There are a few things I'd like to do in this thread
- document my soap making process
- document process changes and upgrades to equipment
- detail common problems when making soap
- answer any soap making questions
- eventually let everyone know when and where product can be purchased
Basically everything to do with soap.
I'm not concerned about telling somebody how to make a product that I'm selling either. There are a few reasons for this: Some people won't be able to receive such a product overseas, or it wouldn't be feasible to ship. I'm not so petty to think that trying to conceal information somehow results in "job security". The soap making process is already quite well documented. Finally, I didn't start making soap to make money with, I started because of the memes, but also to have a product to better prepare myself for economic collapse.
I wish to share this with you guys so (you) too can better prepare yourself for whatever is coming.
Lets start with the boring stuff, like what is soap?
I would define soap as a surfactant. A surfactant is a molecule that will bind to water, oil, and particles.
The US legal definition is 'soap made from natural ingredients'. Synthetic soap is often sold as 'beauty bars' or 'body wash' instead of soap, because they are not made with natural ingredients.
Most modern engine and transmission oils, and heavy grease used for equipment will contain detergents. Don't let the word detergent mislead you, it means the same thing as surfacant.
Lye harvested for soap making in ages past is called potash. The potash lye soap making process is a fair bit more involved, and the chemical reactions are a bit different. https://classicbells.com/soap/woodAshLye.asp
Potash soap has been made for a very, very long time. If one of you decides to try this out, please let us know how it goes!
"modern" naturally made soap uses either potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide for the lye. Sodium hydroxide is used for making liquid soaps, sodium hydroxide for solid soap bars.
The easiest way to get sodium hydroxide is from a hardware store selling containers of "pure lye" drain unclogger in the plumbing section. For example https://www.homedepot.com/p/Instant-Power-Crystal-Lye-Drain-Cleaner-1650/204374017
Soap made from natural ingredients is a very sloppy chemical reaction. There are untold numbers of different chemicals and compounds found naturally in any given type of oil. Most of those oils will react with the lye to make some rather complex reactions that result in "soap". It is not uncommon for the soap to change color as it cures for this reason.
Oils are typically mixed and matched to make a nice bar of soap, as no single oil has a good mix of the fatty acids necessary for a good bar of soap.
When making your first batch of soap:
Start with solid bars of soap, instead of trying to make liquid soap. Liquid soap is much pickier about what kind of oils you use.
Use an existing recipe for your first batch, then try to make soap using as much local products as possible. When economic collapse happens, getting those foreign oils will be much more difficult or impossible.
Start with a 2:1 water:lye ratio. If your recipe calls for 12 ounces of lye, use 24 ounces of distilled water. Ignore however much water the recipe calls for.
When building your own recipe, or modifying an existing one, use the following two web pages:
http://soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp
https://classicbells.com/soap/soapCalcNumbers.asp
And when in doubt, ask in here.
This first post is just a boring autistic dump on chunks of important or related information. I'll post a lot more (actual making) soap stuff when I get the chance. I think this is a pretty good start though.
Be sure to ask whatever in here about anything related. Over the last year I've been pretty autistically going over how most people make soap, refining my own process, and doing fairly deep-diving research on the topic and general chemistry.
/ub/ - Überhengst
Becoming better
53 replies and 31 files omitted.
>>4792
>Sodium hydroxide is used for making liquid soaps, sodium hydroxide for solid soap bars.
whoops... its supposed to read:
Potassium hydroxide is used for making liquid soaps, sodium hydroxide for solid soap bars.
Continuing soap making tips...
oils are fatty acids. When mixing an acid and base together, there is a chemical reaction. In this case, a strong base like sodium hydroxide mixed with a weak acid (fatty acid oils) results in a slightly basic bar of soap. Because naturally made soap is weakly basic(ph of 10-12), people with certain kinds of skin conditions would be better off getting a synthetic bar of soap that is PH-neutral (PH of 7).
Lye is a very strong base, as said before. One of the things that this means is that it attracts water out of the atmosphere. For this reason, store lye in a very sealed container, and/or put the lye container in a bigger container that is full of water absorbent things. Putting water absorbent things directly in the lye won't work, the lye will suck the water out of them.
Lye also loves to react with the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to make "soda ash". Soda ash is also known as washing soda and sodium carbonate. Soda ash will form on soap if you don't mix it enough to jell or use a lot of water so the soap takes a long time to set up and cure. It forms on the surface of the bar of soap as its curing, and if its really bad will be a "furry layer" on the top of the soap.
The last two pictures of the OP, you can see a powdery layer of soda ash on the soap bars. Soda ash does not hurt the soap at all, and is just a cosmetic issue. A lot of soap makers desire this effect to give the bar of soap a "rustic" look.
The attached picture is soap that was just poured at a thin trace. If you see water separation like this, you need to mix it longer. You will also get soda ash forming on the surface for sure if its poured at thin trace. Mix the soap until it forms a jell, like cream of wheat or pudding/custard consistency.
I like to keep the temp up so the chemical reaction occurs faster. Don't get it too hot or the water will boil and the oils will burn or change colors. The last picture of the OP is what happened when I got the soap too hot while mixing. It does look kinda cool though... worked fine as soap, it just might not be a desired effect, and speeds up the oils going rancid.
The temp I tend to keep the oils are at about 150-175f. This is somewhere in-between what is called the "hot process" and the "cold process" of soap making. One of the main reasons is that it helps keep the fragrance oils fresher when they added before pouring the soap.
At the moment, I'm working 12 hour days because other people don't like to work. Personally I'd rather be making more Aryanne soap for you guys.
Over the weekend I made two batches of soap to test the effects of different amounts of water being used. I wanted to see if it results in a more naturally white bar of soap. So far it seems to. Will take pictures of this when I can.
>>4795
Thanks. Still getting the hang of controlling natural soap color and using dye. They are light pink, but is muted because of the thin layer of soda ash on the surface.
Made a bunch of twilight sparkle soap with a correct amount of dye, but the base color of the soap was not white, so it looks more like a plumb color. Will post pictures of that soon™ as well.
disclaimer: no griffins were harmed in the making of Aryanne soap bars.
>>4799
>tfw
just focus on that feeling when and you will eventually find out
>Sodium hydroxide is used for making liquid soaps, sodium hydroxide for solid soap bars.
whoops... its supposed to read:
Potassium hydroxide is used for making liquid soaps, sodium hydroxide for solid soap bars.
Continuing soap making tips...
oils are fatty acids. When mixing an acid and base together, there is a chemical reaction. In this case, a strong base like sodium hydroxide mixed with a weak acid (fatty acid oils) results in a slightly basic bar of soap. Because naturally made soap is weakly basic(ph of 10-12), people with certain kinds of skin conditions would be better off getting a synthetic bar of soap that is PH-neutral (PH of 7).
Lye is a very strong base, as said before. One of the things that this means is that it attracts water out of the atmosphere. For this reason, store lye in a very sealed container, and/or put the lye container in a bigger container that is full of water absorbent things. Putting water absorbent things directly in the lye won't work, the lye will suck the water out of them.
Lye also loves to react with the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to make "soda ash". Soda ash is also known as washing soda and sodium carbonate. Soda ash will form on soap if you don't mix it enough to jell or use a lot of water so the soap takes a long time to set up and cure. It forms on the surface of the bar of soap as its curing, and if its really bad will be a "furry layer" on the top of the soap.
The last two pictures of the OP, you can see a powdery layer of soda ash on the soap bars. Soda ash does not hurt the soap at all, and is just a cosmetic issue. A lot of soap makers desire this effect to give the bar of soap a "rustic" look.
The attached picture is soap that was just poured at a thin trace. If you see water separation like this, you need to mix it longer. You will also get soda ash forming on the surface for sure if its poured at thin trace. Mix the soap until it forms a jell, like cream of wheat or pudding/custard consistency.
I like to keep the temp up so the chemical reaction occurs faster. Don't get it too hot or the water will boil and the oils will burn or change colors. The last picture of the OP is what happened when I got the soap too hot while mixing. It does look kinda cool though... worked fine as soap, it just might not be a desired effect, and speeds up the oils going rancid.
The temp I tend to keep the oils are at about 150-175f. This is somewhere in-between what is called the "hot process" and the "cold process" of soap making. One of the main reasons is that it helps keep the fragrance oils fresher when they added before pouring the soap.
At the moment, I'm working 12 hour days because other people don't like to work. Personally I'd rather be making more Aryanne soap for you guys.
Over the weekend I made two batches of soap to test the effects of different amounts of water being used. I wanted to see if it results in a more naturally white bar of soap. So far it seems to. Will take pictures of this when I can.
>>4795
Thanks. Still getting the hang of controlling natural soap color and using dye. They are light pink, but is muted because of the thin layer of soda ash on the surface.
Made a bunch of twilight sparkle soap with a correct amount of dye, but the base color of the soap was not white, so it looks more like a plumb color. Will post pictures of that soon™ as well.
disclaimer: no griffins were harmed in the making of Aryanne soap bars.
>>4799
>tfw
just focus on that feeling when and you will eventually find out
>>4803
kek
I was thinking that would be more of a changeling "bar" of soap.
Maybe Aryanne ponut bars... but why stop with Aryanne? Also need "princess sized" versions.
Iunno what will happen in the future, have a long ways to go before I can efficiently form soap like that.
kek
I was thinking that would be more of a changeling "bar" of soap.
Maybe Aryanne ponut bars... but why stop with Aryanne? Also need "princess sized" versions.
Iunno what will happen in the future, have a long ways to go before I can efficiently form soap like that.
I've been considering making shampoo for a while now for cleaning a mane and keeping it lustrous. The problem is, what cleans hair and keeps the skin underneath clean and healthy too?
Too often shampoos are good at cleaning hair, but leave the skin underneath a wreck. A lot of this comes from the derived synthetic surfactant (surface active agent) soap that I mentioned before. Synthetic surfactants are often made because they can be designed to not form bonds with the minerals found in hard water. This prevents soap scum from forming while still cleaning your skin, hair, dishes, or floor. Soap scum is when a soap molecule bonds to a mineral found in hard water and tends to build up and make clean surfaces dirty again. Dealing with soap scum for home-made laundry soap is easy enough: just add more base (soda wash, borax) to sort of 'power through' the mineral water. Washing your mane or tail though is more difficult in a healthy way. Using a synthetic surfactant shampoo tends to clean the hair well, but destroys the skin underneath, often leading to a dry scalp with extra dandruff problems. Or maybe the shampoo will dissolve the dandruff, but leave the skin a mess and hair over-cleaned.
https://skinkraft.com/blogs/articles/toxic-ingredients-in-shampoos-and-conditioners
I believe the solution is to use natural made soap and deal with the soap scum that may form and get trapped in the hair with a vinegar rinse. This does several things at the same time. Most soaps and shampoos are basic in nature (PH of 9-12). Rinsing with vinegar (a weak acid, PH 3) will bring the PH level of hair and scalp back to an approximately neutral state. The weak acid will also rinse away soap scum and dandruff build up. On top of that, hair has a scale-like structure that gets smoothed down when exposed to weak acids, so the hair will appear and feel more smooth and silky when rinsed with a weak acid (like vinegar).
What kind of vinegar to use? I've seen lots of articles about using distilled vinegar and apple cider vinegar. Overall it looks like apple cider vinegar is probably the best for a mane-rinse because it has all kinds of stuff in it that's healthy for both hair and skin.
So far all I've used is white vinegar. It works exceptionally well for keeping dandruff down, and keeping the skin and hair feeling smooth and healthy.
https://www.chagrinvalleysoapandsalve.com/blog/posts/make-your-own-apple-cider-vinegar-rinse/
If you want extra mane-keeping points, after cleaning the hair, use a mix of jojaba oil and castor oil and brush a small amount evenly though your hair. This will further moisturize it and give it the extra shine I know all of you desire to have.
https://jojobacompany.com/what-is-jojoba/
https://www.treehugger.com/castor-oil-for-hair-5199075
I generally recommend using a mix of both jojaba oil and castor oil because they are both exceptionally healthy for skin and hair, and castor oil by its self is rather thick and difficult to brush into hair. Mix the two to a desired thickness for hair or skin use.
Too often shampoos are good at cleaning hair, but leave the skin underneath a wreck. A lot of this comes from the derived synthetic surfactant (surface active agent) soap that I mentioned before. Synthetic surfactants are often made because they can be designed to not form bonds with the minerals found in hard water. This prevents soap scum from forming while still cleaning your skin, hair, dishes, or floor. Soap scum is when a soap molecule bonds to a mineral found in hard water and tends to build up and make clean surfaces dirty again. Dealing with soap scum for home-made laundry soap is easy enough: just add more base (soda wash, borax) to sort of 'power through' the mineral water. Washing your mane or tail though is more difficult in a healthy way. Using a synthetic surfactant shampoo tends to clean the hair well, but destroys the skin underneath, often leading to a dry scalp with extra dandruff problems. Or maybe the shampoo will dissolve the dandruff, but leave the skin a mess and hair over-cleaned.
https://skinkraft.com/blogs/articles/toxic-ingredients-in-shampoos-and-conditioners
I believe the solution is to use natural made soap and deal with the soap scum that may form and get trapped in the hair with a vinegar rinse. This does several things at the same time. Most soaps and shampoos are basic in nature (PH of 9-12). Rinsing with vinegar (a weak acid, PH 3) will bring the PH level of hair and scalp back to an approximately neutral state. The weak acid will also rinse away soap scum and dandruff build up. On top of that, hair has a scale-like structure that gets smoothed down when exposed to weak acids, so the hair will appear and feel more smooth and silky when rinsed with a weak acid (like vinegar).
What kind of vinegar to use? I've seen lots of articles about using distilled vinegar and apple cider vinegar. Overall it looks like apple cider vinegar is probably the best for a mane-rinse because it has all kinds of stuff in it that's healthy for both hair and skin.
So far all I've used is white vinegar. It works exceptionally well for keeping dandruff down, and keeping the skin and hair feeling smooth and healthy.
https://www.chagrinvalleysoapandsalve.com/blog/posts/make-your-own-apple-cider-vinegar-rinse/
If you want extra mane-keeping points, after cleaning the hair, use a mix of jojaba oil and castor oil and brush a small amount evenly though your hair. This will further moisturize it and give it the extra shine I know all of you desire to have.
https://jojobacompany.com/what-is-jojoba/
https://www.treehugger.com/castor-oil-for-hair-5199075
I generally recommend using a mix of both jojaba oil and castor oil because they are both exceptionally healthy for skin and hair, and castor oil by its self is rather thick and difficult to brush into hair. Mix the two to a desired thickness for hair or skin use.
>>4859
Fantastic Post, soap pone. I might try some vinegar in my hair when i wash it again. should it be diluted? also the jojaba oils and castor oils, should they be used for dandruff?
Fantastic Post, soap pone. I might try some vinegar in my hair when i wash it again. should it be diluted? also the jojaba oils and castor oils, should they be used for dandruff?
>>4863
I've had bad dandruff in the past and used straight white vinegar to great success. Knowing what I know now, I'm pretty sure that was dandruff induced by shitty shampoo. Now that I'm making my own soap, I've started using vinegar as a final rinse (since I have very hard water so there is some soap scum buildup).
It's probably better to dilute it with some water. I haven't tried different amounts of vinegar dilution or how long to let it 'soak' yet. I figure different people have different requirements with different skin conditions with different kinds of tap water. Maybe try a 50/50 mix and go from there.
In general I'm finding that there is a much wider 'good results' band for natural product usage. I'm sure you could eat too much garlic and not be healthy, but how many people actually eat too much garlic to unhealthy levels? Natural soap and vinegar usage for skin and mane care I feel are about the same.
I've read that castor oil helps dandruff, but I can't imagine how much. The idea with using jojaba and castor oil is that they help keep skin healthy. Healthy head skin will grow hair better and be less likely to flake. At the same time, oils in general trap particles. I imagine too much would keep air from getting to the skin and trap all kinds of things next to the skin. Just brush in a small amount of either oil (or ideally a mix). I put a few drops of oil on a comb and just comb my hair, adding a few more drops and combing more until there is just barely a hint of oil in my hair when running my fingers through my hair. Again, mileage may vary.
It does not hurt to mix in some essential oils either. If you use a fragrance oil, make sure its skin safe. Lemon, lavender, rosemary, tea tree, and peppermint are popular essential oils to use for mixing your own hair treatment oils
I hope this helps.
I've had bad dandruff in the past and used straight white vinegar to great success. Knowing what I know now, I'm pretty sure that was dandruff induced by shitty shampoo. Now that I'm making my own soap, I've started using vinegar as a final rinse (since I have very hard water so there is some soap scum buildup).
It's probably better to dilute it with some water. I haven't tried different amounts of vinegar dilution or how long to let it 'soak' yet. I figure different people have different requirements with different skin conditions with different kinds of tap water. Maybe try a 50/50 mix and go from there.
In general I'm finding that there is a much wider 'good results' band for natural product usage. I'm sure you could eat too much garlic and not be healthy, but how many people actually eat too much garlic to unhealthy levels? Natural soap and vinegar usage for skin and mane care I feel are about the same.
I've read that castor oil helps dandruff, but I can't imagine how much. The idea with using jojaba and castor oil is that they help keep skin healthy. Healthy head skin will grow hair better and be less likely to flake. At the same time, oils in general trap particles. I imagine too much would keep air from getting to the skin and trap all kinds of things next to the skin. Just brush in a small amount of either oil (or ideally a mix). I put a few drops of oil on a comb and just comb my hair, adding a few more drops and combing more until there is just barely a hint of oil in my hair when running my fingers through my hair. Again, mileage may vary.
It does not hurt to mix in some essential oils either. If you use a fragrance oil, make sure its skin safe. Lemon, lavender, rosemary, tea tree, and peppermint are popular essential oils to use for mixing your own hair treatment oils
I hope this helps.
>>4872
>Would it be safe to put on the oils and vinegar in the same session?
From what I've read, its generally best to comb in the oils for hair shortly after showering while the hair is still damp. Not sure how much it matters though. Probably not much.
>Would it be safe to put on the oils and vinegar in the same session?
From what I've read, its generally best to comb in the oils for hair shortly after showering while the hair is still damp. Not sure how much it matters though. Probably not much.
>>4874
Didn't want to accidently gas myself kek.
like this guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxUbARGI-1k
Didn't want to accidently gas myself kek.
like this guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxUbARGI-1k
Well, my experiment failed because I didn't let the two small batches of soap jell enough. Though that was kinda the point to begin with: testing the visual properties of the soap with different amounts of water and letting it take a long time to set up. It just didn't turn out the way I hoped.
From this test I have concluded that it is rather important to make sure the soap jells up really thick, about the consistency of pancake batter or thicker, before pouring into the mold.
The left three test batches either had slightly different amounts of water, or was mixed slightly differently. The one thing in common was that all but the one to the far right were not mixed until they were thicc batter consistency. They all have serious issues when I tried to cut them (they break up instead of cutting where I placed the knife. They also have a rather thick fuzzy surface from soda ash forming. Bleh.
The one on the far right I let jell up really thick, poured it, and kept it warm for a while after by wrapping it in a towel. There is no discoloration except for a very light speckled dusting on the surface from soda ash forming. Its not white, but it is a rather pleasant neutral skin-tone color.
It might be possible to still obtain a whiter bar of soap with a lot more water, maybe with 4:1 water:lye ratio, but that would take a much longer time to cure before the soap is ready to be used.
When I make pony soap, I just need to adjust what dyes to use to account for the natural color of the soap. I guess some people use colored mica, but that adds quite a bit more cost to the soap as apposed to using powdered dye.
From this test I have concluded that it is rather important to make sure the soap jells up really thick, about the consistency of pancake batter or thicker, before pouring into the mold.
The left three test batches either had slightly different amounts of water, or was mixed slightly differently. The one thing in common was that all but the one to the far right were not mixed until they were thicc batter consistency. They all have serious issues when I tried to cut them (they break up instead of cutting where I placed the knife. They also have a rather thick fuzzy surface from soda ash forming. Bleh.
The one on the far right I let jell up really thick, poured it, and kept it warm for a while after by wrapping it in a towel. There is no discoloration except for a very light speckled dusting on the surface from soda ash forming. Its not white, but it is a rather pleasant neutral skin-tone color.
It might be possible to still obtain a whiter bar of soap with a lot more water, maybe with 4:1 water:lye ratio, but that would take a much longer time to cure before the soap is ready to be used.
When I make pony soap, I just need to adjust what dyes to use to account for the natural color of the soap. I guess some people use colored mica, but that adds quite a bit more cost to the soap as apposed to using powdered dye.
>>4859
I want to expand a little on shampoos and other synthetic soaps a bit more.
Most synthetic soaps do not sud much, if at all. This is kind of important for dishwashers, but not helpful for shampoo or a lot of other applications. They add Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) to thicken and make the shampoo foam. Also used in toothpaste, marshmallows, and crap tons of other things. No it is not healthy to eat either, even though its found in lots of food products.
One of the other things often added to soap is anti-bacterial agents. The thought is that the compound added will also destroy bacteria in addition to the soap washing bacteria away. That's the problem though, its just a thought without any evidence to suggest there is less bacteria left on the skin. Even without using any kind of soap or cleaner, rinsing your hooves (what are hands?) in clean water and wiping off with a clean towel will get off about 80% of bacteria. After washing you can submerse in alcohol or something and kill almost all bacteria, but why?
anti-bacterial agents in general are not healthy for a different reason. First of all it stunts a healthy intake of bacteria. Everyone has a unique culture of bacteria that helps with digestion and keeping out unhealthy bacteria. This is kind of similar to lawn-keeping where the good grass when kept well, will crowd out a lot of weeds.
The other thing anti-bacterial agents do is promote the growth of bacteria that is resistant to anti-bacterials. While this isn't really much of a concern for healthy individuals, it does mean that when you do need to take anti-bacterial pills to get rid of a serious infection, it might not work as well because you already exposed a good chunk of your bacteria "culture" to anti-bacterial agents.
Also, anti-bacterial agents found in stuff that is safe(ish) for use on the skin do nothing to kill viruses.
PS: don't be a pleb, get a real female dishwasher. That kind works the best with the most built-in functions.
I want to expand a little on shampoos and other synthetic soaps a bit more.
Most synthetic soaps do not sud much, if at all. This is kind of important for dishwashers, but not helpful for shampoo or a lot of other applications. They add Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) to thicken and make the shampoo foam. Also used in toothpaste, marshmallows, and crap tons of other things. No it is not healthy to eat either, even though its found in lots of food products.
One of the other things often added to soap is anti-bacterial agents. The thought is that the compound added will also destroy bacteria in addition to the soap washing bacteria away. That's the problem though, its just a thought without any evidence to suggest there is less bacteria left on the skin. Even without using any kind of soap or cleaner, rinsing your hooves (what are hands?) in clean water and wiping off with a clean towel will get off about 80% of bacteria. After washing you can submerse in alcohol or something and kill almost all bacteria, but why?
anti-bacterial agents in general are not healthy for a different reason. First of all it stunts a healthy intake of bacteria. Everyone has a unique culture of bacteria that helps with digestion and keeping out unhealthy bacteria. This is kind of similar to lawn-keeping where the good grass when kept well, will crowd out a lot of weeds.
The other thing anti-bacterial agents do is promote the growth of bacteria that is resistant to anti-bacterials. While this isn't really much of a concern for healthy individuals, it does mean that when you do need to take anti-bacterial pills to get rid of a serious infection, it might not work as well because you already exposed a good chunk of your bacteria "culture" to anti-bacterial agents.
Also, anti-bacterial agents found in stuff that is safe(ish) for use on the skin do nothing to kill viruses.
PS: don't be a pleb, get a real female dishwasher. That kind works the best with the most built-in functions.
Finally took a picture of my soap mold. In general this is typical for craft soap: Casting soap in a "loaf" mold, letting it cure for a while, demold and cut it up into bars.
I do not have a nice way of cutting it (yet), so for this first use I just used a kitchen knife, then pressed Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark into the surface as you can see in the picture.
The main difference with this soap mold I made compared to pretty much any other is that its made out of heavy duty steel, and larger than most. Target soap bar size is about 1"x3"x5", but I might make them slightly shorter by just pouring in slightly less soap. Probably will settle with about 4.5" tall bars.
The first use of my soap mold, I pre-heated it to about 160 degrees fahrenheit. This was a mistake to get it so warm because shortly after pouring the soap in, the soap jell started poofing up like bread does when it rises. I think it was warm enough that water was trying to escape causing the rising. After a few hours it finally went back down and left a bit of a cavity along the top and slightly discolored top surface. Oh well, that's part of product and technique development.
Next time I'll try pre-heating to about 100f. The main reason for pre-heating to begin with is to help the soap cure evenly, as too much thermal differences between the middle of the loaf and the outer edge causes discoloration. Still fine to use, just not nice on the eyes.
I think if there is a "next time" for making my own soap loaf molds, I'll make them out of UHMW plastic instead, as its a good insulator and shouldn't need pre-heating, and would seal around the edges better if made correctly.
Twilight Sparkle soap bars need to be a lighter purple, I know. My previous post highlighted the natural soap color issue, and in this picture is the result of the issue. I have white dye coming and will further experiment to make sure the soap bars meet or exceed snowpity requirements.
Ponies deserve the best, and snowpity is the highest standards on the planet.
I do not have a nice way of cutting it (yet), so for this first use I just used a kitchen knife, then pressed Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark into the surface as you can see in the picture.
The main difference with this soap mold I made compared to pretty much any other is that its made out of heavy duty steel, and larger than most. Target soap bar size is about 1"x3"x5", but I might make them slightly shorter by just pouring in slightly less soap. Probably will settle with about 4.5" tall bars.
The first use of my soap mold, I pre-heated it to about 160 degrees fahrenheit. This was a mistake to get it so warm because shortly after pouring the soap in, the soap jell started poofing up like bread does when it rises. I think it was warm enough that water was trying to escape causing the rising. After a few hours it finally went back down and left a bit of a cavity along the top and slightly discolored top surface. Oh well, that's part of product and technique development.
Next time I'll try pre-heating to about 100f. The main reason for pre-heating to begin with is to help the soap cure evenly, as too much thermal differences between the middle of the loaf and the outer edge causes discoloration. Still fine to use, just not nice on the eyes.
I think if there is a "next time" for making my own soap loaf molds, I'll make them out of UHMW plastic instead, as its a good insulator and shouldn't need pre-heating, and would seal around the edges better if made correctly.
Twilight Sparkle soap bars need to be a lighter purple, I know. My previous post highlighted the natural soap color issue, and in this picture is the result of the issue. I have white dye coming and will further experiment to make sure the soap bars meet or exceed snowpity requirements.
Ponies deserve the best, and snowpity is the highest standards on the planet.
The soap saga continues.
Purchased white dye, pumice, a different kind of white dye, bottles to try out making snowpity perfume, and a couple books to shore up any information I might be lacking in.
Also got a 10 quart mixer for my soap molds that hold about 7quarts of volume. Should be the perfect size.
Spent about $1.5k USD for everything in the picture.
The jojoba oil I got to try making a post-shower hair conditioner. Will be good for beard, and should be good for moisturizing skin as well.
Jojoba oil and castor oil mixed together is considered premium bear oil, but both are also insanely good for moisturizing skin and helping the skin with certain kinds of health problems. I will mix them with the snowpity fragrance and see if its a good mix. (should be, snowpity mixes well with everything)
Also got a bunch of spray bottles to experiment with making snowpity colognes. No idea how that is going to turn out. Going to try an alcohol base first. The liquid snowpity I have is very strong and needs to be toned down for use on skin, otherwise rashes or sudden ponification might happen.
Wouldn't want that.
Purchased white dye, pumice, a different kind of white dye, bottles to try out making snowpity perfume, and a couple books to shore up any information I might be lacking in.
Also got a 10 quart mixer for my soap molds that hold about 7quarts of volume. Should be the perfect size.
Spent about $1.5k USD for everything in the picture.
The jojoba oil I got to try making a post-shower hair conditioner. Will be good for beard, and should be good for moisturizing skin as well.
Jojoba oil and castor oil mixed together is considered premium bear oil, but both are also insanely good for moisturizing skin and helping the skin with certain kinds of health problems. I will mix them with the snowpity fragrance and see if its a good mix. (should be, snowpity mixes well with everything)
Also got a bunch of spray bottles to experiment with making snowpity colognes. No idea how that is going to turn out. Going to try an alcohol base first. The liquid snowpity I have is very strong and needs to be toned down for use on skin, otherwise rashes or sudden ponification might happen.
Wouldn't want that.
Shitpost time!
I rather enjoy shitposting about various things, generally about people or various things people make.
For this shitpost, I'm going to go over the only (current) "pony" themed soap that I know of that can be purchased.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SudsandVerse
https://www.etsy.com/listing/615801483/simply-divine-handmade-premium-goat-milk
Lets look at their ingredient list closely from this specific bar of "home made, hand made" Rarity soap
>Premium Goat Milk Soap Base ( Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Safflower Oil, Kosher Glycerin, Goat's Milk, Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Sorbitol, Sorbitan Oleate, Oat Protein, Titanium Dioxide) Shea, Colorant and Fragrance Oil.
The first thing that bothered me about this ingredient list was the "soap base". I've never heard of somebody making hand-made or home-made soap with "soap base" listed in the ingredients. I more or less waved it off though thinking "Well, maybe they bought the oils pre-mixed for making into soap." Lets dig deeper for now.
Near the end there is titanium dioxide, which is a very common white dye (I have some), and "colorant" listed as well. Why would they mention a very specific dye, then use a word for "oh yeah, there is also more dye in it too". Very strange.
The three oils listed are pretty generic but typical.
Glycerin is an uncommon thing to add to bar soap, but it is done sometimes I suppose. More often, glycerin is added to liquid soap, rather than solid bars. Strange, but not unheard of for craft soap. When making soap, glycerine is naturally formed. I suppose some people just like to add more.
To top the ingredient list off, I've never seen Sorbitol, Sorbitan Oleate, or Oat Protein used in home-made or hand-made soap before. At this point I'm thinking "what the crap. Who would mix in these extra factory-produced chemicals into soap, driving their cost up?". Oatmeal is often added to bars of soap for the hippie style, but oat protein?
This ingredient list is whack and smells of commercial-ness. Lets look around and see what can be found.
https://www.bulkapothecary.com/soap-making/melt-and-pour-soap-bases/goat-milk-sfic-all-natural-glycerin-melt-and-pour-soap-base/
>Coconut Oil
>Palm Oil
>Safflower Oil
>Glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin)
>Goat’s Milk
>Purified Water
>Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent)
>Sorbitol (moisturizer)
>Propylene Glycol (made from vegetable glycerine)
>Sorbitan oleate (emulsifer)
>Oat protein (conditioner)
>Titanium Dioxide (mineral whitener used in opaque soaps)
Interesting... does the ingredient list look similar? Mayhaps exactly the same? The link says its SFIC. Never heard of it, but lets look...
http://www.sficcorp.com/index_dev.php which leads to the ingredient list http://www.sficcorp.com/pdfs/mp-ingred.pdf which is the same thing listed once again.
So, what these asshats are doing is using generic pre-made melt&pour soap, adding some dye and fragrance, and pouring it into (probably) silicon molds.
They call this home made.
>Since all products are homemade there will be some variation...
Home made my ass. But, using the bulkapothecary link, we can get a really good estimate on their cost and profit.
After shipping I estimate their cost is about $1/bar in raw materials, so that's $5 (5x) in profit without any effort put into actually making soap. For perspective, my approximate cost for a bar of soap twice their size/weight is $1 without considering the time/effort to actually make the soap, let alone learning or developing the process.
(mind you, this is pre-hyperinflation, prices will go up very soon if not already)
>My soaps are made from premium goat milk soap which contains no chemicals and has a real goat's milk base. Many people make goat milk soap that contains chemicals that are bad for your skin and use goat milk powder instead of real goat's milk. All the soaps I make use premium goat milk soap.
>all my soaps are made from soap
*facehoof, 2x combo*
I rather enjoy shitposting about various things, generally about people or various things people make.
For this shitpost, I'm going to go over the only (current) "pony" themed soap that I know of that can be purchased.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SudsandVerse
https://www.etsy.com/listing/615801483/simply-divine-handmade-premium-goat-milk
Lets look at their ingredient list closely from this specific bar of "home made, hand made" Rarity soap
>Premium Goat Milk Soap Base ( Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Safflower Oil, Kosher Glycerin, Goat's Milk, Purified Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Sorbitol, Sorbitan Oleate, Oat Protein, Titanium Dioxide) Shea, Colorant and Fragrance Oil.
The first thing that bothered me about this ingredient list was the "soap base". I've never heard of somebody making hand-made or home-made soap with "soap base" listed in the ingredients. I more or less waved it off though thinking "Well, maybe they bought the oils pre-mixed for making into soap." Lets dig deeper for now.
Near the end there is titanium dioxide, which is a very common white dye (I have some), and "colorant" listed as well. Why would they mention a very specific dye, then use a word for "oh yeah, there is also more dye in it too". Very strange.
The three oils listed are pretty generic but typical.
Glycerin is an uncommon thing to add to bar soap, but it is done sometimes I suppose. More often, glycerin is added to liquid soap, rather than solid bars. Strange, but not unheard of for craft soap. When making soap, glycerine is naturally formed. I suppose some people just like to add more.
To top the ingredient list off, I've never seen Sorbitol, Sorbitan Oleate, or Oat Protein used in home-made or hand-made soap before. At this point I'm thinking "what the crap. Who would mix in these extra factory-produced chemicals into soap, driving their cost up?". Oatmeal is often added to bars of soap for the hippie style, but oat protein?
This ingredient list is whack and smells of commercial-ness. Lets look around and see what can be found.
https://www.bulkapothecary.com/soap-making/melt-and-pour-soap-bases/goat-milk-sfic-all-natural-glycerin-melt-and-pour-soap-base/
>Coconut Oil
>Palm Oil
>Safflower Oil
>Glycerine (kosher, of vegetable origin)
>Goat’s Milk
>Purified Water
>Sodium Hydroxide (saponifying agent)
>Sorbitol (moisturizer)
>Propylene Glycol (made from vegetable glycerine)
>Sorbitan oleate (emulsifer)
>Oat protein (conditioner)
>Titanium Dioxide (mineral whitener used in opaque soaps)
Interesting... does the ingredient list look similar? Mayhaps exactly the same? The link says its SFIC. Never heard of it, but lets look...
http://www.sficcorp.com/index_dev.php which leads to the ingredient list http://www.sficcorp.com/pdfs/mp-ingred.pdf which is the same thing listed once again.
So, what these asshats are doing is using generic pre-made melt&pour soap, adding some dye and fragrance, and pouring it into (probably) silicon molds.
They call this home made.
>Since all products are homemade there will be some variation...
Home made my ass. But, using the bulkapothecary link, we can get a really good estimate on their cost and profit.
After shipping I estimate their cost is about $1/bar in raw materials, so that's $5 (5x) in profit without any effort put into actually making soap. For perspective, my approximate cost for a bar of soap twice their size/weight is $1 without considering the time/effort to actually make the soap, let alone learning or developing the process.
(mind you, this is pre-hyperinflation, prices will go up very soon if not already)
>My soaps are made from premium goat milk soap which contains no chemicals and has a real goat's milk base. Many people make goat milk soap that contains chemicals that are bad for your skin and use goat milk powder instead of real goat's milk. All the soaps I make use premium goat milk soap.
>all my soaps are made from soap
*facehoof, 2x combo*
>>5031
conversations feel a little one-sided and lonely, but still trudging on. I still have a lot to learn, and even more to share.
conversations feel a little one-sided and lonely, but still trudging on. I still have a lot to learn, and even more to share.
1647052255.jpg (155.7 KB, 2044x2000, 6B2C79EA1E961DCEDEECBA22171A3209-159407.jpg)
>>5032
>conversations feel a little one-sided and lonely
That's my fault, im just not really sure what to say most of the time. But i want you to know that i and everyone else appreciates your effort.
>conversations feel a little one-sided and lonely
That's my fault, im just not really sure what to say most of the time. But i want you to know that i and everyone else appreciates your effort.
>>5033
Thanks for mentioning it at least. Hard to gauge if anyone is actually reading anything. I figure the worst case is I can link it to specific people who want to know whatever about soap.
Still good to know pones out in the wild, even if its just a couple, are watching.
Thanks for mentioning it at least. Hard to gauge if anyone is actually reading anything. I figure the worst case is I can link it to specific people who want to know whatever about soap.
Still good to know pones out in the wild, even if its just a couple, are watching.
>>5034
I Definitely read every post you make. you've taught me a lot about soap making and the oils that go into the process, i find it very fascinating.
I Definitely read every post you make. you've taught me a lot about soap making and the oils that go into the process, i find it very fascinating.
I'm here
>>5030
>"pony" themed soap
I share your skepticism and incredulity. Obviously theyre a horsefucker in some capacity to have made a 'specific' soap for so many ponies, but the functional applicability of the 'theme' to is dubious.
>>5043
Do (you) market soap online in any capacoty? Ngl, I would rub Aryanne's CM all over me.
And the soap too.
>"pony" themed soap
I share your skepticism and incredulity. Obviously theyre a horsefucker in some capacity to have made a 'specific' soap for so many ponies, but the functional applicability of the 'theme' to is dubious.
>>5043
Do (you) market soap online in any capacoty? Ngl, I would rub Aryanne's CM all over me.
And the soap too.
>>5044
neh, not to the marketing stage yet. There are several more things I need to do first.
Need to get boxes that are a good size for the soap, need to make a cutter for the soap loaf, need to figure out how I'm going to label things, and finally I need to build a website.
There are a couple more things I need to do, like getting the dye to match the color needed for each pone the soap is going to be against. Also need to make cutiemark stamps for more ponies. Right now I have Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle, need to make one for Celestia, Luna, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash.
Aryanne soap is a special case for how I make it, and takes a lot more effort. I don't think I'll try selling such for that reason. Maybe if people know how to ask, just that it will be quite a bit more expensive because of the extra effort needed to make it.
Was also thinking about making and selling perfume using the same fragrance oils I have mixed for Celestia, Luna, and mane6. The fragrance oils are of exceptional quality and my first tests as a perfume is... kind of amazing how long the fragrance sticks around for. Sprayed a paper towel a couple times and could still smell it two days later.
I don't brake out in rashes from it either, like I do with so many other fragrances found in things like soap or cologne. I still can't believe how fantastic of a source I have for the fragrance oils.
Just I've been super busy with work doing lots of overtime. Not much time left to develop these products.
neh, not to the marketing stage yet. There are several more things I need to do first.
Need to get boxes that are a good size for the soap, need to make a cutter for the soap loaf, need to figure out how I'm going to label things, and finally I need to build a website.
There are a couple more things I need to do, like getting the dye to match the color needed for each pone the soap is going to be against. Also need to make cutiemark stamps for more ponies. Right now I have Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle, need to make one for Celestia, Luna, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash.
Aryanne soap is a special case for how I make it, and takes a lot more effort. I don't think I'll try selling such for that reason. Maybe if people know how to ask, just that it will be quite a bit more expensive because of the extra effort needed to make it.
Was also thinking about making and selling perfume using the same fragrance oils I have mixed for Celestia, Luna, and mane6. The fragrance oils are of exceptional quality and my first tests as a perfume is... kind of amazing how long the fragrance sticks around for. Sprayed a paper towel a couple times and could still smell it two days later.
I don't brake out in rashes from it either, like I do with so many other fragrances found in things like soap or cologne. I still can't believe how fantastic of a source I have for the fragrance oils.
Just I've been super busy with work doing lots of overtime. Not much time left to develop these products.
>>5045
>expensive
Id be disappointed otherwise, and I appreciate the logistical issues as a barrier to entry.
Having said, if they were to become available even as a limited edition/run I absolutely want a windmill of frenship in my bathroom, and Id not be opposed to a private deal/arrangement direct with you (fuck websites and online storefronts).
Pretty obvious who (you) are (and likely who I am) so if you ever do, hit me up.
>expensive
Id be disappointed otherwise, and I appreciate the logistical issues as a barrier to entry.
Having said, if they were to become available even as a limited edition/run I absolutely want a windmill of frenship in my bathroom, and Id not be opposed to a private deal/arrangement direct with you (fuck websites and online storefronts).
Pretty obvious who (you) are (and likely who I am) so if you ever do, hit me up.
>>5046
I've ran a business before, its not a big deal, just lots of stuff to do. The main thing is optimizing workflow, as I don't want to get bogged down when things are not set up correctly. I've been there for a lot of years, its not fun.
My goal is to have things mostly ready to go by the time /mlp/con is happening.
I also have tentative plans for larger volume soap making, and I'll probably post about it eventually, but for now I'm sticking to low-level development.
I really do want to make lots of soap. The snowpity oil is strong and long lasting. Super stoked to be working with them.
I've ran a business before, its not a big deal, just lots of stuff to do. The main thing is optimizing workflow, as I don't want to get bogged down when things are not set up correctly. I've been there for a lot of years, its not fun.
My goal is to have things mostly ready to go by the time /mlp/con is happening.
I also have tentative plans for larger volume soap making, and I'll probably post about it eventually, but for now I'm sticking to low-level development.
I really do want to make lots of soap. The snowpity oil is strong and long lasting. Super stoked to be working with them.
Alright, full-size experiment. I was stoked to get a 10 quart mixer, and didn't have a chance to use it till today. Also since I have white dye, I can try making pone color schemed soap again.
Here is my first attempt.
I'll take more pictures after cutting the soap and stamping Fluttershy's butt branding in it.
Of course fluttershy snowpity fragrance was added.
Here is my first attempt.
I'll take more pictures after cutting the soap and stamping Fluttershy's butt branding in it.
Of course fluttershy snowpity fragrance was added.
>tfw soap shaped as mare bits is the defacto currency of the new horse order.
Feels good man.
Feels good man.
10-12 hours later, I took the soap loaf out of the mold and cut a few bars. Soap was really gummy and was tearing instead of being cut, so I'll let it cure some more before continuing.
I suppose the texture from tearing isn't bad, it kinda looks like a milled bar of soap. Still, I think I like a cleaner look than what you see in the picture.
The bars are 4.5" tall with 8.5 lbs of oil. I really like that size, so I think I'll stick with it.
~7.2-7.3 ounces per bar cut 1" thick, so each bar is 1"x3"x4.5" in size. Curing removes water, so we'll see how much more it will shrink from water loss (mostly in weight, size shouldn't really change much).
I think I used 3 teaspoons of yellow dye and 6 teaspoons of white dye, but I think I can use less, esp. if I mix the dye correctly next time. You can see a couple white streaks from cutting the soap. I wasn't *that* excited. It's from little clumps of un-mixed white dye that got smeared when cut. Mixing the dye correctly means taking some of the 8.5lbs of oil and putting it in the blender with the dye before turning it all into soap. I didn't try this first attempt because I wasn't sure how much dye I was going to use to begin with.
Taking a step back, this is just a small sample of the nuances I've been going through over the last year with making soap, pretty much every weekend and sometimes weekdays. I didn't start a thread earlier because I wanted some good pictures to start off with. My first attempts were... pathetic and enlightening at the same time.
>>5056
>>5053
I think I might just label Fluttershy soap that. Actually, maybe it would be a good label scheme for all of them! LOL
"I Can't Believe It's Not Flutters!"
"I Can't Believe It's Not Twiggles!"
"I Can't Believe It's Not Dashies!"
etc.
Thoughts?
(For those who might not get the meme, I attached an image of the product to help you out)
I suppose the texture from tearing isn't bad, it kinda looks like a milled bar of soap. Still, I think I like a cleaner look than what you see in the picture.
The bars are 4.5" tall with 8.5 lbs of oil. I really like that size, so I think I'll stick with it.
~7.2-7.3 ounces per bar cut 1" thick, so each bar is 1"x3"x4.5" in size. Curing removes water, so we'll see how much more it will shrink from water loss (mostly in weight, size shouldn't really change much).
I think I used 3 teaspoons of yellow dye and 6 teaspoons of white dye, but I think I can use less, esp. if I mix the dye correctly next time. You can see a couple white streaks from cutting the soap. I wasn't *that* excited. It's from little clumps of un-mixed white dye that got smeared when cut. Mixing the dye correctly means taking some of the 8.5lbs of oil and putting it in the blender with the dye before turning it all into soap. I didn't try this first attempt because I wasn't sure how much dye I was going to use to begin with.
Taking a step back, this is just a small sample of the nuances I've been going through over the last year with making soap, pretty much every weekend and sometimes weekdays. I didn't start a thread earlier because I wanted some good pictures to start off with. My first attempts were... pathetic and enlightening at the same time.
>>5056
>>5053
I think I might just label Fluttershy soap that. Actually, maybe it would be a good label scheme for all of them! LOL
"I Can't Believe It's Not Flutters!"
"I Can't Believe It's Not Twiggles!"
"I Can't Believe It's Not Dashies!"
etc.
Thoughts?
(For those who might not get the meme, I attached an image of the product to help you out)
>>5057
10/10 soap would eat 50 bars.
>"I Can't Believe It's Not Flutters!"
>"I Can't Believe It's Not Twiggles!"
>>"I Can't Believe It's Not Dashies!"
Based i love it.
10/10 soap would eat 50 bars.
>"I Can't Believe It's Not Flutters!"
>"I Can't Believe It's Not Twiggles!"
>>"I Can't Believe It's Not Dashies!"
Based i love it.
Over the last month, using naturally made soap and rinsing with vinegar water. In the first week or so I noticed that I'm shedding a lot less hair than when I was using shampoo. Seems to be less split hair ends too,
The other thing I started doing after that was using a 50/50 mix of jojoba oil/castor oil and combed it into my hair. Exceptional results. I don't get bedhead anymore and hair actually feels nice through the next shower.
The other thing I started doing after that was using a 50/50 mix of jojoba oil/castor oil and combed it into my hair. Exceptional results. I don't get bedhead anymore and hair actually feels nice through the next shower.
Been really busy, but not too busy to work on more soap things.
Here is some of the first revisions of potential product I'm going to be selling. Anyone have a preference for which one they like? Any suggested changes?
Will be printed on a 2"x2" sticker for the bottle.
Here is some of the first revisions of potential product I'm going to be selling. Anyone have a preference for which one they like? Any suggested changes?
Will be printed on a 2"x2" sticker for the bottle.
>>5105
I would center the logo and perhaps make it in gray so with text over so it "blends in". Attached small mockup of what I mean (also made a version with narrower label if desired).
I would center the logo and perhaps make it in gray so with text over so it "blends in". Attached small mockup of what I mean (also made a version with narrower label if desired).
>>5105
>Snwopity
Somehow, I supect you noticed that and have been waiting for someone to say something
Snowpity Twiggles sounds more fun, and I'd stick to 'spray'
>Snwopity
Somehow, I supect you noticed that and have been waiting for someone to say something
Snowpity Twiggles sounds more fun, and I'd stick to 'spray'
>snowpity spray
Okay, take my money.
Okay, take my money.
>>5106
Can't really do that because of the way black&white laser printers work. There is either black, or there is the color of the paper.
Thought about getting a color laser printer, but I'm trying to avoid additional costs. I already spent between $2k and $3k this month on this whole project.
Can't really do that because of the way black&white laser printers work. There is either black, or there is the color of the paper.
Thought about getting a color laser printer, but I'm trying to avoid additional costs. I already spent between $2k and $3k this month on this whole project.
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