Jcandleattic

I'm still working out the costs, but I believe it might be just a tad more expensive per pound - like pennies maybe (not including shipping which for me I don't have to factor in because I'm local to Peak). I use my typical soap recipe, then add the glycerin - it's the glycerin that jumps the price up. But YES I like the feel of my own MUCH MUCH better. I can't use commercial M&P straight up as a bar of soap - even the SFIC and "known to be better" brands. They are just way too drying to my skin. I can use it as embeds because the CP combats the dryness of the M&P. With my homemade, I've made and used it as regular bars and have had no problems with it at all. I think it's the alcohol/solvents in regular M&P that dries my skin so much. I don't know. I do notice that because of the high % of glycerin, it does dissolve fast than a typical bar of M&P - or it seems that way since I can never get through more than 1-2 uses of regular M&P before having to stop using it.

I like it, and it feels amazing on the skin, but as I said, it froths up pretty badly, which is why I added the water in the first place, but that didn't' help or work the way I thought it would. LOL I don't mind the froth, but if there is a way to eliminate it, that would be great. Alcohol spritz's that work with regular M&P bases don't do a thing for this. So for now I'll live with it. And yes, it's very easy to make. Just HP then at the end of the cook, add the glycerin, blend and mold. I've only made the one batch, and it was only translucent in the center, which I have heard is due to overcooking the HP, so next time I won't cook it quite so long before adding the glycerin and hopefully will have a translucent base (not clear, but not white either) because I am using oils that will supposedly make a clear base. Zero detergents, zero alcohol or stearic (other than what is naturally in the oils)

Thanks for the tip, however, that wouldn't work with my homemade base, as it is made with 100% ppo glycerin, and adding more would make it not hold together. It could work with my commercial bases, though, so I may try it with that.

Those would fit my brand so well - (my colors are browns, tans, and I use kraft labels) and they are so pretty!! I think it would fit yours as well. It would fit with the lodge look, but be a tad "upscale" as well. Please do post when you hear back. and I agree with CB, with the lid being black they shouldn't discolor. Even if the inside liner is white, and the do discolor, I don't think the general populace will care.

Exactly as Candybee said. It's all about experimentation. I only know of a handful of people that use the same recipe that they started with. Even now, 12 years later, I am still tweaking and changing my recipe up every now and then. I do have my main recipe that I use, but even that one got an overhaul about a year ago. As to what works for one and not for others, here's an example: I know a lot of people that love lard in their recipe, however for me, it breaks me out and leaves me feeling greasy and like I haven't rinsed well, so I avoid it. Also take into consideration in a year or so when/if you want to sell, some people are allergic to certain oils, or are vegan, or any number of things, so you will want to know your target market and go from there as well. The next question would be, why coconut oil? Personally I love it, and use it at a high % because my skin type will allow that, but I counter that with other conditioning oils that cancel out the drying effect, but if it is drying to your skin, there are other ways to get a cleansing bar with high bubbles not using a high % of coconut which will bring the mildness up as well. I also agree that lotion or skin softening agents after the fact, should be optional, not necessary. I live in a very dry, high desert climate with very little humidity (seriously, I fee like I'm going to drown when it's at or above 20%) and I very rarely feel I "need" lotion or body butter. I use it - because I love it, not because my skin needs it. Hope this helped answer some of your questions. Oh and what lye calculator do you use? A very helpful one when creating new recipes is Soap Calc Here are some links to help get you started if you haven't read them. The first two are informational, and the last one is the actual lye calculator. http://soapcalc.net/info/GettingStarted.asp http://soapcalc.net/info/SoapQualities.asp http://soapcalc.net/calc/soapcalcWP.asp

BEAUTIFUL! I really like the tops of those soaps, and I can just imagine the scent...

Candy, those are M&P in the pic, which is why they are shiny. I can't get my CP embeds to shine like that, no matter what I do. Edited: I hate when I get my threads/posts confused. I was thinking of a different topic, different pic. Sorry.... These in this pic are my homemade M&P and the teal ones are really shiny - I think because of the addition of the water, but the pink ones are a little bit, but not as shiny as true M&P.

Suzy, as long as the graininess or grittiness rubs in smooth and doesn't stay gritty on the skin, I wouldn't worry about it at all. I'm a very picky lotion type person. It's one of the few sensory things that will drive me batty if the consistency is not right, but I've had gritty body butter with shea, and once it's rubbed in, the grit was gone, and I loved it, had no problem with it. I think you are fine. I have heard of the ButterEZ and people who use it tend to love it as well, so you could try that, but if you are getting good reviews on it, then stick with it. Maybe just test a small portion of the EZ to see if it's something you want to do.

Hi Georialee and welcome! Ash can be caused by a great many things and it varies. Type of water, type of humidity, amount of water used, ingredients used, etc. The ones that have ash on it could be because even though they are right next to each other, are getting more moisture out of the air, which could mean the additives in the others are helping to prevent it. I rarely get ash, and the few times I have, I have no idea why because all varients have been the same. Same recipe, same FO, same same same, and yet they developed ash as the other soap I had made before had not. So? Ash is one of the biggest soaping mysteries there is. Most people find that when using Coconut oil - unless using 100% with a very high SF - anything over 15%-20% is too drying, so you may want to test your soaps after the 4 - 6 week cure before making a 5lb batch. However, that's a personal preference. My main recipe has 30% CO and most soapers who have used my bars say they are very conditioning, but I have other conditioning oils as well. The allusive "best recipe" is always a conundrum because what is great for one person, may be too drying for the next, what is very conditioning may be too greasy, etc., etc., If you haven't seen this, it's a very good read about "the best recipe" http://www.modernsoapmaking.com/secret-to-the-best-soap-recipe/ Welcome to the board and to the addiction. Fun, isn't it?

I missed this post somehow. They look awesome!! Love them. Great colors.

Me too!! The gum was horrible, but the jokes made up for it. (sort of)

That is so cool! How fun. I have a couple friends in TN and I wanted to make the TN soap conference this year, and also visit with the friends, but with everything going on, it just didn't happen. Maybe next year...

I've seen the pics of the truck on FB. I LOVE IT. I'm so happy you are getting it. I hope you can get home soon too!!

Yes, but the alcohol doesn't really work. it's weird - because it's homemade, it's half opaque and have translucent, and it's the opaque part that froths. I know right? I've tried steaming them, spritzing them, everything and I can't get them to really shine very well either (my CP embeds that is)

Here's the one I did that was similar. These balls are clear M&P that I colored....

Are you gum drops M&P or CP? I use both, so it just depends on what I have available...

If we weren't forced into it with the flood, I don't think it would have happened. (I've wanted it done for the last 5 years) Same with the bedroom carpet. It's on order and once it finally comes in, we will set the install date and then that will be done. (finally)

We are going to finish up the 2nd bathroom so both will be done after this weekend. I have typical cleaning and organizing to do, and I also wanted to get a couple batches of soap to make up. Not sure if it'll get done. I have so much to do around here. Oh I also need to make up a couple container candles to take to my hairdresser. She always takes 2 16oz candles in exchange for my color/cut and only charges me to style it. I was also going to do a color inventory and a scent inventory (again) but since I have some of each coming on Tuesday, I'll probably wait until next weekend for that. What's everyone else up too? Anything fun and exciting? Even if it's not craft related?

So, my homemade M&P sometimes gets really 'frothy' when melting it. I know when that would happen with my commercial brands, I would just add a little water before melting - worked out fine. (Especially since it's old and dried out - it helped) Well... I have found out I can't do that with my homemade version. LOL I don't have the problem with sweating that a lot of people have with their homemade M&P, but once I added the water, man it wouldn't stop weeping and I couldn't get it to pour right. I guess bottom line is - if you make homemade M&P and want to get it to froth less, I don't know how to help you. adding water is NOT the answer. HAHA Anyway, here is a pic of some embeds I just made. The pink ones are fine. The teal ones, although a gorgeous color (in person, bad pic) are iffy at best for using. If I can get them to stop weeping, I might be able to use them, but that might take a while. LOL

Those are awesome. I also have a niece that would love this!

We'll get it moved. I think it looks great. I made a soap very similar last year with Cotton Candy scent. So fun looking!

I am still using the rubber that came with the Jiffy Wicker (no longer made or available) but you can use that craft foam rubber found at Wal-Mart. Close enough to the real thing that it would work. I can get about 10-15 uses out of each little square and when I bought the system it came with the needles, rubber (about 100 little squares like the one shown), and washers. I lost the washers, but they were the same size, shape, and had the same sized hole that my wick tabs have, and the little tap on the wick tabs I use actually help secure them to the rubber.

Love the red lid and love the black lid. I would take both and see what they say. I like your scent line up all except the lavender. I know it's a popular scent, but with all the foodie scents you have listed it stood out to me as an eww... However, I don't like lavender so that also could be influencing my thought process. Good job. You are going to nail this!

I physically ache for this scenario sometimes!! But as I don't come from money and only play the lotto about once or twice every 3-4 years, I don't think it's going to happen for me. I love the very last jar. (of course I love purple for candles too, so maybe that's why as well?) Thanks for sharing your finds.

As TallTayl said, most paraffin pillar waxes (4625) will shrink and compress on cooling leaving sink holes. The relief holes she speaks of need to be done, because the sink holes can create air pockets and without the poked relief holes and the repour to fill them, the candle will not burn correctly. To prevent leakage around the wick hole there are several tricks. I use a home-made jiffy wicker (a wick tab and a piece of rubber - see pic) some people use putty, and others still use metal tape. All work to varying degrees. Also, when making molded candles like that, the top of the mold is the bottom of the candle. There are a couple pillar tutorials in the tutorial section that you can read about and look at pictures to know what we are talking about. Good luck. Pillars are fun, and I actually like making them much better than containers, even though they are a bit more time consuming. (jiffy wicker system)