Hi, everybody!
I'm waiting for my supplies to arrive so I can try CP soaping for the first time. I've read lots of books and watched lots of videos, and I hope I'm ready. I'm a little nervous, but plan to keep it simple starting out.
Anyway, I wanted to ask you guys about using and storing palm oil. I know that palm oil tends to separate out and I need to melt down the entire amount and mix/shake it up before I use it each time. I have a 7-pound bag coming from BB, and I'm hoping it comes in the microwavable/boilable (is that a word?) bag like on SQTV. Is it okay to nuke the entire bag each time I need palm oil, take what I need, and then leave the remaining palm oil in the bag until the next time? It may take me a while to get through 7 pounds (I'm wondering if I got too much, but the price was so darn good) and I wondered if it was okay to put it through multiple remelts and just store it in its original bag. Once I settle on a favorite recipe, I can portion it out into containers, but until then I may experiment with different recipes and different amounts of palm.
Also, are there any tricks to working with coconut oil? I know it can get liquidy in hot weather (especially the 76 degree variety), but does it need to be mixed up like palm, or can i just glop it out and be good to go?
Finally, I have some shea butter that I got about 6 months ago. I stored it in some plastic wrap and a plastic ziploc bag at room temp at the back of a dark drawer. It still looks and smells okay. Think it's still good to use?
Thanks, everybody!