Jeana

The pot was filled to over half way that's why I thought the smoking was weird. But when the display was reading it said 200 degrees, so I'm sure if the display was working I could have started at a lower temp and that should have helped. But bottom line is I'm not comfortable with the oils straight on the coils.

Are there turkey fryers that have the heating element inclosed like a presto pot?

Ok tried the turkey fryer thing and HATED it. The one I got had the heating element touching the wax which started smoking like crazy. I thought it would calm down but got worse. The digital panel wouldn't let the temp come down. I unplugged it and the whole digital display went dead when it was plugged in again. Not a fan of the turkey fryer now.

I'm looking at other options and I've been eyeing coffee urns to warm the wax in. I'm wondering if anyone else is using them.

Been using the presto pot but refilling it up to 15 times per order is soooo time consuming.

very good to know about CS stickers since I just ordered 1000

I found the ones from Bitter Creek fine but I order more products from CS so I switched.

I don't like the glue gun. It is too messy, and mine pulled from the bottom if my wax was too hot. If I heat gunned the glass first I didn't have that problem, but that is way too time consuming to do now.

I just tried to use the quote option and it didn't work. Things are wacky here lately

Thanks for the feedback. Here is another one I'm looking at http://soapcutters.com/soaploafcutter/

But this one is even more expensive especially if I do a custom size, which it looks like I would have to. This one accommodates longer loafs, up to 17".

It so hard to pick which one to get when I can't try them out to compare them. But I will get one for sure. Has anyone used this "loaf cutter"

Anyone have opinions on it? Is there anything better for cutting soap logs fast and efficiently? I spend too much time cutting soap these days, and I still make a lot of mistakes, which is wasteful. Geez you'd think after all this time I would have developed some kind of accuracy, and speed for cutting soap, not even close.

The price of this used to scare me, but now it scares me more to see how long it takes me to hand cut all my logs. LOL

I have heard good things about global mama, though I have not been in need of shea recently to try it myself.

I got the sample today. I'm not sure right away how I feel about it. It definitely isn't gritty but it is so creamy that it almost feels whipped already. My favorite texture is really firm and almost crumbly. I rarely to never get gritty b&b products when it is the firm kind. Guess I'll have to try it in products to see.

I've heard good things about them too, love to support businesses like these guys. I hope I end up liking it.

Thanks Moon for the straining tip.

I really have a hard time on the Vermont soap website, its hard to find what you're looking for on there. It would be nice if they had a size between 4lb and 55lb.

Now I have a sample coming from global mamma. They have good prices and offer various sizes. If theirs isn't good I'll try Vermont.

I was planning to use soapers choice, then I got samples of both types their unrefined shea. They were VERY gritty. The yellow was the texture of cornmeal. The white was almost like cream of wheat. I feel bad saying that cuz I've been really happy with their oils until this one. They were both squishy too. I've worked with the gritty and squishy feeling shea before it is fine for soaps but doesn't work for body products.

I used to get it from Oils by Nature but they are so weird now. Their website has been down for months and they rarely answer the phone. They don't seem like they are completely closed, but I know I need a much more reliable way to buy something than them.

I lost my supplier and now I'm looking for a new one. Seems like it is hard to get true wholesale prices though. If I'm buying 25lbs I don't want to pay $8.00 per lb, KWIM?

Any one have a good source they want to share?

Thanks guys I'll look some of these up.

On the fryers, can you adjust the temps?

Is there a particular brand or type that is common for wax melting? When I do a search, it seems like there are many different types.

I want something that holds more than a Presto pot. Commercial wax melters seem to be over $500, and that's not in the budget right now so I'm looking for something in between Presto and commercial. What would be the next step up?

When someone approaches your business to design a product for their business, what measures do you take to protect yourself from that business taking your design ideas and using another company to actually make the product?

I think I was just unknowingly a design consultant for a product that could potentially make quite a bit of $.

I would like to protect myself from this happening again. Has anyone here drawn up forms to sign about this when discussing the creation of prototype samples of signature products?

I'm thinking the forms would be some type of agreement that states the samples I create are for our mutual business promotion, and will not be taken to an outside source for duplication and production.

Anyone else do this? I'm so naive, I never thought I'd have to do this.

Wonder if they would share their supplier's name so you could contact the supplier to see where else it is sold.

I've use alkanet a lot to color CP. The deepest color I can get is a slate blue. But it is a gorgeous burgundy purple when I first add the infused oil to the mix. I would love to keep that color. Not willing to HP to get it though. The color I get lasts and doesn't fade once the soap has cured, it just isn't always the color I want to end up with.

I thought the citric acid would effect the action of the lye and oils together. Still hoping anyone who has done this before will add some info.

I thought it was supposed to color more of a purple? Green is good too though. Do you have any pictures of your soap colored with comfrey?

The bag I have has large chunks, does the powder infuse better in the oil? If I don't have to powder it would save a step.

As far as herbal qualities surviving in lye, if they stay, great, if not, I have a new natural colorant. That's good enough for me.

Has anyone used it as a tea? I've used teas many times with some very good results, just wondering how this would turn out.

I've seen Comfrey listed as an ingredient in many soaps. Is it added as an infused oil? I have a large bag of this sitting around and I would love to use it.

I read Texas Brat's response on this thread

http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?63412-what-are-your-favorite-spices-for-colors/page2&highlight=comfrey+root

And now I'm curious and would love more information on this.

Does this help make colors such as alkanet root stay more vibrant? How is it added?

It seems like neutralizing the soap mixture would hinder the saponification process.

I did a shower for someone one time. I did a round soap, blue and white swirls, scented Sweet Pea. She also wanted lip balms, we did Spearmint since most people like that flavor. I was told the soaps and lip balms were a big hit.

If you don't make lip balms, you could get some pretty, small containers and make some Lavender massage oil. Super easy, looks great. Most people do some type of massage, or get them these days.

Yay! looks like they are going to survive. The ones I left in the molds longer didn't get ash on them after cutting them like the one I cut the next day. So bottom line is hand stirred batches need more time in the mold. And so far seems like they will need more cure time, they are softer.

Now I get what you mean by saying the oils may have been too cool. I didn't get it at first cuz most of my oils aren't hard oils. But if I was working with more hard oils it would appear to be tracing by just cooling down.

when I made it I put the lye/water in the oils, then added the milk, then stick blended as usual.

The bad side of doing it this way is that all the liquid isn't the milk, but I felt the amount of milk I used was enough to feel a big difference in the recipe. Say if the recipe calls for 14 oz total liquid and 6 oz lye, I would do about 7 oz water with the lye and the rest the milk. This way cuts down on the smell and the color change that full milks can have.

If you want a plain coconut scent I really like Bahama coconut from Aroma Haven. It smells really light in the beginning but after curing it really livens up. But there are so many coconut mixes that are nice too, like coconut lime verbena.

I just bought a whole coconut from the store the other day. I'm going to save the milk for some soap. Around here it is really hard to find the milk without additives.

I forgot I've done some with the powder too. They must not have been very impressive, I forgot them too easily.

I made it once so far and LOVED IT! It sold very fast! I did half water and half coconut milk, canned. I added the the milk later, not in the lye so I wouldn't have the burnt milk smell. I'm waiting for my coconut scent to arrive so I can make more.

How old are your soaps and much did you put in the batch? I feel scents seem to go much lighter while the soaps are curing. After they are wrapped or stored together for a while the scent can liven up again.

Also you can use heavier EOs to anchor the lighter ones. For example Orange on its own can fade quickly but add a little clove or cinnamon to it and it will last a very long time. And I'm sure you know this but I'll say it anyway, it is important to use pure uncut EOs and of a high quality to get the best results in any application.

Thanks for responding I still haven't taken all of them out of the molds yet I wanted to give them a little extra time, so I'm not sure how they all turned out. The day I made this batch was blazing hot, but humid. I'm sure you remember. So maybe the humidity was a problem.

I took one loaf out the day after I made them to see how they were turning out. Now it has some very odd ash patterns on it. The oily feel has gone away, they smell good and bubble up nicely, but I have a feeling they are going to look horrible. GRRRR! Boy I hope this isn't 30lb of soap down the drain - no pun intended.

What surprises me is I made some soaps with clove in them the next day the clove accelerates the trace so fast there isn't time to stick blend. These turned out fine.