Teach Soap

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

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

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Genny

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

Wanted to bump this thread up to discuss...IFRA Certificates. I just noticed that for one of the FOs I used (teakwood-cardamon) the max usage rates for bar soap per the IFRA Certificate is 15% - while the Nature's Garden info says 5%. NG does state at times their max usage rates are lower than the IFRA Certificate. Scent is strong so wanted to check I did not go over...phew safe on that one.

For another FO - lime-cilantro, NG's info matches the IFRA Certificate....at 5% maximum usage. So...my gut instinct is that it may not be a good idea to go over the 5% for these FOs?

I was a little heavy handed with lime-cilantro owing to the fact that citrus tends to fade (juicy lemon at 5% faded in hours) so I upped it a bit. Now I'm realizing I went over the IFRA Certificate recommendation. I have .35 oz excess FO in a 3 lb batch... divided by 9 bars for a total of .038 oz excess FO for each bar.

Should I not use these bars?????

I wouldn't sell them, but I would still use them myself. I've been known to go over the recommendation from time to time with personal use soaps. I like them to smell super strong! Just test one first to make sure you won't have a reaction.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

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

Thanks so much Soap Gurus Heather and Irena. We are in the same boat: I love a strongly scented soap - love it when a bar scents the whole bathroom - so its tempting to go overboard. Had no intention of selling them, but will have The Boyfriend (he of the sensitive skin) do a test before I give away to any friends. If The Boyfriend has no issues - then I'd be shocked if anyone else did - I think he's a bigger fan of hand crafted soap than I as he notices the gentle qualities of those soaps vs. manufactured more than I.

But I'm really glad I poked around the site and looked at the IFRA data.

My husband has super sensitive skin too, he breaks out in hives if he doesn't spend 10 minutes washing the soap off. He doesn't have to do that with the handmade soap though! He absolutely loves my soaps, and has no want to use store bought soap ever again. He loves my shampoo too, even though I haven't had a very successful batch yet.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

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