Soap Makers Help!

[dude92627]

hello to everyone,

i've been reading and learning from your site for a few months now, even have tried my hand at making a few batches...don't tell my guy friends. today i got up the nerve to join and be able to ask questions about some of the things i'm reading about...most likely i'm doing things backasswards...but then...i am a man and never ask for directions...

 

[BirdBrain]

Making soap can be a very manly sport....err, hobby.

Glad you joined us. My DH loves my soap and is an avid supporter. Ask away!

 

[dude92627]

thanks for the welcome,

i'd like to know if any of you has tried using bamboo charcoal in your soaps? that is the reason i started reading up and trying to make soap. bamboo charcoal is amazing in what it can do and as i have a thai family i was researching it when i came across using it in soap.

i've made a few batches using it, and it seems to work. not sure if you'd think so...but my friends like it. funny it is the guys who like it best. i'm sure i did things wrong, but the results came out very manly...i used coconut milk, and shea butter along with the bamboo charcoal...the result looked almost like granite. still playing around with this but hope at some point i can make it in thailand and give my relatives there a job...lol

also i used a lye calculator on here but can't seem to find it now. it was very man friendly...all i had to do was type in what i was dumping into the bowl and it even helped me using the coconut milk.

 

[chiknwhisperer]

Quote:

Glad to have you here and we all expect pics whenever available

We also have the soapmakers refrence thread. It has TONS of stuff.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=155832
I hope I put the link up right. If not I'm sure someone will fix it.

 

[dude92627]

i do have some photos posted on tagged;

http://www.tagged.com/profile.html

as well as a video log of me making the soaps...though all aren't posted so there is gaps. that is on youtube....it's free to upload them there as they are too big to attach to email.

http://www.youtube.com/user/CharBooLtd

before you say anything...i'm not going to leave those public...i know i wasn't following safety rules. i worked many years in the plating and anodizing feild so it may look like i don't respect what the lye can do. i really need make that private so nobody gets hurt.

i do have a blog somewhere to where i have posted about making the charcoal and first batch of soap...after that video is easier than typing for me...my finger gets a cramp...see i belong here...i do type by hunt and peck...

plus i'm a farm boy from way back, i've had 75 chicks hatch out in my garage at times, raised ducks, geese & turkeys. had 12 milk goats that i feed the milk to drop calfs from feed lots.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Dude! Welcome! You're my neighbor, although I live in the *other* zip code. We'll have to talk supplies and all that.

So, when are you going to get chickens? You know that's next!

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

The rash could be '5th disease' ... harmless, just scary looking.

The crack on the soap made in the Pringles container. It is from over heating. Those pringles cans really hold in the heat. I always put them on a cooling rack and don't insulate.

Anchoring citrus. Try using a 3-fold or 5-fold sweet orange. It has higher concentration. Also, I use oatmeal baby food to anchor the citrus. About 2 teasp ppo, weigh my citrus eo right into the oatmeal.

Hey Dude, watch out for that 'shea butter' It's actually a shea butter CREAM. You will probably want to upgrade your scale to a digital one.

When soaping with milk (any kind), Freeze it! Weigh all your oils first and have them combined and ready then work with your milk and lye, adding your lye solution immediately to your waiting oils.

It looks like you're really having fun! Tell us more about the bamboo charcoal.

 

[Morgaine]

I wanted to post a picture of the lemongrass & rose soap. I took it in the evening, it a bit darker irl.

I should be getting my brambleberry order today. I can't wait to see what sample I get

I also ordered 4 oz of the wasabi, I've been wanting to try that one for a while.

I'm getting all my soaps ready for the watemelon festival, I have about 200 bars set aside for that and have plans for another 10 batches next week. I'm planning on 75 each black raspberry cream, cucumber melon and rosemary mint(my best sellers), 50 each almond & oatmeal, lemon verbena, oatmeal milk & honey, lavender and goat's milk. And then 20 each of plain ols soap, buttermilk and grits, watermelon, rose geranium, and floral spice. WDYT? Enough? It is an all day long event.

I haven't soaped much this week because we've been working on the house. We bought the flooring, tile for the shower, the vanity, and all the trim and new doors. We got some great deals at an auction. The solid wood floor we got for $1.75 a sq ft and the tile for the entire shower for $30.

 

[BirdBrain]

Morgaine,
I would try to do a watermelon soap for that festival. Get some watermelon FO and do a layered soap in a 3 inch PVC pipe layed on it's side (cut it in half lengthwise). Do a green soap and pour it in. Displace the soap from the middle by using a smaller pvc pipe. That will make the rind. then make a small batch of black and cut it in long strips. Make a red soap and pour it in the rind adding the strips of black as you go (so they don't all sink to the bottom). When you cut it it will look like watermelon. WDYT? I bet it would be a great hit. Or you could just use your standard mold and pour a rind on the bottom, etc. It wouldn't look exactly like watermelon, but close enough and the smell would be right. You could add a sign saying something like "Cool Watermelon Soap--available at this event only."

 

[Morgaine]

Birdbrain, Thanks for the idea. I was just going to use my regular mold so all the soaps are the same size (and the same price). I like the idea of making strips for the seeds, that might look more uniform than a confetti style I had planned. It's not till July 18th, so I have a little bit of time. I need a good watermelon scent and color for the pink part. I don't think I can get good enough results fom purly natural colorants. Any reccomendations?