PattyZB

I don't want to market that my soaps are anti-bacterial...I'm just thinking for home use. If I'm better off using my bath & body works anti-bacterial soaps I'll stick with them for hand washing. I've become one of those moms who always has the hand sanitizer when we go to the playground, play dates, out to eat, etc. I don't see other kids running around...I see germ incubators.

Thank you Kitn! I was feeling creative today and I was afraid I'd have to wait. Waiting 6 weeks is better than 8. At least that means I have 2 more weeks to make soaps for Christmas (meaning they'll be 6 weeks by 12/15) giving me time to ship them to people. Trying to plan ahead for the holidays is hurting my head - I got into this kinda late so I feel like I'm playing catch up so I have enough soap to sell/gift this holiday!

So with cold/flu and now N1H1 I'm thinking about my soaps. I know soaps are good for cleaning hands BUT what about killing germs. I've read up on here a bit and found that: Honey, Tea Tree Oil, Vitamin E and Grapefruit Seed Extract seem to have anti-bacterial properties. Does anyone use any of these with the thought of killing germs? I use honey in most if not all of my CP soaps but is there enough to say they're antibacterial? Tea Tree has a strong scent so I'm apt to avoid it (even though I currently reek of it since i use it on break-outs). What about Vitamin E or Grapefruit Seed Extract? Just getting more into soaping and realizing I have more questions. Sorry!!

I was surprised it turned out okay the first time around . . I was afraid it would get icky. Thank goodness! My only thing now to research is curing time. Is 6-8 weeks REALLY necessary or is 4 okay. I like to test before I send out samples and THEN I sell my soaps.

My oils and lye were not room temp but not HOT as usual today when I soaped...mainly because I used milk for the first time and didn't want it to burn.

So I decided to try using coconut milk. After reading much on here, online in general and in a few books I did it. I froze the milk into cubes. I filled my sink with cold water and put my glass pitcher in there with some water (1 oz to equal the full amount of water needed where the main amount of 'water' was the milk). Anyway once the lye was mixed with the water I added the frozen milk and kept stirring. It melted the cubes and didn't smell bad so I figured I was okay. My oils were in the pot ready to be mixed with the lye mix and were cooled down a bit so they were the same temp as the lye mix. I mixed everything, it traced, I added a poured most into the mold, mixed a little honey and tea leaves (rum and pineapple flavors) with the rest in the pot and then mixed that into the mold resulting in a nice swirl and that was it. Very simple, smelled good and my first attempt - fingers crossed that when I check it tomorrow it's still pretty and nice smelling and not some evil looking loaf of yuck. lol

Thank you! Yes, that is brown sugar on top of the pumpkin one. I got a little scared of FO's after my first 2 batches of soap SOooo I kept these all natural and they're not-too-shabby!

After 8 weeks of curing I think I can finally consider these both a success! Oatmeal & Honey soap Pumpkin & Brown Sugar soap

I never heard of that method! Do tell!

I checked every local Lowe's and Home Depot - nothing. Thankfully I found someone willing to share their supply.

I put my little skulls into bags and I'm wondering if saran wrap is the way to go because there's moisture in the bags. I do have bags that heat seal/shrink wrap but I'd have to wrap each individually and that's a bit of a waste. Guess I'll be selling these as a 'first try - oops sale'. I'm sure they'll be fine, they just look a little 'wet' in the bags.

Thanks!! So much to learn.

I didn't even think to go to an actual supply place...I guess I can check the phone book? I just couldn't believe how much cheaper The Lye Guy is and he's got a good reputation! Very cool.

The Lye Guy advertises 32oz for $5.25 Dianna's Sugar Plum Sundries advertises 16oz for $5.30 Is it possible that the Lye Guy is THAT much cheaper? AND he had a special - buy 5 canisters get 1 free!

I didn't add anything extra to my M&P bases besides color and fragrance. Maybe it's because it was warm or because I had just unmolded them.

I need lye and am trying to keep myself occupied with M&P until I can get some. Today I made these: Banana Scented And these: Cotton Candy And I wrapped my CP soaps (one is oatmeal honey and the other is pumpkin brown sugar) and a few M&P that I had.The M&P are Buttercream & Snickerdoodle Having fun but NEED MORE LYE

Welcome!! Isn't soaping fun? I'm doing M&P until I can get more lye but mostly I like CP. It's addictive but good clean fun. lol

I'm having trouble finding lye again. I'm going to stop at the Tractor Supply Store I found it at last time. It's out of the way (45 minutes away), but I'll be in the area tomorrow so it's not too bad. I'm curious as to where most people get theirs from. Do you find it online? Where's the best place? Do you find it in a local store? I've checked ALL of my local Home Depots and Lowes - nada.

I ordered a few different melt & pour soaps and received them yesterday. Of course I had to play right away. I'm curious though...do they need to sit for a few days? I'm not too crazy about how greasy they feel. Is it because they have glycerin? Also, they are sweating quite a bit. I brought them all inside to see if that helps but I still don't like how they 'feel'. My favorites that I made today: Ghoul's Delight Skull Soap - banana smoothie scented of course.

Drool!

I'll keep the flat rate in mind but for now I'm just sending out 2 oz. samples to friends/family to boost some interest. I'll look into the priority rate boxes...I saw some for DVD's that would work size-wise.

So I'm sending samples of my soaps to friends/family to try and I don't know the best way to ship. . . USPS? UPS? and in what packaging? A bubble envelope? A small box? I've purchased soaps in the past and they've been shipped in the padded envelopes which seems to work...but what's the general opinion out there?

I purchased some FO from Brambleberry but wasn't sure where the best place to get M&P was. Is Ky tops? I'm going to get SFIC but so many suppliers came up. I'm thinking of going through Kentucky Candle Wax Supply presently.

I used this recipe and added some oatmeal and honey...I LOVE IT! The lather is amazing, my skin feels so soft and with only oatmeal and honey it has a faint scent and really nice color. It's prefect for me as a beginner because it's simple and my first attempt was perfect! I also tried it and added pumpkin puree...that one's been curing for a few weeks because I didn't discount water so it was really soft but now...I can't wait to try it out as well!

I have two soaps that are ... "lemons" so I'd love some answers on this as well.