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Soap Makers Help!
OK, a fan it is. It feels like fall now, but by this weekend it is supposed to be hot an humid again. -
Soap Makers Help!
I use 25% each of Crisco, canola, olive oil and coconut oil with the water suggested by soapcalc. I like the way the bars set up and cure nice and hard - usually. But the weather this summer and the humidity was killing the two batches I did. Yes, they did actually drip! I am 90% sure it was... -
Soap Makers Help!
I live in Vermont- we don't have air conditioning! (actually, I do have a window one but only in the bedroom and it only runs a few days a year- it gets humid and high 80's but not enough to justify AC running more than ocasionally). I do use at least 20-25% OO in my soaps. The main problem I... -
Soap Makers Help!
Anyone have any ideas where to store the soap to cure in the summer. I am suffering soap withdrawal! It is too hot and humid to cure upstairs where I usually do it, and I moved the last two batches down to the basement with a dehumidifier and mice (a constant ongoing probem) nibbled it! I guess... -
Soap Makers Help!
Oh, poor Penny. Sending good healing and passing egg thoughts to her. Thank you, Morgaine. I was thinking that trace was when there isn't any change when I mix or stir. The color change looked significant this last batch- it was more noticeable than the first two batches. Three batches, and I... -
Soap Makers Help!
No, Crisco is only 50%- the first batch it was 50/50 crisco/olive oil that I had to re-batch. The one that went really fast was Crisco/olive oil/canola oil at 50/30/20 just to see what the difference was. The one I did today I dropped the Crisco to 40%, canola 40% and olive oil 20%. I actually... -
Soap Makers Help!
Thanks for the info on scenting. I'm not sure what happened yesterday, though. I think I need more practice. My first batch I poured at what turned out to be false trace- I rebatched it and it is fine. This batch I was determined to avoid false trace and get it right and it started setting up in... -
Soap Makers Help!
I am about to make my second batch of soap tomorrow and I am still keeping it small- about 1 pound batches. I want to scent this batch and I ordered the 1 ounce sample pack from Southern Scents- how much would I add to a 1 pound batch to give it a nice, not overwhelming smell? I assume the whole... -
Soap Makers Help!
Well, I re-melted my failed soap and stirred it some more, held it at 110* for awhile stirring it hoping to make it do something. It didn't seem to look too much different than it did last time, but it did get stiffer. I poured it back into the molds before it could set up in the pot, and it... -
Soap Makers Help!
I can try to get a picture, but my computer is severely limited right now- I don't know if I can get the picture on line. The temperature was down to 105 or so for both the lye and the fats before I could get them mixed. (I was trying to make soap and someone else was trying to get the snow plow... -
Soap Makers Help!
I just used regular olive oil that is in a can at the food store that we use for cooking. I also used Crisco because I had it on hand. Recipe was: Water:6.08 ounces Lye: 2.07 ounces crisco: 11.2 ounces olive oil: 4.8 ounces I didn't add any fragrances or other additives yet- I want to be sure... -
Soap Makers Help!
OK, my soap has been sitting in the molds since Wednesday, and I keep compulsively checking it There seems to be a layer of fat on top of each bar. Did I not use enough lye? Did I not insulate well? (well, I probably didn't- how much difference does it make?) I can't tell if the bars are hard... -
Soap Makers Help!
I read about Southern Scents a few pages back, and the sample pack sounds just right! There was also mention of a BYC discount which they accepted. -
Soap Makers Help!
That's a relief! I had visions of having to chip out the bars in a few days. Another question- how long do you insulate them? They must cool down eventually, even insulated- should I be keeping them in a warm spot in front of a heater? Why do you insulate? -
Soap Makers Help!
I have soap! Well, I have a thick slurry that is poured into molds. Of course, I forgot to spray with Pam first- I had to forget something, right? Now I have ordered a sample pack of FO online- SO thinks Dragonblood sounds cool It went really fast- I was prepared to stir for hours, but it got... -
Soap Makers Help!
You guys are the best! I started to weigh the lye and water, and it looked like an awful lot of lye so I thought I'd ask! Off to make my first batch of soap- I'm trying to keep it simple to see if I can do it first of all. Olive oil and crisco. No scents, no colors. I will figure out how to do... -
Soap Makers Help!
OK, I haven't been able to read all 157 pages of this thread, but it sounds like you guys have all the answers! I ordered lye from AAA chemicals and ran the fats through the calcualtor at soapcalc. One question, though. It sounds like you buy liquid lye? What I have is granulated. Are the...