beautifulfeetcandles

ROFL - topofmurrayhill, just by chance do you ever frequent political forums. You're wit and especially your avatar and location are familiar =)

Hmmm.. I always thought FO/EO was added as additive. I might have to try this technique! As far as the fullers clay do you add it at trace?

I can't find anything about adding this during the process of creating soap. How much would I want to add for a 6lb batch and when would I add it? At trace I'm assuming?

Anyone know of a hydrogenated soy replacement? Canola Oil?

I'm the same way here =)

I really love you guys! I don't know what I would do without this site. Anyway, on to the next soap! WOOHOO.. can't wait to use my stickblender again.

I put the tip of my tongue on the soap and didnt notice a zap. :yay: :yay:

Alright, I have been telling myself that everything will be ok but I'm starting to wonder if this batch is lost. It appears that the soap didnt gel all the way through to the edges. We waited 24 hours on this and JUST cut it. It's an oatmeal soap. This photo was taken right after the cut. Anyway this is my 3rd soap and the only thing that I did different was not wrap the mold in towels. I'm using ITSMEJEFF mold and I was told by a few that they don't even have to wrap their soaps so I decided to try. Ok, I'm ready to accept defeat on this batch. Is this soap ruined?

This makes sense now. Thanks.

I would like to superfat a soap batch. I understand that I add the oil (I'm going to use shea butter) right after trace as an additive. My question Is how much? I'm doing a 96oz batch or 6lb. How much of the shea butter would I add?

Ok, today was the 3 pour as a n00b and first time using a stick blender. I cannot BELIEVE how fast it is to trace. Before it took us nearly an hour of hand mixing, but with stick blender it was like 5 minutes. I know that I have read it before on the boards but dang doing it by hand then using stick blender is so much different. Even the soap looks different. Anyway, I'm now officially hooked not only to soap making but also to using a stick blender lol.

we JUST poured our basic 6lb oatmeal recipe. Here is the breakdown for a 6lb batch. We ground the oatmeal up. '6lb Oatmeal Complexion Soap' Recipe SoapMaker v2.8 2007-10-27, 11:38 _____________________________________________________________________________________ Soap Type: Solid Soap Class: Specialty Last Saved: 2007-10-27, 09:53 Total Weight: 96.0 oz _____________________________________________________________________________________ RECIPE DETAILS QUANTITY ENTERED: CALCULATED: PERCENT: COST: OILS: Olive 16.86677 oz 16.87 oz 27.91 Coconut 16.86677 oz 16.87 oz 27.91 Shortening (US) 26.70571 oz 26.71 oz 44.19 ____________________________________________________ 60.44 oz 100.0% ADDITIVES: Oatmeal 5.62225 oz 5.62 oz ____________________________________________________ 5.62 oz Lye Needed: 8.61 oz - Discounted at: 6% Water Needed: 21.34 oz (2.56 cps) - Discounted at: 0% _____________________________________________________________________________________ SOAP CHARACTERISTICS Hardness: 6.6 Fluffy Lather: 4.9 Stable Lather: 5.6 Moisturizing: 5.7 _______________________________________________

Ya, I worried for no reason. I put it in the freezer and was able to remove it from the mold. One thing, we used peppermint leaves and sprinkled them on the top of the mold. I noticed that the leaves are now darker and have bleed a browish color from them. This is only on the top of the loaf where we sprinked the leaves on them. The leaves that we mixed into the soap are fine. Any ideas?

Well, made a garden mint soap.. did everything by the book. Let set for 24 hours and the sides are sticky and it doesnt seem like its completely set after 24 hours. I'm using a HDPE mold and I dont see how I'm going to get this out. I sprayed it with Pam but didnt know if I should put it on heavy or use a paper towel and spread the pam evenly. Anyone ever gone over the 24 hour period?

Hey Paul.. it was great talking to you! Wife and I are definately going to plan on visiting your shop soon. Can't wait to check out your soap tools and soaps =P

I just received my custom mold from itsmejeff. I'm very pleased =P

Does anyone know if there are soap making supplies Oils, Butters, Lye located in Springfield, MO?

I'm having issues with the search function! Where is a good place to buy Butters and Oils online?

http://www.loganbearcandles.com/ number is at the bottom.

Jeff is awesome to work with... I have a mold IN ROUTE right now! Hoping it arrives Monday!

Thanks for the info

Carrie, I spent some time at millersoap last night and I must say thanks! That place has it all. It's definately a one stop soap education site.

OK I WILL lol. I know its hard to believe, but I HAVE been reading and reading and reading for WEEKS before even buying materials - how to's, SAFETY, etc. Lot's of info all at once.. sometimes it takes me a bunch of times DOING for stuff to sink in. Also, you can read ALL you want but the hands on is the best way. AT least is is for me. The dangerous part of working with LYE I made learning paramount. Anyway, thanks for your info.

Hahah.. i will never go back.. besides I use it now for my candle wax melting.. so much easier. What's the benifit of mixing at room temp? Once you pour it into the mold doesnt the soap require some heat for the saponification process?

I havent read that specific site but i have read a book (The Soap Book: Simple Herbal Recipes) and a few sites on soapmaking. Oh ya, watched a few videos also. I was suprised to find several free soap making videos online that outlined the entire process. The process wasn't too bad. I had no issues with mixing lye, oils and combining or getting trace. A few steps I didn't "go by the book". One of them was during mixing soft and hard oils. I heated both oils until the hard melted into the soft. I was able to keep both the lye/water and oils nearly same temp until mixing fairy easy. Purchasing a laser probably helped me with that step. I started mixing the lye into the oil at 110. I think next time im going to wait until 90-100. I havent found any resource with the same mix temp recommendation.