curlycoat2

Has anyone heard if Kangaroo Blue are still operating? I was interested in a soap stamp from them. I cant seem to find any information that they are not but, the website that comes up through google is odd. jo

The FO that Richard is using currently is from CS (I think), but, from an Australian Supplier that must get it sent in by sea, and they are now discontinuing it??. Candlescience will ship internationally, but, this particular FO is under the 200 FP so they wont ship that to us here in Australia. Richard, have you tried the Fragrance Oil Finder to see if you can find one that is >200FP? That is where I start with all my oils for soaping and eventually fingers crossed you find one that is over. I just did a quick search on the FOF and nothing showed up other than Taylored Concepts having apple bourbon. Surely someone else has this under another name???? jo

I have cp'd mistletoe and its super strong and a sticker for me. OOh edited to add it does discolor, darker than tan but not chocolate/dark brown. I love this scent. There are a few reviews on the soap review board have you checked there? I check before I try but not all are listed. I am thrilled you have started this thread so we can gather some more information. jo

Hi Ladies! The cp mp was used to try to prevent any sweating of mp. That way the moisture would not be drawn to the mp and also the salt in the mp, making the soap soggy. The cp mp sweats less. You will see that both Armi and I live in countries that have humidity, namely Hawaii and Australia. If you are lucky enough to not have any humidity in your area that I would think any mp would be fine. I have had no trouble with the cp type though and thoroughly enjoy using it. I no longer get little water beads on everything! LOL Also BB no longer sell FBB, so you would need to purchase it at another supplier for example WSP. FBB is still available here in Australia so I have not had this problem of having to switch supplier yet, but I would think wsp's FBB would be just fine to use. My salt bars did not stick to my mold. The mold I used was a lunchbox from IKEA it was nothing fancy believe me and was cheap as well. I didn't spray with oil before "glopping" in the mold, the salt bar does set fast so you will need to remove it within about 20 minutes and in all of the times I have made this recipe, I have not had one stick. I believe it was the mold that was the issue for Armi. Its a great recipe. I really like it and hope when you make it you will as well. jo

Candy hi and thank you. The recipe is on another forum for all to see, its a forum run by BB . I dont know if I can actually say the forum name but its all about teaching soap. The only issue will be finding the FBB which apparently is no longer stocked by BB in the States but there are other suppliers. Its a lovely recipe and really does use a lot of salt mixed into the melted mp. Have a look and I am sure you will find it. jo

Hi, you can add exfoliants to mp yes. Some with go brown with time so it can make the soap less appealing. In this forum there is a large thread on mp additives that you will find full of details of exfoliants and the amounts used. Its a great thread that is so full of knowledge and I know there have been lots of exfoliants used with great success. Good luck, exfoliants are lovely and very nice in mp jo

It is possible to make an mp salt bar, I have made one with the same principle as a cp salt bar only adding FBB to the mix as well. You will need to google to find suppliers of FBB but it makes this recipe in my opinion. The bar is hard, but not as hard as a cp bar and not as smooth. The salt added is normal table salt. The recipe is on another forum complete with descriptions of how to make the salt bar. The mp salt bar gives a similar lotion feel when used and sets up very quickly 20 minutes until you NEED to cut it. I have added coarse rock salt to the top only there is double the amount of salt to the mp used. I used a low sweat bar (cp like) yes and I still have the salt bars sitting here some 2 years later. Sex on the beach was the FO. Here are two photos of the one I made it definitely is possible to make an mp salt bar yes. HTH jo

I definitely dont do 50/50. I keep the amounts of the additives the same as in that wonderful thread on this forum. 1 Tbspn of oils to 1/4 cup of beeswax is the amount I have found that works for me. Of course there are lots of other additives as I mentioned in that thread but, dont do the 50/50 or you will really be in trouble! Although you might have a great accidental discovery like I did. If you do let us know, jo edited: to add I also melt the butters in with the melted beeswax, once its liquid and cooler of course

I too had this trouble with it solidifying when it hit the mp. What a pain it was. I did as the ladies above did, actually I did it by accident! LOL but it worked and ever since then I make sure that I melt something in with the beeswax once it has become liquid. So if I am adding a butter, I put it in once the beeswax has melted, or I add the glycerine or some oil as already suggested. It seems to stop the beeswax solidifying again and can then be incorporated more easily into the mp. Good luck, men dont seem to worry but well it annoyed me! jo

Try and cool the confetti down in the fridge before you actually put them in with the soap. I do embeds this way and then I put the whole lot in the fridge to help it cool faster. I also cool the mold in the fridge for about 1/2 hour before I start. jo

Hi Syr, I use SMC Taurate Paste to make a shampoo bar and it is really a soft paste. I don't think that it would work to make a solid sugar cube. The beauty of the sugar cube is that it is solid and holds long enough and strong enough that you can rub against your skin. The taurate just wouldn't get that hard and with the oil and the shea there wouldn't be enough "hard solids". I wouldn't think. SCI or SCS would be hard enough though if you are looking for a surfactant. Hope that helps explain why they were too soft. jo

Me too, I don't notice any difference between one day or 4 weeks. Once the additive is in it doesnt appear to need a cure time and I would say that it is probably better to use it sooner rather than leave it on the bench unwrapped for weeks to dry it out. Hope this helps you jo

Hi Starr, I suffer from Psoriasis and I don't like coal tar or pine tar at all. It aggravates mine. I think part of the problem with psoriasis is that each persons is different and as such responds differently to products also. I do know the above helps some people but as I said I am one of the ones it doesnt help. That said, emu oil and rosehip do help me - straight onto the skin. A lotion balm that has either of those is good for my skin. Also I use nettle, green tea and cucumber as it is cooling - all are extracts not eo's. Aloe is also cooling and helpful too. Apparently psoriasis is an auto immune issue also and of course, stress related as well. There are so many areas of this particular disease, I wonder what triggers your Step-fathers? Maybe ask him so questions such as does his feel hot/burning is his skin really tight and super dry where is his psoriasis - if its in his hair, a lotion would need to be thinner than if it is on his hands or legs. etc etc. Is it worse in dry heat (ie heating) or humid conditions All these will help you be able to relieve his condition and if you get the answer or some sort of relief soap/cream/lotion I would love to know what it is. I would be eternally grateful if someone would help out my scalp, hands and shins! jo

Thank you PA, I hope one day to be able to try one of yours! I have learnt such a lot about additives and I think its great that we can all share with each other, and enable people to experience not just mp but "MP" as you and I both know it. Thank you for your knowledge

I am by no means an expert but I do enjoy mp and other mediums in B&B. I enjoy as I have said pushing it to its boundaries. Without meaning to inflame any feelings the original poster doesn't mention that she is labelling or selling this item and in fact is honest enough to say it is only her 2nd batch.:smiley2: I use SFIC as I live in Australia and cant use Catalina's unless I ship it here myself. The SFIC cp like low sweat white base that I use takes a good many additives before it gives up and says "enough". I make mp because I enjoy it. I am not interested at this stage in labelling requirements, but I am interested in making a good quality product. I have been making this type of mp for quite a few years now, before the low sweat base was made. I just switched due to the fact that we have a lot of humidity not because I wanted to make it more like cp but because a base became available that would make my life easier. Dogmom1 I add 1/4 cup beeswax to each and every batch. I counter balance that with other additives as well. You will find lots of suggestions in the fantastic thread that is currently in this forum. Each person likes different types of additives and the feelings that can be achieved as a result in mp soap. Some like cp others like mp. Sometimes some individuals to both, sometimes not. This topic was merely a question of what went wrong and I still say that for the soap to be bendy too much of one additive was added or not enough balancing additives. Its all an experiment that should be fun and produce something you are proud of and can enjoy. Mp is quite an artistic medium both for its ability to be used in many ways and also its ability to accept additives. It is merely a question of which additives that you personally like. PA is well respected for her use of additives and I seek to emulate her mp ability. People genuinely rave about her mp soaps. However, when someone genuinely at this early stage in her mp learning curve asks for help I will try hard to offer my advice as have others here. Some people just try things for the sake of enjoyment and learning, they don't necessarily want to sell their items and as such are not really interested in label ingredients or appeal. Looking down the track that may well all change for dogmom1 when she finds "her" perfect recipe for mp. However at this stage the question was "what had gone wrong". I would be interested to hear what any other mp soapers thought about what the possible causes for this bendy soap could be. Dogmom1 in the interests of helping you formulate your own recipe I want to be completely transparent about my recipe per 2lbs of mp low sweat cp base I add each and every time: 1/4 cup beeswax butter (any you like I like mango) jojoba, or avocado or macadamia or apricot or emu or whatever oil you like green tea or nettle extract goats milk powder silk powder glycerin - EO's or FO's Clay or colorant of your choice botannicals if you want, glitter if you want I dont label these ingredients as I dont sell but to use PA"s words "I too would hold a bar of my MP soap up to a bar of anyone else's CP soap with no hesitation." PA any comments on my recipe would be gratefully accepted I would love to know what you think. Jo curlycoat2 melbourne, australia

Hi Kestagano I love adding silk powder to the mp. I do think/feel a difference and I am sure you will too. I use 1/2T per 1kg (so 1/2T per 2 lbs). Even this small amount makes a difference. I mix it into a paste with all the oils/extracts and then add melted soap from a crockpot to it slowly mixing as I go.Then when the paste is runny enough I mix it back into the crockpot. I add a lot of powders so have found this is the best way for me to do it. If you are just adding the silk powder I would mix it with the fo/eo you are using. Enjoy and please let us know if you like/feel a difference. jo

Hi, I think there was too much oil in the mp. I add lots the same as PA and Candybee. In fact I too love to push it to the parameters but if you add the oils up you have gone over the recommended T amount for oils per pound of mp especially the emu oil. I think you will find that 1/2 tsp has made the difference. I would drop it as emu oil is very very rich and 1T is more than plenty per pound of base. I have done this before and the bar was bendy and had no lather. It turned out to be the oil amount stopping the lather and yes it was rubbery! Sometimes 1/2 tsp is enough to put it over the edge. Hope this helps, I love emu oil jo curlycoat2 Melbourne Australia

Hi, I cant answer your first question, but I would try it and see - if you have tons at home, you may as well give it a whirl. I would grate it and add 4 times the water for the weight of the grated mp and see what I got. I am a big believer it experimenting and seeing how you like it. At least that way you have a starting point. You only need 100g bar of the mp to start it off and 400g of water to find out. Also there is a thread running in this section with additives to mp, have a read there the answer to your next two questions and any other additive you can think of have been posted there. Its amazing what has been added and very kindly the amounts have also been posted. HTH jo curlycoat2 Melbourne, Australia

Ooh I forgot, poppyseeds, luffa jojoba beads all colors sesame oil - gave it a strong smell (not quite what I was after!) jo

Wow what a great thread for us mpers!! I love it. PA thanks for starting it - great to see just how much we can add. My list of additives that I have used are the same as PA's plus some of these that I am sure she has tried! Salt for a salt bar FBB Silk powder Apricot Kernel Oil Green Tea Extract Nettle Extract Rosemary, yarrow, horsetail Home made Vanilla Infusion in jojoba Vanilla Stabiliser Australian Native Herbs, Sea Parsley, Wattleseed, Rosella Flowers, Lemon Myrtle Leaves, Saltbush Bee Propolis Aussie and French Clays, Ultramarines, oxides, pop colors, glitters, neon colors, lakes Really as Hawaiiansun said I will add anything once. If I hear it has been added to cp I just try it in mp! Usually it works, but there have been spectacular duds too! That's part of the fun. Thanks again for starting this thread, great for reference for all of us. jo curlycoat2 Melbourne, Australia

Hi Its such a good buy that I have someone buying 75lbs of it for me so I can ship it to Australia! I dont have to pay for two lots of shipping. If I buy this base from an Australian Supplier it is 9.50 per pound and I have to pay courier delivery on top. I hear Kentucky are doing another fast buy?? (Not sure if that is the right terminology) but you pay shipping for that one. Jo

Wow those swirls are fabulous! I havent tried swirls, that is my next step. I can use all the help I can get, the first and only swirl I did was an accident! One that I would like to repeat but as we know, that is the hard part! jo

Hi, I use a crockpot to melt mine. I set it on low (its an old crockpot so the temp is really low :smiley2: ) and I leave it until it is completely melted and then either ladle it out and color it and scent it in another bowl if I am making different soaps or if a log soap I color and scent it in the crock pot. Dont reheat it too many times if you dont use it all. I discovered it doesnt like that. jo

Thank you for the welcome P.A. you are the star with MP that much I do know, but, I do like to "tweak":) I now don't do a batch without beeswax, glycerin, silk and goats milk or full milk powder. I love the result it produces. Sorry for the late reply - I live in Australia and the time frame is a little wacky in our summer! Skiminims just play with the ingredients you like the sound of until you find what suits you. That's all I do. Write everything down, because you know you will just luck out with something and then cant repeat it - ask me how I know that!:embarasse jo

I too love to add glycerin in my mp. I also add mango butter, jojoba oil, goats milk powder, beeswax and silk proteins along with green tea extract or nettle extract. I have a fabulous lather, that is soft and silky and wonderful on my eczema patches that I have. I mix all the powders together in a little dish, then melt the ingredients that need it, add the FO and any other oils that didnt need melting and finally add it to the powders. Once I have a paste I remove a ladle full of melted mp from the crockpot and mix it slowly into the paste to avoid clumps. Once that is mixed I add it slowly back to the crockpot. This has been a great success for me and I can tell you I dont add more than 1T of any of the above for a 2lb log (except for the beeswax when I add 1/4 cup). That should give you a rough idea of how far I have been able to push my mp. I use the SFIC base low sweat white cp like mp. My soap sets beautifully cuts well and hardens (harder than the original base) within a day or two. Its great on my skin and if I get the fo right pretty good to smell! Good luck but I would definitely be adding the glycerin - just not so much. jo