MochaMama

Actually, I really like it too, bet you couldn't do that again if you were really trying. It is very unique, and I don't think you would have any trouble selling it.

You are so right. After such a disaster (which was what I thought at first) I didn't bother writing the color combo down. Oh well, there will be plenty more opportunity for mistakes!

Thank you all for such nice comments! You made me look at my soap in a new light - though it was not what I wanted, it didn't turn out too bad....

I was thinking the other day...very dangerous...and wanted to formulate an aromatherapy massage oil using jasmine.

Jasmine absolute (which is the only thing I could find) is QUITE expensive. Would a person get the same benefits from using a jasmine fragrance oil?

I would not be marketing the oil with any claims at all, but in conversation I would like to be able to say, "some say jasmine helps with depression etc. etc."

I don't mind coughing up the extra bucks for the absolute (especially since I read it's so strong you only use drops) but would just like to hear opinions.

I love the amber bottles - your labels are so elegant!

Hi all:

I wrote about my select shades mess in the soap talk area, and I finally got around to taking a pic. I was going for dark red and things just careened wildly out of control with the melt and pour soap plus the black aussie clay.

Anyhoo, imagine my surprise when I cut the soap (I used an 8x8 brownie pan) and the clay had all settled to the bottom. It has a rather funky look, scented with Dragons's Blood FO from Brambleberry, but this one's staying in my shower.

Castor oil helps cut the "grainy" feel.

Thanks eugenia for the tip - might have to add some of that to my lip and lotion bar base. Got a bad case of the grainies a while back!

I guess if 250 ml was the actual weight of the product, and you added 1% fragrance oil, which is typical, you could add 2.5 ml of FO. I have no idea if this would mess up the preservative system in place in your product.. but if it's just for you you could keep a pretty close eye on what you've got to be safe.

All of this is depending upon whether or not my math is correct hehe. 1% is the key though!

Ah PrairieAnnie, you beat me to the punch by 4 min!

Hi Sally:

It really depends on the base you are using. Many manufacturers specify how much FO one can add to the base in order for it to remain stable. I know that the base from saveonscents.com says add up to 1% FO.

I would say check with the maker of your base.

If you can't get that info, I would play around with it, say adding 1% to 250 ml, would be 2.5 ml of FO (how I love the metric system!!). See how it feels and smells. If ya like it, great! If not, back to the drawing board.

Hope this helps.

Lynn:

I just discovered something this morning. My mp soap has lots of water beads also, which it did not have when I made some other soap three weeks ago. It is so humid here in Jersey and the glycerin content of the soap just loves that humidity!

I am going to take di's suggestion on using Damp rid as well as crank up the dehumidifier in my basement. Other than that, we can just wait till this hurricane season breaks.

Elements has natural malibu bottles - if that's what you mean by creamy. They are translucent.

http://www.elementsbathandbody.com/Malibu-Bottles-c-116.html

HTH

Ok, that makes sense. I just learned something new!

Check out the link and let me know what you think:

http://www.sheago.com/fruitbutters.html

What are fruit oils? I was listening to the radio and someone was talking about using fruit oils, such as mango and papaya in their body butters. Is this just a tricky way of saying flavor oils?

I couldn't find any evidence online of a papaya essential oil or a mango essential oil.

Thanks guys for all of your input. It is greatly appreciated. I guess we will never know exactly what causes this, I may have to change soap bases.

I'm in New Jersey, does anyone recommend someone on the east coast for Melt & Pour base? I order fragrances from Peak, but they are kind of far away to order soap. Shipping would be crazy.

Hi Lynn,

I am in NJ also and there is http://www.kycandlewaxsupply.com/, which is in Kentucky. They sell SFIC bases. The Chemistry Store (www.chemistrystore.com) sells Stephenson bases. I have ordered from KY candle supply, but I've found that if I buy more than 50 lbs, it's worth it to buy from www.wisterialane.com even though they are in CA. Wisteria Lane sells SFIC bases. (I have not yet ordered from them, but they give you speedy responses on the email.)

Good luck - it seems like my fav. suppliers are on the other coast!

What I'll probably do is use SFIC clear base to get the 'true' colors that I want from Select Shades. I really like working with the colors, but the color on the color chart doesn't always jibe with reality - probably because of the opaque quality of the soap.

I thought about red oxide for about 1/2 sec, until I read on some board how someone used too much and it make red suds! I've got enough problems with the brown cocoa butter suds.

Thanks for all your responses!

Hi:

Anyone use these colorants?

http://www.goplanetearth.com/colors.html

You can also check out www.goplanetearth.com. I've purchased a lot (too many) of my molds from there.

Argh! I tried to get a dark red tint to my MP soap because I was using the Dragon's Blood FO. So after following the chart to a T, tell me why did my soap turn out dark, grayish lavender?

Well, I'll tell you. The intial color mix was ....dark pink, not dark red. Ok, I thought, add more drops of red. Note: DO NOT do this. So that's how I got the lavender. Oh, MochaMama, how did it become grayish? Well, let's see. I had some black clay that I so cleverly added, thinking it would bring the color down. Hmm, mission accomplished - now I've got grayed out lavender soap.

Sigh. Sometimes I really hate experimenting.

I've figured it out though. I need to use clear soap to get some of the more true colors on the chart. Apparently the MP white base of the soap interferes with the coloring, i.e no matter how much red I add, it will still look pinkish.(Look, I'm a genius - I figured that out all by myself.)

Smells nice though. Very spicy/woodsy - patchouli is the I'll just cut it up and call it Mist or something like that.

Thanks for "listening".

Lynn:

Not sure if I can add anything to these wonderfully thorough responses, but I recommend the wrapping.

As for the FO, it depends on what FO you are using. WSP recommends @ 1-2% while Bittercreek % is a little higher.

So it would help if you checked out the FO manufacturer.

PrairieAnne - I am totally going to check out Catalina's bases. I thought I was a SFIC gal for life, but now I've gotta check out that base!!

You could also try bramleberry's "rich dark chocolate" . I have not yet tried it in products but it smells great out of the bottle.

Maybe you could use the Kosher salt. Let us know how it turns out. :highfive:

Not really losing a friendship over it, but I think it was the way it was said to me that is making me feel a little . It's not that big of a deal, I thought it was funny because it had happened to a few others here on the board.

Soap in the city:

Do your lip balms look like my lotion bar in this post? I used shea butter in this one.

http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55159

Well, let me tell ya, I cant do M&P to save my life! I tried it several times and they always looked hideous.

I never thought I would ever make CP soap. I resisted for about a yr or so then one day, with the help of cindym (on speaker phone) and Lizzy (email) I jumped in and did it. Now I love it. Still rarely use it...but love doing it. ....YES! I use soap, I just dont like bar soap:p

Is there a reason you dont want to do CP? To me it is cheaper than M&P...although you can use just about and FO and be way more creative with M&P. C'mon...give it a try. MUCH better than REBATCHING!

Kimberly:

I am not rebatching:shocked2: , it's my so-called friend, who decided that since my MP soaps look so good (her words) that she was going to do one better and do rebatching.

I do MP because it's easier (and safer) for me to do with three little ones under five at home , plus I like the "instant gratification" MP offers. If it doesn't turn out right, I'll know in five hours! CP folks have the patient of saints to wait for a month (and sometimes longer) to see if the soap hangs tough - I take my hat off to you all!

Maybe one day I'll try CP.....it does look interesting!

I used the bottom of a pencil box that I got for a dollar at Michaels. I have also used the bottom of the 20 oz bottles of soda.

Sorry about posting so late. I just got back from a conference. That sheet is actually an apple holder that I snagged from my local grocer. They were just going to throw it away! I figure if it can keep apples in place...

I love that idea - I am big on resuable stuff!

Your bath bombs look great- they remind me of Easter Eggs.

Whoops! My mistake! It says "natural soap base" and it's "100% soap" (as opposed to detergents etc.) I combined the two in my head.

On other sites where they are reselling the SFIC soap base, it claims to be 'all natural' soap base.

However, I think it's best, considering soapmom's and carebear's comments, to just say 100% soap with natural fragrance and color. Or 100% soap with fragrance and color.

Or, I could leave it off the label entirely and just discuss it if the customer asks.

It's a lot easier testing soap than getting ready for selling, that's for sure. There are so many things to consider.

Thank you for your help.