Rebecca_IA

You can also order it from http://www.boyercorporation.com/ I think you have to order a case of 6 cans that are each two pounds of lye, that's the minimum order. Might be two cases. Not really sure because I've never ordered it, it's just under my list of links. Our local Ace hardware store does not carry it, but they will order it for me. If memory serves me correct, the minimum order was 4 containers for them to order it.

As soon as you get your herbs, put them in the freezer and keep them there when you aren't using them. Unless the supplier sent these out to you while they were growing bugs, for some of these herbs, it's not really the fault of the supplier, some herbs are just known for being bugging while growing and having the eggs on the plant, where eggs are, the bugs will soon be and the rest of your herbs will be effected. It's an inconvenient fact of nature. It'd happen to you too if you grew and dried your own. That's why it's necessary to protect them regardless of where you buy them from.

There are some herbs that are known for bugs breeding in them, or the eggs are in the herbs and eventually hatch. So even if you have the herbs in a sealed bag, they can still get buggy. I think (please don't quote me on this, it's early) that calendula is one that is known for getting buggy. Just like flour, store it in the freezer in as airtight as possible freezer bag. Herbs are shipped to you, put them inside a freezer bag, get out as much air as you can, and store in your freezer. If there are eggs in the herbs, it will prevent them from hatching and kill them. In the freezer, this will also prevent bugs that are attracted to those herbs from getting to them. I had calendula that was buggy once and I infused it with olive oil and then strained it, which also strained out any of the bugs that were in the herbs. Used the infused OO in a batch of soap for my own personal use. I would never make something with buggy herbs and sell it to anyone. But if you can get beyond the ibbie jibbies of the herbs having bugs in them, go ahead and use the herbs in infusions and soap the oil.

Sorry that happened to you. It is good of you to share this with others, helps to reinforce the fact you have to be careful when using lye. I hope it heals up nicely for you and does not leave a scar.

I think this is the other soap calculator she was referring to. http://www.soapcalc.com/calc/SoapCalc.asp You can also find a list of them under the FAQ for soapmaking, here in this forum.

Canned on the coconut milk. RE: the glycerine, you don't need to add it to handmade soap, it's a natural by-product of the process. In commercial soap making, they remove the glycerine because they can sell it off for more money than they make if they leave it in the bar of soap. One more reason why handmade soap is better for your skin. Someone that knows more about this than I would have to say what causes the glycerine to seep out of the bar of soap. Of all the batches I've done, I only had it happen once and I never did research to find out why (because the recipe was using up odds and ends of oils so I would never make it again - nothing to improve upon)

Jeana, when you say it's oily, how much oil is on top? I'm only asking because, if you are getting a good lather from it and it's not lye heavy (no zap) then I am going to go out on a limb and say it's the FO that is seeping out. When you rebatch, you sometimes burn off all to almost all of the FO, but I've found with some it can only be about half of the FO you burn off. If it was some of the oils/butters seeping out, the hard part of the soap I would expect to be lye heavy until the remaining oils/butters soak back in. Another possibility is glycerine seeping out. I can not tell you the circumstances that this happens under, but it did happen one time to a batch of mine. RE: rebatching, I've never gotten a smooth pourable soap when rebatching. I have never heard of anythign to add that makes it pourable, not to say there isn't. Best luck I've ever had was with coconut milk.

The amount of lye in this recipe puts it at roughly a 6% excess fat range, which is very acceptable for soap, I would not add a smidge more of lye when rebatching, because it would be such a small amount that you would never get it right, unless you've got an excellent scale that measures at very small amounts. IMO I would not mess with the lye amount. I know soapers that make their soap regularly with a 7% or 9% excess fat without any issues at all and they are great bars of soap. One thing I didn't think of earlier is, what's the history of this FO, the jasmine? Do you know that it is an FO that works in CP? Just because it's skin safe doesn't mean it works well in soap. If it is a FO that acts up, particularly overheats, and you've got goats milk in there, it's a good chance that your batch overheated and seperated. This happens and if that is it, a rebatch should fix it. Because goats milk is a known overheater, it's wise to to use a FO that also is an overheater and to either prevent gel altogether or keep an eye on it and if it's getting too hot, remove some of the insulation.

I think it's neat too. Distinctive. As long as it passes the zap test I'd use it.

The only rebatch I ever did successfully was when I shredded the soap, sprinkled the top with coconut milk and let it sit over night. Then put it in the oven and let it melt slowly all day long, stirring as needed very carefully. All others, they were flops. The amount of coconut milk to add depends on how fresh the soap is and how much of a discount you took.

Some micas it takes an awful lot of to get the color that you want, even if they are compatible with CP. I reserve them for swirls and stamping now, otherwise the cost is too high. Or sprinkle some on top of the soap, like a dusting to add appeal to the outside of the bar.

Soybean oil - read the ingredients label on the container of "vegetable" oils, many of them are 100% soybean oil, but only labeled vegetable oils. Palm - never found or heard of it being available locally, unless you live close to a supplier that sells it. I'd use lard instead also. Lye - grocery stores or mom and pop hardware type stores. If the hardware stores don't have it on their shelves, ask them. Sometimes it's kept in back and sometimes they can order it for you. Once you need larger quantites there are different places to look also. If you sub out an oil or butter for something else, make sure you run your recipe through a lye calculator before making it to make sure the amount of lye didn't change.

Thank you for this info, much appreciated that you passed this along.

That's what I use. Just make sure there is not condensation inside the jar when you store it, or the lid might start to rust. Happened to me one time, don't know how.

You might want to try www.todieforsoap.com or www.lotioncrafter.com and see if either of those places have it.

I'd email upland and see what they have to say.

Put your spoon/spatula inside your bowl. Take the spoon and "cut" the soap inside the bowl in two. You can't really cut it, but move the spoon through the bowl as if doing so would cut it, spoon from one side of the bowl across to the other side. If you can see the drag lines in the soap where the spoon was, you are at trace. The more defined those drag lines are, the more of a trace you are at. Barely visible, but it is visible, you are at thin trace. So on and so forth. When I make soap, I start off stirring it for at least a minute. Then use the SB for about 10-15 seconds, stir for 30-60 seconds with the SB (but it's off) or stir with the spatula. Make sure the plastic you are using (for your lye container) is safe to hold hot caustic materials, not all are. If it's not, eventually it too will break down and leak lye. Never glass for lye, not even pyrex, I've heard of that exploding. Congrats on your first batch.

Yes I've heard of it. No it is not necessary.

Oh yes, always run your recipe through a lye calculator and make sure to notate any change there. Thank you for mentioning that Robin.

For molds or anything that the lye or raw soap will touch, make sure it is stainless steel if it is a metal. If it is not stainless steel, do not use it. Aluminum reacts with the lye. This includes metal spoons, stainless steel or nothing. So if your pots are NOT stainless steel, they you do need different ones. Mold, could be shoe box, disposable (and new) cat litter box, anything plastic, wood drawer (lined) from an old dresser or sewing table. I'm sure you could find over 20 molds in your house that you could use for soap. I do not know for sure which soap calculator you are talking about. If it's the one I am thinking about, the higher the hardness number goes, the harder your finished bar of soap will be. If you give me more information I might be able to answer that question, perhaps someone else might come along sooner though. I always suggest for new CP/HP soapmakers to go to www.millersoap.com and study her pages. She has a ton of info that is very useful to new soapers, before, during and after we are learning the craft.

http://www.millersoap.com/soapdesign.html#Properties Go to the above listed page on Kathy Miller's soap site and you will find a bit of discussion on properties of the oils/butters and charts. Learn those charts, switch out an oil you do not have with something you do have based on similarity if you don't want the qualities of the finished bar to change that much. There are other charts that are easier to read and learn for someone new to this, but I am at work and do not have the link. When all else fails, there is probably something on Kathy Miller's soap site, so book mark that and use it as a reference tool.

have you done a search on www.kmart.com or is it www.bluelight.com? Not sure which one sells the kmart products. Officially, it's a martha stewart drawer organizer. They use to sell them online, not sure if they still do. Another option would be to see if you could find a soaper that does have a kmart locally that sells them and see if they would pick one up and ship it out ot you (after you paid them)

Kmart. Maybe Kmart.com. Not all Kmarts carry them and if they do carry them, not all Kmarts have both of them. These are a Martha Stewart brandname item, hense the name "Martha" mold.

Milk in the soap or honey in the soap, sometimes even an FO will cause over heating. The gel stage gets too hot or can get too hot using those.

How long has it been since you made this batch? Does it still have zap? If I made the batch longer than 4 days ago and it still zaps (when doing the tongue test), I would rebatch ALL of it and add 1/2 ounce of olive oil. I'd grate all of the soap (wear gloves if you are real sensitive and it's still zapping), dribble the OO over the grated soap and cover in a stainless steel pot for the night. Next morning, I'd pop it in the oven at 150 degrees and check every 20-30 minutes and stir when necessary. If I made the batch less than 4 days ago and it DOES NOT zap, and the soap was made less than a week, I'd grate it and rebatch it without anything more. More than a week old (and no zap, if zap, see first suggestion), I'd add coconut milk to it. My only good experiences with rebatching were with coconut milk, but that's my experience and opinion. You'll have to read up on rebatching methods and decide which one is best for you. For your size, a very small amount of CM or water should be sufficient, no more than an 1/2 ounce. Grate, spritz or dribble, let sit over night covered, rebatch. Next time you make soap, I'd up the minimum amount of oils that you work with to 16 oz. If you are trying to save on money, buy lard and use that as some filler oil (but it does add wonderful qualities to your bar). It's very cheap and you can buy it locally anywhere.