Rob K

Did you use regular table salt, or kosher salt? I'm just guessing, but I imagine that larger salt crystals would probably work better. Also I would let it set up a little bit in the mold before I sprinkled the salt on top - the salt might sink in otherwise.

Getting back to the OP, I've used the Chemistry Store gel colorants in CP and they are fine for the most part. A couple of the blue ones morph a bit - one turns pinkish brown when you stir in the lye, but if you gel your soap it will turn back blue the next day. They are very easy to use. I generally mixed them into the oil before adding the lye. One thing to note is that like all dyes, they bleed quite a bit. Not a problem for a solid color bar, but pigments would be a better choice if you want a well defined swirl pattern.

If you are just soaping for yourself and close friends, I wouldn't bother with any of the "preservatives" you mentioned. Just keep your finished soap in a cool, dry dark location until you are ready to use them and they will be fine. "Preservatives" come into play when you are considering selling your soaps. At that point you need to accommodate storage in less than ideal conditions, which can promote rancidity (DOS). Needless to say, soaps covered with orange spots don't sell well, and so some method of delaying the onset of rancidity is desired. Depending on how "natural" you want your product to be, this may be rosemary extract, tocopherol, BHT, etc. Some methods are more effective than others, so you will want to test with your soap blend to determine the optimum solution when you reach this point. Good luck!

I only mentioned the aroma and color shift so that you would be aware of it - and I wouldn't be surprised if another manufacturer's ROE had a greater or lesser effect either. :smiley2: The characteristic scent I notice with ROE is an earthy, herbal note. It's pretty subtle, and if you are using a fragrance that included patchouli or lemongrass I doubt it would be detectable. On the other hand, it is easy to detect in citrus or water fragrances that don't have an herbal component that would mask the ROE. As for the color shift, this is also minor and more noticeable on lighter colored soaps. The effect is very similar to using a fragrance that has a small (~0.5%) vanilla content, in that it tends to darken the soap slightly. YMMV of course. ROE does appear to delay the onset of DOS, along with avoiding direct sunlight and keeping humidity low in your storage area, and is a more natural solution than BHT or ETDA (although not as effective). By knowing about the possible side effects, you can adjust your formulation accordingly to minimize these effects if you so desire. Good luck!

Ideally you would add ROE to your soft oils as soon as you open the container. However, if you don't want to blend ROE into an entire keg of OO, for example, you can add it to your oils before you mix in the lye solution. FYI if you haven't used ROE before, please be aware that it will add a slight odor and also affect the color of your soap. Good luck!

It's not so much favorable or unfavorable, but more about knowing what the oils and percentages are so you can calculate the SAP value correctly.

Sorry, I was reading soybean but thinking canola... Soybean oil or vegetable shortening is very commonly used, as it is an inexpensive oil that is available just about everywhere. Just make sure to combine it with some other, harder oils, and try to keep the soy under 40% or so. If you go the shortening route (Crisco), make sure you check the ingredients as the Crisco ingredients vary from place to place...

My personal opinion is that this is making a mountain out of a molehill. First off, insecticides and pesticides are applied weeks before harvesting, so most (if not virtually all) of it has been washed away prior to harvesting. Then the beans go through processing to extract the oil. Then you are reacting it with lye. By this time you are down to parts per million at most. Plus you are talking about soap, which is a wash-off product, so to any possible exposure is what, a minute? For maybe a couple of molecules? On the other hand, there are a lot of nervous ninnies out there that believe any and all chemicals are B-A-D. If this is your target market, then making a big deal of this would be a sound marketing technique. My other thought is that soybean oil doesn't make that great of a soap anyway...

Phenolphthalein changes from clear to pink over a pH range of 8 to 10. So if it's bright bright pink, the pH is over 10 and it is too caustic. However if it's just barely noticeable you are on the safe end (around 8).

You can set up multiple separate companies, but it's probably easier and cheaper to set up one general purpose LLC and then register DBAs (Doing Business As) under the LLC for each of your enterprises. If you go this route, you will only need one Fed Tax ID and only will file one business tax return. This is assuming your state allows this... check with your state government or a local attorney to confirm. Good Luck!

We tried it, and came to the conclusion that a facebook page promoting our business was a pretty good idea - but as far as the ads go, people generally don't go to facebook to shop (at least for our products). On the plus side, you can sort of control how you want to advertise (pay per impression or pay per click), and put limits on how much you are willing to spend per day. Set up is easy, you can target your preferred demographic, and reporting is good also.