is any one here making soaps? or any soap gurus? its been a while since anyone has posted here about soaps haven't made any soap yet, slowly collecting ingredients i have newb questions i want to make hot process, tallow based soap, so I can experiment with very small batches anyone........ anyone...... behuler....... anyone
Not a guru but I have made several batches of hot process "tallow" based soap. Feel free to PM me with your newb questions.
Might I add you successfully made a very good soap? I've had the opportunity to test several prototype products made by TSD members. That York Peppermint Patty tallow is still one of my favorite! Numbingly mentholated and the scent begs to be tasted. The lather is top tier. I'm keeping what's left in the refrigerator. So far no one has accidentally eaten it.
Thanks for the kind words. Coincidentally I used the mentholated lavender this morning. Happy to hear you like the chocolate/mint blend. For me it sounded like a good concept but the reality...not so much. To the OP soap making is basic chemistry with the important thing being to follow safety procedures. And like I said any questions ask away...
I haven't made any that small but I would image the tricky part would be that such a small batch would saponify very quickly. Nothing attentiveness and fast reflexes couldn't handle but you would really need to pay attention to the process.
can you point me in direction of calculator and/or starting recipe i'm confused by most online calculators ideas...... definitely tallow based harder vs softer i'd like to have tallow as majority ingredient if possible keep it simple, minimal ingredients thinking old school willams with slight twist tallow stearic acid coconut oil sodium hydroxide potassium hydroxide i have shea (thinking super fat) and assorted essential oils coconut oil kaolin (vs titanium dioxide) induction cook top ... digital controlled temp scale utensils digital thermometer x 2 incoming KOH NaOH stearic acid tallow
I’ve never made soap from scratch. I make melt & pour (MP) soaps. As there are many varieties and qualities of MP bases, you can customize, quite a bit. For instance, in shave soap, I mix a high-lather base, a shea butter base and a goat-milk base.
I made my first batch of soap. Process is really not that hard. Being hard headed I made up my own recipe and some issues But a useable soap.... hopefully will improve with curing. Doesn’t melt and pour take the fun out soapmaking? I saw melt and pour at supply house, is a cost effective soap and how is performance? It was pricy at local supply house... over $6 a pound
Fun is entirely subjective. I find it quite enjoyable. I love blending different bases to get just what I want. I also love using high quality essential oils to make soap that smells amazing. As to how it performs, bases vary in quality. SLS-free bases are gentler for the skin. They cost a little more but they are still cheaper than a comparable bar of scented soap from a retailer.
