Candybee

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. 16oz of wax weighs the same whether its melted or solid. You are correct that the standard 6% FO per lb of wax is the norm. Exceptions come with certain FOs or waxes like some soys that may work better wiith higher or lower %. For 16oz of wax I calculate 16 x 6% = .96. Most round that out to 1.0

I want to make my own Christmas tree, alpine, woods, and forest type blends. I just got some fir needle but it only started me to wanting more evergeen type EOs to blend into the basic scents I mentioned above. So if you wanted to make these type blends what EOs should I get? Any basic blends you feel like sharing I would also love to know. Thanks!

Was just wondering what EOs are favorites for others to work with. Right now I think lavender, patchouli, allspice, lime, and geranium are my favorites. I just wish cedar and orange stuck in CP better. But I also love a good herbal mint blend like rosemary mint or eucalyptus mint. I love blending spearmint and peppermint together for a rounded mint blend. I saw wintergreen at ED so I think next time I buy lye I should add some wintergreen to my order!

These are some great ideas! Thanks! Scented-- you reminded me that I also want to try some rosewood. I may have to get some just so I can try mixing it with the ylang.

Thanks for looking everyone!

Top- where do you get the saturated oils info charts? is that from Soapmakers?

Chefmom its funny you mention the smell. I know when I am melting soy wax in my meltor it sizzles and pops like cooking oil when it heats up. Plus it begins to give off this deep fryer scent like someone is getting ready to fry some chicken or something. I always thought that soy wax makes the most outstanding bakery scented candles but doesn't have that same wow factor with other scents particularly florals. Nice to know its not just me.

Okay I guess it will make more sense to me once I have a few batches under my belt. For now I am just gathering info and reading up on it.

A basic recipe I started off with is: Olive Oil - 45% Lard - 25% Coconut Oil - 25% Castor - 5% This will give you a great all around basic soap and you can find all the ingredients at your local store or Walmart. Look for the castor in the pharmacy. The recipe produces a creamy, white, hard bar of soap that lathers like crazy but is pretty gentle on your skin. A good variation is upping the lard say 30-40% and lowering the olive or even lowering the olive and the coconut oil a bit. Using more lard produces more 'creaminess' to the feel and lather. By doing a variation you can also get a chance to see how they oils behave while making your soap and also in the conditioning properties or feel of the finished soap. The higher the lard the longer the batter takes to trace. I found at 30% or higher I started having difficulty reaching trace. No matter. I just emulsified the batter very well with my stick blender and poured it into my mold. Another thing I learned about soapmaking is you don't always need to reach trace. As long as the ingredients are mixed thoroughly or emulsified it will still saponify. If you don't reach trace in any soap batter you make the thing you want to be careful of is separation so be sure to blend it very well. There are other things that can make your batter separate like some FOs but that won't matter whether you have traced or not. If a FO causes your batter to rice or oils to seperate it helps to stick blend the crud out of it before you pour it into your mold.

What would be the difference between using lactic acid or doing a negative superfat? Although I presume a negative superfat would be less gentle.

Just wanted to say those are really cute jars! Good luck on your wick testing.

Did you do full water? That would be approx 12.16oz of liquid and 4.472oz of lye according to Soapcalc. Your original recipe is high in iodine and linoleic so it may be prone to orange spots which could appear at anytime. The recipe should produce a bar that is high in conditioning but will be somewhat soft. It should harden up after a week or two. Its not a bad recipe but I would use less canola or switch it out completely with either the lard or crisco. Or even a combo of lard and crisco. I would also go with 5% castor if you want a bit more creamy lather. Re the gelling. Its not necessary. Its a matter of preference. Some soapers swear it makes a harder bar or makes colors more bright. I have done both, gel and no gel and frankly prefer not forcing gel. If its gonna gel fine, if not, I don't worry about it. I know that some recipe formulations will heat up more than others so basically I just watch for overheating rather than worrying about the soap gelling. Not sure what the 'layer' that peeled off the bottom is about. Never experienced that. It may be that the soap was too soft to unmold at the time. Especially since the recipe produces a soft soap and if you used full water it would be even softer. Sometimes a soap that is real soft may stick to the mold so that when you unmold it they come off the soap real easy. But that takes care of itself after a few days. Soft soap recipes just take extra time to harden up. Sometimes it can be a week or two for very soft soap to firm up.

Now this sounds like something I would like! I like their salty sea air so I should try this one because I miss a good rice flower. Hope it CPs nice.

AH/RE Salty Sea Air

I recently purchased some for the first time and don't remember why but I know I wanted to use it. Basically I am looking for some blending ideas. Anyone have any they would like to share? Thanks.

From Nature with Love carries the real deal. Here is a link that will also give you an explanation of what it is and how its made and its origin. Only buy Monoi de Tahiti from a refutable company that can certify it: https://www.fromnaturewithlove.com/soap/product.asp?product_id=OILMONOIUNSFR143 I use it in a specialty soap. Since its made with coconut oil I split my coconut oil with monoi for my total % I use in my soap. So if I am using 25% CO I may split that say 15% CO and 10% monoi. For me its just too pricy to use at full %. Also, it has the same properties as CO so it doesn't make any sense to me to use it in place of CO except as a marketing source for my 'polynesian' themed specialty soap.

Are you saying you added lactic acid to some KOH and added that to the lye solution or the soap batter? Would you elaborate? Also, would citric acid do the same?

I use Thor's hammer.

....and I always thought shortening looked so creamy and rich from the hydrogenation and being 'extruded' to look something like thick cream or frosting in the can.

That's good news! Thanks for the review.

I think this was discussed right after the wax came out and the general consensus was its all marketing buzzwords. No one really understood what in the heck it was supposed to mean. Besides, whatever, its not all that and a bag of chips anyway.

I just checked my notes and the vanilla I had that worked the best for me was Vanilla Lace from CS. I blended it with Peaks Asian Sandalwood. But I also used real vanilla bean and scraped out the paste and put it in my batch. I also tempered some eggs and added those. So I had a really creamy vanilla soap. It did turn dark brown like vanilla pod brown and the lather was a light tan color so I didn't make it anymore. But my customers really loved the vanilla scent and wanted it even when I explained the lather turned tannish. I'm not sure if the vanilla paste actually scented the soap but I want to believe it helped anchor it. The paste/seeds had a real pretty look in the soap until it turned so dark you couldn't see them anymore. Anyway, it was the best smelling vanilla soap I made and the vanilla overpowed the sandalwood without a fake or plastic smell. As I said, that might have been due to the vanilla paste.. just not sure.

I kept thinking I must have tried this wax at some point. Then I remembered it was the CB Advanced and not the Excel. The CBA didn't impress me at all. Sure it made lovely candles but no throw. Oh... I think 1 or 2 bakery brulee type scents threw okay but nothing else. I dropped it fairly fast. I think that is why when the Excel came out I was in no rush to try it... and so far have not heard any reviews that tell me its worth trying. I'm sticking with container palm. I don't get 'bloom' with it and soy just doesn't have that luminescent glow that palm has.

Thanks for looking! Need to make some more this week!

I just adore these soap boxes. I found them at Michaels crafts. Here are some pics of one I use for my shaving soaps. The soaps themselves are plain round puck soaps. But wrapped up and labeled and put in the box they were a big hit at opening day market! I also take a shaving mug and brush with me to the market to demonstrate making the shaving cream.