Soap Makers Help!

[ninjapoodles]

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TSC is absolutely my favorite soapmaking book out there. I LOVE her recipes, and adapted many of them for my own use.

 

[Jenlyn9483]

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Blueskylen,

Goats are great and you dont need near the space as you do with a cow. You do however have to milk them at 12 hour intervals, just as you would a cow. The average milk production Dairy goat (alpine, Nubian, LaMancha) gives an average of 1 gallon of milk per day while lactating. If you dont need that much milk, there is one miniature breed accepted by the NDGA, that is a Nigerian Dwarf. They produce one to two quarts per day in peak lactation. I have one of these goats and she is awesome, and no bigger than my leggy beagle. Its a good idea to have at least two goats, as they are heard animals and perfer companionship. If you only need enough milk or only want to have to milk one goat, Whethers (Neutered males) are less expensive and make good pets and companions for your Doe. Hope this helps

 

[ninjapoodles]

OK, I went and picked up some lye today at Lowe's. Anyone wanna try cucumber soap? The recipe I normally use has a whole bunch of oils, but I have used the following, more basic, recipe, and it is really VERY good (from SoapNuts website):

"Slice of Summer" (Cucumber Soap)/

Camille Pratt

15 ounces Canola Oil
30 ounces Coconut Oil
27 ounces Olive Oil
21 ounces Palm Oil
5 ounces Shea Butter

13.75 ounces of lye
20 ounces of rain water

16 ounces of pureed cucumber (peels 'n all!)

Mix lye and water. Cool to 90°.
Pureed cukes (this will be approx. 2-3 large cukes).
Heat oils to 90°.

Mix lye solution and oils, blend well, add pureed cukes.
Bring to light trace, add fragrance of your choice (I used Sweetcakes
Econocuke - at a 1% usage rate).
Bring to heavy trace.
Pour in mold.
Leave it alone.

Notes: Even in very hard water it has lots of lather, very creamy and is very
soothing to skin. Uncolored, it is a very lovely pale ivory, slightly
translucent. No GSE (Grapefruit Seed Extract) needed. If you chose to modify
this recipe by subbing other oils or butters, it will not be remotely the same
unbelievably wonderful soap.

~~~~~~~*~~~~*~~~*~~*~*~*~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~~~~~
Wild Iris Botanicals Soaps & Sundries
'SweetPeas TM' Baby Line
'Bath Confections TM' Luxury Bathing Line
~~~~~~~*~~~~*~~~*~~*~*~*~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~~~~~

I use distilled water, not "rain water." If you can't find shea butter, you can leave it out--you just have to adjust the lye calculation accordingly. We could also adjust the recipe down to a smaller batch, if need be.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Oh yeah! Thanks Ninja!

I have a couple of questions. I've been looking for local sources for some of these items today and came across something I've not seen in the soap resources I've read. One local place has two types of Coconut Oil - 92* and 96*, sold in gallon and 5 gallon containers. Another place has 100* Coconut Oil, sold in 8 oz. and 1 lb. measures.

What is the difference between 92, 96, and 100 degrees, and what does that mean in regards to soapmaking?

I'm trying to compare costs. How much does a gallon of coconut oil weigh?

 

[ninjapoodles]

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I'm pretty sure those are the temperatures at which the oil goes from solid to liquid. Ideally, the higher melting temp is most desirable, but it won't really affect the final soap. I have a 50lb. box (it's in a solid cube) of coconut oil under my desk at work right now.

You can find Lou Ana brand coconut oil at most grocery stores and WM. I don't know about gallons, because you always measure in weight, not volume.

 

[Morgaine]

I might have to pick up some cukes so I can try this. I'm also going to use my avocado oil instead of the shea butter and re-run it through the lye calc. Do you know the superfatting %? If it is super fatted too much will it have a greater risk of going rancid because of the cucumbers?

Right now I am still waiting on my order from Brambleberry. Fed Ex Sucks. They called last night at 8 saying they didn't know where I was and wanted directions. I've recieved several packages from them before and they were able to find it, no problem. Oh, and according to tracking, my package has been in Houston since the 26th.

Ok enough ranting, sorry to high jack.

Anyone ever make a salt bar? I'm going to try after I make a couple more other recipes.

 

[MissPrissy]

Ninja - we should show them how to do some real chocolate soaps, too.

 

[cheeptrick]

Hi all...here are some photos of my soaps...I LOVE the lavender. I use Susan Cavitch's Soapmakers books and recipes...so I add the goatsmilk to lye solution prior to mixing with oils. It does not change the color of my soaps in any way...I only use olive oil, coconut oil, and palm oil and then super fat with jojoba oil. I only use juice to color my soaps...with the exception of Titanium Dioxide (sunscreen) for a creamy white bar.
Some are good and some are bad in this photo.
Starting at top left...
Bug Season (husbands favorite smells like citronella)
Lavender Fields (my favorite and best seller)
Hibiscus (put paprika in this batch...NO effect in color??)
White Grapefruit (made with white grapefruit juice and poppy seeds)
Honey Almond Cocoa (cocoa powder added to half batch for the swirl)
Pumpkin Spice (made with Carrot Juice and pumpkin pie spice)
Exotic Coconut (superfatted with cocoa butter very hard lasting soap)
Gardening Soap (rose, cucumber, and sandlewood with breakfast GRITS)
Christmas Spice (made with Canola Oil...which tanned the bar in color)

Most all of these with the exception to Bug Season, HAC, WG and PS were made with Goats Milk.

 

[smom1976]

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Ok I have all oils too other than the shea.. I do have avocado oil. According to the PP switching oils with this soap is not a good idea.. BUT i have these others.. (and I wouldnt have to buy anything) and I would like to know about the super fatting question too..

 

[ninjapoodles]

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The first and only batch of soap that I TOTALLY ruined was a cocoa soap. I used a TON of cocoa butter, for natural chocolate scent, and it was truly lovely. My mistake was over-insulating during the gel phase...kaBLOOEY.