Learn2Soap - We Never Stop Learning

Keep your winter shoes, boots and gloves smelling fresh and clean. 

You’ll need:

Crystal cat litter (silica gel type stuff found at the grocery store)
Essential or fragrance oils (tea tree and lavender work well)
Small cloth bags with tie closures

Mix a small amount of the essential or fragrance oils with some of the crystals cat litter.  Put this mixture of litter and essential oils in the muslin bags and place the filled bags inside the gloves and boots.  The crystal cat litter will absorb the moisture and the antifungal, antibacterial properties of the tee tree should keep the odor causing bacteria and fungi in check.  Lavender essential oil has some properties similar to tea tree and will also help make the tea tree smell better.

It’s that time of year.  Lots of gatherings of soap makers are happening around the country this spring and summer.  Are you going to one?  Is there one near you?

Not many things are more fun that meeting fellow soap makers.   Meeting the people we talk to and discuss things with thru email is a joy.   It’s nice to put a face with the name.  And it’s fun to learn new things and discuss new ideas in person.   Plus it’s fun to dig thru the goodie bag when you get back home or back to the hotel you’re staying in and remember all the fun you had.

Here’s a list of gatherings where you will find door prizes and goodie bag items donated by Ellen’s Essentials.

Handcrafted Soap Maker’s Guild

Florida Suds and Light

Georgia Spring Fling

2008 Tennessee Soap & Candle Social

Recently a soap maker asked us how she could use mint
leaves in soap without getting those nasty brown areas around them in her
soap.

Here’s How:
Steep the mint leaves you intend to use in hot water (like making tea).
Then strain out the leaves.

Next spread the leaves on a paper towel and let them dry.

Once dry, you can use them in soap and you won’t have any brown spots.

Do you make HP-Crockpot soap? Are you tired of glopping hot processed soap into your molds? Want to use more detailed molds for your hp soap? Want the soap to be more managable? Well, you can have it all… really, you can!

Try adding sodium lactate.

Consider the amount of oils that you use in your soap recipe and add 1.5% liquid sodium lactate (NAL) to your soap recipe. With this combination you can make HP soap that can actually be poured into your molds. Now, it’s not going to be as pourable as melt and pour soap. But if you’d like a comparison, let’s say it’s similar to really, really thick gravy which is thick but still pourable.

So, for instance you’re making soap with 2 pound of oils.

32 X .015 = .48 (for ease in measuring round up to .5 oz.)

When you get ready to mix your lye water remove .5 ounces of water and
replace it with .5 ounces of liquid sodium lactate.

Make your crock pot soap as usual.

You should be able to more easily pour your soap into your mold instead of
really struggling with it.