PurpleHippie

I've seen photos posted of beautiful soaps that are either white or just the top portion white and the fragrances used were ones that normally make my soap very dark. Anything with vanila and goat milk are the worse. Will Titanium Dioxide keep soap white when using FO's or milk that normally darkens as the soap cures?

I am feeling a bit adventurous and want to try making some coconut milk soap for the first time. Most of the recipes I have read use frozen or partially frozen milk as either a portion or total for the water. Recently I came across one recipe that added the milk at trace. No reason was given for this. I am assuming it helped keep the milk from scalding like it can when mixed with lye. Has anyone made soap adding milk at trace?

Does anyone use the foaming bath butter for shaving? If so, are there any specific additives that you would suggest for this use?

To me most honey FO's are too heavy on the floral. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to give those a try.

I have seen suggested cutting time between 24 hours and 4 days. How long do you guys usually wait until you remove your soap from the mold and cut?

I have ordered numerous honey FO's and I haven't been pleased with any of them. All of them have strong floral scent IMO. Most smell slightly like gardenia to me. Kinda like the problem I had with most OMH smelling too strongly of almonds. I wonder why it is so difficult to get a honey FO that isn't floral?

Beautiful! I bet it smells awesome!!!

They are all very nice! I've tried several Chai Tea FO's and I haven't located one that really smells like chai tea. At least not the chai I drink.

Very nice! I love the smell of pumpkin.

I agree with everything Top has said. However, I make vegan soap and I love avocado. I know the balance of oils and their properties are what create a good bar of soap. For what ever the reasons are 10% Avocado works best for me. I've tested pure avocado oil directly on my skin and hair and I really like the way it feels. I notice a difference in the soap I make with and without the avocado. I can't use almond oil on my face. I have acne prone skin and it causes brake outs for me.

Nice soap! OMH is my favorite scent.

You sure are talented! I hope someone does a video showing this

technique .

Your soap is making me hungry! Very pretty:smiley2:

I like all of them but the China Rain is also my favorite.

You guys sure are creative!

Beautiful! Thanks to your videos I think I know why I haven't been able to swirl. Your soaps constantly inspire me. I won't give up until I can swirl. :smiley2:

Why do you add your FO before trace? Gosh your good! I can never make soap without long sleeves and gloves. I always manage to get a few splashes of lye/water or raw soap on myself. Och:shocked2:

I've never used silk, I'll give it a try:smiley2:

So the problem is with using Palm Oil but Palm Kernel Oil is ok?

I like very strong tarts also and with KY para-soy and CS oils I can get that with 1oz. I do notice that as with all waxes (IMO) the scent throw always improves with curing. I get outstanding throw at 2 weeks.

I guess it would have helped if I stated why I wanted to sub Crisco:rolleyes2. I do not want to use any soy in my recipe. Doesn't Crisco contain soybean oil? I am also trying to keep the recipes vegan. Plus, like Top pointed out Crisco ingredients keep changing and it may make it difficult to know what soap properties to expect. I'll just stick with CO, PKO and Babassu. Thanks everyone for the help.

I buy my palm from soaperschoice. I'm glad they buy responsibly.

I love how Lush makes a fuss over the environmental effects of palm but leave ingredients like Sodium Laurel Sulfate and Propylene Glycol in their products. And all their lotions contain parabens. I would first worry about the integrity of the ingredients used, that are put on my customers skin, before making a big deal out of how "environmental" the company is.

I totally agree! It's all in the marketing. Consumers hear that the company is helping the environment by not using palm but they aren't aware of the problems with Sodium Laurel Sulfate and Propylene Glycol. I try to always purchase sustainable palm but I am also concerned about the ingredients mentioned above. Maybe it would help to have a pamplet for customers explaining the ingredients used in our products. In addition to Soaperschoice I believe TNS - Texas Natural Supply has sustainable palm.

I didn't know that, I never buy Crisco. I wonder if the soap calculators reflex the new Crisco with the palm?

Well I need to sub it so I'll try the palm and the babassu.

In place of Crisco what do you prefer to use and why? I would like to use something other than tallow or soy.

Ocean and apple FO's make me ill.

Headaches, burning throat and eyes. I agree about the respirator possibly helping. Even with open windows, fans and vent above my work area I started having frequent headaches. This is one of the reason I had to stop selling candles. I just can't tolerate making large quanity of candles any longer.