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1 minute ago, Kris10Tackles said:

I froze it and used it in place of water. Don’t cringe, but it was I nspired by Holly’s Soapmaking on you tube.

I like Holly! I have watched most of her videos I think. Her voice is so soothing I just enjoy watching her channel. 

For sure not alone! Love the look of botanicals but they feel gross and look almost creepy when they fall off in the sink 😅

I love coconut milk too! How are you using it? I have been adding a tablespoon of powdered to my warm oils but I want to try canned too.

I watched the YouTube videos the other night...it is so bad!

I was yelling at the TV that a cured soap and a safe to use bar of soap not being the same thing is not mind blowing information. My poor dog...he is only used to me yelling at the TV during football games 😆

You are so talented!!! Really cool! 

On 9/21/2022 at 10:02 PM, Kris10Tackles said:

I tried a different stick blender. CuisinArt for the win.

I love my Cuisinart too! 

That looks great!!!!

PS - I had pink salt on the top of the one bar and it is all over the counter in that pic 😆 it is really bothering me in that pic now that I see it posted! 

For my recipe I have found 48 hours or longer is better. May be different with yours though. If it is soft and you cut with a wire I think the air bubbles can be more apparent. Try waiting a bit longer to cut your next batch and see what happens!

This isn't a very scientific experiment since it is different fragrance and colors, but it was the same recipe, water discount, and I blended at the same temps. I used a whisk to combine just until I reached an emulsion. It is also hard to photograph. The air bubbles on the soap on the left are much worse in person! The soap on the left I unmolded and cut at 24 hours; the one on the right was after 48 hours. Every soap I have made since I have tried to wait (I'm impatient lol) and the ones I cut a bit too soon I can see a difference!

Your soaps are so beautiful!

How soon are you unmolding/cutting after you pour? I have found I get less spots like that the longer I wait to unmold and cut. I am using a wire cutter which I think tends to highlight any bubbles, but seems like if I wait an extra day they aren't as bad. I did some experiments with this; I will try to take some pics later. 

When I do 1 pound test batches I just whisk until emulsion, because like was mentioned it is so easy to get extra air into small batches!  

I know a few months back they had a note on certain fragrances that were being reformulated to meet the new IFRA regs (even though they don’t post those for us) and then most of them disappeared. So maybe it is related to that?

6 hours ago, LilFirecracker said:

It does feel amazing! Also, it was the first time that I actually felt nervous about it all. I guess the reality that it's all coming together slowly finally hit me. It was more of a nervous excitement, but mixed in with a tiny bit of "oh God what if I screw this up?!" 🤣

You got this!!

12 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Will do!

found another “catalytic” lamp company I am swooning over from the UK. 
https://www.ashleigh-burwood.co.uk

Wow now you have me swooning too…why am I such a sucker for anything that says London? 😂

I started with liquid soap before I moved on to cold process and I agree it is really fun to make! 

"Amazing gift" Ugh!!!

You can check makesy (Wooden Wick), Stone Candles, and 1617 but like mentioned above anywhere can be hit or miss. I started off wanting to test all the expensive oils but I now have a mix of ones I like with price points all over the place. For me I like a fragrance that is more complex, and sometimes I achieve that by blending oils so don't rule out the less expensive oils. It's fun to experiment!

I do like how makesy now has a sample box you can customize too. 

I have tried quite a few (ok a lot lol) from these suppliers so glad to give you any opinions if you see any that interest you!

Amy

Those look beautiful!! It’s addictive isn’t it lol?

On 5/6/2022 at 9:36 PM, Kris10Tackles said:

🥰 thank you so much! I did try to plan it out so that I’m forced to use up my melt and pour batches in the time it will take for my first batch of  CP soap to cure. The waiting is still hard and I’ve also been weighing the bars everyday. Nope not impatient. I find it fascinating that they’ve been consistently losing  .01 oz every day.

 

I have so much to learn! ☺️

You planned it very well! The pre-mixed oils from Brambleberry were a good idea. That way you learn the process first then you can dive into formulating your own recipes. That part was overwhelming for me in the beginning. But once you are comfortable with the process that becomes much easier!  

20 hours ago, LilFirecracker said:

I did notice the price of the thermal shipping labels when I was looking at other labels. That's definitely gonna be on the agenda later once I have things under control and have more room to work with. No ink to buy for it...ever! Yes please!!!

Once I had made enough sales on Etsy to cover the cost it was the first thing I bought. Game changer for sure! 

On 5/7/2022 at 6:56 AM, NightLight said:

Yes two printers. Thermal for shipping labels if you plan on being direct to consumer/Etsy or elsewhere. Then label printer if you plan on printing your own labels. I started with just a laser printer, but its too costly with toner to print shipping labels. Thermal printers are great no toner or cartridges to replace and you can get the labels cheap Amazon, EBay, UPS.

I second this. I LOVE my thermal printer for labels. I used to waste so many when I only had one label to print so this was a great investment for me.

13 hours ago, TallTayl said:

Did the rivers appear just in areas of titanium dioxide? If so, the water soluble from Nurture Soap has never (touches wood) done that in my formula. 
 

I use a 40% lye solution normally. I ratchet that up to 35% for fast movers, like spices and florals. 

I was using the Winter White mica from Nurture at 2.5 tsp per pound of oils (below the recommended 3 tsp per pound of oils - I was using to lighten a neon mica that made up the other .5 tsp per lb). I just pulled my notes and my lye concentration was only 30% in this batch. So that and the Winter White were the culprit. 

Thanks TallTayl! I am going through my notes 35% is my highest lye concentration. I am going to experiment and see how I do with my recipe at closer to 40%.

21 hours ago, TallTayl said:

When I started out I liked HP once in a while, so I could use them right away. Then realized how limiting HP is, and stuck with CP, but can oven hot process a poured CP and get a similar end result.  
 

once I figured out water discounting the whole ballgame changed!  I use my end slices after about 2-3 days.

I just got my first soap with glycerin rivers so mention of water discounting is timely...I have been using 2:1 water to lye but need to reevaluate that! Been wanting to test CPOP too 🤔.

That looks great! Now comes the worst part...waiting!! I am the worst and always try bars that aren't ready. Soapmaking is doing nothing to improve my patience...and I thought waiting 2 weeks for candles to cure was bad! 😁 

Just another thought to add since you had mentioned you are running out of time. Do you have any local printers that can print labels for you? It may be most costly than printing yourself, but if it gives you time to make a decision on a printer that is a good thing! Some of the local shops where I live offer better pricing and smaller minimums than online. 

But if not I can second TallTayl's suggestion of Zazzle. I used to use them for business cards and postcards and was always happy with the product.  

When I was still involved with my friend's candle business I printed all of our labels on my very old HP CP1525nw. I also used the polyester weatherproof labels (from Online Label) and they always came out beautifully. And yes the laser cartridges are expensive but they last a very long time (depending of course on how much of the label you are printing. We did black labels for Halloween and it devoured the black toner lol). Check for used ones too...I see my model pop up quite a bit on Craigslist. 

Have you tried to wick down? I know that sounds counterintuitive but I have found that sometimes that helps with the wick drowning out towards the bottom of the jar.