greensoaper

Hi all. Just wondering if anyone here has any luck with this technique http://www.candletech.com/techniques-and-ideas/valentines-day-heart-embed-candles/ If you have, any tips, tricks or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Just wondering if anyone here uses cyclo for their reed diffusers. It seems like the safest choice, but I'm wondering how well it works. If you use it, do you have to add any emulsifier to keep the scent mixed in? Thanks.

cocoa butter

If you superfat your soap, I wouldn't recommend using it in your laundry. The oils can get into your clothes and cause staining or a rancid smell. Some folks add extra lye to melted soap scraps for the laundry, but you'd need to figure out how much lye you need to add to bring your soap to a zero superfat. HTH.

First let's address this stearic acid thing, shall we. It's really silly to avoid it because of "natural" issues. Do your friends also turn their noses up when you use cocoa or shea butters? Both are around one-third stearic acid. Even if you're using unrefined butters, it's still not coming to you unaltered. Every ingredient we use has been altered. Now, why are you afraid "to steer to far off the recipe" of a formula that's not working? It sounds like you need to let go of some preconceived notions before you'll really accept help from the knowledgeable folks here. BTW, the only time I've seen a borax/beeswax emulsion work is in a water-in-oil cold cream formula. This is much too oily/greasy for an average lotion. You are going to need an effective emulsifier to make an oil-in-water emulsion/lotion. And don't get me started on "natural preservatives" :tiptoe:

No, this formula is for volume measured in cubic inches. One cubic inch is a bit over half a liquid ounce. Of course, liquid ounce is based on water not oils which have differing specific gravities. It all sounds terribly confusing, I know. It really isn't. A good way to estimate how much oils you'll need is to find the volume the way Spacegirl explained and then multiply that number by 0.4. So, your example would look something like this 1.5x1.5x3.14x15x0.4=42.39oz of oils to fill the mold. Keep in mind that if you use less than full water, you'll need to use more oils to compensate. As I said before, this is only a guide or jumping off point. I know there are calculators that will do this for you, but I hate the idea of being dependent on things like that. Every soaper should learn to figure out what their mold will hold and how to do lye calculations without going to the computer. This is a very math heavy hobby/skill/biz/obsession, so I'm always surprised at how many math haters would choose to be soapers. That is not a dig in any way, just an observation. Kinda like a person who hates reading but decides to become an editor.

Yes, I've soaped beeswax. I've never gone over 10% though. At 10% things moved fast. I can only imagine what it'll do at the rate you're looking to try. I'm just wondering what it is that you're expecting from the beeswax. That info you posted from SC isn't talking about bw in soap, just bw in general. I've only used it in projects where a bar needed to last longer in less than ideal circumstances. Good luck on your project. Be sure and report back when it's done.

I'm so confused. Why are you using beeswax in a shaving soap? Too much beeswax will make the soap sticky and reduce lather. This is the exact opposite of what you want in a shaving soap. Am I missing something?

This "greenie" and many, many others have never supported the biofuel movement. A large portion of the earth's population lives on very little income, this same group gets a large portion of their daily nutrition from their cooking oils (mainly palm and soy). With the growing biofuel movement comes a major shift in the supply and demand scale, prices climb, and the poorest of the poor are the ones who suffer the most. People in places like Indonesia, where most palm is grown, won't be able to afford it anymore. I don't know who ever thought that burning food for fuel was a good idea. Before anyone compares this with candle or soapmaking, there is a vast difference in the amount of oil needed to meet that demand and the amount needed to even begin to supplement petroleum use. Biofuel is such a shortsighted idea. There are longterm solutions to be found. In the automotive industry focus should be on fuel efficiency, electric hybrids/full electrics, and yes...hydrogen power. These are just the thoughts of a random greenie.

I think I know the bacon lip balm that you're talking about. I SERIOUSLY doubt that it actually has bacon in it, but more than likely contains either a bacon flavor oil or it's made with bacon grease. I certainly hope it's a flavor oil, otherwise GROSS!!! There are many freaky flavor oils out there if you look around. I've seen horseradish and bell pepper, so why not bacon? lol The only foods that I've heard of people successfully adding to lip balm are honey and chocolate. Even those are tricky to work with. I'd stick to flavor oils (or essential oils) if I were you.

The best substitute for Asian palm is South American palm. There are no orangutans in S America and the palm crops are being grown on reclaimed plantations, not newly clear-cut forest. These farms are also following NOP guidelines for sustainability and organic farming methods. You will have to pay more for this type of palm, just like a free range hormone and antibiotic free turkey will cost you more than a Butterball. It's all about priorities. For more information see http://www.daabonusa.com/usa/ourphilosophy.html BTW, Daabon palm oil is sold domestically under the Spectrum brand name, but Columbus Foods offers a VERY similar product that is sold as their organic palm. HTH someone

Kinda like selling a "soy" candle that contains paraffin, but still calling it a soy candle? A bit like splitting hairs, eh? I'm not asking if you would call it organic. I'm asking that people stop saying that organic candles (or other such products) can't or don't exist. That's it.

Most of the time cloudy oils are fine. Just make sure that your lye still has some heat to it. If your temps get too cold you could get a false trace. If you're soaping cool, wait to pour and make sure that it's not going to separate on you.

Actually, the OP never mentioned the word soy. Just today I received a sample of certified organic candle wax that I will begin testing shortly. The manufacturer will not divulge what waxes are in the blend just that it is certified organic under the NOP (which is an accredited certification agent) and that it is a veggie blend with the exception of CO domestic beeswax to harden it up. So, since there is a CO candle wax on the market, can we agree that it is possible to produce a candle that can be rightfully called organic?

You know, in my experience skepticism is usually just apathy in disguise.

Many companies making non-food organic products choose to follow the same guidelines that the FDA established for certified organic food products. There are percentage-based guides to determine how organic a product is and how it must be labeled. Adding a non CO ingredient to a CO ingredient does not invalidate the use of the term organic when speaking of the original ingredient. If a candle maker uses CO wax and synthetic fos (though for the life of me I can't figure out why they world) the candle maker is perfectly in the right to use the phrase "made with certified organic vegetable wax" or even labeling with the exact percentage of CO ingredients that are in the candle. Technically, you can get away with calling any candle "organic" because the FDA/NOP doesn't regulate them. That's why it's important to educate yourself on the rules of the game if you are interested in buying truly organic products. To me, using CO ingredients is about supporting alternative farming methods and eliminating how many pesticides, hormones and synthetic fertilizers my family and I come into contact with on a daily basis. There are others who feel the same way, and they are my target market and their number is growing every year. Not all "natural" marketing is intended to be misleading. Yes, there are those (coughcoughLUSHcoughcough) who take great liberties with the marketing terms, but that doesn't make us all bad. I'm not going to say my way is better than your way. Everyone makes their own choices. I'm just asking that people refrain from trying to discredit the intentions of those offering an alternative product.

Why so much hostility towards the organic crowd? Some of these posts sound about as childish as the "soy is better because parrafin will give you cancer" crap. Just because you (used in a generic sense) choose not to use CO ingredients, doesn't mean that those who do are "desperate" to find a niche. It doesn't make us sleazy marketers looking to make a fast buck with the hottest buzzword. Some of us chose to run our businesses as green as possible. We chose to use CO ingredients whenever possible (not just whenever profitable). We choose not to use synthetic fragrances (btw in response to the post above mine, essential oils are not true essential oils if they are extracted by any means other than those you listed, they are absolutes or resins or some other type product). We chose to use our businesses as vehicles to educate the public about the merits of organic farming methods, the downside of corporate farming, or how to look for fairly traded products and what it means to support fair trade in general. People are going to buy candles, soap and anything else they want anyway. What's wrong with offering them a choice they can feel good about and a bit of education in the process? If your market doesn't give a flip about greener products, then you shouldn't give a flip about those who sell to a market that does. Bashing each other doesn't benefit anyone. There is a CO wax blend available. I posted a thread asking about it last night. I'm going to give it a shot. It may suck, but that's my chance to take. No one is demanding that everyone here stop using fos and their wax of choice, so please have some respect for those who choose to do things a little differently than you.

Thanks, but actually I was asking about a different wax. If you go to this page http://swanscandles.com/store/AllNatural&OrganicCandleWaxes.html it's the wax listed after as-24 and before accusoy 10 It looks interesting and would certainly fit in with my product line. I just wanted to ask around and see if anyone had any experience with it. Thanks again.

Does anyone have any experience (good, bad or ugly) with the Accu-Veggie Organic Container Blend that Swan's sells? Any thoughts or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Here's a link to my favorite teaching tool. I think this simplifies saponification and superfatting better than anything else I've ever seen. http://www.canis-art.com/soaping.htm

EO's i absolutely cannot live without: floral-lavender earthy-patchouli herbal-rosemary fresh-spearmint fruity-orange & lime ( I can't pick one over the other) spicy-clove beyond these I'd pick ylang, lemongrass, cedarwood, vetiver, rosewood, litsea, cinnamon, geranium, sage, bay, clary sage, lemon, bergamot, tea tree, black pepper, ginger, vanilla, peru balsam, juniper, etc... I really recommend EOU as a supplier. The tat is lightening fast, cs is great and the prices are very competitive on most oils.

On top of everything else already mentioned... The only way I've ever been satisfied with the hardness of my hp is by adding SL. Even with SL, I'm still not thrilled. HP never seems to reach the same level of hardness as CP. I would rate most HP soaps somewhere between CP and M&P in terms of how firm the bars are. That being said, there is something slightly better "in use" about HP soap. There are so many pros and cons to both methods that it really does come down to a matter of preference.

Do you mean after the cook? Sure, you can. Should be great soap.

If you added 3oz of SAO on top of a 5% lye discount, your superfat is somewhere around 9%. This can lessen the amount of "quick lather" that you get from your soap. Generally, HP soap improves with a nice cure just like CP. I wouldn't write it off yet, it will probably turn out to be great soap. BTW, I would skip the SAO. Your formula looks awesome without it. If you really want to do your superfat after the cook, just save out a bit of the olive and add it when you scent. I know several soapers who swear by that technique. HTH.

What size was your batch?