Teach Soap

I have created a notebook/binder where I am keeping my recipes and notes. Right now, each time I make a batch I'm printing off my recipe from SoapCalc and then trying to record my notes on the bottom of the page, along with the date.

What types of things do you record for your notes? Time, temps, process??? What's important to record for future reference?

Do you record your notes for each batch on a separate page, or do you have a chart that you use?

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Carrie
Wife to my Best Friend and Homeschool mom to 7 beautiful gifts

I have a couple of binders full of notes! My first one was from when I was developing my base recipes. I used soap calc and wrote everything down on the printed recipe: Date the recipe was made; how the oils were mixed; temps; FO (name, supplier, amount used, when was it added-trace, to warm oils, etc.-did it have any problems-acceleration, ricing, seizing); what colorants and the amounts; what mold I used; did I insulate or CPOP; did I gel; did it overheat; when did I umold; what the finished soap looked like; zap check results; were there any changes during cure (color, etc); how was the soap when used - lather, slip, too dry?, etc.

Now that I have my 2 base recipes, I have a new binder and just keep one printed copy of each in a sheet protector and use a dry erase marker to check off ingredients as I add them. I keep plain notebook paper behind each recipe and keep batch notes on that.

I also keep a separate list of the FOs & EOs that I use (for quick reference about a fragrance). I list the FO name, the supplier, which recipe it was used in & how much PPO, the date used, and any problems/comments about the FO-acceleration, discoloring, scent too strong, not strong enough). This has been very handy when I've ordered the same FO from different suppliers - I know right away which one I liked better, if one had problems and the other didn't...you get the idea.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Linda,
Thanks for sharing your system.....helps me to visualize where I am going with my notes
Right now I tend to write alot about my process, but am forgetting to record temps sometimes and also "what do I like about this soap when I use it" info. I'm working on narrowing my recipes down to a few favorites, and I like your idea about the page protectors and notebook paper. Simple and consistent!
I hadn't thought about the FO/EO list, but great idea.
Again, thanks for giving me a glimpse into your soap-noting!

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Carrie
Wife to my Best Friend and Homeschool mom to 7 beautiful gifts

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

I sent you an e-mail with a sample of what I keep my notes on.... did not know how to get it in this reply!

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

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Carrie
Wife to my Best Friend and Homeschool mom to 7 beautiful gifts

I use soapcalc, too. Even though I have a few standard recipes, I put it in, add whatever my additions to the batch are (scent formula, goat's milk, honey, herbs, colorants) and print it out with the soap's name and date in the "name" line. Even with standard recipes, I have different molds of different sizes, so I really want to calculate the lye each time.

I three-hole-punch it and put it in the binder, and during the soap making process I take notes on anything that seems worth noting. I don't often mark down the temp, for instance, because I soap in the same range, most of the time. So I only note it if it's an oddball temp (like I'm using beweswax and soap hot, or something). If anything looks different during the process, I note that as well.

When the soap is done and cut, I make a label with the same name and date, and keep it with the bars, so I can refer back when I'm labeling.

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Lesli Sagan
Avital's Apiaries
Like us: http://www.facebook.com/AvitalsApiaries

Thanks, Mellifera! This sounds similar to what I'm doing, so maybe I'm on the right track . I think as I get more batches under my belt it will become more natural .

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Carrie
Wife to my Best Friend and Homeschool mom to 7 beautiful gifts