Attempting to make a high(er) olive oil soap recipe - 45% total oils. Any recommendations on how long I should let this sit in the mold before cutting and how long I should let it cure before using?

I've seen recommendations for upwards of a year of curing for bastille (70% OO)/castile soap (100%). Thanks!

So I'm new to cold process, and my soap is setting up super duper fast compared to what I'm used to. I was trying to make cute soaps for Christmas and I ended up mushing them into the molds. The fronts are fine but the backs are trash. Can I grate this up and remelt to remold?

Hi. Does anyone have a recipe that is SUPER moisturizing and will leave a lotion/oil layer on (body, not face) skin after rinsing, and still leave you clean? Thank you.

i keep seeing people with all of these equations for their soap mixes and was wondering if there’s anything that’s “wrong” with melt and pour. i’m planning on selling soap at some point and don’t want to use melt and pour (i was planning on using a goat milk base) if it’s “not good”

edit: thank you to everyone who answered! i was definitely intimidated by the cold press process but i’m going to give it a try!

How much lye and liquid should I put for this size?

Aloe vera extract, rose essential oil or fragnance?

I made a post on facebook that I was making soap from english ivy leaves and got a lot of flack for it. Obviously, I just saw someone do it on tiktok and knew I had a ton so I said heck, lemme try.

Now everyones saying its useless, horrible for your skin (wasn't planning on using it for that) and I really shouldn't of bothered making it at all because its other uses (laundering, insecticidal, rugwash... who knows what it can be used for) would inevitably be harmful.

I know some are allergic to it, I'm not one of those people. But wouldn't boiling the leaves have some affect on the product? I've been told repetitive handling of the plant can lead to further sensitizations, but is turning it into soap similar to handling its leaves?

I don't want to go around posting misinformation. But when you google english ivy soap, you find a bunch of stuff on laundry detergents and dishwashing liquids, yadda yadda yadda. Has no one told them the ramifications or is it juist severely under-studied?

New to this, and I specifically don’t want the “essential oil” smell (all my mom’s and sister’s plethora of essential oils [used for “health” reasons] all have a similar scent that I don’t want). I also want to use the process that deteriorates the quality and efficacy of the scent the least.

I’m a dude, and am going to be attempting soap making. There’s a million kinds of fats and scents and recipes and stuff. My goal is not art, but function. I want an ingredient-simple soap that smells good and works well. I want to buy as few ingredients as possible while still having a soap that smells good and works well. Should I buy pre-saponified soaps and mix in whatever scent I like, or make my own soap? Because I don’t care that much if it’s jojoba butter or shea butter or palm oil or olive oil or coconut oil (am worried about coconut oil having a scent) or whatever else, I’m leaning toward pre-saponified stuff, so I don’t have to find a place to store several ingredients, but definitely don’t want to miss out on anything, seeing as I don’t know much.

I’m wanting to do this because I can’t find any handmade soaps from the multiple handmade soap vendors I’ve bought soap from that has a smell that I like, and I want handmade soap to cut down on the chemicals I put on my skin. Simple, functional, and nice smell are my main goals. I don’t want to get wild with colors and shapes and dies and herbs and ingredients. I just want a simple soap that works well and smells good.

I’m open to any input whatsoever - even input on my goal - seeing as how I know almost nothing about this.

Hi Soapmaking Community!

A few years ago, I posted a survey here about a soapmaking app I was considering building. At the time, I wasn’t ready to move forward—but now I’m working on it, and I’d love your feedback to help ensure the app reflects the needs of our amazing soapmaking community.

The survey is short and focuses on understanding what tools and features would be most useful for soapmakers like you. I want to create something that genuinely supports hobbyists and small businesses in tracking recipes, managing materials, and more.

The survey is completely optional and anonymous. If you'd like to provide an email to stay updated on the project, there’s an optional field at the end of the form.

Here’s the link to the survey: https://forms.gle/dNKFbXaoscz6oxhp6

Thanks so much for your time and input – it means a lot to me as I work on this project for our community. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Best,

Too much oil? Not enough lye?

Hello all. I’m a first-time poster here so please accept my apologies in advance if I mess something up. I read the rules though.:-). I was wondering if I could get an answer about a batch of soap that has gone horribly wrong. The attached pic is of a bar from a batch of coffee soap I made. I cut the bars after curing for a month and the edges were straight (no beveling). After using the bar once and letting it dry, these weird grooves appeared on the edges. This has happened with two bars from the batch so I’m going to toss it because I’m wondering if it’s bacteria or something. Here’s the recipe:

• 99 g lye
• 340 g olive oil
• 284 g coconut oil
• 28 g castor oil
• 43 g shea butter
• 227 g coffee
• 30 g peppermint eo
• 2 teaspoons of old coffee grounds

Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. I’ve been making soap for a while but this is the first time this has happened.

Hi there, so I'm planning on making soap for Christmas and have some questions. I am very much a beginner and have never done this before. I bought a shea butter melt and pour soap base and am wondering what exactly I can put in it. I am trying to come up with some pretty smelling combinations and am not sure about what would be best.

1. Is it ok and/or worth it to put honey in the base? I've seen some conflicting information on this. I had thought maybe putting some honey in it would be nice for both the skin and the scent, with lemon essential oil for a lemon honey scent. But I'm concerned that it will affect the integrity of the soap, or you won't be able to smell it with the essential oil (or even on its own, considering the limited amount you can put in it).

2. When using essential oils, I've seen that you shouldn't use more than 1 tsp to a pound of soap base, I'm assuming that's total? Not per essential oil? I had also been considering using lemon and lavender essential oils, I don't want to overpower one, or put too much in and mess with the integrity of the soap.

3. I'm in Canada and am not completely sure where to get the essential oils for the scent. I was thinking the bulk Barn, but I know that it has to be cosmetic grade so that it doesn't hurt anyone. Has anyone ever gotten any and used it from the bulk Barn?

Hello,

I did a 10% superfat soap, just took it from the cast and cut. I feel it's a bit oily. Do you think that this soap will be usable? I thought it will be fine, as some resources give 5-10% range as safe, but I'm not sure it will work.

I used:

150g coconut oil

80g cocoa butter

170g olive oil

200g canola oil (purified)

NaOH/Lye 79g

Water 228g

The soap is still semi-hard after 1,5 day, so I'm going to observe if there's a na improvement in few days in hardness and oiliness.

If it's a fail, I'm going to rebatch it. Can you revise if my strategy is ok?: melt it with 5g Lye in water solution to reduce the superfat content to 5% (I calculated it as a difference of lye weight between 5% and 10% superfat recipes, 84g-79g).

Hello I have a relative trying to make liquid soap with aloe vera and soap base (the kind you can melt). She's made it before but it came out quite runny and she didn't have a preservative.

I came here to ask what sort of preservative for the aloe vera and thickener would be ideal in this scenario? Thanks you so much

I don’t like the generic soap I get at the store, but I’ve never smelled a handmade soap that I liked, so part of me figures it’s damn near impossible to do, because why wouldn’t there be any if it was easy? They almost all smell either flowery/fruity or like essential oils. The only ones I’ve found that I like are by Caswell-Massey and they’re $16 a f**king bar. 😮‍💨 If it is reasonable, I’d like to try.

Hi! I'm wanting to add silk protein to HP and CP soaps. I can't find information about when to add it. I was wondering if adding it after Cook in HP batches would preserve the protein structure (more than if it was heated with the lye) - or added at trace with CP.

Any recommendations for long term storage on CP soap to help retain fragrance?

Hello, I’m looking to make a purple shampoo bar that can help remove brassy tones in blonde hair. A lot of the purple pigments that I’m finding online state that they aren’t suitable for high PH products like soap.

Has anyone tried making a purple shampoo bar that can share which pigments they use? Or does anyone else have any advice on pigments that would help appropriate for a CP shampoo bar?

I had been making soap with the cold pressed oils and distilled water but the manufacturing cost of a single bar is way over the roof! My mentor says "good" CP soaps are only cold pressed oils and distilled water, and for quite some time I believed the same that soaps made from refined oils would be of low quality ( I know that's absurd).

If you have made soap from both type of oils, have you observed any difference in the quality of the soap? I belive there should be no change in % of the oils used in the recipe. Is this assumption correct?

Coming to the filtered water, the TDS meter shows 170. I understand there is a risk of DOS but can I use this for my soap or should I further reduce the TDS?