Fresholi | Melting Pot Café

Hi guys,

Newbie soap maker here.  Just wanted to say hello to everyone x

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Hello and welcome....what do we call you?

Linda

Hello and welcome!  :buttrf:

We are a nosy bunch (at least I am) so tell us more about yourself.

Hi and welcome :)

Hi there and welcome to the friendliest bunch on the net.... :buttrf:

Hiya and welcome :hi:

Hello and welcome aboard.

(Please excuse the proliferation of snails ATM - we'll be back to normal before long)

Hi and a very warm welcome to the forum  :) :buttrf:

When did you start on your soapy journey? 

It's good to have you here  :buttrf:

hello & welcome, and you'll see pretty soon that we love pics ! :buttrf:

Welcome to Fresholi  :buttrf:

Hello and welcome

Hiya everyone,

Wow, I never actually thought I would get so many hello's - what a lovely forum.  I'm Sam, currently heavily pregnant and can't get enough of experimenting in the kitchen making anything I can with the few ingredients I have.  Totally fell in love with the idea of soap making by accident (watched some guy make it online).  Now I'm obsessed with the stuff and have a strange need to make body butter all the time, lol!! :D

I'm still a novice to this all.  Going on a professional course in July to learn how to make 'proper' soaps and whips.  Looking forward to it.

P.S Scott, I have actually emailed you today.  Don't know how often you check your inbox but im in there somewher.

Quick question to anyone, I purchased sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) from Homebase.  I can't seem to find out on the package if it's 99% pure.  Has anyone used it from them before?  Also, anyone set up a soap making business? any advice on how its coming along e.g. things to avoid etc

x Thank you in advance :buttrf:

Hey Be
You've got the bug for sure! Look forward to seeing your creations & best of luck on your course, who are you going with?
Lye from Homebase is perfectly fine to make soap with, I used it as did many other I presume.
There are many 100's of people on here with soap businesses, lots of great advice and tips, just keep posting and as you do you'll find new boards open up to you.

Thank you Corrie!

I'm going on a course with Soap School.  Really looking forward to it.  I just posted this on another thread but is there a certain rule re how much oil to water+lye.  So for example if I made a 1 pound batch of soap and loved it.  Would I essentially be doubling or tripiling those same ingredients to make bigger batches.  Sorry if that doesnt make much sense. 

I'm using a great book from Alicia Grosso to get my head around how much I can add etc.

Any thoughts would be really appreciated x

You really need to make a 500 - 600g oil batch, anything less and the chances of being lye heavy increase. If you then wanted to up that batch and make a 1000g recipe you would need to resize using soapcalc (or similar) you can't just double or triple it, soap doesn't work like that!
Also don't take it as read that a recipe in a book will be safe! Many aren't so it's always worth putting them through soap calc. although it may look confusing at first it is worth the time and effort to play with it to understand how different oils work before you make anything.

Hello and welcome!!

The courses at soap school are really good - make sure you write down any questions you have as otherwise you will forget, everything becomes a bit of a blur by day 2, but Sarah is a soap maker and also advises on setting up a soap business and she is happy to answer questions - although,sadly, she never explained how she trained her husband so well (you will see what I mean on the day)

Someone may mention it, we LOVE photos, so don't be shy and let us see what you are creating in your kitchen!!

I use the Lye from Homebase (that one is also available in some of the larger Sainsburys), but most of the time I raid the shelves of B&Q.

Where are you based?

Hi Sam and welcome......(told you they were nice)    :buttrf:

Jan       

Oh hello Jan!

I managed to find my way on here...thanks for the advise :)

Your hubby's cutters and molds are fantastic...!

I'm based in Manchester.  Corrie I will be sure to take pictures - although I'm sure a few of my experiments will be a right old mess..hehe (eh, you live and learn).  I have looked at the soapcalc and it sends me under, so confusing.  I will have a load of questions lined up for Sarah for sure...they are also running a session on labelling which I'm thinking I should also do.  Gosh, this stuff isnt easy is it..!  I didn't know B&Q sell it, are they cheaper than Homebase?  As for taking the recipe from a book - if I put in the ingredients etc, am I right in thinking it should tell me how much water and lye I should be using.  So sorry for the dumb question.  The melt & pour option (which I have done before) is so much easier...CP is way more interesting though x

Hello and a BIG welcome Sam, this is a great forum with lots of friendly people and great advice.    Hope you have a great time on your course............... :buttrf:

Theresa

Thank you Theresa x

Hi Sam,
Looking out for your email - thanks.

My advice would be to get to grips with how Soapcalc or similar lye calculators work - we've had lots of issues with people following recipes from books and the lye calculations are way out - so it's always worth double checking.

It's  a learning curve, for sure, but lots of people on here who are very happy to share advice and experience - enjoy  :buttrf:

HI sam Im a new soaperand you soon get the hang of it , I have had lots of advise form Jan who knows her stuff as do lots of them on here .

My only advise is USE SOAPCALC. I have recently posted a reciepe from a well known soaper and auther and the lye is out , so check and check again , and if you not sure pop on here and ask.

Im enjoying learning , and will also be contacting scott as soon as my child lets me .

Enjoy the learning and the wonderful products you will produce .

PS we NEED pictures  :mwaha:

Kathie

Hello and welcome! :buttrf:

Hi & welcome!   :)

Thanks for the advice everyone.  I will have a go at the soap calc today.  Cheers Jan for the heads up.  Will drop you an email if I'm confused xxx

Shall let you know how I get on.

Also, thanks a lot Scott for the email this morning.  Made my day :)

helllo  :buttrf:

Welcome! :) :buttrf:

Hello and Welcome!  :buttrf:

Hi guys,

Quick question about the soap calc.

Once you have in put all your ingredients and hit the view and print button.  It takes you to a screen with a breakdown of all the weights etc.  Can someone tell me what warning signs I should be looking for...how do I know if there is too much lye in my recipe...should it tell me on this screen?

Thanks

Sam ::)

It'll give you the correct amount of lye for the ingredients you have entered, as long as you haven't changed the superfat amount to less than 0%   :buttrf: 

Thank you!  :buttrf:

On the first screen you'll see in the top right-hand corner that the setting for your superfat is defaulted to 5% so you are safe with your lye.  I recommend you stay with the 5% until you get comfortable with making soap.  I noticed that the water percentage is at 38 and that's fine too.

So you're good to go.

Hello and welcom to the forum :buttrf:

Ooops, I am late.... Hi and welcome  :hi:! 

Hi everyone

Are base oils & carrier oils ok to be used I'm CP soaps, lip balms & body butters.  I found a really reasonable website selling them at a good price.

X

They are fine. all you need is traceability. if ur unsure look on fresholi shop . helen has some great stuff. your basics for cp are olive, palm and coconut.

Thank you dizzybuff, can you just explain what you mean by traceability ?

Do you mean the oils origin

Yep origan. +ired. u but carrier oils are fine.

Thanks Dizzy! x

Hi Sam ! Welcome to the forum !