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THis is a great thread! I have never really been a patchouli girl myself. The smell of the straight EO is to cloying to me. However, in one of my swaps, I got a patchouli blend soap that smelled amazing. So a few weeks ago, I got some patchouli EO and blended it with sweet orange EO and black pepper FO from SW and the result was AMAZING!!!!! You can clearly smell the pachouli, but man the citrus and spice really make this one a winner. I am curious if patchouli FO is as good of a citrus anchor as the EO though...

Yup you were right! It discolors. It was discoloring before it even finished gelling. The lime was stronger OOB, but the vanilla really jumps out at me after the lye monster. I still haven't decided if I like it all that much after all. It moved incredibly fast for me, but I may have been soaping to hot, it may have moved fast too because I used a lot of PKO in this one as well, and I may have screwed up my lye amounts because there are small pockets throughout. At first I thought the pockets were because since the soap went almost solid on me so fast, I had to glop the soap into the mold and bang it a few times on the floor. But when it splashed up into my face, I was done so I threw it in the oven. I figured I didn't bang it enough. But later on, I noticed in one of the pockets, I saw white crystals..... I am not prepared to do the lye test on this one. I think I will toss it into the old crockpot and rebatch it adding extra oils just to be on the safe side. Even though, I measured out my lye for three batches all the same size and same amount of lye needed. I know that my bottles of lye all weighed the same because I weighed them twice just so I wouldn't screw up! The other two batches came out perfectly fine. Except my POP micas morphed AGAIN!!!! I'll try it once more once I get my lye.

Love 'em!!! These pics are very inspiring!

Now you're gonna start lying awake at night thinking about what kind of soap you can make next! The colors, swirls, embeds, FO's EO's! Oh the possibilities!

Congrats! It looks great! As was told to me, welcome to the addiction!

You are lucky! There are to many effing meth heads here in MN so we can't get it locally.

Those look GREAT!!! But beware! Once you get started...:tiptoe:

I started with a kit that came from Kelsie's. It came with everything pre measured and ready to go except for the lye. That was like January I think. To this very day, I have STILL not been able to get my soap out of that mold. $64 down the drain. My point is this, based on that experience, I would have been forced to say that I was no good and quit right there. OR I could go out and get more lye and oils and find something else to use as a mold until I get that darn soap out! LOL Give yourself a few batches to decide if you are any good. Try using grocery store oils like OO, canola oil, crisco and lard. Plus lard is a slow tracer. You could probably find Coconut oil locally if you looked. Maybe? That way if you really don't like it, you can still cook with it and use the coconut oil in your hair! LOL For molds, I used plastic shoe boxes, drawers and pringles cans. After my first order from Colombus foods, I used the boxes that they send the gallon containers in cut in half lengthwise and lined with freezer paper. I found a place online where I can get 300 sheets of 24x24 for $40 including shipping. This has worked very well for me so far, but I took someone elses advice and started asking around among the people I know and lo and behold..... I find someone who does woodworking as her "summer hobby"! She is going to make me two wooden log molds to my specs for the cost of the wood! It isn't that kits are bad, it is just that you find out all to quickly, they just aren't enough! LOL Welcome to CP soaping! I hope you enjoy it!

Does anyone know if it discolors?

so have you done this yet?

Upland is apparently back in full swing. Or so the email that I just got says. I just wonder if they will have a hard time in the beginning.

CareBear is so right. I am going through the have to try everything now stage. Wait just wait until you start swapping! Then you are in REAL trouble!

AAAAWWWWWWW where did the pics go?

Rebatch soap has been making me happy lately. That way I can "make soap" but not have to use up my precious lye and oils again! I know I'm an addict! Anyway, I would be happy to have your rebatched VT soap!

Dangit dangit!!! I just threw away the email that bert sent me too, but that is exactly what she said to me. That she didn't have that information and to thin the FO out with oo and test it on an inconspicuous spot on my skin to test for irritancy. I didn't even think about toxcicity and such! Well I'm gonna have to toss some soaps! Bummer!

Why oh why did I only buy one pound of pumpkin butter from the co-op? Sorry, but I just had to get that off my chest! LOL

Does anyone know, when CPHPing, can I still discount my lye to get my superfat or do I need to add my superfat at the end? Also, I did a batch yeserday with a 30% H20 solution and while it did solidify into a log, 24 hours later, it is still very mushy. It was tacky when I cut it and soft enough that it sunk down on the bars of my drying rack. Today I can hold it in my hand without altering the shape and the tackiness is gone, but it is still very mushy. It kind of has the consistency of clay drying in the air. If I pinch it gently, I will leave a huge fingerprint in it. Would it be ok to use a deeper water discount like say 40%? TIA

Well I'm busted! LOL Those numbers were from someone who owns them. I thought the same thing when I read them, but she has 'em and I don't so perhaps they are more square on the inside.

I don't have one, but I have only heard great things about them. People use clear plastic tape to cover up the dip in the front and get great results. I also saw a tut on another site that showed how these can be coated with silicone caulking and then the need to line is eliminated. Measurement on inside is about 9" x 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 PM me if you want the link.

I LUVVVVVV soaping with the piggy!

My rebatch came out pretty good I must say. It has an interesting visual texture because you can see swirls of clay and tiny bits that didn't melt to the same texture that have a lighter color. When cut, it is very smooth and almost no craters. I did notice one small one, but considering my soaps are cut at 3/4 of an inch, I think that is pretty good! I did end up adding a tiny bit of honey and some liquid, maybe two tablespoons and the whole process took about 4 hours. I didn't think it was too bad overall. I'm actually thinking about doing another rebatch right now. Probably won't though! I'm a lazy sort ya know! LOL

Thanks Cozy! Sometimes I forget about the search button!:rolleyes2

Ok so I am trying my first corckpot rebatch this morning. Made soap today with a rec that had a 40% water discount. I chopped it up into small peices and put it in my crock pot on high. My questions are as follows... 1: Should I have added water at first or should there be enough water in there since my soap is only 12 hours old? 2: Was high the appropriate setting or should I have started on low? 3: How long can I expect this process to take? I know it is different for everyone, but I am just thinking ballpark. 4: This is my second attempt at rebatching outside of using ugly soap for embeds. The first time, I did it on a double boiler, added WAAAAAAAAAAAAY to much water and the quality, texture and scent of the soap never changed. It never dried out and it was never loose enough to pour. I attribute some of that to be because I didn't have a lid on the double boiler. But will my soap really become lose enough to pour? And what did I do wrong if it doesn't? TIA for your help.

I loved these when I first got them, but the last three times I have used them, the ones that weren't supposed to morph, morphed. It screwed up one of my swap soaps pretty bad and I am not a happy camper. But then again, the gremlins seem to have taken up residence at my house so it could be that too.

THat is the plan. I just put it in my bedroom closet and closed the door. Not sure how long I'll be able to hold out though because it is my favorite scent! Citrus blend heavy on the yuzu! LOL! This was a most interestng foul-up because I never would have noticed that soy and pomace have almost identical SAP values, yet impart such different qualities.