MoonShadow

Got it! THANKS AGAIN!

Thank you both SO much!

As for the oatmeal, I think I'm going to grind up some to put in at light trace, with the honey, maybe 1 TB PPO of each? Or is that too much honey? Since I'm not scenting it with any FO, I do want to be able to smell the honey.

And then I'll sprinkle whole oats on the top. Outside might be a really good idea. I am going to do this in the evening. I live in FL and it should be around 60 degrees by then. (I grew up in northern OH, and remember the 2 degree days. Brrrrrrr)

I want to make a moisturing bar with Goatsmilk, Oatmeal and Honey, no FO. I understand the sugars in the milk and honey will cause more heating, and I shouldn't insulate.

I'm thinking I'll try soaping around 92 for both the oils and lye/milk solution and add honey and oatmeal at light trace.

My question is, as I develop and plug the recipe into a calculator, do I superfat? Or no?

Am I on the right track here?

Thanks CandyBee!

Thanks! I actually put them in gift baskets with a set of 3 plain bath bars that have coffee grounds in them, and matching candles (A palm pillar with a ring of the rose buds glued around the bottom, and a travel tin) in that Coffee and Roses scent so they can just display the one featured in the picture if they don't want to use it. But I forget to take pics of the filled baskets before I gave them for Christmas.

Not exactly like icing a cake, if it's over-whipped or over-cooled, when I say hard, I mean bar soap hard. It just takes patience. When it starts to thicken, pile it up by spoonfuls on top of one another.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone!

That is stunning..

Thank you! Those lemons were a PITA to make!

That's why they went to the in-laws.(PITA)

So it can be done, it just has to be whipped for a long time and then added to the top very quickly. gotcha. I'm atleast going to try. I love the way it looks! Thank you for sharing.

-So it is like icing a cake? And when you say rock hard, do you really mean like rock hard? Not soft like soap?

Not exactly like icing a cake, if it's over-whipped or over-cooled, when I say hard, I mean bar soap hard. It just takes patience. When it starts to thicken, pile it up by spoonfuls on top of one another.

I have found that it's possible whipping it with just a touch of glycerin with a whisk or spoon for a very very very very long time works. I've used a stick blender, I've tried different temps, all turn it to rock real quick.

Oops, not glycerine, liquid castille soap, sorry. :embarasse

Very pretty soap!

And the IN-LAWS got Spiced Cranberry for Christmas. LOL

I made these for family members for Christmas.

Beautiful.

Oh boy...so am I now...

I want to make sure I understand... No matter what shape or depth mold or mold material you use, you simply cover it with a wooden lid and always get a full gel?

I wonder why so many people recommend insulating molds (other than wooden molds with lids) to retain even warmth for a complete gel... Not to mention folks who put their soap on a heating pad to insure even warmth during the gel phase... Now I am confused...

Thanks everyone! I think they came out good enough to get me hooked. I am already plotting my next batch.

I do have a couple of questions though.

I have heard that CPOP soap is not as hard, and colors not as bright as CP soap. Is that true?

Is it better to add water dispersible titanium dioxide to the lye solution right before blending it with the oils to make the base color brighter, or is it better to add the oil dispersible TD to the blended base right before trace?

Well, as I suspected...I experienced #swirl-fail. LOL But all in all not too bad. They smell good! Even hubby likes the smell. They're pretty much invisible. I KNOW I have a LOT more to learn about colors. The soap is beige, and still pretty soft and sticky...Is that normal?

After years of candle and M&P, I took the plunge and made my first batch of CP soap last night. For two months I read and read and read everything I could get my hands on, (including all the tips from the masters here) A couple of books, creating checklists and many Youtubes videos later, - I went for it.

My first recipe is:

Superfatted at 8%:

Castor Oil at 1.82 Oz.

Coconut Oil at 9.09 Oz.

Olive Oil at 14.54 Oz

Palm Oil at 9.09 Oz

Shea Butter at 1.82 Oz

(I can get all the oils withing two miles of my house)

Lye 4.97 Oz

Filtered Water 11.60 Oz

Scented with White Musk.

Blue Mica for swirls.

I was surprised at how smoothly things seem to go, cuz I was REALLY afraid I'd screw it up. A stick blender really speeds up trace, but I was able to control it.

I wrapped the baby up with 4 towels and put it to bed.

The biggest challenge so far? O...M....G. How do you guys wait and not peek??? Argh! My hubby was making fun last night, because patience is not my strongest suit.

But I'm being good. :tiptoe: (It's killing me)

Very exciting stuff so far! But I'm prepared for a less than perfect first attempt...like failed swirls, or I screwed something up in the recipe...

I love Backwoods Sea Salt Breeze too. .

Absolutely beautiful, Natty. One of the best I've ever seen.

I agree, you SHOULD be a web designer...in your spare time from candle making, B&B making, packaging, shipping, etc...you know, spare time. LOL

I have come to the conclusion that pour temps are not the only culprit in creating wet spots. I think mean little invisible trapped bubbles do too. And then you have SOME mean FO's that are more prone to cause those little mean bubbles to suddenly become HUGE UGLY WET SPOTS, no matter how carefully you stir or slowly pour.

I agree with Stella. The melt pool, melted wax, on my palm pillars isn't viscous either. Watery side is a good description.

MS, I don't know the answer, but the "critter dippers" got me to giggling!! I needed a grin today!!

Wonder if I can dip my stinkin' dawgs without PETA coming to get me...

Stella, I was giggling when I posted it, too.

Thanks everyone.

To the critter dippers out there...

I need to make one dipped critter for a friend. I have the critter, LOL, but I don't have any pillar paraffin. I have soy container wax, paraffin container wax and palm pillar wax. I have some 'hardeners,' like palm stearic, beeswax, coconut oil and additives.

Is there anyway to make this one dipped critter with what I have on hand?

TIA