Addicted To Soap

Best Soap Mold Ever.

2012-05-31T07:57:00.001-07:00

I'm always looking for new soap molds that are cheap and work very well. I saw Eden's Secret you tube video's ( I love her cute accent) and noticed the mold she was using is the Lock & Lock tupperware I use for storing my bread. I purchased one at Carrefour because I live in Dubai, and poured my soap directly in and I didn't line it, well it didn't come out, so I scooped it all out and made soap balls. I tried it again this time I lightly lined it with wax paper because I have yet to find butcher paper or freezer paper here. I un-molded it the next day and it poped right out. I makes a great soap mold, for cold process, and glycerin soap as well, just don't fill it to the top so it's easy to remove, and you have yourself a very cheap and amazing soap mold. My favorite part is the lid that snaps on, and they stack up very well.

How to calculate soy wax burn time for candles.

2012-04-28T01:33:00.000-07:00

There is the general rule, for every ounce of soy wax you can calculate about 10 hours burn time.This only applies to soy wax, because we all know all waxes burn differently.

How do I calculate the burn time of candles? This method can be applied to all types of waxes.

Before you light the candle, use a scale to weigh it. Once you have the original weight trim the wick and light the candle, letting it burn for four hours. When the four hours are up blow it out, let it cool, and weigh it again. Subtract the weight after the burn cycle from the original weight and divide by the number of hours. The number you end up with is your hourly burn rate.

Once you have the hourly burn rate divide the weight of the whole candle* by the hourly rate and you end up with the number of hours your candle will burn.
Amount Consumed (Original wt. - wt. After Burning) ÷ Hours Burnt = Hourly Burn Rate Original wt. (minus wt. of container) ÷ Hourly Burn Rate = Approximate Burn Time

If you are testing a container candle make sure to subtract the weight of the container from the weight of the whole candle before dividing by your hourly rate.
Ounces work fine for calculating the burn rate but if your scales has grams as an option we would recommend using that. Since grams are so much smaller than ounces you end up with nicer numbers ( 5 grams/hr instead of .16 ounces/hr. ).
Although one burn cycle (four hours) will give you a fairly accurate hourly burn rate numerous cycles (three or four) will produce a much more accurate number. The first burn cycle is always a little off because the wick is not yet completely saturated with wax, color, and fragrance.

If this is too complicated for you, or your just to busy, then try the burn time calculator at CandleTech.com

New app makes blogging so much easier

2012-04-24T00:24:00.001-07:00

If you have Apple tech which almost everyone does, you have to have the new blogger app. Makes blogging so convenient and now you have no excuses not to blog.

It lets you upload photos from your phone and switch between blogs if you have more then one. And with one button you can instantly publish your work. This app is great from people on the go. I have 6 kids ( yes I really do, ha ha ha) so I find it hard to sit down and blog eve though I love it. Now when I wake up every morning and enjoy my cup of coffee I can make a blog entry with my iPhone.

If your a blogger this app is a must for you.

New Soap Design

2012-04-24T00:21:00.001-07:00

I call this design blue moon. It has a very sexy yet subtle man scent with hints of peppermint. Made with both cold process and glycerin soap this is sure you please the man in your life.

Bath Bomb Mold & Soap Balls Mold

2012-04-19T01:44:00.000-07:00

I needed a new bath bomb mold, because mines always busts from excessive use. So I searched long and hard and came across this tool, it's actually a snowball maker. How cool is that? I went and purchased one because it was so cheap and figured if it didn't work out I would find another use for it. It makes 4 inch bath bombs, and the best part of it all it has other uses too. It also makes perfect soap balls from my cold process, or hot process soaps (make sure that you don't insulate your soap and that it doesn't go through the gel phase to make it easier). I also used it to make soap on a rope, by adding cold process soap, and just letting the rope hang out while pressing down on the handles to form the shape, you instantly have soap on the rope. It's one tool with many uses, and its cheap who can beat that?

TKB Trading rocks, I love all of my new colors.

2012-04-17T22:47:00.001-07:00

I finally got all of the new colors I ordered from TKB Trading. I 'm so excited I can hardly contain myself, lol. I have so many new ideas for beautiful soaps, and have been waiting a while to get these colors because they had to be shipped to Dubai.

How to make your own wooden soap mold.

2012-02-10T23:36:00.000-08:00

I'm a genius, I don't know why I never thought of this before, but I am glad I did. I was running around in Ace Hardware trying to get some things when I ran into the lumber section. I was watching this man buy wood, and I asked him what he was planning on doing with it, he said he was taking it over to get cut so he can make shelves for his home. So I said they cut wood here, he said of coarse, so then it hit me, I could make my own wooden soap mold.

I first purchased this piece of wood. I figured it would make a nice size mold.

From How to make your own soap mold

I got the wood cut into these pieces. I didn't really take measurements, but I did pull out a photo of what a a wooden soap mold log should look like, and that gave the employee a idea of what he was going to cut for me. After that I got some nails so I can assemble the whole thing together. He told me I didn't need glue and that the nails would be more then enough to hold it together.

From How to make your own soap mold

So I started off by putting the nails into the piece of wood that was going to be my end piece.

From How to make your own soap mold

Then I nailed it to the base, and repeated the same step again, to get both ends of the mold secured.

From How to make your own soap mold

Here's what it should look like when both end pieces are on.

From How to make your own soap mold

I kept the mold facing towards me as you see in the picture above, I layed the piece of wood board on top, and began to nail it into the base, and repeated the step again for the other side.

From How to make your own soap mold

Wooden Soap Mold

From How to make your own soap mold

This whole project was under $20, and I was very happy that it only took me 30 minutes to complete. The mold measure 4x4x25. I was trying not to waste wood, and to make this project relatively very easy. Next time I would get the wider piece of wood, and make a lid with knob for my mold. I might even stamp my name all over the mold, and apply a clear lacquer to give it a more professional look.

I will keep you updated on the other molds I make, because now I'm hooked. This was fun, fast, and easy to do.

Soap Cake Mold with Pictures

2012-01-29T08:22:00.000-08:00

I found this cool silicon cake mold, and thought I wonder if I should get this? Then I ran across Soap & Restless blog, and low and behold she uses this mold to make her soap cakes. They look so yummy. Check her out.

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What is superfat or discount, and why is a minimum 5% discount recommended?

2012-01-28T21:58:00.000-08:00

If you use all the lye necessary to exactly saponify all of the fatty acids in the oils, the soap would have no excess lye or excess oil (next to impossible without a chemistry lab). It would have a zero discount and there would be no superfat. If you discounted the lye, let's say by 5%, 5% of the soap would contain oils that have not chemically reacted with the lye. i.e. all the lye was used up in reacting with 95% of the oils. The soap would have a 5% superfat. These unspecified oils are good for conditioning the skin. A soap with no discount or superfat will clean better. However, other than conditioning the skin, there are other important reasons to discount the lye (or superfat the soap). Please see the next question.

The SAP values used to calculate the amount of lye - in this calculator and in others - is an average. If you purchase oils/fats that have been assayed by a chemical lab, you will know the exact SAP value of the oils/fats. (Your wallet will be a little thinner too). If you weigh these oils and the lye on very precise laboratory scales, you can confidently make a true zero discount soap.

One of my references gives the Potassium Hydroxide (chemical symbol KOH) SAP value for coconut oil as 250-264. The SAP for other oils is specified similarly as a range of values. Why? There are many variables that contribute to the chemical qualities of a carrier oil. Here are a few to give you the general idea:

Species of the botanical used to make the oil.
Geographical location of the source botanical. i.e. variable climate.
Varying types of processes used to create the oil.
Seasonal differences in when the botanical was harvested.
Maturity of the botanical when it was harvested.

The minimum 5% discount/superfat is recommended to allow for these variances so you do not end up with soap that contains unused lye.

Column Swirl Tutorial

2012-01-24T22:16:00.000-08:00

I was on You Tube looking at videos for bath bomb machines that I was considering buying, and found this by accident. All I could say is WOW. Hill Country Haiku does an amazing job with her column swirl. I think I'm going to try this method this week, and keep you guys posted. Now all I need to do if find these wooden dowels so I can do the same. Wish me luck.

How to turn your hobby into a business.

2012-01-13T05:33:00.000-08:00

It's been forever since I last posted, but this is worth he wait. For all of you soapmakers out there, that want to take there business to the next level. This is made for you.

I love to look for other handmade or natural soaps on the market and I stumbled across True Body Products. I went through her website, and was very impressed that she only sold one kind of soap, and she was thriving in her business. I was even more amazed at how The New York Times wrote many articles on her. This is a great read for any one who wants to learn how to turn there business into something big, especially us soapmakers.

How a Low-Tech Soap Maker Raised $400,000 From Investors

A Start-Up Soap Maker Starts to Get Traction

Enjoy

Swirl Soap Tutorial

2011-05-02T19:42:00.000-07:00

I made this tutorial because I love to swirl soap. This is a great way to make swirls in melt & pour soap.

Start by making a soap curl.

From Soap Tutorial

Then you make your base on let kool.

From Soap Tutorial

Then you pour your base into a round mold, I used a pringles can. Spray your soap curl with rubbing alcohol, so it can stick to the base, and just insert it in. Let it completely kool, then you can tear away the can, and you will have a perfect round loaf of soap.

From Soap Tutorial

Blood Orange Soap

From Soap Tutorial

Yeah I got featured.

2011-04-26T02:46:00.000-07:00

I got featured on www.craftster.org and for all of you who don't know what that is, it's the best crafting forum on the planet. You guys should check it out. You can find inspiration for everyday crafts, and even take up a new hobby. See other people creations, and start creating your own works of art.

From Silly Soaps Tutorial (Silly Bandz Soap)

New Soap Mold

2011-04-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

I have this great soap student who made her husband make her a mold after taking my cp soapmaking class. I was seriously impressed with this soap mold, I know this was hard to make, and it was very well made. I told her I was going to post it online to show everyone how wonderful it. Great job Lani, your great student.

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How to make liquid soap (the easy way).

2011-04-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

How To Turn A Bar of Soap Into Liquid Hand Soap

Ingredients:
1 c soap flakes
10 c water
1 Tbs glycerin

Equipment:
Cheese grater
A large pot
Measuring cup and spoons
A spatula for stirring
A soap container with a hand pump
A container to hold excess soap
Funnel

First, grate the soap. Get out your cheese grater and get grating. I found this to be surprisingly easy, but time consuming. When you’re done, the soap flakes look like grated Parmesan.

From Soap

One bar of soap yielded a little over 1.5 cups of flakes. The recipe only uses one cup of soap flakes, so I put the remaining soap in a jar for later use.

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In a large pot, combine 1 cup soap flakes, 10 cups water. Turn on medium-low heat and stir until the soap dissolves. This happens fast, about a minute or two.

From Soap

Let the soap cool completely, then and 1 Tbs glycerin. This will make your liquid soap extra moisturizing. When finished pour into the containers using the funnel. That’s all there is to it!

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This recipe makes a lot of soap, I put the excess in a large bottle and I'm storing it for later use.

From Soap

You can also use this soap as body wash. To make it smell nice, add a drop or two of color and essential oil to the mix.

The kind of soap you use could make a difference in the end result. A higher quality soap will probably yield better liquid hand soap.

I think for my next project I will make liquid soap out of cold process soap. Stay tuned for the tutorial.

I'm in Esquire, Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

2011-03-02T23:44:00.000-08:00

I got a text one morning from the editor at Esquire magazine in Malaysia, saying he wanted to talk to me about something that might interest me. You know I was so curious that I couldn't wait to call him to find out what he wanted. He told me he got my number from a friend in Kuala Lumpur (Antonia thanks so much for the referral) and he wanted a custom bar of soap to be made for article they were writing. So I went to there offices, and we discussed what they wanted, and I had only 4 days to do it. It was a lot of fun working with the Esquire staff on this project, and I hope there will be more to come. Read more about me, and see the soap I made for them in the Esquire Malaysia.

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Going Green (Soap & Candle)

2011-02-26T00:48:00.000-08:00

I got a piece of bamboo, and some sand from a friend and she asked if I could make a candle, and soap out of this stuff. So I said I'm sure I could, and I couldn't wait to try. All of these materials came from her beach resort, and she has plenty of it. She wanted to utilize all of natural sources on her property, and she did just that.

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Solid Bubble Bath Bars Tutorial with Recipe

2011-02-10T04:56:00.000-08:00

I've always wanted to make solid bubble bath bars, so finding this tutorial was like heaven on earth. Thanks Lovin' Soap.

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The recipe:

100 g arrowroot powder
100 g baking soda
50 g SLSa
100 g liquid surfactant*

* I prefer to use Super Mild Surfactant Blend™ from Ingredients to Die For
INCI: Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (and) Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate

Depending on what liquid surfactant you use…you might have to modify the recipe a bit. You’ll just have to give it a go. Using the Super Mild Surf Blend, I get a mix that is like bath bombs. If I wanted more of a dough then I almost have to double the liquid surf. I’ve also used DLS Mild from The Herbarie and at the usage rate above the mixture was more dough like. You’ll just have to play with it.

Here’s a video!

Confession: I so didn’t let mine sit long enough before unmolding because I wanted to finish the video so they crumbled a bit. Let yours set up and you shouldn’t have crumbles! :)

Silly Soaps Tutuorial (Silly Bandz Soap)

2010-12-07T00:03:00.000-08:00

Kids are obsessed with these Silly Bandz, so it was only obvious that I had to make some soaps with them. I was putting it off for a long time, but my friend finally pushed to to do it, telling me what are you waiting for? She was right, I was just too lazy.

Silly Soaps

From Silly Soaps Tutorial (Silly Bandz Soap)

Get your supplies ready

From Silly Soaps Tutorial (Silly Bandz Soap)

Fist we need one ounces of clear melt & pour soap base. Microwave, pour into the mold, then place your Silly Bandz inside the mold, spray with rubbing alcohol. I don't add fragrance here, because it could cloud up your soap. Let it set, or at least get hard enough before you pour the next layer.

From Silly Soaps Tutorial (Silly Bandz Soap)

Then when it's finally set, melt three ounces of white melt & pour base, then add fragrance when slightly cooled down. Spray rubbing alcohol on the clear, and then pour the white soap base on top of the clear base. Spray rubbing alcohol again to get rid of any excess bubbles.

From Silly Soaps Tutorial (Silly Bandz Soap)

Silly Soaps (Silly Bandz Soap)

From Silly Soaps Tutorial (Silly Bandz Soap)

This is what is looks like when you add fragrance to the clear soap, it looks cloudy.

From Silly Soaps Tutorial (Silly Bandz Soap)

Soap Popsicle Tutorial

2010-11-24T05:23:00.000-08:00

I was asked to do a tutorial on how to make soap popsicles by many of my customers, now I don't have too. I was reading through green bean's crafterole and found another great tutorial she has made. I thought everyone would enjoy this one.

Green Bean's Crafterole

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Leaf Soap Tutorial

2010-11-24T05:08:00.000-08:00

Wow I can't believe how time flies when you are making soap. My sister told me that it has been a while since I last posted so my next post had to be great. She sent me this link and thought this was a great idea, I definitely agree. The tutorial is too long to post, and I'm just too lazy but I will leave you a link to check it out for yourself.

The Green Beans Crafterole

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You Could Win 10 Pounds of Soap

2010-10-01T02:58:00.000-07:00

That's right www.SoapPlace.com has a contest going on right now. Submit your project to them, and you can be featured on there site, and win 10 pounds of soap. Now that comes with some serious bragging rights. I already know which project i'm going to submit, what are you going to do?

Check out how to enter, and contest rules.

Spooky Cutout Soaps - Project Idea from Life of the Party

2010-10-01T02:44:00.001-07:00

I've recently signed up for news letters from www.SoapPlace.com, and i'm sure glad I did. I just received this tutorial on how to make Spooky Cutout Soaps. This a great tutorial, I learned that you can mix equal drops of red, blue and yellow color and stir until you get a dark black (they recommend using 5 drops of each color). I always wondered how to get the color black in your soap, and now I know. Thanks Soap Place, keep up the great tutorials.

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Get Creative People

2010-10-01T02:27:00.000-07:00

I have been looking for this tool for a long time at Ikea. They have been out of stock forever, and they finally just got them in. PRODUKT Milk-frother sells for only $1.99 originally used to froth your milk for lattes, and cappuccinos, now has a even better use. KB Shimmer first used this milk frother to mix her mica's in the her soap, making the best swirled soap tutorial on the planet. Now that is some seriously creative thinking.

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Gooey Brain Cupcake Soap

2010-09-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

I just found Sun Basil Garden making Gooey Brain Cupcake Soap, using my favorite mold that I mentioned in my earlier post. Check her shop out, she has great stuff.

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