, how do you like it? What charecteristics does it add to soap? I would think it would add hardness, and some moisture????

I was on the MMS lye calc and it has soy wax as an ingredient. I gots a lots of pure soy wax flakes, LOL! Anyone ever soaped with it? I havent seen any recipes that call for it.

I picked up the Meyenberg evaporated last night at Wal-Mart, in the baking isle by the other canned milks. Now, I want a good recipe to try it out with! LOL! This is what I have on hand. Canola Crisco Castor Olive Coconut Any suggestions?