Francis

I am a brand-spanking-newbie too. I decided to try MP a few weeks ago, and did two batches. Then, I did a lot of research on this forum about CP which helped me with my first 4 batches. Thanks to all the helpful veteran members of this forum, they all went smoothly without any newbie disasters. For my first and second batch, I have mixed it outside when the temp was around 40 degrees F. There was no problem with the lye dissolving outside. I just mixed until all the lye melted which took about 2-3 minutes. I have an infrared thermometer and I monitored the temperature of both the oil and the lye mixture. I combined the two when the temp fell to about 95 F. As a newbie, I thought I should follow my soap making book's instruction and wait for the temp to cool down a bit. Prior to doing CP, I tried MP a few times. Personally, I don't feel there's much benefit to doing MP first since the two process are very different, but that's just me.

Not dumb questions at all. I felt EXACTLY the way you did regarding lye since I have two little ones. So I totally understand where you are coming from. But I was so intrigued that I just had to try it. So far, I've done two CP soap batches after the kiddos went to sleep, and I am super duper careful so that there's no way they could get to the lye or the uncured soap. It's a lot of fun, and I think my soaps turned out fantastic!

I am thinking of getting the little monsters to make soap for my kiddo. I prefer CP soaps, so do you guys think it will be okay to stick them in CP soap? Would the heat of CP soap melt the plastic monsters?

Kitn, I really appreciate you sharing your experience. Bastille sounds like a fantastic soap. I'll definitely up the OO. BTW, I just checked out your soaps, and they are Sooooooo Beautiful!!! . . . made me drool just looking at them. I don't have SM3, so thanks for looking it up for me.

Thanks so much TallTayl. I just checked Miller Soap site and decided to forego GM. I'll down the castor to 5%.

I am thinking of using this recipe for my first CP attempt. What do you think of this recipe? Would it work? I ran the #'s through the Soapcal, but since this is my first time, I'm still nervous. I would really love to use Goat Milk (fresh) instead of water. How would that affect this recipe? Should I just stick with water? I bought a book on soap making, but it doesn't discuss anything about substituting milk for water. Thanks a million for any feedback. Palm Oil 10% Olive Oil 15% Coconut Oil 25% Cocoa Butter 10% Shea Butter 10% Castor Oil 30%

You are absolutely right. I guess I'll just have to do some more research and figure out on my own. Thanks.

My Peak's stuff arrived last night and I had some time today so I decided to do something that may be considered a bit unorthodox. I really wanted to try adding goat's milk, but didn't feel like driving so decided to use my baby's formula. Anyway, here's what I did: SFIC Shaving Soap MP Base 7/8 oz Similac Sensitive Infant Formula: 5/8 oz Peak's Warm Vanilla Sugar 0.4 oz SFIC Cocoa Butter MP Base 15 oz Result: Ugh, way too heavy on the fragrance, and honestly, it really doesn't smell anything like "warm vanilla sugar." Then again, I have an incredibly sensitive and keen nose that's impossible to satisfy unless it's the real thing. Umm, what happened to the bubbles? Compared to the "control" slice of the pure SFIC Cocoa Butter base (hasn't been heated nor melted, just sliced off the block), the bubbles are zilch. Strange. . . after showering with this soap, my skin feels weirdly "rubbery"??? Hmmm don't know how to explain that one. Lesson Learned: Don't stick strange stuff into the MP base. These soaps have been demoted to feet soaps, or bathroom deodorizers. Dont' want to melt and add more base, because I don't wanna waste more base on this bad batch. I really need to try a MP soap crafted by a MP master, so that I have a reference point as to what can be achieved with MP. Where can I find it?

Hi, I am interested in learning about both the CP and MP methods. Since I am starting out, I want to buy and try out a really really good handmade CP and MP soaps, just so I know what to aspire to. I've looked at various soaps on Etsy, but I would like to buy from someone that the board members recommend and trust. For both MP and CP, I am interested in shea butter and/or goat's milk soap. TIA.

Thank you Candybee, I found the old recipe! Yes, it's probably a very good idea to use the MP base as is prior to fiddling with it. But I can't wait to start experimenting. Here's an additive that I bet nobody tried; I am thinking of adding infant formula to an MP base just to what happens. Crazy idea, huh? I'll try it and I'll post the results.

Thanks so much for your feedback. Do you think I should get actual sea mud as well in addition to the charcoal?

I want to thank everyone on this forum for sharing their knowledge and giving me such awesome inspiration! I am completely new at this, but I could tell that I found my lifetime hobby! I placed an order at Peak's, and I'll be getting my supplies this Friday. So exciting!!! I am going to start learning M&P first. Anyway, Erno Laszlo sea mud soap is my hubby's favorite face soap. He really is not fussy about stuff like this at all, but due to his mild acne problem, he really likes this $40 soap. I could see why because I like it, too inspite of the price tag. I am a total novice at soap making, but I want to be able to replicate this soap and maybe even make it better. Here is the ingredient list for this soap. Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Water (Aqua), Silt, Charcoal Powder, Fragrance (Parfum), Glycerin, Iron Oxides, Sodium Chloride, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Titanium Dioxide, Tetrasodium EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Oakmoss, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Cinnamate Initially, I am just going to add FO and color first. After I get comfortable with that, I'll start experimenting with other stuff. It'll be a long road before I try replicating this sea mud soap, but I am itching to get some ideas. Any geniuses out there know to make a soap like this with M&P? TIA!

Making liquid soap is too much work, and a lot of the liquid soap bases are kinda expensive. So did anyone tried this? It will be just for personal use. I am interested in doing this with the big huge Costco liquid soap. I wonder what would happen if I try adding FO to something that's already unscented. Thank you in advance for your response.