bjsalas

Thanks for the replies. I think I understand the blind swirl now. It's "blind" because you won't see the actual swirls from the fo til the soap cures. Don't know why I didn't think of that. :undecided

1. What is a blind swirl? I've read about them on here a few times and know what they look like, but I don't for the life of me understand how they're done. I used the search, but couldn't really find anything to explain it. 2. When adding butters, mango, shea etc. does 5-10% really make a difference or is it more of a marketing thing? And at what point is adding "more" just a waste of money? I've been doing alot of reading on here and those were a couple of things that just made me wonder. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Thanks much Bobbi Jo

Hey guys...hijack away I'm learning lots of stuff reading all this. Is interesting. Merry Christmas

Thanks for the help SF...all makes sense now. And by the way, your soap looks totally cool.

I've read how sometimes when a person is trying to save a botched batch of soap, instead of rebatching they add it to a new batch of soap. Well, since I have a couple of pounds of shredded CP base left that I bought off eBay when I was learning to rebatch and since I'm now learning the CP method and LOVING it, I thought I would make a new batch of soap an add the shredded stuff to it. The thing is, I'm totally confused about how to do it. 1. When would I add it? At trace? 2. How much would I add for say a 2 pound batch of soap? Also, do the shreds "melt" or will there be little shreds of soap in my new batch? I hope that makes sense. Thanks

Hey Steph...if you don't mind me asking, what part of Texas are you in? I'm in the Waco area. Nice to meet someone from Texas on here.

Yeah Scented. I'm afraid I'm hopelessly addicted. But my husband did tell me I needed a hobby, so I guess I can blame it all on him.

Ok. I did it! Over the weekend I made my first CP soap. I decided to keep things pretty simple, so I went with the 100% coconut oil recipe. Also I used a vanilla fo. Not my favorite, but my husband loves it. And I know it probably wasn't the smartest move, but I had some goats milk and well, you know. What can I say. Anyways, I think I did good. My soap is a nice tan color which I like. I would post pics but I don't have a camera at the moment. I'll see if I can borrow one later this week. Thank you to everyone who answered all my questions before I tried this and also for the words of encouragement. I definitely see a couple more batches in my immediate future. (tonight maybe)

Glo: What you said about drawing a line and being able to see it HELPS alot. I don't know why, but I understand that aspect better than I do about the different consistencies. And the reason I'm waiting til Saturday is so I won't have to worry about locking the kids out. I'll be the only one home. cbv1: I'm glad you mentioned the vinegar. I knew that but forgot. Guess I don't have everything. I put it on my shopping list for tomorrow. katshe: You know it's funny, I realize that everyone is probably nervous the first time they make soap, but it's silly that it scares me more than going to the dentist. I think maybe I have some issues. I totally love this forum. So much info and everyone seems more than willing to help out us newbies. Even simple words of encouragement go a long way. Thanks guys.

The house will be all mine Saturday and I will be making CP soap for the first time. Now that I finally have all my stuff, including my hazard gear, I'm not so worried about working with lye, instead I'm getting worried that I won't know what to look for at trace. I've read everything I can find on here and I even watched a video, Youtube or something, but, I don't know. I'm getting sceered. Can someone tell me in very simple language kind of what I'm really looking for? Also will I be able to "feel" it as well as see it? Hope that makes sense. I'm making a 2 pound batch, will be soaping at room temperature and adding my fo to the oils if that makes a difference. Any tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also, as a newbie, should I be using the stick blender yet? I'm undecided on that one. On another note, my sister who does melt & pour broke down and bought a heat gun today. OMG. All I can say is that if Santa doesn't bring me one for Christmas, I'm stealing hers. Thanks in advance Bobbi Jo

Thanks for the help Donna. I did what you said about upping the castor oil to 10%, decreasing the coconut oil to 25% and changing the palm oil from 19 to 20%. The numbers look much better now. Will be easier to measure. My question now is about the lye. It is 4.736%. Do I round that up or leave exactly as is? Thanks Bobbi Jo

I knew I wasn't the only newbie here, but it sure helps to hear from another one. All the input I can get is very much appreciated!

I'm a total newbie when it comes to CP soap making and need some input on the following recipe. It's for a 2 pound batch. Olive Oil 45% Coconut Oil 31% Palm Oil 19% Castor Oil 5% After running it through the soap calc I get this: Olive Oil 14.4 oz Coconut Oil 9.92 oz Palm Oil 6.08 Castor Oil 1.6 Water 12.16 oz Lye 4.837 oz (this is without any discount) with 5% discount lye is 4.595 oz This is my first time using the soap calc and wonder if things look right. Also, as a newbie should I discount or not? Any other comments, suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks for the reply eugenia. To be honest I didn't even think about using the soap calc and since I've never tried it before this is the time. I love this forum. Everyone is so helpful. Of course I think it has to do with all you soap junkies sticking together.

Thanks Carrie. 2 lbs sounds good. I've got several recipes that make 4-6 lbs, but I didn't want to start out that big in case something went wrong. ie: I screw it up. Well, the hard part now is that I've got company so I can't really do anything til next weekend. It's gonna make for a long week because I'm so totally ready to get started. Up side though is it gives me a little more time to search around for a smaller recipe.