JacquiO

I'm going to have to get creative like southern.scents. I doubt I can get it as low as she gets it. She's pretty fortunate to have a source like that. I have a friend who's hubby owns a plumbing business. I'm going to check with him before ordering online. But for now I have plenty thanks to the clearance sale.

Those damn meth heads spoiling it for everyone!!!

I went to Lowe's yesterday and found the Roebic 2lb lye was on clearance for $6.19. I purchased four but now I'm upset. I don't know if they're clearancing to clear out old stock or because they don't plan on carrying it any more which means having to resort to the internet and paying shipping. Yuk!

C&S carries soy M&P. It is a nice mosturizing soap. I can't say how it sells because I just do it for fun but I think your customer's would be happy and come back for more.

I have to say those are impressive!

Your price should depend how much you bought it for and what the market in your area will bear. Obviously your not going to be able to sell $10 bars of soap at a flea market but at an upscale retail shop you might be able to get away with it. I paid $3.50 for mine but the guy sold it to me at a vendor discount. Normally I think they retail for $5-6 dollars and you should be able to get them wholesale between $2-3 dollars. I've search the web and I've used prepackage black bar soap. I see you can also buy it raw by the pound. I wonder if that is something you could package yourself. Anyway I found this interesting link on eBay http://reviews.ebay.com/Who-Can-Use-Black-Soap-Is-It-Just-For-Black-People_W0QQugidZ10000000001287553?ssPageName=BUYGD:CAT:-1:LISTINGS:1 HTH

I've thought of selling African black soap. I really like it. African Black soap is pretty recognizable to those who discovered how lovely it is. I would leave it in the original packaging so your customers recognize it easily. HTH, J

When my soy containers sink a little or crack around the wick I just heat gun the tops smooth again. I don't really need to do a second pour but you can if you want. I do this with soy votives too. Tarts I don't really have a problem with. I use pillar soy for my tarts. Also you can try adding a tbsp of 76mp Coconut Oil to help prevent cracking. Coconut oil as an additive really helped solve a lot of problems I have with soy. I've never heard of using vybar in soy. In paraffin I would use it to increase opaqueness and help the wax hold a higher % FO load. But I don't know if the same applies to soy when using vybar.

Ecosoya Pillar wax was the best I've personally found. The votives don't crack although I still reccommend cooling slower by putting a box over them or putting them an unlit oven. It also makes a nice 1 pour pillar.

I like their pics. But I noticed there are no candles only scrubs. I'm not sure how much I'd like like to shower with candy sprinkles. I'm wondering if it's just for show or if it's in the jar? I like the parfait layered milkshake scrub especially. I think the layers look cool.

I can't even begin to tell you how jealous I am! You have an awesome work shop.

A lot of fruit seeds like raspberry I've noticed effect the scent. Some things that may not so much are poppy seeds, ground almonds, hemp seed, pumice, gound olive pits. Also jojoba beads. I haven't used the jojoba beads in any of my applications but I've seen them in other people's srubs. They come in different colors which I think is pretty cool. I also like to use ground vanilla bean. MMS has them. It will add a touch of vanilla scent but the one I have isn't very strong. I think they would go well with any vanilla blended scrubs.

Thanks for the link. They're located in Brooklyn too so that works out really well for me.

Makes sense ... but I have a major problem with that. I haven't the room for all those pots because I'm a FO HO. I think it might work if I only used 5 to 10 fragrances but what happens when you have 50 to 100 LOL.

I would not equate flour with starch. At least not for the application you want to use it for. In cooking I personally prefer thickening my gravy with flour not corn starch but I digress. Southern Soapers carries Tapioca starch: http://southernsoapers.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=832 HTH, J

You could easily cut off those nice textured tops but I think you should embrace the ash. They look cool just as they are.

That's pretty impressive! You got every color in the rainbow and then some. If I were you customer I'd love it!

Saveonscents also has intructions. They also have the best bulk price I've seen on unscented punks. If anyone has found better please let me know. http://www.saveonscents.com/instructionsincense.php

I heat my pour pot on the stove top and wipe with paper towels. I can't be bothered with the heat gun. The stove top works fine as long as I don't walk away. Unscented baby wipes helped to descent the pots if switching from a strong FO. My stir sticks I just wipe quickly with a paper towel immediately after stirring when the wax is still melted on it - same with thermometer although now I use a digital thermo gun which I love. Molds and all other metal utensils go in the oven at 200 degrees on a baking sheet lined with paper towels then wiped clean while still warm. Wearing rubber gloves keeps my hands from getting burned. I've tried other methods including boiling water and mold cleaners and found the stove top and oven to be the least labor intensive.

Just a suggestion. You can infuse ginger root in hot water and use the chilled ginger tea as your liquid. Ginger tea is very aromatic and may be a nice alternate to using the pricey EO. I've also powdered ginger as an soap additive and the ginger scent comes through nicely.

The Lowes Hardware by me carries Roebic Heavy Duty Crystal Drain Opener in the plumbing section. Here's a picture of the product packaging: http://www.roebic.com/catalog/clog.htm It is 100% Sodium Hydroxide and I picked up a 2lb bottle for $7.99. Even if you don't have a Lowes near you, you may be able to check with other hardware stores or plumbing supply places. As far as ordering online Alabaster has the best price I've seen so far. HTH, J

I don't know how you got the soap so black but I like it!

I use a soy/para blend that has that same soft greasey consistancy. Too make it a little harder without loosing adhesion I add 10% of a straight 141 MP votive/pillar paraffin. It hardens to where I don't leave finger prints on my containers as well as give the wax a gorgeous glossy sheen. HTH, J

On YouTube I came across this instructional video on making MP scrub soaps. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7_UDAyiJ6c She uses course sea salt but I think by incorporating her technique you could use sugar as well without having to worrry too much about the salt or sugar dissolving into the hot melted soap. HTH, J

I made this for the swap. I got the recipe from MMS with a few subs and additions. It whipped up like a charm. I'd say my first attempt was a success! I call the scent Minty Kisses. It smells just like Andes candies.