If you haven't read my story about how I got started with soap making, go one post back and read that first. If you have read that, then we all good.
Now that you know my story of how I got started, here's some information about what I use in my soaps.
Oils: When learning how to make soaps, I used a very simple recipe that Katie Carson provided. In this recipe, it only called for olive oil, coconut coil, and lye solution. After learning, I did some research into other recipes and came up with my own. I added palm oil and castor oil to the mix which helps the soap feel better, lather up nicely, and harden faster. With Katie's recipe, I had to wait about three days before unmolding. With my recipe, I can unmold about twenty-four hours after pouring. For anyone who is interested, I use 45% olive oil, 30% coconut oil, 20% palm oil, and 5% castor oil for my soaps.
Fragrances: At the moment, I am getting my fragrance oils from Nature's Garden. This is who Katie suggested and I have been pleased with the oils. This supplier has a list of all their fragrances with what they smell like, if they are safe to use with CP soaps, and how they act with CP soaps. This is has been a very helpful tool as I have been avoiding fragrances that have had problems with the soap.
When picking my fragrances, I try to pick ones that will match the meditations in some way while also picking a variety in the series. Instead of all floral scents, for example, I will be trying to pick maybe one that is floral, one that is clean, one that is spicy, and one that is sweet. As I post my soaps, I will have the fragrance and what it smells like listed somewhere in the post.
With my soaps, I am picking one fragrance that has nothing to do with the meditations. These soaps are known as Wild Card Soaps.
Colorants: At the moment, I am getting my micas from Mad Micas. Even though it has been taking roughly a couple of weeks to get my order as a result of the global thing that will not be named, I have been very happy with these colorants. As part of Katie's supply list, she coordinated with Mad Micas to create a sample package of micas to use while making the beginner soaps. I like how they have CP soap stable colorants listed and I appreciate that they send out a sample packet of a color you didn't order. I also appreciate that they have biodegradable and eco friendly glitters.
Be on the lookout for the post release of my first Wild Card Soap on Friday.