Best soap recipes

[Southern by choice]

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

 

[mikiz]

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.

 

[Southern by choice]

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

 

[babsbag]

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.

 

[Hens and Roos]

That is one neat bar of soap @babsbag !

 

[babsbag]

Thanks. I love playing with colors.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Thanks. I love playing with colors.

what did you add to make the color?

 

[babsbag]

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.

 

[Southern by choice]

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

You ROCK!

 

[Hens and Roos]

@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?