thesoapbox

There are a couple of different ways to present lip balms and was wondering what yall find to be your best seller if you have offered more than one version.

Angi

Well, I am not extremely great at it but sometimes they don't look so bad . My question is, most of my swirls pretty much stay towards the top of the soaps and I have seen some gorgeous soaps that the swirls are completely through. How do you get swirls all the way through the soap?

There is one that I found on a website (I think it was a Canadian one) and her swirls were breathtaking.

Angi

I'm wondering if I did it right as everything I am reading says that within hours their salt bars are hard as rocks. Mine is still soft. Not extremely soft but you can definitely feel resistance when I touch the sides of it. It smells even better today. Guess I will see how it does when I try it out.

Angi

This one was hilarious to deal with. I had these smaller domino's holders that were wood and just the perfect size to make a long log of sample sized soaps so I filled both of them with this. When I tried to unmold it, it became a huge mess, soap all over my hands lol. I ended up dumping it into my tog mold and using a spatula to spread it and then added a bit more color on top for those swirls since the first set of swirls were lost in the mess

One thing! Fresh soap burns the tar out of your fingers if you have any cuts in your cuticles!

Angi

Here are some not so decent pics of some of my first soaps.

This one is the 100% olive oil blend with no color added and scented with bergamot/grapefruit eo blend.

This one is a 100% olive oil blend with french green clay added and an energizing eo blend (it is greener than the photo shows)

And this last one is a coconut, sunflower and lard blend with a poor attempt at swirling LOL, and fragranced with melon ball fragrance. I was worried about the smell at first cause all I could smell was grease but after a month of sitting it smells wonderfully melony and it is hard as a rock.

Angi

Here is a picture of my very first salt bar. It took alot longer than an hour to get it where I could pull it out of the mold. I molded at 6pm and removed it at 9pm and it was still extremely soft to cut into. You can see my lines marked for cutting . I used the blue and yellow pop colors in this.

I used Rainforest fragrance from WSP and it is an earthy, manly scent. My boys are begging to use it now.'

Angi

My recipe using lard, coconut and sweet almond oil uses 75% lard and I soaped at room temp with no problem at all. It is very white! I was worried at the beginning because all I smelled was the lard and not the fo, but now the fo has shone through beautifully and no other smell coming through. I made this on 5/7 so it is curing nicely.

Angi

I was wanting to get a stamp but I just get so confused with the website that I leave in frustration lol!

It looks great!

Angi

I agree. I am completely loving my soaps I made with strictly Olive Oil and they have only been sitting a week. They are going to be really good in 6 months . I am also pleased with the lard, coconut, olive and sw. almond blend. The melon smell has come through wonderfully and the bar is very hard after a week of sitting.

I think I will stick to these for now. I am sure I will experiment with more stuff though.

The olive/coconut batch I did with the french green clay is taking a whole lot longer to set up than my other soaps. Very mushy and when I was finally able to take it out of the mold I had to let it sit until the sides and top hardened. When I took the liner off the bottom of the soap I found the bottom was still super mushy (too mushy too even attempt cutting) so I have let it sit upside down this weekend to harden up. It is almost ready to cut. So I am guessing it is the addition of the clay but I am hoping it comes out well in the next 6 months

Angi

The weekends are my workweek....7a to 7p on Saturday and Sunday...yippee lol! Have fun on yours!

Angi

Yes that helps alot too! Thanks

Angi

Thanks, it helps a lot!

Angi

I just got back into cp soaping (since I was scared of it lol and took the plunge thanks to the castille/bastille swap) and have been making a batch everyday for 4 days now. Only cause I have the one log mold right now. Anyways, 2 batches are 100% olive oil with a bergamot/grapefruit eo blend (it has faint pink in it from the eo and came out a pretty ivory color), the 3rd batch is a 100% olive oil with french green clay and an energizing eo blend (it is a pretty light green color) and the last batch is lard, olive, coconut and sw almond with a melon ball fragrance. At first I was not thrilled with the smell. As I took it out of the mold it smelled like old grease to me (yeeeuck) but it has sat for 2 days so far and I can now only smell melon and it is getting a bit stronger each day. I will say that the lard blend lathered up really good as I was cleaning out my bowls but I do love the 100% olive oil one too . I think I may stick with using olive oil, coconut oil and lard for now since I like what I have gotten so far.

Angi

and need some help lol!

I have used the search feature and have sifted through upteen pages here in the soap section and just can't seem to find what I am looking for.

Now I know I have seen it here before and sorry for asking again, but I can't find it!

I have the POP colors and I am wanting to pre-mix some colors in the squirt bottles that are used for ketchup and mustard (the clear ones you can get at walmart). What I am wondering is the measurements. These bottles I have are 8oz so if I put in 6oz of oil, how much POP should I add...is it 1 tsp per oz of oil which would be 6oz of oil and 6 tsps of color?

I would like to have these pre-made so I can just grab and go.

Thanks for all yalls help!

Angi

Ok! I new there was something to avoid and I currently have those black metal shelves but wanted to put shelving on my walls and use those as curing racks. I can only find them in the coated white and wanted to be sure before I slap down the money for em

Thanks guys!!

Angi

Yep that's the kind! Thanks so much!!

Angi

Hey guys,

When curing soaps, is it ok to have them on the white rack shelving? The ones that are popular at the home depot stores and wal-mart or should it be the steel colored ones? I am wanting to add shelving to my extra room and currently I am only finding the steel shelving that is covered in the white stuff. Will this work you think?

I am getting ready to hit Lowe's to get some shelving.

Angi

The ones from Get Suckered are all for lip balms, they are all oil based

Angi

I have them now setting up. As soon as they are setup I will let yall know how they come out!

Angi

When I got my sours that I purchased they sent me an entire list of all their scents! That list is humongous lol!

I just love the Sour Pink Lemonade. But there are certainly quite a few listed that I am not sure about but sound interesting.

Angi

I have gotten some from Get Suckered and they list they are fine in lip balms.

Angi

I love any color of bomb as long as it is a vibrant one! I am a bathbomb freak as well lol and as long as my skin doesn't turn the vibrant color . I really don't need to go to work looking like an oompa loompa! I have never tried out the bubbling bombs only the fizzers. The bubbling ones sound neat!

Angi

I think a Honey Almond (like the Jergen's smell..yuum) or Oatmeal, Milk and Honey would be great for milk baths. But you can pretty much make smell however you want

Angi

I've been looking for cardstock that is not solid print. A heavier card stock but it seems I can only find these at scrapbooking places that sell for close to a dollar a sheet. I wish I could find reams of cardstock like that!

Angi

I've got one of those do-right molds, a tog mold on the way and then I will have to get one of Jeff's. I should be set, I think lol!

There is nothing holding me back on trying my hand at cp once again..without the volcano effect I am hoping!

Angi