TallTayl

People tend to be fascinated with it. They can finger sign and get an e-receipt complete with a GPS pinpoint map of where the charge was made.

It's far less risky for the customer than taking an impression or a card or writing the numbers down IMO. Plus, the charge is either approved or declined immediately, so it's less risky for the merchant.

I'm in the square club.

Had ProPay, which did allow for calling in charges at shows, but it took way too long. I dreaded processing slips at the end of a craft show. Invariably would have a couple of problems that forced me to phone customers to straighten it all out.

So far Square is all that and a bag of chips in my book.

I wish him/them the best of luck. I'd buy for the novelty and to help a kid out. Seems like a noble cause when considering the origin of the can.

They probably should have googled the term "man cans" before choosing it for their company name though.

What 8-GRAN-ONES said, plus you could try using lecithin to slow things down a bit. I've used the gelcaps available from the vitamin aisle in a pinch. Pierce the gelcaps and squeeze out the goo in the gelcap. Mix about a teaspoon worth per pound of oils into the FO before you add it (whether before or after the lye solution is added). This should give you a few more precious moments to work with it. Depending on the FO it could make all the difference - or none at all.

If the FO is a true bugger, you could also leave the solid mess in the soap pot to gel in there, then move it to your mold. Sometimes you have a chance to give it another good stir before glopping into the mold. It would be similar in texture to an HP. If you truly MUST have the FO, I'd use HP as a last resort.

HTH

I just recently tried pulling a piece of fishing wire through container wax. What a dream! Thanks for the idea everyone.

Now to beat the crap out of some votive wax in a rubbermaid container. it would be safer than my steak knife trick.

I've tried bartlet pear and spiced pear.

The Bartlet pear smells like a juicy ripe pear in wax and CP soap.

The spiced one smells like puke to me. Neither spice nor pear. (Sorry to those who like it. It truly made me sick to pour it )

I haven't tried any flavors from WSP. I HAVE tried some from MMS, AH/RE and Elements. My next batch of flavors is coming from Get Suckered. Can't wait to see if they are better than the lip safe FO's for lip balms.

In case you're curious about any other vendor's flavor oils I've tried, here ya go.

MMS: I didn't like any OOB and almost didn't try them in balm. Glad I DID though

Grape - surprisingly good

Pomegranate - Very good

Huckleberry - Very good

Mango Mango - something 'chemically' in this one to me

peppermint EO - very Good alone and in blends.

AH/RE:

Asian Pear: something chemically that didn't agree with me.

Chai Tea: Very Good ( I think I accidentally listed this one under NG - Sorry about that!

Coconut milk and Peaches - Very weak.

Mango Peach Fusion: Something chemically in this one

Orange Sorbet: Very good

Pink Lemonade: I can't decide if I like this one or not.

I don't like AH's sweetener much. Element's version is working well for me though. Need to try MMS after the good things I hear about it.

Elements:

Honey flavor: Very good. Good seller. Pretty realistic.

Oh yea - Tried Bulgarian Lavender FCC from TSW. It's interesting, but not my cup of tea alone. With vanilla it's pretty nice.

I know there are others out there I've tried that didn't make the cut.

TTFN

@rachelb: I have tried a couple of coconut flavors alone and in blends, and was not happy with any of them. Was thinking about trying VCO in the blend for more coconut scent/flavor.

I sweeten all of my lip balms that I plan to flavor.

Flavor oils: (all used sweetener)

Black Cherry - fantastic. My #2 seller overall.

Frozen Margarita - very good. Nice lime.

Chai Tea - Very good.

Bubblegum - more like gum balls, not like the pink bazooka I was hoping for

Coconut - couldn't taste a darn thing

French Vanilla - OK. Good as a blender with Peppermint

vanilla Bean - OK. Good as a blender.

HTH

ITA w/CareBear. There's no substitute for time. If you want your HP bar to last during use, then several months is best IME, but much of that depends on your formula.

To add to that - If you're looking for production volume, CP for sure. I can make 6+ batches of CP in the time it takes to cook one HP.

Plus, your batch size is limited by the size of your cooking vessel with HP.

I love this material. As long as you don't overdo the fragrance/EO and allow plenty of soak/dry time they shouldn't leak oil. I have some more than a year old that still smell strong and fresh. When you're sick of the sachet just sprinkle the bits on your carpet and vac them up. These bits don't clog the vacuum filters either!

I ditched the oatmeal and use pumice instead. You could use fine salt too - or run yours through the blender.

Wonderful for you!

I, too, often use the 'first taste is free' method when rolling out new products, then follow with friends and family discount after that if the new product makes it to market. Everyone wins.

Often my best customers give their freebies to their friends who have not tried my line yet. This usually results in new loyal customers.

Even though this is wayyyyy OT, I'll risk posting this...

This tool is the hands down best for yard clean up:

http://www.pet-dog-cat-supply-store.com/shop/index.php?page=shop-flypage-30054

You're safely away from the offending material, and it works through grass like a champ. leaving nothing behind. Mine is at least 10 years old and works perfectly every time.

It also works in litter boxes.

OK, back yo the regularly scheduled topics...

I do pretty much what Lovelylathers does (right down to the cow&deer ). Freeze, grind, simmer. I use salt to help remove and cow smell. I let it cool and pull the white disc of tallow off the top, then feed the remains to the chickens. ITA that the organ suet is the BEST. I generally get 25% tallow from a lb of unrendered fat.

I usually repeat the simmer with salt step at least once to make sure it's all clean and odor free.

Actually, if you have some piggy smelling lard this process helps clean that smell away too.

And Eucalyptus Citriodora (lemon euc). I've used that with some citronella, lavender and cedarwood successfully. I just lightly rub the soap over exposed skin and carry it around in my pocket for decent protection.

Purity of containing only OO - not being adulterated with other oils.

Random sampling even in this test performed by the lab for this article was not as scientific as most would like. 3 bottles from a shelf is not a large enough sample size. Nor is one bottle.

Like I said, take it with a grain of salt if your brand/bottle works for you. I had to learn the hard way not to trust labels.

Sorry - many apologies to the OP for the hijack - but this seems to fit the direction of the thread.

Testing Results of IMPORTED OLIVE OILS as read in a news article a year or so ago. The testing lab used for the article chose 3 bottles of each brand listed below and tested each for OO purity. Not sure who sponsored the test, but it gave pause to me to not trust labels 100%. I started paying attention when my CP was turning out 'differently' using store brands. This made perfect sense.

Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two out of three samples failed.

Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Three of three samples failed.

Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Three of three samples failed.

Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two of three samples failed.

Star Extra Virgin Olive Oil: One of three samples failed.

Carapelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Three of three samples failed.

Newman's Own Organics Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two of three samples failed.

Mezzetta Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Three of three samples failed.

Mazola Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Three of three samples failed.

Rachael Ray Extra Tasty Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two of three samples failed.

Kirkland Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil: All samples passed.

Great Value 100 percent Extra Virgin Olive Oil: One of three samples failed.

Safeway Select Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two of three samples failed.

365 Everyday Value 100 percent Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two of three samples failed.

DOMESTIC OLIVE OILS:

Corto Olive Extra Virgin Olive Oil: All samples passed.

California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil: All samples passed.

McEvoy Ranch Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil: All samples passed.

Bariani Olive Oil Extra Virgin Olive Oil: One of two samples failed.

Lucero (Ascolano) Extra Virgin Olive Oil: All samples passed.

The link no longer works - perhaps the archives may turn up something. here is the original link.

Read more: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/07/15/12...d#ixzz0u4fdyRx7

Now take this with a grain of salt if your brand always performs well. OO is big business. I feel for the people who use OO for dietary benefits and are being duped with canola or something NOT olive.

<snip>Even if the bottle says 100% pure olive it may not be?

Nope. You'd be amazed at the amount of 'other' oil being used to adulterate OO. Canola and rape seed are common. Do a quick web search of Adulterated Olive Oil for a little background.

Kirkland Brands (at Costco) is one of the brands that fellow soapers have found reliable. Domestic OO's tend to test as 'real' more reliably than imported.

@Stella1952 - Soap Making is not unlike candle making. Too many variables all at once make it very difficult to figure out what's working/not working for you.

WRT waiting to try a sliver of soap - as long as the batch has gelled I've been known to take a sliver to testfter a week or two. Again - like candle making - the soap changes over time, usually for the better.

@LuminousBoutique - I used to use EVOO brands available at my local stores until I began to experience horrible oxidation (well beyond DOS) from brands like Crapetelli and Bertolli. The texture of the soap was not anything like a good castile should be. I hate paying OO prices for blends adulterated with canola or soy.

I love the pomace from Columbus Foods for castile.

Initially I found a pomace at a very good price (read dirt cheap) from a local market. the result was terrible (DOS turning to total oxidation, Squishy texture, Slimy lather) leading me to detest castile. Come to find out it was adulterated with 90% canola!

After some internal debate I decided to give it a go with the CF pomace and the rest is history. Unless you're going for a stark white castile like what you would expect from EVOO, pomace is a great alternative. The ones I make with pomace are a bit more ivory.

HTH

@scented: for such a 'simple' bar, Castile is a complicated beast. The biggest problem I've had was with adulterated olive oil. That'll kill anyone's love for Castile quickly!

The tricks of the trade I've picked up make it a joy to soap and use. For instance, water discounted lye solution (I like 40%) and HOT lye solution into warm oil makes a big difference to me. The most important (besides using true, unadulterated olive oil) is curing time. There's no shortcut for that.

LuminousBoutique - I have to agree with you. A well made and well cured castile is a true delight. Use a net pouf with it and it becomes glorious. I have some in my shower aged for a little over a year that are still rock hard after many uses.

I'm also a fan of a goat milk castile.

Back to the OP for a second, with that many variables in your formula (high number of oils) it will be difficult to tell which oils you like and what they each bring to the party.

I'd be inclined to save the evening primrose for lotions. Same with Mac. and sweet almond. I'm a big fan of avocado in CP along with Olive and a bit of castor. I used to use castor at 10%, but noticed no difference in lather quality when I bumped it down to 5%.

The biggest lesson I ever forced myself to learn was what each oil does independently in soap. I made small (16 oz oil) batches of single oil soaps to see for myself how I liked them. Then I found what I loved and began to combine them. I am in love with my present formula.

You could probably make your own using either Vegethix or Lipidthix. I've heard of a few people using these for their lotions with success.

@katshe: I would think that at 10% in CP the texture the flowers of sulfur powder would make the finished product very dry and crumbly. The smell would likely be initially pretty off-putting also.

10% is possible by commercial manufacturers that have the equipment to really compress the soap after milling.

JMO, but for CP, I'd start by treating the sulfur as I would charcoal at 1-2 teaspoons PPO, then work upward from there if your formula seems to handle that amount well.

Good luck and please post about your success once you've made it :smiley2:!