Testing Egyptian Amber Fragrance Oil from Candle Science in Cold Process Soap

I have recently decided to start soap-making again and I will be testing some FO's again. 1st up is Candle Science's Egyptian Amber Fragrance Oil.
I used a very basic recipe with Palm Oil, Coconut Oil, Olive Oil & Castor Oil and soaped at 80 degrees and here are my findings?

Did the Fragrance Oil accelerate trace?  No, as you can see in the picture above, the soap is still fluid while being poured into the mold.  (Good FO for swirling)

 
Did it discolor the soap? My soap recipe makes a pretty white/cream color bar and as you can see in the picture above it does discolor the soap to a golden amber hue.  Titanium Dioxide would help to keep the soap lighter for coloring and swirling techniques.

any other issues with the Fragrance oil? No, the dots on the top of the soap are just condensation from me not putting plastic wrap on top of the soap during the soapnification process.  I will remove these with my bevel or just a potato peeler.

Up next....I am testing the Coffee FO from Candle Science.  I will be using coffee as my liquid and also adding coffee grounds for an exfoliating property. 

Do you have any FO's that you would like me to test?

Do you test your FO's before buying?

Thanks in advance for commenting.

Soap Making - Formulating a Soap Recipe

When I first started making soap I used a recipe out of The Everything Soapmaking Book: Recipes and Techniques for Creating Colorful and Fragrant Soaps (Everything: Sports and Hobbies) this book has many basic recipes which are good for the Beginner Soap maker.  The recipe I used was as follows
Olive Oil       9oz                                                Lye      2.4oz
Coconut Oil  4oz                                                Water  6oz
Palm Oil        3oz
Castor Oil      1 Tbsp

I made this recipe several times to get comfortable with the soap making process; then I started to formulate my own recipes using SoapCalc the first thing I did was decide what kind of oils and butters I wanted to use.  Choosing your oils and Butters according to the quality they will bring to the soap.  The book I found that has one of the most in-depth overview of soap making oils is The Soapmaker's Companion: A Comprehensive Guide with Recipes, Techniques & Know-How (Natural Body Series - The Natural Way to Enhance Your Life) This book details the Benefits of the oil, the best way to use in soap making and also a recommended percentage to use in your soap recipe.

There are several factors to consider when formulating your soap recipe.

1.  What oils/butters do you have on hand or that you will be able to get your hands on
2.  What are the qualities you wish to have in the final soap

For example Coconut oil is know for giving soap creamy lather, so it is an oil commonly used by soap makers but if used in too high of a percentage it can make your final soap too drying to the skin.

Once you have the oils/butter that you will be using in your soap recipe, plug the oils into the soap calc template and you can either but in the percentage you want to use of the oil (example: Coconut Oil, 30%; Palm Oil 30%; Olive Oil 30%, Castor Oil 10%. 

Then enter the Superfat amount, most people use a minimum of 5% with a maximum of 10%.  What is superfat? To superfat your some is also known as a lye discount, which means you use less lye than is needed to fully saponify all the oils, some some of the oils/butters will remain in its original state and lend more conditioning quality to the soap.  A problem may occur when you have a high superfat with oils that have a short shelf life; without the use of a preservative your soap will have a higher probability of going rancid. So please take that into consideration when formulating your soap recipe.

Finally you can change the Water as % of oil number, this number will discount the water in your recipe and speed up the cure (a little) by having less water in the final soap that needs to evaporate.  Most soap makers use a percentage of 33% to 35%.  

And that's it, hit the "Calculate recipe" button and Viola! You will have your recipe ready to print. 

There is an old school way of formulate a recipe checkout this Blog Post to formulate a soap recipe from scratch. Please leave a comment if you have any other questions. 

Andrea Mack

Helen's Hands Soap

Oatmeal Milk and Honey Hot Process Soap Tutorial

Here is my 2nd YouTube Hot Process soap Tutorial.  This is part one of a two part series, I will be doing more tutorials and video's showcasing my products that are available on my website Helen's Hands Soap
If you would like to see more tutorials or have soap making questions please feel free to email me at andrea.mack@helenshandssoap.com

Part 1 of my Hot Process soap How-to Video.

This is my video detailing how I make Hot-Process soap using a crock-pot.  Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel as I will be posting more video's showcasing my products as well as other how-to videos. 

New website coming along!

I am working on a new website and what an undertaking this is! I am building my inventory and picking what products I would like to make.  A lot of decisions especially for a procrastinator like me. Sometimes I find it very difficult to focus and my mind wonders....often! But I am determined to get this website up and running by Wednesday, April 6, 2011.  I am putting this out there for some accountability and a little bit of pressure. So check out my website...still under construction, so please don't mind the dust and the empty shelves, the grand opening is coming soon! Helen's Hands Soap

Dear Crissy is giving away an HP TouchSmart 310 - I entered and YOU can too!

I found a great giveaway today while surfing and reading some of my favorite blogs.  Dear Crissy is giving away an HP Touchsmart 310. 

The importance of having current technology is very important; especially to us momprenuers! As a writer, entrepreneur and single mother I cannot update my computer equipment as often as I would like and I currently share a computer with my children since their computer broke several months ago.  This computer will help me family immensely and give my aging desktop a well deserved break.  As a blogger and owner of Helen's Hands I use my computer daily, it is a vital part of my daily life and the way I provide for my family. I encourage all my readers to enter, even if I don't win, I would be super psyched if one of my readers did! :)

 Crissy's blog reviews the HP and give a lot of insight and information.  So stop by her blog and enter the contest! Good Luck!

Dear Crissy is giving away an HP TouchSmart 310

Choosing a Soap Mold Video

This is my YT video about choosing a soap mold.  It goes along with the post below.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.