Soap Questions

[lil' love]

I want to make some melt and pour soaps for the holidays and I have a couple questions.

Should I buy the soap making kit that inclueds a couple fragrances and some coloring?

Or would it be better to just but the M&P sopa and add my own fragrances and color?
Is it ok to use food coloring and essential oils in the soap?

Thanks

[LaLa]

Essential oils are better then fragrance oils for their many aromatherpy values and natural base, plus they usually last longer the fragrance oils, so I would use the Essential Oils, especially if you already have them! Why buy stuf fyou don't need?

Where are you buying your melt and pour from?

edited to add: You can use food coloring, and it is pretty, but you might reconsider coloring your soaps. Why add somethign that adds stress to the skin's outer layers? Some coloring agents can irritate the skin. There are natural methods of coloring soap. Do a search on google for a listing!

[Chanley]

There are natural methods to coloring soap BUT it will cloud up clear M&P base.

Paprika and tumeric are two spices known to color soaps. You can also use oxides for coloring. I would be careful and research my alternative colorings well to make sure they are not an irritant.

If you are using melt and pour, I say go ahead with the food colors cause they are not much more evil than the melt and pour base. To me it is like, if you are eating the hot dog, go ahead and have a little cheese on top too, why stop at the hot dog?


I agree with LaLa, if you are have essential oils, use them rather than buy fragrance. But if there is a fragrance you really want, get it and use it. Fragrance oils take more to scent a soap than essential oils, so keep that in mind. Essential oils are more expensive BUT thier use will go outside of bath products. Meanign they are more versatile than fragrance oil. However, some essential oils are jsut so damn expensive! If I have to have neroli, you can bet I am not buying an essential oil, I could not afford it!

Anyway that is my 2 cents.

[lil' love]

lala,
I bought my soap from soapcrafters. Is that a good company?

Are there any other ones that you can suggest?

Thanks

[LaLa]

Soap crafters has a nice product. You'll be happy with it! They don't have the best price, but the company that I"m buying from now is such a pain, I wish I would have paid the extra money and gone with someone else!
I haven't had very good luck with this one.

I'll try to list my findings for you later today (when I have more time)

[Chanley]

I agree that soap crafters is good stuff.

Umm I am currently thinking about dropping the place I was using (Cedarvale) I finally got my shipment in but most of it is backordered and some of the fragrances STINK!!! Burns my buttons.



There are less expensive places BUT soap crafters does have a number you can call and get a very nice person on the phone.

Ok I need to go corral the mess....

[LaLa]

Ok, lil love, I searched all over for the best prices with shipping costs included, and here is what was cheapest for me (given my location)

1. CraftExpress, but you need to buy in bulk
2. SoapBerryLane.com 2.25/lb
3. CreationHerbal.com 2.30/lb
4. FromNaturewithLove.com 2.3/lb
5. Brambelberry.com 2.30/lb
(3 through 5 were the same price for me with shipping per pound)
6.SoapCrafters 3.17/lb
7. Lavenderlane 3.00/lb (but not happy with their melt and pour)

So, soapcrafters was actually the most expensive of the ones I listed. I haven't ordered from teh others, though.
I ended up ordering from CedarVale, but I will never order from them again. I am extremely unhappy with my continued poor service!

[madison]

soaps

I'm also using soapcrafters and have been pretty pleased with their products. I can get alot of my various soaping products there - instead of shopping at four different sites/shops and paying four different shipping costs. That saves some money right there.

When I've used food coloring messing around making a multitude of small soap curls, logs and inserts, I found quickly that the color bleeds and fades. I'm now using both powdered colorant and the wax colorant chips (I think they can also be used for candles).

I use mostly fragrance oils from http://www.sweetcakes.com - I really like their stuff. I have alot of friends/family who like scents like chocolate chip, cappuccino, candy cane, holiday spice etc - things that do NOT come in essential oil scents. I made a Ghirardelli Chocolate Bar to die for, superfatted with cocoa butter... it made my kitchen smell SOOOO good, good enough to eat (almost) - and it looks great, too - it's in layers, like a neopolitan ice cream. Yum. And the Christmas Spice from sweetcakes is REALLY wonderful!

I don't particularly like the scents of essential oils, though I know they are supposed to be better. I am not big on herbals. I use lavender, but barely tolerate it. Other fragrances I've smelled just seemed so overwealmingly...herbal.

I need some advice on how to make those great looking swirls, though. I am NOT figuring out how to make those. Using the colorant chips (using a veggie grater to make grated tiny pieces), how would I do that? Or using a chocolate/melted soap thick liquid?

Thanks.

[JessicaS]

oooooo madison....

**prostrates self on ground before her****

oh mighty madison of the chocolate soapy items...how may I prove myself worthy of thy knowledge????

i crave chocolate soapy thingies and my sister will die of lack of relaxation from her army wife hell!!!

please anoint me with thy infinite wisdom!!!

(which means tell me how you did the chocolate soapy thingies please!!)

[Cynthia Mosher]

Madison your chococolate soap sounds divine! Would you care to share the recipe with us? (begging smilie here)

[LaLa]

Oh madision, show your pcitures here!
The soaps are so beautiful!!!