I’m not making one more batch of soap, until I get new molds. My new TOGs looked good, but didn’t perform/hold up well. Based on the less-than-stellar customer service I received, after singing this company’s praises, I’ve decided to take the loss and move on. I didn’t get my money back (because PayPal couldn’t rule in my favor, because of the nature of the complaint), but PayPal did let me know that my filed complaint would be on record. That’s good enough.

So, what’s next?  Silvermoon Soap Supply. They’ve gotten rave reviews on their molds and their customer service. Upland is still not fully up and running, and I can’t wait till mid-May to START a mold order. 

NEA

I don’t give a darn! My new “dream” recipe has a high iodine level (70) and an “out-of-range” INS (138), and I LOVE IT SO!

Reading stuff on the internet, can make you crazy. For real. So many people have opinions on how to make the best soap — “10% castor oil will make your soap sticky..”, “Too much RBO causes DOS…”, “I would do this, because I personally like a soap that…”. Makes your head swim, don’t it? How could you possibly know what to do? I have learned to experiment, and see what happens for myself.

I’m going to use a higher lye concentration, to help harden my soap faster. I’m also looking into Sodium Lactate. The warm weather is coming, so it’ll be nice to see how this recipe holds up, in hot, humid weather. DOS? No DOS? We’ll see!

NEA

This ain’t the best pic, but I’m sure you can see that there’s actually “soap” here, and no goopy goo! It’s Rice Bran Oil, with some Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Castor Oil, Soybean Oil, Sunflower Oil, and Sal Butter thrown in. No coconut milk — tired of it, and my soaps don’t need extra “creaminess”.

It’s scented with SW’s Grapefruit Blossom FO, which right now is definately more “blossom”, than “grapefruit. But at least the scent is there, and who knows how it’ll evolve, after a full cure. It’s a nice, pretty “yellow”, that’s not coming thru very well in this pic, but…it’s yellow.

NEA