Creating different soaps from one base

[Greek]

do you think it'd be better to save money by only investing in one kind of soap base (clear glycerine) and adding the additives to create the different kinds, like adding shea to create a shea butter soap as opposed to outright buying the base, or adding goat milk's powder and ect? I'm thinking about doing it like that, it saves so much money, instead of buying all different type of bases. my only problem would be to be very careful to not cut down on lather. anyone do it like so? can you share your experience or tips?

[OverSoyed]

If find there are a lot of things you can make with a basic recipe of anything.

F/O's for example (depending on the type and applications allowed) can be used for candles, soaps, and so on.

Same holds true for a basic soaping recipe or base.

[prairieannie]

do you think it'd be better to save money by only investing in one kind of soap base (clear glycerine) and adding the additives to create the different kinds, like adding shea to create a shea butter soap as opposed to outright buying the base, or adding goat milk's powder and ect? I'm thinking about doing it like that, it saves so much money, instead of buying all different type of bases. my only problem would be to be very careful to not cut down on lather. anyone do it like so? can you share your experience or tips?

Adding shea butter, cocoa butter, mango butter to any kind of base is automatically going to cut down on your bubbles! If you add a little liquid soap along with those things, it will help greatly!

I decided a long time ago to add my own stuff to my bases rather than buy shea base, or goat milk base etc. Just be sure to use a really good quality base to start with.. I use the white base from Essentials By Catalina, and would highly recommend it!

[Sara]

I, too, would recommend one base with additions to it, especially if you're looking to streamline your supply inventory. M&P is very versatile.

[Greek]

thank you all, will do! i have the castile soap from bronner and it does help! this saves so much money! do you recommend adding the additives at the same percentage sfic does? they add honey at 5%, goat milk T 20% i think and so on.

[prairieannie]

It's really up to you and how additive rich you want to make your soap.. Experimentation is key. You will learn as you go how much is perfect! It's always best to start low and work you way up though.. you can always add more, but you can't suck it out once it's in there!

A lot will depend on your base and how far you can push it, but the general rule of thumb to start is to try 1-2 Tbsp of additive per pound of base. I admit that I go WAY over that, but it's a good place to start to see what you base can do.

Have fun with it!

[Greek]

thanks prairie!