JacquiO

Hi Chrisinpa, I haven't tried a lot of M&P soaps. I did make 5 loafs out of C&S soap bases. I tried: Cocoa Butter Mango Butter Hemp Oil Soy Honey Glycerin I mixed the bases to get a blend of oils and butters so I can't say for sure how each holds up on it's own but they lather very nicely even after adding powdered oatmeal and other botanicals. I used primarily EOs which took really well to these bases. The bases themselves have virtually no smell and I only needed to add relatively small quantities of EO to get a really nice smelling soap. You could also tell the strength as you were mixing them which I really liked. What impressed me the most was how mosturizing they are. Friends I've given them to have commented on that also. Again I haven't tried many other bases other then the SFIC in this thread so I can't give any kind of comparison but for me considering how close C&S is and that the shipping is practically overnight I think they are a really good choice. I just got my second order in and I'm also going to try the Shea Butter and the Aloe Glycerin soon.

I need a reference for a good red dye that won't frost and gives consistant results when weighed. I wanted to get Pyme but they are not available at this time. I need a supplier that can supply a decent amount in a short period of time.

I love that tie-dye look. I also like the way Jcandleattic's swirls looked marbled. I've been using loaf molds. I'm going to have to get a hold of a slab mold to try some different effects.

They were labeled Peaks with LS White written on them. Again I have no idea why it would smell so strong of alcohol or be so soft. And they smelled like that soon as I unwrapped them and stayed that way as they melted. They were in 1lb bars which I know SFIC has discontinued and they look just like their picture. I know that SFIC is doing away with the 1lb bars. I don't know how old the bars I received are. I don't think I will be giving them a second chance however. I have better things to spend money on. If you've tried C&S's bases you may know what kind of difference I'm talking about.

I sampled 4lbs from CT member. Who I thank profusely since I really wanted to try SFIC low sweat white since so many boardies rave about SFIC. First off soon as I unwrapped it the soap absolutely reaked of isopropyl alchohol. I have no idea why it woud smell this way. I though perhaps it had been spritzed with alchohol to get the plastic wrap to adhear so well but as it melted I could not get the smell to go away. It made it really difficult to judge fragrance and I kept adding more EO and FO to try to cover it up. Even now after 2 days I can still smell the alchohol. Also it's so soft. I don't like how soft it is. I can easily leave finger prints and I find that very annoying. Well that's my rant about SFIC Low sweat. Don't really care for it. Not trying to knock SFIC. They have plenty of different types of bases to try but I think I'm going to stick with candleandsupplies. Their bases were fantastic and hard and really moisturizing.

MY SWIRLING MP MISADVENTURE: Well I tried using the technique described in the link prairieannie provided. It was difficult getting two batches to thicken at the same rate. By the time I got the two poured they were too thick. I had to zap in the microwave to get to smooth out and then covered the bumpy top with some rose petals and lavender buds. I think it is possible to do this and it's really a matter of getting the timing down but I'm never going to get the beautiful results that you get with CP and HP.

Those are all wonderful examples. And thanks Praireanne for the link. I'm going to try out those instructions. I never even thought of peeling off the skin. I'm going to play this weekend and hopefully have some pics to post myself. Thanks!

I'm looking at a wholesale contract for 3,000 wedding favors and need to find a reliable company that carry various glass containers (votives and small jars) that they can either screen print or create a screen printed label that they can apply to the containers before they are shipped. So far I've only been able to find one company and I'm getting very frustrated with the search engines. If anyone know of a good company please post link here. TIA, Jacqui

Has any one ever used this product in m&p soap? http://www.soapwizards.com/tek9.asp?pg=products&specific=jqconpg0 I know if you add some additives and oils it reduce the lather of your soap and I'm wondering if this can help. Also I tried to do a google search on Lanthanol LAL powder in order to find out if this was a vegetable or animal derived product but came up short. If anyone know anything regarding the compostion and manufacture of this product that would be a great help.

I just got some SFIC Low Sweat MP and want to swirl 2 colors. I tried doing the other night with disasterous results. The problem I find is that it forms a skin really quickly. How to I get it to thicken to swirl. Is it even possible to swirl MP. I feel like I'm missing some technique here.

Well I just went through my first batch of 20lbs of M&P soap. My newest creations: Honey Oatmeal Almond Pepperment Tea Tree (w/White willows bark) Sage and Citrus (gawd one of my favs!) Lavender Patchouli Vanilla Orange Ginger Spice I made them all with EOs accept for the vanilla in the Oatmeal one. I only had a vanilla FO and then I got some vanilla oleoresin from MMS. Although they don't reccommend using it in M&P because it's water soluable. I used it very sparingly in the LPV along with some ground vanilla bean. It really came out awesome. I've been using it in the shower all week. Also a friend bought 8 bars from me. WooHoo! I did not expect to be selling this soon. The orange ginger spice I made yesterday. I don't like it. I enfused some chamomile flowers and drained out through cheesecloth. I used way too much. The chamomile is too strong and puts the whole thing off balance scent wise. Also I'm not so sure that it works with the orange EO. Any input on what EOs blend well with chamomile would be greatly appreciated. Chamomile and vanilla sounds like a possibility but I'd like to try something a little more complex. Thanks!

I checked out her sweet cheeks pink palour on eBay. Pretty amazing stuff. Absolutely gorgeous. I also enjoyed reading her product descrption, policies, etc. What a hoot!

http://www.canwax.com/page/page/950314.htm

Thanks for the info guys. That brambleberry site was great. I'm glad that it posted the rebatching instructions. I didn't really know what the process involved. It seems a bit tricky but I got my waiters rotary cheese grater on hand and I'm up for the challenge. Unfortunately the cp soap bases sounded good but pricey and from wa..waaa!! Washington! Yuk! At least annelees is on the East Coast. I may have to dip into the ol' pocket book and try hers. I also like the fact that she'll customize. I still I'm gonna try emporiumnaturals as well. I'll probably try their's first. What I'd really like to get my hand on is some SFIC low sweat white MP base. The only place I could find so far on the East coast is Southern soapers. And they won't have in stock until the end of March. Another big waaa!!!

Actually what you take for different flavored honey - clover, orange blossom, blueberry, wild flower - is actually the type of flowers or blossoms where the bees gather the nectar. It is real honey, honey. Orange Blossom honey is from hives kept by orange groves. Blueberry near blueberry fields. Clover is the most common up where I live because it grows wild everywhere. Either way if the honey is flavored by the nectar of certain plants or an added ingredient it's still an animal by-product and therefore definitely not vegan.

Has anyone tried the the natural and CP bases from emporium naturals? What's your impression? Is there anywhere else - preferably on the east cost - where one can find natural bases. I'm trying to get the closest look and feel to HP/CP soaps without having to play with lye. Thanks, J

You have to forgive me I was cruising the board at 1am last night 'cause I couldn't sleep and I couldn't help myself ranting about a soap maker would call a honey soap vegan. I like honey and I like handmade soap and I like the 2 together. But honey soap is no more vegan than goat's milk soap eventhough no harm comes to the goat either. Well at least until you put him in a curry.

According to Jbement on this post it doesn't kill bees. http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65809&page=2&highlight=WHAT+IS+PARAFFIN jbement vbmenu_register("postmenu_608402", true); Supa Star Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Coastal Maine Posts: 15 Trader Rating: 0/0% </B> Re: This is Paraffin?! The best (and lightest) beeswax comes from the honey cappings, or the tops of the honeycomb cells created by the bees for storing honey. When the boxes (called supers) containing the honey-filled frames are removed from the hives, each honey-filled frame has the cappings removed and the honey removed from both sides via spinning in an extractor. The cappings are cleaned and filtered for use as great smelling beeswax. No harm to the bees, and given all the care/expense bees require these days to be kept pest free and healthy, you should consider hive products such as wax and honey as a fair exchange for maintaining the long term health of the bees.

I know this sounds like a really dumb question but I was perusing one of the sponsered sites here on CT (or is it CS now? I guess I have to get used to that, but I transgress) - I won't say which site it was but they have a honey soap advertised as vegan. Not that I'm saying honey harvesting is cruel to bees or anything. I just don't see how honey can be any more vegan than cow's milk. Am I missing something? Does this soap maker just not get it? Or am I some how confused? Does anyone else think honey is VEGAN???

Definitely use an old set of pot holders but heavy duty rubber gloves - the kind you wash dishes with - a must. They help you hands withstand the heat when wiping clean hot metal molds and pouring pots. Also help holding hot mold for pouring. That's if you heat your molds.

Olive oil is a lot pricier than DPG. DPG is a stabilizer. It helps prevent the FO from smoking and possibly combusting. No matter what you use to cut your oils if you warm them without water you get a sticky black mess. I recommend using/selling oil warmers with a nice size well. Add fragrance to water a few drops at a time until you get the throw you desire. When the burner cools dump the water and wipe with a paper towel. No fuss no muss.

The are called european dropper bottles. SKS bottle carries them and the caps with orifice reducers http://www.sks-bottle.com/340c/fin112.html

Thanks so much for your advice. I'm glad to hear that mixing the bases is okay. Candybee suggested adding your own butters and oils. The supplier wrote that adding oils could affect your lather. It's worth a try I think. I'm brimming with ideas. I can't wait to get in my first order of supplies. I have to sell some old candle stuff first. My hubby's not going to approve of me investing another $150 to $200 into a new expensive hobby.

So I want to make soaps. I have so many questions it's hard finding where to start. There seems to be so many wonderful bases to chose from and I've done some forum searching for where to get them so I not looking for help there. But what about mixing bases? Say I want to make a Hemp/Shea/Honey blend. Can mixing your MP bases adversely affect the performance of the soap? Does anyone here regularly do that?

Thanks so much for posting this. I really want to get into soap making this year and have been debating M&P or CP(or HP) soap making. This post was a real eye opener. I purposely haven't gotten into soaps earlier because my daughter was a toddler but now even at 5 she's a maniac around our small house. No for now M&P the way to go for me.