jackie Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 I'm looking for a recipe to try for my first batch of soap. I thought i saw a recipe that said it was good for a newbie but can't seem to find it again. Here's what I have: coconut oil lard olive oil safflower oil (24oz) grapeseed oil (24oz) canola oil almond oil (only 8oz) castor oil (only 6oz)I was going to try Darwin's but couldn't find shea butter or palm kernel oil around here. I got my lye; gloves, goggles, even a mask, just waiting on my stick blender to arrive. I couldn't find any freezer paper but I have parchment. Still deciding on my mold but I wrote down the calc for total oils (LxWxH x.4) so I can modify the amounts but I want to keep it at 2pds or less since it's my first try. any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melanie Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 check this link it full of lots of information and read read readhttp://www.craftserver.com/forums/showthread.php?63074-New-CP-Soapers-Reference-thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerridwen Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 A great tool for learning to create your own recipes is the Soap Calc website.http://soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcwp.aspI've spent hours plugging in different combos of oils. For your first try, I'd start with the lard, coconut and olive. If you want you could also throw in 5 % castor. The other oils can sometimes lead to DOS. Palm is another nice soaping oil you might want to add later after the addiction as taken hold. LOLI would also leave the "Water as % of Oils" at the default 38 for now. That will give you the full water amount and will be the safest and easiest for your first batch.Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 I found the recipe I was looking for--just took me awhile. I'm not ready to make up my own yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 (edited) Have you tried the Miller Soap site? Good place to start out and a very friendly site. i would recommend Quiet Girl's recipe as an all round good one that doesn't move too fast and makes a good sudsy bar. What type of mold are you going to use (log or slab)?Steve Edited December 13, 2011 by chuck_35550 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitn Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 A bastile is a great beginner recipe. It is 25% Coconut oil or Palm Kernel Oil and 75% olive oil, makes a nice mild soap. Good luck with your first batch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie Posted December 13, 2011 Author Share Posted December 13, 2011 Thanks for the replies.Miller's soap site has so much info it's overwhelming. I'll get through it eventually but it may be awhile. I have a beginner book (Smart Soapmaking by Anne L. Watson) and it has recipes but I wanted to try something from this board first. I'll look for quietgirl's recipe. the one I found was a beginner soap recipe by Crafty1_AJ. I think it was posted back in 2006. It uses lard, coconut oil, and olive oil. I don't have colorant yet but I will try a small amt of fragrance (hubby is sensitive to fragrances and dislikes lots of them so I have to keep it light; much lighter than I would prefer). I'm using a mailing box that's the right size for a 2 pound batch for my mold. Right now, getting the mold lined properly looks like one of the hardest parts. I was going to just do 1 pound but can't find a mold the right size for that. If the first goes okay, then I'll try a Castille and let it cure as long as it needs to. There are only 2 of us so I'm already wondering what I'll do with all the soap. I don't know what the shelf life is on homemade soap (I imagine it varies based on ingredients) or the best way to package/store it to make the most of that shelf life. If I like making soap, which I imagine I will because I seem to really like making my own stuff, I'll be ready to order some colorants (which brings up more ques about what's best for small batches--liquid pigment, powder?) and some ingredients like shea butter and palm kernel oil and fragrances. I can see the $$ racking up already. I plan to try my first batch this weekend. I'm excited. It's always fun to try something new and different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Youtube has great tutorials for lining your box and about everything else you could imagine. I like seeing how something is done and the different ways people do stuff.Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie Posted December 13, 2011 Author Share Posted December 13, 2011 thanks. I'll check on a video. I'm not use to thinking that way because I couldn't do it with dialup internet. I recently got satellite (best I can do where I live) and I can run a video now. Can't do it alot because of limited download bandwidth allowances but I can do some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie Posted December 13, 2011 Author Share Posted December 13, 2011 okay, I just watched two youtube videos on lining a soap mold and both people were kinda fumbling and having a hard time. They got it done but did not make it look easy. Atleast when I fumble around with it, I know I won't be the only one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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