GMM

I've mostly used natural colorants for my soaps or have left them without color, but after seeing some of the beautiful colors other posters have, I must admit I'm a teensy bit envious! My city is home to several art supply stores that stock high-quality oxides and ultramarines. This might be a really dumb question, but are they the same kinds I've seen online through soapmaking supply sources? In the end, I'll probably stick with my naturals because the people who are using my soap (mostly friends and family for right now) seem to appreciate the fact that there aren't a lot of names they don't recognize on my soap ingredients. Maybe I'll just make gorgeous fancy-pants soaps for myself.

I'm a mostly lurker sort who recently began posting, but I can tell you I've watched this thread like CRAZY waiting and waiting and waiting for those cut pictures. No question, those are simply gorgeous bars of soap. Wow.

I do exactly what Crafty1_AJ does--my standard recipe is just that, but if I want a creamy bar I take a bit of something away and add the appropriate something else. If I want a nice face bar, ditto. That's why I love this basic recipe so much. It's very chameleonlike.

Just curious...I have played with a lot of different recipes over the time I've been making soap, but interestingly enough, the one that I definitely like the best is one of the first recipes I ever tried. I use it as the base for almost everything I make these days. It's mostly OO, with a touch of coconut and castor. Seems to take superfatting well without becoming greasy, gets nice and hard, lathers up great, amenable to additives....all in all, it's a great bar of soap! Probably the only downside is the curing time, so I'm going to start experimenting with different water discounts to see if I can't cut that down. I sometimes add beeswax into the mix as well, when I use something like GM or honey that may result in a softer bar. Nothing seems to faze this soap recipe. I lurve it. So how long did you tinker around before you hit on your tried-and-true recipes you're currently using?

I added sugar, but based on the rest of your response I definitely cooked tooooooo long. It was mostly mashed potatoes by the time I packed it into my molds. All the slamming in the world (enough that DH called out several times "Are you OK?....You sure you're OK?" while I was manhandling my molds and soap) wasn't going to get it packed into the corners, or even to smooth it out along the top of the soap (bottom of the mold...). One question--if I have a mold that is only approved to 145 degrees F, can I wait until the HP cools to that temp before pouring into the mold? Or should I just use molds that will stand up to the higher temperatures? I have one particular mold that I really like, but it's only rated to 145. Can HP be rebatched? I'm thinking I might try the OHP next. Less babysitting. My arm wanted to fall OFF after sitting there for something like an hour and a half stirring, stirring, stirring so I didn't get scorching and/or volcanoes.

It seemed to go OK, although I think I'll stick with CP for the creaminess of the end result. I'll continue to experiment with HP 'cause I'm sure the texture was user error more than any true difference in the finished product... Definite positives are that I was able to take a shower with my soap the next morning! And oooooh, was it a nice soap (buttermilk and carrot, olive oil base with a bit of castor oil--kind of expensive because of the OO, so it'll probably be a "family" soap). It had a lovely creamy yet bubbly lather, and felt so good on my skin! I also made a peppermint/rosemary/lavender soap that smells delicious, but is a little too crumbly for comfort. Definitely overcooked! Can HP be rebatched? I hate to lose all my nummy scent, but soap has to stick together before it can be used, eh? Those of you who HP, is the texture that radically different from CP? Did I just cook mine too long in true newbie fashion?

My pomace OO soap ended up a lovely light cream color. I did not add anything to it. It's a lovely soap--very mild, decent creamy lather, and I love the way my skin doesn't feel all tight when I get out of the shower. One of my friends who uses it told me she doesn't feel the need to instantly moisturize upon toweling off, but that she also doesn't feel "greasy." I take that as a nice, big compliment!

Do you have to stir frequently with OHP? One tutorial I read mentions pulling it out every 10-15 minutes and stirring for several minutes. I figured that's almost more disruptive than having to stir constantly with on-the-burner HP. Call my crazy, but I'd rather stir my arms off than have to interrupt whatever I'm doing multiple times to stir the soap! Now, if the OHP doesn't have to be continually checked on and stirred, then count me in! Do you know of any good tutorials on OHP?

I'm going to embark on an experiment, in the interest of not having to wait so daggoned long for soap to cure. Right now I've got drying/curing CP soap tucked into every conceivable nook and cranny around the house. We've reached critical mass, and something's got to give. Since that "something" is not going to be my beloved soap habit, I guess I'll just have to learn a new way to make it so it doesn't take weeks upon weeks to dry out and cure. That said, I don't think my crock pot is large enough to do CPHP, so I'm thinking I might try regular old stovetop HP. Anybody here do this? If so, what are the things I should look for? Are the stages pretty much the same as in CPHP, or will the soap do different things when it's heated directly on the burner? Any lessons learned or tips will be MUCH appreciated! Thanks in advance, Gina

Not using a stick blender, just a stainless steel whisk. I was just so surprised that it would reach heavy trace (and I do mean heavy) so quickly, being all soft oils, and all veggie. Everything I've read about "pure" castile soap is that it takes soooooooo long to reach trace. Well, once it's cured for a little bit, I'm going to try to use it, and if if does not burn my skin from my body I'll consider it good. I don't think I'm doing anything really out of the ordinary or special enough to post pictures of them. Y'all are doing some really spectacular stuff here! Maybe when I get good enough to swirl or make up my own fabulous soap recipes. For now I'm just sticking with herbals. Last night I melted a pound down and made chamomile/lemon soap. So far it's looking and smelling very nice. Subtle, subtle scent, but that's what I like. Once I'm out of the shower I don't want to smell like anything until I put on my perfume.

Last night I made a castile soap. 90% Pomace Olive Oil and 10% Castor Oil. I figured it'd take a long time to trace since I hand stir. So, as I added the lye solution, I stirred briskly, then continued to stir for about 15 minutes, then left the room to have dinner. When I came back into the kitchen about 45 minutes later, I was at a heavy trace. Does this sound normal? Isn't a mostly OO soap supposed to take hours, even days, to trace? I went ahead and poured it into a mold, then today did the zap test. No zap, no separation of oils/lye, and in fact it's starting to look like soap already. Is this just a fluke, or does the CO have some effect on the OO that I haven't read about? Thanks a million! Gina

Thanks, everyone, for the warm welcome! It feels good to be a lurker-no-more, even if I am still a HUGE newbie!

Hello, everyone! I have been lurking here for about 2 months and figured it was about time I become official and say hello! This forum is incredibly informative and I have gotten a lot of great ideas while toodling around. My soap of choice is CP, although I've dabbled a little in M&P. I've been making the CP for several months and enjoy it so much! I have a tendency to make a basic CP and then melt it down again and put in any additives. Well, enough about me. Get back to making soap! Gina