Janis

Yeah, I love my bohunk!!!!!

You can use m&p soap molds. It's harder to get the soap out, but if you put it in the freezer for a few minutes, it will pop out okay. And lard makes a very white bar. Rice bran oil will make a creamy white soap.

I think it looks lovely. I would probably lower the coconut oil to 5% and up one of the soft oils, just to make it more conditioning. But it will probably be wonderful as is. Let us know how it turns out. It's going to bubble like crazy! :yay: Edited twice because I can't spell tonight!

Wow! Those bars turned out great! Way to go! :yay:

Beautiful color!

Man, I love your soaps. Just beautiful!:highfive:

I'm not a great fan of cpop. I just don't like what it does to the consistency of the soap, although I know that many love this method. I agree with Gene, keep it simple, take a water discount and cover the batch nicely. You will have a beautiful, smooth batch of soap that will cure quickly. No worries.

That iodine number is about the only one I pay attention to anymore. I like it to be below 80. Otherwise you have a mushy bar. I HATE that! lol. Actually, I also pay attention to the linoleic number, as well. But I know what oils have a high amount of that, so I guess I've kinda internalized that, too.

Ash is more of a problem when you are using a slab mold because it ruins the look of the front of your soap. I find that weather has a lot to do with whether or not I get ash. I soap in my garage and when it's really cold, I have a dickens of a time with ash - doesn't matter how well I cover it or how little I peek. If my soap has been ashing on me, I come prepared with a spray bottle full of rubbing alcohol. I start spraying right after the gel. After I spray, I let it dry then spray again. I keep doing that until I'm sure the ash isn't forming. It works like a charm. It will make the tops of your soap shiney, though.

Very nice! And I like that you didn't color them. Dontcha just love a bunch of soapies all layed out together like that?

Congrats on your soapy success, lol. We want to see pics!!! :yay:

Your measurement look fine except that I think you are rounding? Right? Do you have a tenth measurement on your scale? If so, don't round. Try to use exact amounts. Your recipe is high in coconut oil. It's going to be hard and fluffy, but could be somewhat drying. How about something like this: 28% OO 55% Lard 17% CO Or even: 55% OO 28% Lard 17% CO Gosh, you can do lots with those three oils. Have fun!

I guess my favorite oil is rbo. When I started soaping, I used olive oil exclusively as my base oil. I was looking for an oil that would work with my skin, and rbo has lots of linoleic acid in it, so I made the switch and have never turned back. If I can add a second oil, it would be avocado. It just give soap such a nice feel.

That looks awesome. I LOVE the color! Now cover that baby up, take a deep breath, and relax. What will be will be. If if gels, it will be fine - if it doesn't gel it will be fine (it will probably gel, though). You soaped at low temps, so it will probably take it's sweet time to gel, especially if you had a well-behaved fo. You are doing GREAT!

You really don't need to add coconut oil to castile to make it hard. It will turn hard as a rock with a good cure and a water discount. Besides, you'll lose the benefit of the castile if you add coconut oil (it's a bit drying). JMHO

How long you leave it in the mold is going to depend on your water discount. I just looked back at my 50/50 recipe and it looks like I took a 25% discount. I think I left that one in the mold for about a day and a half. If you touch it and leave a dent, don't take it out yet, lol. You can add anything you like to castile. I've even used goat's milk for the water, which makes a lovely bar.

Very pretty! I love the color. Some things to take note of with TD: If you have water dispersible TD, then mix it in the lye water. If you have oil dispersible TD, then mix it in your oils. Otherwise, it won't mix right.

Debbie, you have more patience that I do, lol. I have that original mold and I think I used it twice. By the time I got my soap out of it, I was pulling my hair out, as well! I have three different Uplands, a loaf, a round, and a slab. I use the slab almost exclusively. I just LOVE my Uplands! Good luck with your new mold, dixylight!

Take a deep water discount and you won't have to wait quite so long for a good cure. It will take a long time to cure, anyway. I have a love-hate relationship with castille. It's not very bubbly, and it can have a slimy feel to it (especially 100% olive), but it does wonders for the skin. When I do a "castille" for myself, I usually go 50% olive and 50% rbo. You'll get more bubbles that way. But heck, if you've never made a true castille, then I think you should go 100% olive just to see what it's like. Have fun! Edited to add: Yeah, you spelled it right, lol!

Beautiful!!! I love the layered thingy you've got goin' there. And the swirl is devine!

Whoops, better include the pic:p

Yes, I'm still stampin'. This one is scented with rosemary and mint and I added some ground peppermint. Then stamped with a froggie stamp. I call this recipe "Lots 'o Butter", lol. So you can imagine how hard it was to stamp.

I really like your soaps. Very nice "real" look with the tea leaves. I LOVE the natural look of your soap.

They turned out beautiful. Whose warm vanilla sugar is that?

Congrats:yay: :yay: ! It looks great!