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CP Soap Starter Questions


CandleMama6

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Ok, I never thought in a million years I would EVER do soap. But I have done some of the M&P and I like it. Now I want to try CP soap. Since this is so new, I am thinking that maybe buying a starter kit some where would be better than buying all the things needed individually. For those of you that CP, would that be better cost wise you think? If so, what is a good place for a kit like that.

Thanks!!

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i dont think you need to buy a kit, all the oils i use i can get right at walmart. maybe a couple extras and those can be bought at any supplier that carries bath and body oils.

i think everyone should try cp at least once i do not care for it at all, i prefer hp. for some reason everytime i make cp soap i can smell the base oils they overpower the FO yet when i hp them they dont.

have fun trying it!

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1. Go buy Olive Oil. It's the easiest to soap.

2. Stop at the hardware store and pick up 100% SODIUM HYDROXIDE (lye)

3. Buy a Stickblender.

4. Make at least a 2lb batch for your first one.

5. Run it through a calculator to find the correct lye amount.

6. For your first soap, make a unscented or fruity batch. No florals or spices.

You can use the full amount of water and you will learn that a stickblender is your BESTEST friend.

If you decide to go the route of castille, (all OO)

let us know and we can help you a bit with the

amount of water to use.

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i dont think you need to buy a kit, all the oils i use i can get right at walmart. maybe a couple extras and those can be bought at any supplier that carries bath and body oils.

i think everyone should try cp at least once i do not care for it at all, i prefer hp. for some reason everytime i make cp soap i can smell the base oils they overpower the FO yet when i hp them they dont.

have fun trying it!

What is the difference between the 2?

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1. Go buy Olive Oil. It's the easiest to soap.

2. Stop at the hardware store and pick up 100% SODIUM HYDROXIDE (lye)

3. Buy a Stickblender.

4. Make at least a 2lb batch for your first one.

5. Run it through a calculator to find the correct lye amount.

6. For your first soap, make a unscented or fruity batch. No florals or spices.

You can use the full amount of water and you will learn that a stickblender is your BESTEST friend.

If you decide to go the route of castille, (all OO)

let us know and we can help you a bit with the

amount of water to use.

1) The same olive oil I eat?

2) What is a lye calculator?

3) What ingredients do I use?

Maybe This is too hard!! Maybe I should stick to M&P. :confused:

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1) The same olive oil I eat?

2) What is a lye calculator?

3) What ingredients do I use?

Maybe This is too hard!! Maybe I should stick to M&P. :confused:

It's not hard! We are here to help you and will..

1. Yes the same OO you eat

2. Lye calculators help you figure out how much lye you need to make soap.

http://www.soapcalc.net/calc/soapcalcWP.asp

Go to Miller's Soap Site and read before you attempt to make soap.

http://www.millersoap.com/

3. For what I posted you will need: Olive Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Distilled Water.

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SingleYellowRose- Does it matter what kind of olive oil? I use the Light Virgin cause that is the taste I prefer. But I guess you could use the really cheap brand huh? I thought you were talking about an actual calculator like what the kids use!! :laugh2:I will go to that site and read. Thank you so much for the links.

Dee - If you use a crockpot for the HP, what in the world do you do for CP?

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Michelle- if you want I would be happy to help you make a batch of soap when I come down there to get my SLS and Citric.. but heres a basic run down

Olive oils- Walmart has a great jug, its around 17.00 and its 100+oz. Good deal.

LorAnn coconut oil there is also a good deal for beginning soaping.

Also, Crisco (new with palm) is great for soaping too.

and a tad of canola (not too much, to avoid DOS).. and a touch of castor (which you already have if I remember right) and you're cooking!

http://www.soapcalc.net/default.asp... so pop on there, and figure an easy recipe.. this is just for learning, so no need to make it super fancy.. once you get the feel for it, then start to consider other oils, KWIM?

Lets go with 30% coconut, 30% Olive Oil, 30% Crisco, 5% canola, 5% castor... all stuff you can pick up at the store, no probs there.

So on soap calc, go to the lye calculator..

http://www.soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp (it really really helps to read the faq's, the first time I looked at it I was like.... oh no. lol)

1. Your lye is NaOH (you can find Rootoo lye in 16oz bottles at Ace Hardware)

2. Weight of oils. How big of a batch are you looking to make. I go with oz here, easier on my scale.

3. Water as % of oils, leave it at 38% to start. You can reduce the amount of water later as you get more comfortable and as long as you are using a FO you know is good with soap.

4. Superfat, 5 us a good number :) Fragrance, check your FO's usage rates. Generally I just go with 1oz PP of oils.

5.-6... click on the oils, add them to your recipe, and put in the percentages you want. You will learn to mess around and test different %'s and combos to get the results you want in harness, bubbles, so on and so forth. So put in all the oils... then click

8... at the left, your numbers will come up. Click on "view or print recipe" and a printable page comes up with more detailed numbers.

transparent.gif

Hardness 29 - 54 37 Cleansing 12 - 22 20 Conditioning 44 - 69 59 Bubbly 14 - 46 25 Creamy 16 - 48 21 Iodine 41 - 70 72 INS 136 - 165 141 Lauric 14 Myristic 6 Palmitic 13 Stearic 3 Ricinoleic 5 Oleic 35 Linoleic 17 Linolenic 3Read more about those by searching on here, Also search for Bunny's "how to build a soap recipe" thread on here, its good too.

Now... remember this is just a SUPER simple 5 oil recipe based on what you can get at the grocery store. You could sub in some cocoa, shea, sweet almond, apricot.. whatever you have. Keep plugging in oils and %'s until you get the results you want above. A soap recipe does NOT have to be complicated to be good!

PS you can also use lard, I choose not to.. but its affordable and can make a darn good bar of soap!

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I should add, for my CP I use thick plastic buckets, like what butters come in.

I melt my oils and pour them in there to cool, and pre-mix my lye and let that cool to room temp (takes a bit longer in the summer, in the winter thats about 1 hour in my laundry room). I pour the room temp (no hotter than 90* is what I generally go with) lye into the room temp oils and stick blend in the bucket. I have wood molds so pouring into them is easy using the bucket, and then I take it out back and spray it out with the hose (don't want to be pouring too much raw soap down the drain) before washing it out.

Thats just what I've always done... there are SO many different ways to do it, so watch lots of Youtube videos, check out millersoaps.com, check out the classroom section on here... you can make soap so many different ways. I'm getting back into milled soap again and loving it!

This is a good visual of CPOP: http://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65283&page=2 (scroll down a bit)

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Kristin,

1 question for you............

WHAT????? :P

You lost me after the first couple of sentences of directions in the first post. :laugh2::laugh2: I will have to re-read this when I am not so tired because now I am scared to death to try this!!

eta: But hey, the SLSA came in 3 1/2 gal buckets. Would they be good for soap making?? I only have 10 of the blasted things and was going to toss them.

Edited by CandleMama6
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YES! keep them. I'll take some off your hands too if you dont want them all. Perfect for soap making. LOL ok well... first, dont be scared! other than the lye water, nothing to be scared of.. just make sure you add the lye to the water (never the water to the lye).

The 1-8 wont make sense unless you are looking at the soap calc lye calculator at the same time.. i totally forgot to mention that, lol

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You can use Pomace OO if you want. It's probably the cheapest.

Reason I gave you a 1 oil recipe is so that you can understand the full process of what you are doing without being rushed.

I know it's hard to ONLY use 1 oil, but it's the best way to learn, IMHO.

If Luminous can help you, that would be all the better. She can explain as you go....

just don't forget, wear long sleeves, long pants and get yourself some goggles.

Don't be afraid and respect the Lye... it will respect you back...

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Candlemama6 . . don't be afraid to jump in after doing a bit of research. I have made a whole whopping 3 batches of CP and I must admit I have found a new addiction. I wish I had more time to soap but right now my candles are taking up all my time. Trust me once you try it you'll be hooked :laugh2:

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It does sound intimidating at first, but it's not much different than melt and pour... besides the lye, and the wait (for CP)... It is loads more fun! I made my first batch running back and forth from the computer to look at Robin's CP tutorial on the old forum. I had read it a jillion times already.. but Everything turned out well, and I am safely addicted to my soaps. Good Luck!

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you guys are awesome! I wish I had someone to break it down like that for me back when I first started! I had to gather all that info.....

just shows how much people on this board are willing to help others!!! :yay:

happy soaping. I am available for help too. just pm me

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Candlemama, I just wanted to say how much fun you are going to have with all of this. I was scared to death the first time and then I got HOOKED FAST. It seems like a lot at first but just get into the habit of following some simple safety precautions and it will turn out fine. There is a wealth of information on this board (and the millersoap site) so experiment and research away.

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i just saw this post...i will do all i can to help you too...

if LuminousBoutique can come and help you..that will be such a blessing to you...

just to have someone there for the first time guideing you thru the steps..will make it so much easier..

and once you do one batch...I promise you will be hooked..

you will be off running and never look back...

you will be giving away soap, just so you can make more...:laugh2::laugh2:

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