Soap Makers Help!

[cheeptrick]

Quote:
I use paprika in my hibiscus fragrance soaps...it never came out like I wanted. Did you mix the paprika into the lye or at trace? I have used tomato juice in place of distilled water...it came out nice.

I think I'm going to try a coffee ground soap...call it HANG OVER soap! LOL Maybe I'll layer it...with oatmeal milk and honey on the bottom??

I struggle with blending my eo and fo...I'm making tea tree and rosewood today. I only made 20 bar batches with ONE mold...I put a divider of wood in the middle and layer with freezer paper in the two compartments. This way I can make smaller batches of those fragrances that do not sell as well.

I get my Lye from Camden Grey...and you have to fill out a haz mat form for them to allow you to order. I purchase a lot of lye.....so I'm sure I'm on a government list somewhere. NO meth here....JUST a ton of Soap! My DD's came home to a dining room table WITH LEAF completely covered in soap yesterday! Dinner ON THE FLOOR anyone!

 

[The Farmers Wife]

Great minds think alike~

 

[cockadoodlemom]

I got my order I placed with Snowdrift Farms yesterday and as a Thank You they gave me a goody bag that has 4 samples in it. The samples they sent me are Peruvian Pink-medium grade, Alaea Hawiian Pink Salt-Fine Grade, Holiday Balsam FO, and Orange Pomander FO. I thought that was an awesome bonus.
Red~I had same problem as you not being able to find lye local so I ordered from Snowdrift Farms cause I did not have to fill out a form. I got 2lbs lye and 16oz Almond Oil plus shiping for $28.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

I finally got some time to take some pictures and upload them for you to see. Please tell me if I killed the Goats Milk Soap or if you think it's OK. I bought more milk today to try again. Next time I'll wait until evening so that I can set it outside for several hours.

Natural Light:

With flash on a white cloth:

Compared with two other soaps I've made:
(Lavender on the left, AppleJack/Peel in front - AJP is similar recipe to the goats milk, but with distilled water instead of the milk)

Thanks for all your help guys!

 

[MissPrissy]

Looks fine to me. You can always cut away the thin top layer if you don't like it.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Nice score on the free goodies cockadoodlemom!

As for the lye, I'd love to know what the best options are as well. I didn't have luck finding it locally either, so I ordered from Camden Grey. The price was good, but shipping did cost a bit of money.

I purchased 8 lbs. of lye, 3 - 4oz. bottles of fragrance, and a lb. of lavender buds (that was waaaaay too much, so I handed them off to one of the garden gals to be made into sachets.) The cost of the lye was only $22.40, which seemed pretty good to me. Total charges were $95.68, with shipping accounting for $33.99 of that total to ship all the way across the US.

 

[ChickenToes]

The only place I can find lye locally is in hardware or home improvement stores. It's sold as a drain opener in 16 ounce bottles.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Quote:
So? I didn't kill it???

By the thin top layer are you talking about that rustic look or just the ridges on the edges?

The rustic look has kind of grown on me. I don't think I'd do it on all my bars, but I kind of like the way it looks on this bar.

I think I made some lemonade out of the lemons from the other night.

 

[cockadoodlemom]

BB~that soap looks great! I am interested in that Applejack peel.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Quote:
Thanks!

The Applejack peel fragrance was bought at Camden Grey. Reading descriptions of some of the AJP fragrance out there, I think this one might be a bit different. Those are often described as smelling like spiced apples. This smells more like spiced apples and oranges together Actually, my 13 year old son called it correctly. It smells like Constant Comment tea.

The speckles you see in there are orange peel from my own orange tree. I didn't put a lot in because I wasn't sure what it was going to do, being new at all of this. Next time I'll do more.