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Roll call and intro thread
Welcome to newly arriving members. Will you take a moment to drop us a line?
- Where you from?
- Do you make soap right now? If so, what kinds? what do you like?
- If not, are you interested and researching, or just here for the soap pr0n? Which is fine too.
- Any burning questions? (One free newbie q per introduction!)
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Oh, I'm from Germany. So I might either struggle with the translation(s) or try to find some tutorials in my own language. At the moment, most of the sites -- even the ones for beginners -- mainly confuse me. But I'm optimistic!
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1. I'm currently living in Northern California, USA (the where are you from question is more complex than you think)
2. I don't make soap, but I like crafting and I find most kinds of crafting to be interesting.
3. Yes.
4. Not right now.
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Make soap: newbie!
Interest: Very interested and trying to get my bearings before I start -
Burning questions: Is that a pun? No lye! Ummm, sorry about that. I asked earlier and so was granted three questions. Have enough info now to keep me out of hot water for a while ^__~
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Please ask as many questions as you like - the "three questions" was a little facetious ;)
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No, but I want to start making some at some point, particularly vegan-friendly soap.
researching AND soap pron :)
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Soap Intro
I've joined a while ago, But I had forgotten to add my name on the roll call. Sorry!
I do not currently make my own soap, but I want to. I need to lear/read more first. Thanks to my migrains, I amd extremely sensitive to scents, so I have to be careful. Right now, I'm looking at alternatives to shampoo/conditioner and regular soap, not just due to the chemicals that are manufactured in commercially available products, but also because of animal testing.
At the moment, I'm using a Fair Trade Soap. So far, I have had no adverse reactions to the scent. :) But I still want to learn how to make my own.
This sounds like an excellent community, and hopefully, an excellent resource as well. Thanks for creating it.
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I'm from Rotterdam, in Holland.
I became interested in soap when I suffered from so much dandruff that Head & Shoulders didn't work anymore. Right now I'm 'no-poo' as they call it; I've started washing my hair with Marseille soap first and when the lovely shampoo soap I'd bought in Germany was all gone. I also ditched shower gel and face cleaners for soap. Preferably natural soap; my favorite is Aleppo soap. Some time ago I bought a bar with Jasminium.
I'm also a scientist; I have a bachelor degree in physics and chemistry, and I work as a chemist :)
- Do you make soap right now? If so, what kinds? what do you like?
Here's the batch of soap I made last December, to give away and to use it myself;
It's made from 75% olive oil and 25% coconut oil and it's very fat. Right now the soap has become white with a green core, which I hadn't expected. I also didn't expect that it wouldn't be that suitable for washing my hair.
It took forever to trace! Since I hadn't measured the temperatures of the lye and the oils it took forever to get them on the same temperature. I ended up putting the lye and oil mixture au bain marie on the gas, and it costed me a whole afternoon before the reaction started.
- If not, are you interested and researching, or just here for the soap pr0n? Which is fine too.
I'm definitely researching. Since shipping soap is so expensive and I would really, really want suitable shampoo soap I think I need to make it myself. The bar I had consisted of olive oil, coconut oil and castor oil, so I hope I will be able to replicate that.
- Any burning questions? (One free newbie q per introduction!)
My current burning question is where I could buy castor oil, in Holland that is :)
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I'm sorry I can't help with the castor oil - not in Holland for a start :) - and I actually was never happy with the results I got with adding castor oil. I know some people do swear by 5% for lathering and for shampoo bars, so good luck in your trials.
Have you tried a dilute white vinegar rinse when you're soaping your hair? I believe some people also use a lower superfat when making shampoo bars, but you have to be careful with that. You could also try dropping your olive oil content and upping the hard oils, recalculating your lye amounts of course.
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I didn't use a blender, just a spoon because I didn't have a blender. It worked out fine I though.
Actually, this community inspired me to Google for castor oil, and it seems that the two biggest pharmacy chains here have it. I also read that no more than 1/3 of the total oils should be castor oil, so I guess I can improvise now with your hint; less olive and more coconut oil.
Yes, I do use vinegar rinses. In the beginning I needed a lot of vinegar, but right now I think I need a 10% solution. We have hard water here.
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If you want to dabble without the full monty at first, you could get some melt and pour bar bases, and some rebatch soap base (unfragranced cold process soap to grate and melt down), and play around with those. Rebatch base would likely be the cheapest way to get unfragranced real soap, I reckon.
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Yes, after reading the first part of your tutorial, I think I will definitely start simple. Thanks for the tips!
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Starting simple is good! I started with melt and pour, then rebatch, then did a workshop on cold process, then did that for a long time starting simple with three oils/one fragrance/one colour/no additives, then did more complicated things with swirling and layering and additives like milk and honey which complicate things, then tried CPOP (cold process oven process), then tried and stuck with DWCP (Discounted Water Cold Process).
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Northern Virginia, between Manassas and Fairfax
- Do you make soap right now? If so, what kinds? what do you like?
I've been making soap sporadically for about two years. I've mostly done plain Castile soaps, and I'm branching out into scents and colors. I started because I'm allergic to SLS.
- If not, are you interested and researching, or just here for the soap pr0n? Which is fine too.
Both! I'm currently researching Renaissance Spanish soap recipes, and just edging into 18th and 19th century recipes. I'm canted toward the historic, but I also like yummy scented soaps for daily use. I particularly like food and spicy scents.
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Hi!
Oh. I'm from Australia--Melbourne, to be precise
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Have fun if you start getting into it. There are a fair few of spicy and woody essential oils, and if you branch out into fragrance oils (be sure to always get reliably reviewed cold process tested FOs, not craft store junk), there are plenty more.
Do remember if you're putting actual spices into soap, to test in small batches and research first. Many can be irritating to the skin, even though they're edible.