TallTayl

I have some of my friend's HP soap and it is most definitely the texture of HP, just not as rough or "rustic" as most. She chose HP because she does not want to mess with flaky fragrances and CP. Byrdijean's method was an epic fail with my soap formula.

I saw at several sources that they are only available in a few small widths. Most can be stacked to be bigger, but can they be made smaller? Can you trim the wood wicks to be slightly narrower? Am also intrigued with the tube wood wicks. How different and cool are those???

I use that system with the perforated film. It really protects the soap in all weather. Breathes just fine. For bath fizzies i prefer the film without holes, but the perfed worked in a pinch.

Not even once.

A good soapmaker friend specializes in HP. She has a series of crock pots in which She heats her oils to 160, adds the lye solution, and cooks for only about 10 minutes before pouring off to a non-heated container for scenting, coloring and molding. As the crock empties, she adds the next set of oils. Repeat. She churns out 100 or so logs a day this way. SAP is always complete by the next day when the soap is fully cooled. No need for pheno tests....

Yes, it does go through a chemical change during saponification. The hydrogen bonds of the oils are chemically separated by the alkali (lye or potash depending on the kind of soap). You're left with a sodium salt, water and glycols. Since we all superfat for bath soap, some of that oil is left over intact, though, and will have a distinctive smell as it oxidizes. If you have ever smelled an old bottle of salad oil your nose will never forget.

A roll lasts me through several hundred pillars. Totally worth it, esp since i used to lose the screws and would take forever to set them all in the molds, lol.

With HP, i found that waiting for full vaseline stage ended up overcooking my soap. Once it seems to get mostly translucent on the edges and still has that island in the middle it is done enough. Remember, like meat, soap will keep cooking after you take it off the heat source because of the latent heat (remaining heat in the batch). It takes a while to cook, all the while still doing its magic. You will usually need to cool the batch some before adding other additives, like fragrance, so it cooks as it cools. Good luck!

I found it locally in my home improvement store with the HVAC materials. The big roll i found was branded as aluminum duct tape. It is VERY different from normal duct tape. Some waxes, like palm, may need an amped up version to handle the super high heat without leaks. In the automotive section of my local Farm store i found a high temp metal tape used for exhaust systems. Less per roll, but it works very well. Any auto store should have that one. I have found that as long as i really press the tape well to clean molds leakage is minimal. I use 2 pieces of tape in a criss cross over the wick. No more goopy wicks from putty. If a wee bit leaks, the wick becomes pre-primed.

I use high temp metal/foil tape to plug and hold spooled wick with my metal molds. http://www.supplyhouse.com/Venture-Tape-3243-High-Temperature-Foil-Tape-3-x-150?gclid=CJjHyITnjMECFQusaQodorsAMA Works for me with beeswax and palm. Tried putty and hated it. Tried screws and got sick of messed up wick. The tape works easily every time.

On teensy bars, i should have mentioned use a good gram scale to measure. A difference of a gram in that small of a batch makes a big difference over all. Also with small batches the thermodynamics are all askew. The soap will not get as warm in a tiny mold (that energy from the chemical reaction that creates heat to saponify the oils is really small). That will change the overall feel of the finished soap for a while. Eventually, after a long, long cure it will approach the same feel as a bigger, warmer batch. And.... For soap that is initially harder earlier, rather than worry about SF (which has little to absolutely nothing to do with bar hardness), use less water instead (create a stronger lye solution using less water). Your SAP calculator should have settings to adjust the amount of water needed.

Jinx, lol. Spearmint essential oil at a low % will be smooth and luscious. It is great with vanilla, rosemary, peppermint, chocolate....

Vids like this as described are a dime a dozen on YouTube. Makes it hard to convince people of GMP and safety when people are cavalier.

If using stearic do so at super low %. That stuff will move things along briskly in the soap pot even at 1-2%. And, through many trial batches i found too much would inhibit lather in my formulas. As a sub for coconut, as said above, palm kernal, (not plain old palm oil)

Verra nice.

I'm so glad you noted the dimensions of your tin! I use 8 oz deeps that are 3 inches wide and 2 deep and could never get away with a CD10! The extra depth makes a huge difference. Can i ask where you found 5 inch deep tins? They sound amazing!

Pretty! What kind of wax? You have made me long for trying wood wicks. Darned you! Lol.

LOL, OG. I know, right? I get so fed up with people telling me their "all natural" EO curative/preparation/candle/whatever is superior, or that I "need" to make XYZ, but yet have no evidence whatsoever. The assumption is based on nothing other than wanting to believe... Sensitivities can happen to anyone for anything. It's exhausting. EO's are being overused; Tea Tree sensitivities and all out allergic reactions are on the rise at an alarming rate, for instance.

No worries OldGlory, i do not ever plan to pander to the EO and all-natural-must-be-better crowd. EColi, MRSA, flesh eating bacteria, strep, snake venom and such are all natural and not "good". The list is endless. There is real danger, and perceived benefits, to EO's versus synthetic that I won't go into here. Just looking to see if anyone has ever seen scientific proof that burning EO's in candles is safe, let alone beneficial. The perception that burning eo's is safer than engineered fragrance oils is full of holes without analysis. The absence of the data tells me more than the sheeple who insist natural is always better out of an emotional reaction, hysteria, fear or just plain lack of understanding of infectious disease.

I get asked at least once a day at events if my beeswax and soy candles are made with essential oils. Apparently people "believe" after hearing about YL, doTerra, etc. that there's some therapeutic benefit to burning candles made with essential oils versus unscented, fragrance oil engineered for candles, etc. The common message about those groups is that anything else is "toxic". Seems so many people misunderstand the safe use of essential oils and what the word "toxic" means thinking anything "natural" is safe and better than something designed by labs. I had to question the safety of burning essential oils. After reading around i found only one snippet from a study (i am still searching for that full study) concerning burning essential oils. It confirms my thoughts. "Essential oils once burned are converted into toxins such as acetone, benzene, toluene, soot and particulate matter. This can cause a grey film (soot residue) that collects around electrical switches, sockets and electrical appliances. Essential oils and candles do not mix. The air pollution from burned oils can be dangerous especially when used regularly or profusely." My note: The natural aroma from beeswax candles smell beautiful on their own, without adding essential oils. Or you can create the same ambience of scented candles, by lighting candles and diffusing essential oils." Has anyone else ever found studies, papers (peer reviewed would be great) either supporting or contradicting safety of burning essential oils?

Has anyone ever read any study to ensure that volatilizing essential oils into the air with heat is actually healthy?

You can extend the shelf life of the raw oil a bit by storing it in the freezer. The freezer, though, does not put it into a state of suspended animation, it just slightly delays the inevitable. Hemp oil is very fragile and once out of that freezer and in a product it oxidizes rapidly. Some people swear by rosemary oleoresin and vitamin E to extend shelf life, though those too only slightly delay oxidation. If too much is used it accelerates oxidation even in the original bottle. What we don't know about Bronners is how much hemp is in there. Is it a drop for label appeal or a meaningful %? For soap, keeping the linoleic and linolenic acid % total to less than 15% is a decent guideline for holding DOS at bay for a while.

It all depends on your market and how you work to control it. For my summer-long event where i specialize in beeswax, i make 3 sizes and shapes of pillar: 2 inch wide by 4 tall mini pillars (approx 4 oz), 3x4 round (approx 15 oz) and 3x4 square (approx 20 oz). I sell the most (by a huge margin) of the large squares because, even though they are the highest tag, they are the best overall value. I also make a few 3inch round and 3 inch round by 12 tall pillars and they sell out at a pretty price to specific people. Containers, i only offer 8 oz tins, so no quibbling over pricing and sizes. Not one person has been sad about not having the option of something smaller. If they want it badly enough they buy what i have.

I use it on tins. No fumes, dries fast, but WILL rub off if people have alcohol on their fingers. I found that out the hard way at outdoor summer events as people with beer and wine fingers smeared off the inks just handling the containers. I re-painted them all, but what a pain. If you can figure out how to seal it, maybe with spray UV protectant and waterproofing it could be more durable.

GIMP is free (or last time i installed it). They have loads of tutorials, and a few videos to teach the common stuff. I picked it up in under an hour, but i use loads of other similar software and knew what i was looking for, just took a bit to figure out their terms for things.