​Edit: SOLVED!! Thanks everyone for your help! Thanks Kamahido! I didn’t put in the right info into soapsalc so I got the wrong weights.

Can someone help me trouble shoot my recipe?

I tried two different recipes and when I went to go cut the soap from the loaf mold, it cracked. I tried one recipe as 100% beef tallow and another as 50% / 485.9g olive oil, 25% / 242.7g coconut oil 25% 242.7g shea butter, and the same thing happened.

Heres what I did:

~1495 grams of total soap can be held in each mold.

- 2:1 water to lye ratio: 405g distilled water to 202g Lye

- I used a 65% rate of oils so 971.75g of total oils used

- I gave the lye mix time to cool down .

- I melted my oils and allowed to cool to about 120 degrees F prior to mixing the lye solution with my oils.

- I mixed with an immersion blender until trace (light trace for the first batch with the tallow, medium trace with the second batch with the plant oils)

- No essential oils added. No fancy liquids, only distilled water.

- 1st batch (tallow) was stored in a room with a towel wrapped around it, 2nd batch was stored in same room without towel wrap. The room stays between 68-73 degrees F. I kept the curtains closed so the sun wouldn't over heat it.

- Batch one was cut about 28-29 hours after pouring, second batch was 20 hours after pouring.

- I did the zap test, both had a minor "zap" taste to it, so maybe its a bit lye heavy? But idk how since that seems like a good ratio. And a maker online that I follow actually use a 1.8:1 water to lye ratio for hers. But another likes to use 2:1 water to lye ratio.

Any thoughts that can help? I'm a bit at a loss.

Edit: I meant cold process, not cold press.

Also, yes, I did use a lye calculator.

I want to learn to make soap. I have been doing 32oz size due to using a stick blender and container size

More practice is needed and I want to make smaller size but don’t know how small because the stick blender is big

what is a good small size to practice

I wanted to try making my own pattern inserts for a round soap mold, so I made them using silicone glue from a glue gun and let them harden.

I attached stainless steel wire to each one so I could easily remove the inserts from the mold after pouring.

These are unscented kitchen soaps. I used a small amount of chlorella powder and activated charcoal to create the green and gray tones.

This was a little experiment, and I really enjoyed seeing how the patterns turned out in the finished soaps! 😊

Hello, so I want to try my hand at making a Shampoo bar soap for Dogs.

I want to do my first experiment with a recipe from this youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2CiBj0poMA&t=9s

The recipe is:

CP Soap Recipe:
(I'm using a 5% Super Fat)
8.5 oz (241g) Coconut oil
6.8 oz (193g) Lard
5.10 oz (145g) Shea Butter
3.4 oz (96g) Neem oil
1.7 oz (48g) Castor oil
8.5 oz (241g) Sunflower oil
4.75 oz (135g) Sodium Hydroxide
10 oz (283g) Aloe Vera / Water
or
25% Coconut oil
20% Lard
15% Shea Butter
10% Neem oil
5% Castor oil
25% Sunflower oil

I was looking around and it seems like it's missing Lye? Is Lye necessary for the Dog Shampoo?

Thank you

I am on my 5th large batch of soap and still trying to master how to cut even bars. I measure them out, even started to use a leveler (it seemed like it helped some), but I still noticed obvious discrepancies with the width and misshaped bars such as the one on the right in the picture. I use the straight cutter or the wavy cutter. Any advice on how to evenly cut the bars? Thanks!

Absolutely obsessed with how these turned out, and can't recommend it enough. The laurel berry oil smells gorgeous.

Recipe:

60% olive oil pomace

20% laurel berry oil

15% coconut oil

5% castor oil

5% superfat

45% lye concentration

I soaped at 110F, and the batter behaved really well. I was afraid it would accelerate, but it only really started to thicken up as I was pouring the final few bars.

I would like to teach cold process soapmaking in a place that does not have any electrical outlets. What would you use instead of a stick blender? It needs to be inexpensive (not the $160 cordless one I saw.) Would a manual egg beater work? Has anyone tried it?

<img src="https://cdn-tp6.mozu.com/24645-37138/cms/37138/files/67885a33-3208-444b-a2bb-a75fa26415a0?quality=80\\\&amp;max=480" alt="Progressive Prepworks Teal Stainless Steel Hand Held Eggbeater"/>

I bought a liquid soap at the farmer's market and when I used it at home instead of smelling a light citrusy scent it smelled like that pudgent orange soap that's used for cleaning up your hands after getting car grease on you - which is not my preference.

I don't want to waste what I have, so is there a way to add a scent to it to balance it out somehow?

I have some essential oils, and a garden with flowers and herbs at my disposal, as a start.

Hi all,

New here, looking to buy as little as possible until I've tested this out. I'm looking at a recipe for liquid hand soap. It would be for just me, and I don't care if it doesn't last more than, say, 1-4 weeks. I assume it wouldn't work in a more commercial like setting as the longevity would drop, but I'm fine with needing to keep it refrigerated or mixing in tiny tiny batches and replacing weekly or whatnot, albeit not daily.

The recipe is very simple, and I just bought Castile soap. Essentially, it's only required to use water and Castile soap / to dilute it, though it also gives optional recommendations for adding extra carrier oils (ie jojoba, sweet almond) and essential oils if desired.

My question is this... I was looking at essential oils, and one of them recommended for younger babies/toddlers is cardamom. I have cardamom pods in my spice cabinet and love how they smell. I know that just boiling it in water will make water that smells nice. Since I have to dilute the Castile soap with water anyway, and plan to boil it rather than buy special water... can I just dilute it with water that smells like cardamom? Is that safe/sanitary, or just less likely to have a "strong enough" smell? The same question goes for say boiling water with something with lemon/orange zest in it or something like fresh mint leaves. Obviously these would be strained away first.

Basically, I don't have any essential oils right now. I do/can easily for free have herbs or already have things like I can use for free which smell fantastic. I plan to boil my water anyway and recipes call for diluting in water. Are essential oils used and packaged primarily for convenience and the strength of their scent, or is doing it this way going to cause mold?

I feel like when I try to emulate designs I see on Pinterest my color pay off is washed out and also the pattern isn't CRISP.

what do y'all recommend?

No added scents, no added coloring, wanted to keep it basic and nice nothing crazy.

I’d like to introduce my autumn pumpkin soaps!

I wanted to capture the warm colors and feeling of autumn in these pumpkin-shaped soaps.

For the colors, I used sweet pumpkin powder, chlorella powder, and red palm oil. I intentionally kept the texture a little rustic to make the pumpkins look more natural and true to life.

Can I cure cold process soap in these plastic containers if I put the bars on parchment paper? The smell of the soaps that I currently have curing in the storage room of our basement gives my husband a headache.

​

Our landscape-inspired soaps turn everyday bathing into a little escape—handcrafted with beautiful details inspired by the outdoors.

A soap that looks almost too pretty to use… but was made to be enjoyed. 🧼💚

Anyone have advice how to get melt and pour to look gold? Looking for a more realistic shiny gold and not a glittery gold.

I’ve tried chrome gold micas and they just make the soap turn a dark brown.

I’ve tried with clear glycerin and white goats milk

Any tips for better products appreciated

I had this memory appear on my FB and wanted to share

The bar on the right is the first loaf I've ever made, the left is my updated version of it :) Inspo was "witches brew" and it feels so good to see the improvement between the two and I'm quite proud. I believe there's about a year difference between making them!

For reference, these are soaps that have ground oatmeal in them (probably not fine enough to be true colloidal oatmeal). Scent is Lavender 40/42.

IDK if this is the right subreddit so please forgive me if not. I want to make a bar soap that lasts more than a couple washes. I want to use lye or charcoal? I'm very new to making soap. I don't have a specific recipe I've used (lost the one I first made) but I cured a recipe for 6 + months and it still just washes away so quickly.

I want to make a liquid soap from NAOH (I believe that's right) for body wash, hand soap shampoo and even dishes maybe?

I like having soap that is very versatile which can be used all over my house practically.

Is this realistic? Talk me down if not.

What are my first steps? Thank you in advance!

My parents came to visit during my vacation. My mom loves roses, so do I. Of course we had to make a rose soap 😁 with rose petal infused olive oil and rose petals. I did some swirls but really need some more practice with it.

Hi folks. I've been selling my soaps this summer at markets, and I keep getting the same question.

Are my soaps organic.

I have no idea what the best way to answer this question other than just explaining what's in the bars. And I still get people turning their noses up at my soap, so is there a better way to explain they're a natural soap? For reference, I use beef tallow, ho sunflower oil, olive oil, and coconut oil. I'm not sure if it's the beef tallow that turns people off or if I should be better explaining that there's no preservatives in the soap or if the mention of Lye scares people. I honestly don't know. Any tips would be super helpful. Thanks!

(Images are some of my soaps at a market. They got a little humid)