Soap Makers Help!

[ChookHappy]

Sweet thanks saving, that's a great idea. I'll have to search out pawn shops around here. Not too many out here. There were more pawn shops than churches out in Denver but hardly any out here, lol.

I've been looking at Essential Oils trying to figure out what we can afford. I've noticed that the prices are pretty steep and it seems you need a lot of it per batch. Anyone got any tips or suggestions on where I should be looking for affordable prices?

 

[TM Chickens]

What places are you thinking about getting them from? MMS has quite a few for reasonable prices. They also have tons of FOs.

 

[ChookHappy]

MMS would be nice. We got our oils from them just recently and they were pretty quick as well. Their shipping was what sealed the deal. The other place we were going to order from wanted to charge us 65% of our order total to ship. x( I'll give MMS another look. We still have to figure out what few we want to start with. Is it ok to scent with FO's? It does seem they are quite a bit cheaper but is it common practice? I ran across a decent amount of pretty cool blends yesterday but then realized they were all FO's.

 

[TM Chickens]

Quote:
I use FOs a lot, and I think most others do also. As long as they are from a reputable source like MMS or Bramble Berry and it doesn't say "not for soap" you should be fine.

 

[Morgaine]

I use both eo's and fo's in my soaps. I like fo's because you can a lot of scents that you just can't get with eo's, and they have already done the hard work of blending it for you. I like eo's because you can make your own custom blends, there is a little more challege in it.

For the most part, fo's are a better price, but you have to remember that you use less when use eo's. I like to get my eo's from Essential Oil University. The ones that give you the most bang for your buck: Lemongrass(use at .5oz ppo), Anise (use at .25-.5 oz ppo), peppermint (.25oz ppo), rosemary (use at no more than .5 oz ppo) Cinnamon (.25oz ppo) and eucalyptus (.3ozppo)

HTH

 

[ChookHappy]

Well that's good to hear lol, thanks! We might have gone a bit overboard with a tea tree soap we made a couple of days ago. Only thing is I have had a stuffy nose for days and I can't tell! There was some Lavender mixed in as well but I think it might have been snuffed out. We will check out those FO's. That really opens up a lot more options. I thought I was going to have to take out a second mortgage for a few pounds of Sandalwood!

 

[sune42]

Quote:
Ditto. Good prices there.

 

[chickenvirgin]

I have a question, I hope some one has an answer......The last two batches of cold process soap I made tested positive for lye on the outside of the bars and the outside of the bars where lighter in color, but when I cut them open and tested for lye inside they where fine. Anyone know what is happening here? Thanks Lori

 

[Morgaine]

What are you doing to test for lye? Tongue test?

How old is your soap when you are testing it?

Did your soap gel all the way or did you get a partial gel? The ungelled soap would take longer than the gelled soap to become fully saponified.

 

[chickenvirgin]

So sorry it took me so long to reply back..... I use Phenophthalein to test for the lye and I tested when the soap was a week old. I don't think it went to jel, it hardened up really quickly. I have made many soap batches and they all turn out well but this was the first one that I made out of all lard with pumice and orange eo, it was suppose to be a mans soap for dirty working hands. How long will it take to saponify if it did jel and why didn't it jel? Thanks Lori