Teach Soap

i have been making M&P for several years now (but no way do i consider myself an expert onthe matter) and have decided I need something new in my crafty life, so I'm going to finally have a go at making CP. Over the years I have collected various bits and pieces to use with my CPing, such as a thermometer, CP colours, a stick blender, lye, coconut oil and palm oil. (took me a while to realise that both of these oils were solid, I was a bit worried at first)

I have downloaded a lye calculater to my iphone, not 100% sure how to use it as yet, but I have read over and over again to always test your recipe.

A few questions:

Is there a % formula for making the soap? For example X% of Coconut oil, X% of Palm Oil, X% water, and then lye as calculated? (im just going off the oils i already have in stock) obviously i will be following a recipe, any suggestions for a easy recipe using these oils would be greatly appreciated!

Also, what does discount mean? Ive seen here people mention lye discount, or water discount, but not too sure what it means.

And lastly, ive read that i have to wrap the mould in a towel while its setting (not sure of real term), can someone please explain the process to me of what i am supposed to do after i have poured the soap into the mould, as im a bit sketchy? (M&P i just unmould as soon as its firm!)

I had a zillion more questions but i have been readng the sticky articles and they have answered a lot of my questions already. Thanks everyone!

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Watch out! I have discovered the magical world of CP

"Founding member of Facebook's "Australia & New Zealand Melt & Pour Soapers"

*claps* Yay! You're about to enter the new phase of your addiction!!

Have you got a newbie friendly recipe to go with? Mine was 60% Olive Oil, 20% Coconut Oil, 20% Palm Oil and 10% Castor Oil. I then found out that 10% is too high, so I would say 60% OO, 25% PO, 20% CO and 5% Castor...

This is the easiest Lye Calculator I found for starting: http://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php
Bramble Berry's is also good once you get going! Especially if you are using their FO as they have a fragrance calculator as well! <3 that!

Don't worry about a Water Discount for now. Even I don't fiddle with that yet - that's for the more experienced in my opinion.
The 'Lye Discount' is usually related to superfatting. Means how much % of oils will be left untouched to make your soap bar better. I generally go with 5% personally while i'm still learning - other's go up to 7%. If you use the calculator I linked above, it tells you the different amounts of lye to use to get the different discount and why. It's also colour coded for us newbies!

After you pour your soap batter into your mold, you can wrap it up to help it through the gel phase, although personally I always found this overheated my soap. Being in Aust Summer atm (ignoring the fact that half the country is flooding), I would skip the towel portion for your first go. You don't want to worry about overheating on your first batch.

Easiest way is to pop the soap into the mold, pop it somewhere out the way (I have a corner in my kitchen good for this) and then just leave it. You may notice some parts in the center start to gel - see the sticky thread for photos on that. Then, after 24 hours, lightly touch the top of the soap with your finger - if it's firm, you can unmold!

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The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

Umm, what Coolah said!

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Thank you for the super quick replies!

So basically I can make up my own amount of oils as long as I stick to the % rate?

Ill need to get some castor oil and olive oil but im sure i can do that at the super market. Hoping to give it a try tonight, if not ill have to wait til the weekend.

Going to go check out the calculator now thanks.

its exciting, but my husband just rolled his eyes when i told him what im going to do....

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Watch out! I have discovered the magical world of CP

"Founding member of Facebook's "Australia & New Zealand Melt & Pour Soapers"

Read up on the oil's properties to see what they bring to the table. Too much castor, almond or avocado can make your soap soft. Some people find coconut over 20% in a formula drying.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

They never seems to understand! I bet he will love the soap though! My fiance can't figure out why I need space for soaping stuff nor why I need a place other than the garage to store the soap. The garage is unheated and has no AC, it does have a lot of dirt, mice, bees, spiders, and probably possums though.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

You may have trouble finding Castor Oil at the Supermarket - or perhaps that's just me LOL! For Olive Oils - I've tried a few different ones and have so far settled on La Espanola - Mild and Light. It's the one with the red on the label. It's one of the lightest oils AND comes in 4L for just $20!

I found this website really helpful when I was trying to work out what oils to use: http://www.soap-making-essentials.com/s ... -oils.html
Gives a break down of the different oils, what adds bubbles, what adds hardness etc. Don't think TOO much into it with your first attempt though. Simple = better when learning I found. Course, I found that out by doing just the opposite I jumped right into Avocado oil (too soft), Sweet Almond, Apricot Kernal and all sorts of different combinations.

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

It is suggested that you do a plain batch too, no colour (or swirls!), no scent. Just soap.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Yup! Although usually the first batch we don't blink because, god forbid, we miss 'trace' LOL! Which, of course doesn't happen, we usually just miss the early stages and get full on heavy trace. WHICH is good for your first batch I found personally. Meant there was no worry of "was I stirring for long enough?" and it helps it set up and firm up better.

I remember my first batch.... that was my perfect bar! *meeeeemooooriiiies*

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The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

My first batch was pretty darn good too! And my best ITP swirl yet *hides*. Coolah and I are rebels, we laugh in the face of challenge! Then we mope when it kicks us in the teeth (with the aid of gremlins!). Hopefully you don't meet the soap gremlins for a while! Mean little blighters!

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Yes... we're bad, bad girls!

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The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

yeah well.. guess what i just did...

went to the shops to pick up some supplies to use (so that i can keep my m&p stuff seperate from my cp stuff) and while i was over there i forgot to buy the olive oil!!!

I wasnt planning on adding any colour or fragrance, just want to get the soap making outta the way, ill worry about the extras when im more confident.

Not sure i have anything good enough to mix the lye and liquid in, what do you recomend??

_________________
Watch out! I have discovered the magical world of CP

"Founding member of Facebook's "Australia & New Zealand Melt & Pour Soapers"

_________________
The Soapinatrix! *whip-crack*
- Posting the trials and tribulations of my Soaping Journey!

i just read about the pyrex so i didnt buy one of them, but all i could find was a large plastic measuring jug so i bought that so i coould have a go, id prefer a bucket or somthing but couldnt find onE

although, the container my palm oil is in looks like it would be perfect, howveer i have a couple of kilos of palm oil to get through first....

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Watch out! I have discovered the magical world of CP

"Founding member of Facebook's "Australia & New Zealand Melt & Pour Soapers"

Before you use pyrex for your lye water, please read this. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6540
I only use a thick plastic pitcher now.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.