cmzaha

I like ylang ylang, champa & grapefruit. (champa is a bit pricey but is very strong). It is a good lotion fragrance

I like Fresh Cut Roses by The Candle Source. It also soaps great with no acceleration

I use Hemp oil at 15% - 20% with no dos, whith lard, palm, castor & coconut. (oils not listed in order) I usually add in some ROE to my gallon of hemp when I get in and keep it in the fridge. I have kept hemp up to a year and a half this way without the hemp going rancid

I also love Cool Water from NG. It holds great and sticks a little after showering with CW :smiley2:

For me all seeds are to scratchy. I do make a super scrubby mud oatmeal bar that I love because it is scrubby but not sharp like seeds can be.

I make a neem soap for trouble skin and I have many customers buy it regularly. Personally I use a very mild lavender soap on my face, that is very sensitive. I usually use soap with a cleaning value of 10 or less with at least a 7% superfat and 20% lard, and it is not the least drying. I have had severe eczema since age 2 and grew up never using store bought soap on my face, only water. Since making my soap I can now use soap on my face. I also use a lavender salt scrub when I am itching really bad...burns like a b...ch but stops the itch! I just do not worry about the comedogenic charts and reading how the testing is done.

Kitn is correct, you will need some beeswax, candelillia, or carnuba to stiffen it up. Remember coconut oil 76 degree melts at said degree, same goes for 92 degree. So both will melt in the pocket in warm weather. The above 3 waxes have much higher melt points. 4% is usually the max flavoring including your sweetner if you use liquid sweetner

As long as it is 100% lye it will be fine. There are a few different drain cleaner brands that are 100%. You do not have to use food grade lye as some people seem to think necessary

You are close to my percentage ChrisR. I use 20% neem and also like the earthy smell. I use an EO blend that goes with the neem fragrance.

I use shrink wrap bags from Paper Mart. 5.00 per 500 bags. These are 4x6 so I have to seal and cut them, but the price is hard to beat

I have to agree with TallTayl. I really do not like cream soap, although I do not mind making it, I just do not like the feel of the cream soap. Although I do make a salt scrub using the cream soap as a base and it is great

I use neem oil and powder in my acne soap. BTW I do not call it acne soap... It also has pko (no Coconut) lard, grapeseed, sunflower, castor, olive, lavender jojoba no butters but lots of milks, fine oatmeal and clay with an eo blend. I have many customers that buy it regularly. I also sell a carrot soap and a tomato soap for troubled skin

All of your soaps are beautiful. Such great color for Christmas. Curious what the fragrances are

I would be really suprised it it reatains much of the whiskey fragrance. But maybe...let us know with an update

I usually just simmer it for 10 minutes or so to cook off the alcohol. Think with the first batch I would go the 1 oz ppo to see how it acts. Be prepared for some acceleration and maybe use a slow trace recipe. I always use a slow trace recipe when making my beer soaps.

I agree that you need to add some superfat I usually use 7% . I would actually like your recipe since I am a strange one that loves 100% lard soap. Lard makes a very milk almost silky feeling soap, but is a low lather. I would lower the coconut to maybe 2 oz and add in 2 oz castor. Will give you a much milder bubbly bar of soap

I did not know Denise personally but we had several phone conversations trying to figure out a fragrance issue and she was a real sweet person. I was very saddened when she passed at age 52 or 53. Plus she had fragrances I also used that no one else carries and I had missed the last prebuy for her Big Sur :-(. Sounds like her husband is having a very hard time coping. Which is very understandable

Sorry to say the new owner recently passed away and the company will be going into probate. She (Denise Ballinger) was the sole owner

Now I have a question about firestarters. Before getting a good laugh at my dumb questions, please remember I am not a candlemaker only a soapmaker. I am trying to use up soy wax that my daughter purchased when she thought she would make candles, that never happened and here sits 25 lbs of soy wax...anyhoo she has some spools of un-waxed cotton wicking and I would like to know if I need to dip this wicking in wax before using in the firestarters. By the way, my last experience with making candles was sand candles in the late 60's...oops age is really showing. I do admit I was good at sand candles but, lol, they left lots of room for error!! Thankyou

Yes you can, but it would be best to burn off the alcohol. Alcohol will volcano in lye. When I add such I add it in after my lye water mix. I soap with a 50/50 lye solution and add in the extra liquids after adding in the lye solution. Otherwise make sure the alcohol is burnt off and be very cautious when adding to your lye solution (again not recommended). Alcohol will also seize your soap batter. If it was me I would flash the alcohol off then deduct and ounce or so of water from the lye solution then make up with the cold whiskey. You could also add in gm powder to the whiskey and stir it in the soap batch. Would recommend putting your soap in the fridge since the gm heats up considerably. I have used Limone liquor straight in soap at the rate of 2 oz per 5 lbs oils added after the lye solution is emulisified. But I do have to pour quick to avoid the soap on a stick issue. I would imagine this with a nice woody FO

Here is a pretty good list of oil shelf life http://www.northcountrymercantile.com/soapmakinglibrary/shelf-life-of-soap-making-oils/

What soapmakers sell as hand milled is not, it is rebatch. Biggest point to the triple milling is creating a very long lasting smooth soap. Without the pressing & rolling equipment it is not possible to mill soap, but that does not mean handmade soap is inferior, it just needs to be treated a bit differently and let it dry between use. It is really best to remove it from a shower after use since showers tend to stay damp for awhile.

Okay, I admit I am not a candle maker, and I guess I am missing something here, but I thought the point of a firestarter was to have material that is combustible and pinecones are very compustible with all the sap on them (at least fresh cones). Please correct me if I am wrong. I have been considering making fire starters from soy wax my daughter bought (25lbs of it) and decided she did not like to make candles.

We label these on side. They are a bit tricky since the label will not wrap level.

Your soap will still be soft when you remove it from the oven if you have not let it cool. You could also make it in a crock pot and when cool enough to handle form your soap balls