# Best soap recipes



## Moody (Jun 10, 2015)

i made my first goats milk soap. It was fun. the husband thinks it stinks. I used a few drops of sweet orange essential oil but it does g smell like orange. It smells a bit like old oil. I thought i had enough but had to use some odd ball oil from the cabinet. 
I thought it would never harden but it finally did and I love it so we have odd shaped chunks of soap to use now. 

Any good recipes? I can't use but oils. The man is allergic to tree nuts.


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## Hens and Roos (Jun 10, 2015)

We would like to try making soap so recipe that others like would be great.  I did check out a couple of books on soap making- The Natural Soap Book and The Soapmaker's Companion.  I know there is also a book called Milk-Based Soaps.


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## Southern by choice (Jun 10, 2015)

Moody said:


> Any good recipes? I can't use *but* oils. The man is allergic to tree nuts



Had to re-read that one a few times...
  

@babsbag has recipes she printed off for us.

My question ... is there a difference in how much you use when using Essential Oils compared to fragrance.
Most people that get would use our soap can't do fragrance but can do oils.

Anyone know where to get a cutter that isn't $200.


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## animalmom (Jun 11, 2015)

@Southernbychoice, I guessing you are looking at cutters that cut more than one bar at a time.  Yes?  I didn't realize those cutters were so expensive.  I took a quick look on Amazon, because one never know what one will find there, and they had this, among other vendors, http://www.amazon.com/Bar-Soap-Cutt...sbs_201_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1W8S87ZCAD0E9X4RYYD2  Counting shipping you are still looking close to $200, but you can cut 12 1" bars at a time.  

I haven't made soap yet, it is on "The List" but I thought I'd go the bar mold route... any thoughts on what is better?


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## Hens and Roos (Jun 11, 2015)

Southern by choice said:


> Had to re-read that one a few times...
> 
> 
> @babsbag has recipes she printed off for us.
> ...



From the one book I have: Basic Soap Making-  what I have seen on the recipes- it tells you how much to add based on weight and that one needs to experiment with essential oils & fragrance to find what works for you.


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## Southern by choice (Jun 11, 2015)

animalmom said:


> @Southernbychoice, I guessing you are looking at cutters that cut more than one bar at a time.  Yes?  I didn't realize those cutters were so expensive.  I took a quick look on Amazon, because one never know what one will find there, and they had this, among other vendors, http://www.amazon.com/Bar-Soap-Cutt...sbs_201_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1W8S87ZCAD0E9X4RYYD2  Counting shipping you are still looking close to $200, but you can cut 12 1" bars at a time.
> 
> I haven't made soap yet, it is on "The List" but I thought I'd go the bar mold route... any thoughts on what is better?



Umm if I got that my DH would *divorce* me... and that wouldn't be good because then who would pay for my goat addiction? 
Yes, I *do* make sacrifices. 

@babsbag GAVE me a box soap mold when she came to visit! I love it! We also have some small soap molds.
I want to try the silicone round molds... but I really like tthe wavy cut rounds but did look into the cylinder molds and did not see good reviews so my rounds won't be wavy.


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## Hens and Roos (Jun 11, 2015)

Southern by choice said:


> Umm if I got that my DH would *divorce* me... and that wouldn't be good because then who would pay for my goat addiction?
> Yes, I *do* make sacrifices.
> 
> @babsbag GAVE me a box soap mold when she came to visit! I love it! We also have some small soap molds.
> I want to try the silicone round molds... but I really like tthe wavy cut rounds but did look into the cylinder molds and did not see good reviews so my rounds won't be wavy.



I know someone who uses 4" PVC pipe to make round soap molds but of course no waves.


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## Moody (Jun 11, 2015)

Lol, I meant nut oils. Like almond. I used coconut oil because I don't think it bothers him. 

I had a hard time cutting it, too. Hence the odd shaped chunks. I was wondering if I should have cut it before it got hard....


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## Moody (Jun 11, 2015)

Is orange oil a good choice? I also have lavender I could try.


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## OneFineAcre (Jun 11, 2015)

We have a lady who buys milk from us, so we just buy soap from her.


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## Southern by choice (Jun 11, 2015)

My daughter said I sound like a crybaby about my "wavy" soap.
She's mean. 

I have heard about the PVC but also heard it takes a long time to set up, and sometimes is difficult to get out.

Sweet deal OFA


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## mikiz (Jun 11, 2015)

Just a thought, have you tried making your own silicone molds?
http://www.smooth-on.com/Silicone-Rubber-an/c2_1113_1136/index.html
http://www.alumilite.com/
Might be easier than having to cut them and you can make whatever shapes you want, although a cutter is probably longer lasting in the long run.


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## Southern by choice (Jun 11, 2015)

That is pretty interesting.
You could do so many things by making your own mold.


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## babsbag (Jun 11, 2015)

Soap is my passion, at least it was before the dairy.   I have tried many molds and really like the box mold with removable sides the best. I line them with silicon baking sheets cut to fit and use them over and over that way. I make my own molds so that is why @Southern by choice got one as a gift. I also have the multi bar cutter but I was doing this as a business making hundreds of bars. I was also teaching classes. I have a workshop just for soap making; I really do enjoy trying new fragrances and swirls, it is truly addicting. This one is Star Anise (licorice)







This is the sheet I use for liners. I cut them to fit the mold and then clip them to the top of the mold with kitchen bag clips while I pour. The liners are stiff enough that they stand up on their own for the most part.






Orange oil is tough, all citrus is very hard to get it to "stick" in cold process soap. Lavender will be better. I buy most of my oils and fragrances from Brambleberry and there is a fragrance calculator on the site so you know how much to use. I live and die by that for most of my soaps and lotions.

A basic recipe is:
16 oz. Coconut Oil
16 oz. Palm Oil
16 oz. Olive Oil
2 oz. Castor Oil
13 – 19 oz. milk
7.4 oz. lye

Any recipes that you use or see online run through a good lye calculator. I use the one on Majestic Mountain Sage. You don't want to mess up the lye calculation. You can leave out the Castor oil and add more olive oil, or Shea butter is great if you have it. But run it through the calculator anytime you make a change in the oil. The Castor oil will make the bar have lots of lather, but go easy, it can smell. Here is a good site that will tell what properties different oils contribute to the soap.

http://summerbeemeadow.com/content/properties-soapmaking-oils

I cut my bars at one day out of the mold. Before my days of the multi bar cutter I used one similar to this...it was ok. The wavy cutter would not fit in it though. My multi bar cutter is AWESOME, but no waves there either.




For round bars I use these. I use the silicon baking mats for liners, but they say you don't have to line them.






If you have any more questions just let me know, soap is almost as addicting as goats.


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## Hens and Roos (Jun 11, 2015)

That is one neat bar of soap @babsbag !


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## babsbag (Jun 11, 2015)

Thanks. I love playing with colors.


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## Hens and Roos (Jun 11, 2015)

babsbag said:


> Thanks. I love playing with colors.



what did you add to make the color?


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## babsbag (Jun 11, 2015)

Black and pink oxide. Again, from Brambleberry.  It is a swirl in the pot with two colors for the swirl. Really easy to do...I like easy too.


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## Southern by choice (Jun 11, 2015)

@babsbag    
You are my soap guru and my cheese guru!

You ROCK!


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## Hens and Roos (Jun 12, 2015)

@babsbag - some of the recipes that we have looked at make 40- 4 oz bars of soap- are you able to cut recipes down to make smaller batches?  Especially when starting out, incase we don't like it?


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## OneFineAcre (Jun 12, 2015)

Hens and Roos said:


> I know someone who uses 4" PVC pipe to make round soap molds but of course no waves.


We bought a piece of square PVC downspout from Lowes


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## babsbag (Jun 12, 2015)

Yes, you can cut it down. I make a little over 4lbs at a time as that is what fits in my mold and my soap cutter. I get 12 4 oz bars which is plenty. I like making different ones; I wouldn't want 40 of the same thing.

https://www.thesage.com/calcs/LyeCalc.html

This is the lye calculator that I use. After you enter the weights of the individual oils for the original recipes and hit the calculate lye recipe  it will give you a place to resize the recipe.

This is how you can tell how much soap your mold will hold.

*Length of mold x Width of mold x Height of soap x .40 = ounces of oil needed*


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## Hens and Roos (Jun 12, 2015)

babsbag said:


> Yes, you can cut it down. I make a little over 4lbs at a time as that is what fits in my mold and my soap cutter. I get 12 4 oz bars which is plenty. I like making different ones; I wouldn't want 40 of the same thing.
> 
> https://www.thesage.com/calcs/LyeCalc.html
> 
> ...



thanks, I will look into this


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## norseofcourse (Jun 12, 2015)

Great, great thread!  I'm going to be making more sheep's milk soap, and I still have a whole lot to learn.  I poured my first batch into individual soap molds, but as the soap cured, it shrank to about half the size, and even with turning them, they deformed a bit as they shrunk.  Plus, I'd need a lot more molds to make the quantities I'll be making, and they get expensive.  Cutting bars from a rectangle or cylinder sounds good.

What are people meaning when they talk about 'wavy' soaps?


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## Southern by choice (Jun 12, 2015)




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## norseofcourse (Jun 12, 2015)

@Southern by choice  - ah, ok!  I don't think I've seen that effect (then again, I haven't done much looking for homemade soaps).  The only 'wavy' I could think of was something like the shape of a Dove soap bar.

I have to start making more soap and cheese soon, I am running out of freezer space for milk - although that's a good problem to have


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## babsbag (Jun 12, 2015)

soap molds are easy to make with a good saw and a drill press. I make a bunch and sell them in my classes and I sell entire kits at the local Goat Education Day that our dairy club puts on each year. If you make molds it is easiest to make one that is held together with bolts and wing nuts so you can take it apart and release the soap.

@norseofcourse ...your soap shouldn't shrink that much; or deform. That is not a problem I have run into or even read about. What kinds of oil did you use?


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## norseofcourse (Jun 13, 2015)

> @norseofcourse ...your soap shouldn't shrink that much; or deform. That is not a problem I have run into or even read about. What kinds of oil did you use?


I used olive oil and lard.  The shrinking happened when I milled the soap and repoured it into molds.  The milling recipe called for 12 ounces of grated soap and 9 ounces of water, heated together to re-melt it so you could add color, scents or other stuff, and repour it into molds.

It was in "The Complete Soapmaker" by Norma Coney.  I like all the descriptions she has of oils and additives and their properties.  It is the only place I've seen where she tells you to add the water to the lye, though, and everything else I've read says the opposite.


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## Moody (Jun 13, 2015)

I will try lavendar next time thanks!

Wow that is some pretty purple soap!

My mold is from some wood I had laying around and doesn't break apart and my soap wasn't very thick when I poured it. So it escaped out of the sides.


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## babsbag (Jun 13, 2015)

Never pour the water into the lye; she has that backwards. I haven't milled any soap, too much work for my schedule. If you buy good fragrances that have been tested in cold process soap making you can add them the first time and all will be well. I only buy from sites that tell how the fragrance will react as some turn the soap brown and others can speed up trace to the point of seizing. And some scents just don't smell good as they age.


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## norseofcourse (Jun 20, 2015)

babsbag said:


> Never pour the water into the lye; she has that backwards.


You're right, and I'm surprised it got published with that error.



> I haven't milled any soap, too much work for my schedule. If you buy good fragrances that have been tested in cold process soap making you can add them the first time and all will be well. I only buy from sites that tell how the fragrance will react as some turn the soap brown and others can speed up trace to the point of seizing. And some scents just don't smell good as they age.


The first show I'm likely to go to with my soaps is next May, but I'm running out of freezer space for milk, so I need to start making soap soon.  I liked the milling idea, because I can make plain soap now, and then add the fragrances/additives later, instead of adding them at the start and having the scents fade or turn by the time next spring comes around.

But I do like the idea of making it just once, and cutting neat rectangles and you're done.  I'll have plenty enough milk to try that, too.  About two or three months before the show should be enough time for it to cure, right?


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## babsbag (Jun 20, 2015)

It needs to age for a month before wrapping or using. It is easier to cut at about 24-48 hours after making it and believe it or not I found it to be difficult to get nice straight bars when cutting the loaf so that is why I invested in the big soap cutter. You can also get slab molds that are about 3/4" to 1" thick, some even have dividers you can put in them. I don't like trying to get the bars out of the dividers though so I don't use those anymore. 

After the soap is cured I store it in plastic totes and only one scent per tote. I get a little plastic condiment cup and put a cotton ball in it that has been soaked with the fragrance of that soap and put it in the tote with the soap. Makes it smell really nice, especially if the soap is wrapped in fabric or paper; the wrapping will pick up the scent too.

I have never had a soap fragrance turn bad on me, I think it is because I am picky about where I buy my fragrances. I have bars of soap that are over a year old and they still smell good.


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## Hens and Roos (Sep 23, 2015)

any recommendations on a soap  to make that helps remove buck odor  from ones hands?


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## mikiz (Sep 23, 2015)

Best soap I ever had was a home-made one we bought at a second-hand store. It got blood out of sheepskin and left them with no kerosene odor after curing. It was tough but not rough on your hands. 
Wish I had the recipe for it


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## Ferguson K (Sep 24, 2015)

Reading through this thread has me worried I'm going to destroy my soaps! LOL

I'm not very crafty...


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## babsbag (Sep 24, 2015)

@Hens and Roos   You need to make coffee soap. Dissolve your lye in STRONG coffee instead of water or milk. Then at trace add about 1/2 c  (for 4 lbs of soap) of ground coffee beans and not the ones you made the coffee with, use fresh beans.  I sell out of it every year. Also works in the kitchen for removing onion and garlic odors.

Or use Star Anise oil, smells like licorice. But I personally like the coffee, not sure the Anise removes the odor, maybe it just masks it. Anise is the fisherman's soap, supposedly used so the fish don't smell scent on the bait


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## Hens and Roos (Sep 24, 2015)

We will have to try this....any particular coffee bean or just the plain regular coffee bean!

thanks


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## babsbag (Sep 24, 2015)

Any bean should work, mine were Sumatra as that is what I drink


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## babsbag (Sep 25, 2015)

I just made a batch of soap that smells divine and the color is   Goat milk soap is hard to get white, it usually turns a nice light cream. So I wanted to do this Moonlight Pomegranate soap and my idea was to do a layer of burgundy on the bottom with a vein of gold mica and then swirl the rest of the soap with dark blue.

Well...   burgundy...no problem, gold...no problem, blue...   The soap discolored to yellow before I added the blue and so what do get with blue and yellow...GREEN. So I added more blue, darker green, added bright blue,...green and bright blue streaks. What a disaster.  Not to mention that I blended this to the lightest trace possible  so I could do the layers and swirl and I got the first layer out no problem, the rest turned to pudding as it sat in the pot.

There are days, and then there are days. Should be interesting to see this one when it is cut.


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## babsbag (Nov 25, 2015)

My failed (I thought) Moonlight Pomegranate soap actually turned out ok, I was surprised. I took these pictures with my phone while at a craft fair, they aren't the best. I need to get some good ones for my website.  I made about 12 different soaps and sold out of a few already. I guess that is good except for the fact that I have another sales event next week and not much to choose from. The lotion I made is almost all gone but I can make more of that next week; soap has to age so it is what it is.







Other ones that I did for the holidays were
Lavender Forest





Autumn Fig Harvest





Blue Man






Spiced Apple


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## Hens and Roos (Nov 25, 2015)

they all look great!  Still haven't found enough time yet to make some soap!


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## Moody (Jun 13, 2016)

I finally made soap again. I dumped an entire small bottle of lavender essential oil into it at trace. And then decided to wing it with swirls but apparently you cannot just add drops of purple coloring you get from Amazon into it, thinking it will be swirled. That does not come out the way one thinks it might. Drops of purple just disappeared and still did not look swirled when dropped in again with dropper after pouring into little molds.

It does smell like lavender though


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## Hens and Roos (Jun 13, 2016)

Moody said:


> I finally made soap again. I dumped an entire small bottle of lavender essential oil into it at trace. And then decided to wing it with swirls but apparently you cannot just add drops of purple coloring you get from Amazon into it, thinking it will be swirled. That does not come out the way one thinks it might. Drops of purple just disappeared and still did not look swirled when dropped in again with dropper after pouring into little molds.
> 
> It does smell like lavender though



you'll have post some pictures!!!


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## Moody (Jun 13, 2016)

And I'm using the milk to make soap after I just dewormed my does. I can't imagine that would be a problem....


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## Moody (Jun 13, 2016)




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## Moody (Jun 13, 2016)

Guess I need to watch a video and check into my soap coloring drops I got. Winging it didn't work out quite like I wanted


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## babsbag (Jun 14, 2016)

You need to make sure the soap colors will work in cold process soaps, or high pH soaps. The colorants for melt and poor soap just don't give you the colors you want in cold process soap.  I get most of mine from Brambleberry and 90% of the time I use a mica or powdered pigment that is put into a small amount (T. or less) of oil and mixed. Some colorants will tell you to mix them in glycerin. Then I take part of the soap batter and color it and do what is called an "in the pot swirl" . It is one of the easiest ways to color and a great way to start to experiment with colors. I also do a lot of layers and you will find that a loaf mold will give you more unique ways to incorporate color than individual molds. 

Here are pictures of some of mine. Playing with colors is my favorite part of making soap.


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## Hens and Roos (Jun 14, 2016)

cool pictures @Moody  and @babsbag!!


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## Moody (Jun 14, 2016)

Those look yummy, if I put one of those on my sink, my child would definitely try a bite 


They are pretty, you have excellent skills, babs.  I'm guessing it took quite a bit of trial and error to achieve those awesome results


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## samssimonsays (Jun 14, 2016)

Those. Soaps!  Babs... I can't wait to start trying to make soap but it will be a long while before I can do that!


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## Ferguson K (Jun 14, 2016)

Um. I need to borrow your soap making skills.


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## samssimonsays (Jun 14, 2016)

Ferguson K said:


> Um. I need to borrow your soap making skills.


Agreed!


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## babsbag (Jun 14, 2016)

Thanks everyone for the compliments but you can all do this too. I have basically one recipe that I use all of the time. The thing with using colors is to know how fast your recipe will go to trace because with colors you have to work fast. Fragrances can make it trace faster too so sometimes I have to just barely mix the soap, add the color, mix, and THEN add the fragrance. I have some soaps the have layers and different fragrances in the layers.   Good soap supply companies will tell you if a fragrance will accelerate trace so I always read the notes. Also, make your own notes; if you use one that doesn't work, write it down so you don't do it again or so you can do it differently. Have the colors and fragrances ready to mix in before you start mixing the oils and lye.

My latest project to conquer is this. You make a super thin layer of soap with all the colored swirls in it and then after 24 hours you line the inside of the cylinder with the thin sheet of soap and then pour a solid colored batch in the middle.  I can't get my soap thin enough to line the cylinder without breaking so I took the pieces and lined my loaf mold. This is what I made.






THIS is what I want to make. I am in love with her soap designs.


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## samssimonsays (Jun 14, 2016)

babsbag said:


> Thanks everyone for the compliments but you can all do this too. I have basically one recipe that I use all of the time. The thing with using colors is to know how fast your recipe will go to trace because with colors you have to work fast. Fragrances can make it trace faster too so sometimes I have to just barely mix the soap, add the color, mix, and THEN add the fragrance. I have some soaps the have layers and different fragrances in the layers.   Good soap supply companies will tell you if a fragrance will accelerate trace so I always read the notes. Also, make your own notes; if you use one that doesn't work, write it down so you don't do it again or so you can do it differently. Have the colors and fragrances ready to mix in before you start mixing the oils and lye.
> 
> My latest project to conquer is this. You make a super thin layer of soap with all the colored swirls in it and then after 24 hours you line the inside of the cylinder with the thin sheet of soap and then pour a solid colored batch in the middle.  I can't get my soap thin enough to line the cylinder without breaking so I took the pieces and lined my loaf mold. This is what I made.View attachment 18899
> 
> THIS is what I want to make. I am in love with her soap designs.


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## Ferguson K (Jun 14, 2016)

It looks edible


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## Hens and Roos (Aug 5, 2016)

Is there an emulsifying wax brand that works better then others when making hand lotion- figured those of you who make soap might have some suggestions!


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## babsbag (Aug 5, 2016)

I bought my last batch from Brambleberry. But I have also used the cheapest stuff I can find off of eBay and I haven't noticed a difference.


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## Hens and Roos (Aug 5, 2016)

babsbag said:


> I bought my last batch from Brambleberry. But I have also used the cheapest stuff I can find off of eBay and I haven't noticed a difference.



thanks, this is good to know, we were looking on amazon and wasn't sure.  Have you worked with optiphen or germaben II?


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## babsbag (Oct 25, 2016)

I didn't see this until now...


Hens and Roos said:


> Have you worked with optiphen or germaben II?



I use Germall Plus or Germaben II 

Today I was going to make soap, haven't done any in almost a year. I wanted to make this pretty layerd Cranberry Fig with Patchouli oil so I had it already to go. The first step of just adding the lye solution to the oils made it trace is about 30 seconds, way too fast to add any color or fragrances. Good thing that I also needed to make unscented as well. Not sure what happened but even the experienced soapers have a day of "oh, oh...whoops".  I used shea in my soap which I don't normally do and the lye solution was fairly cool so perhaps it made the shea solid again when I combined them. Tomorrow is another day and I will go back to Olive oil, palm, and coconut oil only.


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## Hens and Roos (Oct 25, 2016)

no worries @babsbag, I kind of forgot that I had asked about this!  Keep us posted as to how the soap turns out!


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## babsbag (Oct 27, 2016)

The soap is fine, un-molded and cut and put on the rack to dry.  I did some more research about why sometimes it goes to trace so ridiculously fast and I think I really have an understanding and a way to control it now. In case anyone else in interested. 

http://www.modernsoapmaking.com/controlling-trace-in-cold-process-soapmaking/

Today I made the soap I was supposed to make yesterday. Cranberry Fig and Patchouli and it behaved perfectly. Here it is freshly poured into the mold. Tomorrow I will make some more, not sure what scent, need to sleep on it. And I need to milk a goat.


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## Hens and Roos (Nov 17, 2016)

DD and I picked up some soap at a farmer's market several weeks ago- we noticed that as we are using the soap, it's very soft- there wasn't a list of ingredients given but what would make it so soft that if squeezed even a little bit it would change shape?


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## MaggieSims (Nov 17, 2016)

Hens and Roos said:


> DD and I picked up some soap at a farmer's market several weeks ago- we noticed that as we are using the soap, it's very soft- there wasn't a list of ingredients given but what would make it so soft that if squeezed even a little bit it would change shape?



definitely could be the types of oils/fats used produced a softer bar, but maybe they didn't let if cure fully? i've hurried the cure before, and the soap was ok, apart from being soft like you described. the rest of the bars in that one batch cured fully and were nice and hard. I was just in a hurry to try my new recipe, i couldn't wait any longer.


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## MaggieSims (Nov 17, 2016)

@babsbag 

YOUR SOAP LOOKS SO PURDY
i have yet to try pretty, i am still trying to nail down specific oils and recipes i like before i start really scenting and coloring. i have a selection of scents and mica's to try, but like i said, i am really trying to nail down a favorite oil mix. My whole family is skin sensitive so finding that perfect oil combo for each is hard!!


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## NH homesteader (Nov 17, 2016)

I have so much  milk in the freezer and am going to render my lard soon.  Now I have to re-find all the info to make soap,  I've only done it once and never with lard.  Where does everyone get their fragrances/coloring? I'm trying to go as natural as possible..


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## MaggieSims (Nov 17, 2016)

@NH homesteader 

i buy from brambleberry, i like their samplers for fragrance and what nots.  and fiasco farms has a recipe with lard, i haven't used, but wanted to try.
http://fiascofarm.com/recipes/soap.htm


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## NH homesteader (Nov 17, 2016)

Thanks! This is my winter  project!


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## MaggieSims (Nov 17, 2016)

i need to start making soap again soon too, hubs wants the space in the freezer for more venison XD


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## babsbag (Nov 17, 2016)

I too buy mostly from Brambleberry. Their service is great, products are tested and they tell you if it will behave badly in cold process soap. 

@Hens and Roos  As @MaggieSims said, it could be the oils or the cure. If it was the oils it could have been very high is olive oil. This site has a list of oils and soap additives and their properties. 99% of the soap I make is Olive, Palm, and Coconut oils. Occasionally I will do one heavy in Olive oil or add Shea butter or castor oil but I tend to stick with what works. I do sometimes add in things like ground oatmeal, pureed carrots, coffee and other unique stuff for certain effects. I teach classes on occasion but none this year, the dairy build is hogging all my free time.  

Whenever you try a new recipe run it through a lye calculator, even if you get it from a good known site. I have found mistakes. 



http://summerbeemeadow.com/content/properties-soapmaking-oils


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## NH homesteader (Nov 17, 2016)

I just sent my husband their site and told him all I want for Christmas is a gift certificate there! Unless of course he finds me a Pygmy buck between now and  then


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## Hens and Roos (Nov 17, 2016)

thanks for the link @babsbag, I marked it and will be reading it over!  DD would really like to try making soap- we have most everything ready just need a couple of mixing bowls!


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## babsbag (Nov 17, 2016)

I bought a cheap stainless steel pot at Walmart to melt the oils in. I use a cheap plastic  container for measuring lye and a 8 cup glass measuring cup for mixing the lye and milk together. I know that all of my recipes use 13-19 oz. of liquid so I freeze my milk in 13 oz. containers. I used to use only milk in my recipes but had a difficult time keeping it "white" and sometimes the lye would not dissolve because the milk was so cold. So now I dissolve my lye in 6 oz of water and then pour that mixture slowly over the frozen milk. Seems to work really well.  When I am doing swirls and want to make other colors I have three 4 cup glass measuring cups that I use. I am very fortunate that I have a whole room off of the garage for making soap, it even has a dishwasher, stove top, and microwave. I love my room.


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## Hens and Roos (Nov 17, 2016)

I just haven't gotten that far yet .....,I do need stainless steel for using on our stove-might have to check into what Walmart has and then get some glass measuring cups.  DH made us some mold boxes for putting the soap into.


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## babsbag (Nov 17, 2016)

If anyone is interested in buying some break-apart wooden molds please send me a PM. They hold 3 pounds. A friend was making them and selling them in my classes but I haven't been teaching. I think I have about 10 of them.


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## babsbag (Nov 17, 2016)

So I made soap tonight...it is a fragrance I have never used before...White Tea and Ginger.  I usually try and make my soaps a color that goes with the fragrance, like purple for lavender, burgundy for Cranberry, etc. I couldn't come up with a color so I tried pale yellow and brown. Can anyone say 'rootbeer' soap? That is sure what it looks like. 

What color would you do with White Tea and Ginger?


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## MaggieSims (Nov 17, 2016)

@babsbag 

maybe no color swirled with tan, or brown, or a metallic?

I am interested in molds, i'll pm ina  few, kids are yellin', i need to go investigate


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## Hens and Roos (Nov 18, 2016)

babsbag said:


> So I made soap tonight...it is a fragrance I have never used before...White Tea and Ginger.  I usually try and make my soaps a color that goes with the fragrance, like purple for lavender, burgundy for Cranberry, etc. I couldn't come up with a color so I tried pale yellow and brown. Can anyone say 'rootbeer' soap? That is sure what it looks like.
> 
> What color would you do with White Tea and Ginger?



Maybe a pale green


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## Hens and Roos (Apr 15, 2017)

We finally had some time and made our 1st batch of soap- DD picked bergamot essential oil to add.  We are 2 weeks into letting it cure!


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## NH homesteader (Apr 15, 2017)

Awesome! I am going to do a batch this week, lavender. Let us know how yours turns out!


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## Devonviolet (Apr 15, 2017)

I just found this thread, and am really interested! Have been wanting to make soap for a while now, but somehow the "time" part of the equation never quite works for me!   

I already make my own lotions and salves, as well as deodorant spray, tooth soap, mosquito/chigger repellant and non-toxic cleaning spray.

Now that I am finally milking  I will have milk for making soaps.  So, I will definitely be following this thread?


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## Hens and Roos (Apr 21, 2017)

Here is a picture of our soap, have to wait a couple weeks yet


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