Teach Soap

I am sure I know the answer to my question, I just want to make sure. Should I stay away from adding any EO or FO from Michael's into my Cold Process Soap? I am more worried about the FOs. Some smell really good but I don't want to ruin a batch of soap. I wonder if it's just safer to use them in the M&P. From Michael's that is not that great either. LOL

I am still on the learning curve.

Stay away. They don't work well for CP soap.

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

Thanks for confirming.

I've used their EOs before and they work ok. The FO's are made for MP soap and don't hold up.

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

Thanks Linda! I was thinking that the EOs might be ok more than the FOs. I've used Clove from Hobby Lobby to excellerate trace and it seems to be ok. I probably don't have to use it now that I have a stick blender. It's only 1/8 of a teaspoon so it's not a lot that I use.

Carrie, you really need to weigh out eo's and not use "1/8 of a tsp." type measurements. They are not accurate and, especially in small batches, that can really cause issues. Even in soap, clove eo has a low max usage rate. It is only 0.5%, so 1/2 of one percent. That is not a lot so your measurement really needs to be accurate.

As for the eo's, those are usually crafty bubbles brand and they use to be fine. I haven't tried them for many years, but if you have them already, then I'd use them and see.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

I knew as soon as I posted that it probably was not good to not weight it out in grams. I just made two batches and did not use it. So now I have 2 oz of Clove. It's from BB so I am sure I can find some other EO to add to it to make a nice scent.

My teacher for the soap making class that I took is a Chemistry Teacher. He didn't use a stick blender so He said to ad clove to make it trace quicker. If you are not using a stick blender it does seem to help.

yes clove will speed trace, as a few others do too, but not all chemistry teachers know enough to also advise the amounts that can/cannot be used. It has always been a pet peeve of mine when teachers just tell a part of the story. Shoot, most I know of didn't even know there was a use rate to teach until they were told. Such a shame. Anyway, yes, you can blend the clove, just check the use rate for the product you are creating and stay under that number.
You can also use less olive oil to hasten trace as well. More than one way to make trace!

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

Tammy,

I just figured it was safer for me to learn from taking a class than to just learn on my own. LOL

I think that a class is a great idea and usually a wonderful learning environment. I learned from a person and don't know what I would have done if I would have had to rely on the internet (wasnt even one of those then, lol) or choose from books, never knowing which info is correct and which isn't. So many contradictions in books today, or an untruth that is repeated (verbatim) in several books. Definitely I would opt for a class, given a choice, and I think most are pretty good.....although we have heard some horror stories! But I am sure your class was better than many since it was a chemistry teacher teaching. He just didn't consider the scent to be an "important" detail that he needed to study or pass along info on. That is my pet peeve, many teachers don't understand that it is more than just dumping some in until it smells good.

I actually read (on a professional group discussion board) a man giving advice to a newbie about fragrance, where he said to "just dump some more in til it smells good to your nose." No amount of comments/arguments could get him away from a nose being the best judgment for the amount of fragrance to use. And he is not alone, so I tend to crusade a bit, but it is an important issue that is often overlooked.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

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

How about banging your head on the keyboard because you think are doing something right and it's wrong. LOL That's how I feel right now.

All right ladies, quit the banging of heads before I have to write out concussion monitoring instructions!

It certainly is frustrating to think you are doing something right when you are not, but live and learn and then teach others! You are now assimilated!

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy