chuck_35550

Rats, I meant to order some of that! I think your soaps are beautiful. Nice job. Steve

I don't know, my bands say this is hand made soap. Each soap has a title that indicates what it is meant to accomplish: salt bars, shampoo bars, deep cleansing bars, garden bars ect. People have no idea what to do with a hand made bar of soap. The best way to help customers is by giving them tips on keeping their bars dry and how best to use them so they will last. You may even think about offering your unscented soaps to those who have allergies to fragrance just don't call it a non-or-hypo-allergenic soap. Hand made is claim enough in my opinion. HTH. Steve

Ok, I ordered about $50.00 worth of colorants from TKB: Liquid gels-Slicker Yellow, Relay Race Red, School Daze Orange, Tomato Red, and liquid concentrates-Ultramarine Blue, Valentine Red, White and then Raspberry, Bluleberry and Apple Green Pops. I just don't do well with mixing powder or using solid color chips. Anybody have a review of the gels or liquids. I know most everyone likes the pops. Thanks, Steve

Tennessee Candle Supply has a great version of Pumpkin Souffle'. I always use a little Creme Brulee' from JBN to sweeten the pot. HTH. Steve

So if you stay below a certain percentage of those oils that would keep those fatty acids below a certain profile? I mean, isn't that why we use high oleic sunflower or safflower? Just curious about DOS. Does anyone use REO?

I thought it had to do with the level of linoleic and linolenic levels in the overall recipe. Aren't those fatty acids found in soybean and other nut oils that break down and spoil, unless they are hydrogenated?

Just By Nature Arabian Spice. I really liked it and it had a great ct/ht in my 70/30 soy wax. Couldn't sell it. Nice combo of spices with a nice clove to it. HTH Steve

Candlewic is very good but very expensive and is not skin safe.

Try a 50/50 of Just By Nature's Creme Brulee and Gingered Pumpkin Brulee. Big seller for me this time of year. Alabaster Candle Supply has a great Pumpkin Spice that is wonderful in cp soap. Its a great mixer with any kind of foodie fo. HTH. Steve

AH/RE Buttercream is intense.

I have a window fan that pulls the fumes out and keeps the house from smelling like a massive candle. It really helps my breathing and it only makes sense that you would have good ventilation wherever a concentrated chemical is being heated and giving off lots of fumes. I don't know about cancer and candles but a lot of my customers just open the lids and never light the candles, while others use a burner/melter. A recent doctor visit surprised me when the man said, "Anybody can find something wrong about anything but my experience is that most things aren't going to hurt you within reasonable practical use".

How do you do all that creative soapmaking? Please let me apprentice with you for awhile. I'll clean up all the pots and pans and do the grunt work. I have a bad case of soap envy. I can't even do a decent in the pot swirl much less.

The fo was Tahitian Vanilla Spice that clouded the wax (temp at 190) and it is a great fragrance but it just clogs up the wick and drowns. The one that separated was Muscadine Vineyard. It has some kind of funky orange slick that collects on the bottom and seeps on the top. I shake it up a lot and pour it real hot and that seems to help. I love the fragrance but it scares me to think that someone might get a candle bomb or something. I know the diff between crystalized or settled but really; should there be sediment in your fo? Maybe quality control was on vacation the day those fos are bottled. I'm with you Carol.

If its on the outside, then its probably ash but if its on the inside it might be a partial gel? Need an expert here like Scented or Top.

Candlewic is really dead on but I don't know that it is super strong. That seems like a mellow fragrance to me but I'm sure it has different characteristics in different waxes. $18.47 a pound. HTH. Steve

Just a word to fragrance oil formulators. I have come across several fragrances that appear to have a cloudy appearance when poured and then clog up the wick when they burn or the stuff sinks to the bottom or floats to the top. I don't know what you're using but it sure don't work so hot. So, "Stop It"!! Thanks for listening. Steve

I usually burn one in the bathroom near Halloween with the lights out and the patterns look so neat on the walls and ceiling.

I poured up the Blue Skies and renamed it Bella Vita Candles "The Good Life" Clear Blue Sky This one defies gravity and leaves you breathless with its beauty. I know I must be behind the rest of you on this fo but wow is this one great. I have to soap this one when I get some more of it. Has anyone soaped it yet? Chuck

Be sure and warn customers that the hat gets quite hot. I never did sell a lot of these containers but they were fun.

I was amazed I could smell anything after pouring Kudzu...blecchh. The Pomegranate Henri Bendel was super burning in my office today. Was that your reaction to both the ct and ht Chris?

I finally got around to pouring Pumpkin Ginger Streusel and boy howdy is that some good stuff! It may be the truest pumpkin I've ever smelled. Not sweet but just a touch of spice, very wonderful. The Pom Henri Bendel is incredibly complex and true. Their Coconut Lime Verbena is dead on BB and has been a really good summer seller. The Sugared Vanilla Shortbread is very heavy and I'm not sure what was going on with this oil. I can't wait to light these suckers up and see how they do. I don't know if the Pumpkin will sell but it sure as heck has my vote.

Those look like good recipes. You never know until you try. Don't worry about 160 INS. The numbers are guidelines for certain types of results. Salt bars, shampoo bars, gardners soap ect are all going to have strange or even bad looking numbers. There are some soapers who refuse to use more than 20% coconut or have a palmitic past a certain number and those who use 30% without a problem. The actual harshness indicated may not occur but little by little you learn about soft and hard oils and their properties. Someone like Top or Scented know these things backwards and fowards. I am not that high up on the food chain so take what I say with a grain of salt. HTH Steve

I love pomace for soaping but use local olive which is much cheaper (Walmart and other stores have really good prices on large amounts) if you look on the bottom shelves. My lab is in the basement where it is cool but sometimes damp. I keep my palm in a presto pot with a spigot and heat it and stir to make sure that the stearic is mixed. Soap & Other Obsessions by Zonella Gould, Sally Trew and Diane White and Scientific Soapmaking by Kevin M. Dunn are really good books.

I use 11 oz of oils per pound with the lye and liquid making the remainder of the pound. Notice what values each ingredient contains when using calc or any other calculator and be aware of the balance of saturated and unsaturated fats. The numbers game is not the end all to good recipes but they are reasonable guide lines. Coconut is good for lather and hard soap but can be harsh if not gentled by other ingredients. Grocery store soap ingredients are just fine and produce good soaps with decent qualities. Not to mention the milk soaps which make for good soaps too. Miller Soap is as good as anything else out there for starters and then buy books that get deeper into the heart of soapmaking and beware of books that are mostly cosmetic. HTH Steve

Dreaded Orange Spots. The soap begins to turn rancid because of the high linoleic fatty acid. There are some additives that help to slow or prevent the proceess but it is just better to not go over 60 on the iodine. The linoleic on my recipe was still 11 and most folks try to stay around 5 or 6 and 160 is supposed to be the perfect INS number. Shea is so expensive to use in those amounts but I have made soap that was really nice and silky for my skin. The castor may be a little high for most soapers tastes or for some not at all. Try the meat shortening and see how that works for you or a little lard or both. Beef tallow is great. But if that soap cleanses and moisturizes without getting orange spots and smelling rancid the use it. HTH. Steve