Echinacea Purpurea Herb Soap

 12/9/11       room temperature 66℉         Humidity 50%

olive oil     400g
palm oil     240g
coconut oil   240g
sweet almond oil    425g 
hazel nut oil   95g 
lye  204g
milk  440g
echinacea purpurea herb powder 12g   +  water  80g


Litsea Cubeba EO
rosemary EO
Lemongrass EO

Videos(no sound) of Neem Oil Liquid Soap

                                       In the end, the temperature of this batch was only 85.2℃




Followings are short films I took from my digital camera of neem oil liquid soap. This liquid soap was  made of 70% neem oil and 30% canola oil.
Neem oil  SAP Naoh=0.1387   Koh=0.194  INS=124
I tried my best to record and stir at the same time.  Sometimes the lens got fogged up by the steam of the soap batch.
Here is the receipe of this batch

neem oil      483g                                    483*0.194 =94
canola oil    208g                                    208*0.1856=38.6
Koh            132g
water        396g
  1/24/12 
total soap paste is 905g ,  make into liquid soap using ratio of 1:2.

When I decided to record this film, I had been hand mixing for over ninety minutes.  Before recording,  I could see the koh floating on top as darker brown liquid.

You can see from the shaky film that the mixture was still very soft.

The mixture looked like chocolate pudding. The smell of the neem oil was very strong.

The pot was on the stove with warm setting on.  From time to time I monitored with a digital thermoter.  The temperature was below 85℃.

Tripod you say?  That will be great if I have one.  I will try to ask my daughter for help if I do another film again.

 

These two films I couldn't separate them.  The first one seemed about the same.  The second one seemed to dry up a bit.  Slightly turn to like sugar paste.  At the end of the second film, you can see the stove setting on "warm" with full coil.

In this film you can see the texture was denser.  The paste temperature was 81℃

Finished!!  It took another 30 minutes.

Snowdrift Farm is closing

 When I opened my email yesterday, I received the following newsletter--  

Greetings!

Unfortunately while I was caring for Trina, a series of poor management decisions left Snowdrift Farm in a very poor position. While I have tried to restore it, the problems were too immense. Therefore Snowdrift Farm will be closing on December 12, 2011.

We will be closing out our inventory at 50% off over the next week. I have tried to take down everything that is not available.

December Classes will be held from 9 am to 3 pm at 4420 N Highway Dr as scheduled.

I am very sad that we are unable to continue. We would like to thank everyone for their support over the years.

Bill

December 12 is the last day to order. 

  

We are closing out all of our products with remaining bulk amounts. Take 50% off of all orders over $30.

What a pity.  Snowdrift Farm was a very good soap making supply store.  It was established since 1996.  The retailed/wholesale goods it carried including lotion making, soap making, cosmetic needs.  The price were mostly fair.  I usually had contact with miss Christie.  She handled ordering and phones.  I also visited their formulary on their webpage to get new idea or learn new information.  The webpage of Snowdrift Farm was one of the most helpful page I visited for soapmaking.

I started to notice something wrong when I couldn't get jojoba oil at 7/13/11 . In October I even couldn't order coconut oil.  Snowdrift Farm had moved the store location twice this year.  It finally  settled in the estate which was claim to be bought by the business owner.   During this time,  Rancho de Nieve llc was considered to replace its name.


 One time when I went to pick up my order at 1:30pm,  Miss Christie was not in .  I thought she wnet to pick up her kids.  Miss Chirstie was a nice attentant but sometimes hard to be reached by phone.  she was also the only one who handled all orders.   Christie suggested that I went to apply a small business license.  I got one but I didn't realize that I need to submit a filled form monthly  to Tucson City for tax.  I submit three invalid ones.  What a trouble to go through for a small business.  The information line states that they cannot give any legal suggestion or instruction.  It means I cannot find out how to fill the form correctly.  I would be better off having no business license.

It is a sad thing to see the Snowdrift Farm close its door.  From now on, there will be no soap making supply store in Tucson.  Tucson has lost some of its sparkle....

Green Papaya Soap with Lard

We almost ran out of cold process soaps in my household.  Finally, I got a chance to make a new batch of soaps at 11/28/11.  My oldest daughter really loves green papaya soaps.   These soaps can reduce skin blemishes and are mild on skin.

When I was preparing the ingredients, I found out not only I ran out of shortening also did sweet almond oil.    It was easy to replace different oils with recalculation for lye and liquid.   I also wanted to use some houttuynia cordata tea (good for eczema skin) I brew a while back with some milk which was about to expire.

This is the revised receipe for this batch :
coconut oil    400g
palm oil      400g
lard             600g
olive oil       600g
evening primrose oil   80g
houttuynia cordata tea   472g   milk  194g
bee wax   120g
smashed green papaya  320g
Lye   315g

 I got to work on this batch at 10pm after children were in bed.  I finished the batch around 10:30pm.
1.  I started with heating the hard oil (lard, coconut oil, palm oil and bee wax) to 85℃.  The oil temperature was too high so I used ice bath to bring down the temperature to 70℃.
2.  I proceed to mix the liquid with lye.  I also used ice bath to bring down the lye mixture to 52℃.  
3.  I put in the soft oil (olive oil and  evening primrose oil ) to further bring down the oil temperature of step 1 from 70℃ to 62℃.
4.  At this point, I started to blend  oil with lye.  Until the soap traced, the temperature I monitored was 54℃.

In this batch, I mixed in all the remainder soap pieces  in.    Soap making is such a green way to reduce waste.

                                  After the soaps cure, pH test is around 9-10.

Kola Nut Shampoo paste

 Room Temperature 71℉     Humidity42%   10/11/11
Sunflower oil        640g
Jojoba oil               160g
coconut oil           1000g
koh                          400g
distilled water     1200g

I didn't have time to make liquid soap.  We were  desperate for a new shampoo.  My younger daughter and I have hair loss problem.  It was a good time to try this new recipe.    After a long pause not making liquid soaps.  I forgot that the best temperature to mix oil and Koh was 80℃.   The  starting mixing temperature was only 60℃.  I then put the soap pot on stove under low heat to heat the mixture up till 80℃.   I then turned off the stove .


The total  mixing time was 40 minutes.  At the end of mixing, the temperature reached 102℃ as shown in the above  photo

I got my kola nut from Monterey Bay Spice Co.

Kola nut, powder  per pound(≒ 454g) USD 3.85  plus shipping cost.


11/27/11    We had been using the kola nut shampoo for few weeks now.  I do feel hair being healthier.  I cannot say if the regrowth of hair is noticeable.  I will update in the future if I do see great difference.

Elderberry

                                  ↑ elderberry flower

                              ↑     elderberry powder

Illipe butter

                                           ↑      Illipe butter

Bee Wax

                                    ↑   Bee wax

Free Gifts of My Soap Books

                 ↑    Free soap DIY gifts from Taiwan when I order my soap books from Books.com.tw

German Choamomile Flowers

                                             ↑      German choamomile flowers

Annatto Seed Powder

↑       Annatto seed powder

Nettle Leaves Powder

↑      nettle leaves powder

Tea Tree Fruit Powder

 ↑    Tea Tree fruit powder or tea tree powder from Taiwan. NT70. (around USD2.1)

Sweet Almond Hand Soap

 ↑     sweet almond hand soap      5/8/11
              room temperature 70℉           humidity 42%              mixing about 2 hours 
sweet almond oil        800g
canola oil (from deep fried)     800g
cocoa butter                        35g
KOH                       307g
distilled water      900g
This gooey paste is very similar to castile soap paste.

 ↑    Sweet Almond Hand Soap     The condition at 6/1/11( A) .  It became clearer.

Sweet Almond Hand Soap       The condition at 6/1/11(B) 

Dish Soap

 Dish Soap paste 1/17/11 (formulated from the formula on internet)  This was how it look like when the mixing was finished.               room temperature 64℉         humidity 53%
coconut oil 1400g (70%)
canola oil 600g (30%)
koh        500g    
water 1500g
mixing at 70℃
mixing for 15 minutes

Another batch at  5/16/11                       ↑  It spent one night in cooler and became like this ( 5/17/11)
               room temperature   72℉            humidity 40%

Coconut oil 2800g (70%)
 canola oil 1200g (30%)
koh 500g            water 3000g
mixing at 80C   Mixing was 30  minutes long.

Ready to Use Liquid Soap

Camellia Shampoo  and Sweet Almond Hand Soap in juice containers.  They will become clear like chicken broth after a day.

In front of the soap container are these  essential oils I used in shampoo and hand soap.

I used tea tree EO,    lemongrass EO,    sweet orange EO,   in my hand soap.

I used rosemary EO,    patchouli EO,    Ylang Ylang EO,   rosewood EO in shampoo

Camellia Shampoo

 ↑    Camellia Shampoo Paste 9/27/10
        humidity 47%       room temperature76℉         mixing for 20 minutes

Jojoba oil 466g
Pistachio Oil 485g
Camellia oil 422g
Coconut oil 2112g
KOH 778g
Water 2334g

↑     9/28/10     In the process of curing (turn clear)

Sweet Orange Moisturizing Hand Soap

Sweet Orange Moisturizing Hand Soap Paste 9/2/10
                   humidity 39%        room temperature 77℉
coconut oil     700g
cocoa butter   70g
olive oil           591g
castor oil        210g
rice bran oil   560g
KOH 449g
distill water   1346g
mixing for 15 minutes.  It was a piece of cake.

The Appearence of Liquid Soap

 Diluting the soap paste (soap broth)1 : 3 = soap paste : water    Sweet Almond Hand Soap

1 : 1 = soap paste : water           Dish Soap

You can always add colorant to liquid soap.  I personally don't like to do that.

By calculating the KOH correctly, I never need to worry about neutralizing the soap.  I always wear gloves when I am using dish soap.  The dish soap will remove grease from the dishes and pots.  So will the soap remove the protecting oil from your hands.

Unsuccessful Batch of Hand Soap

 One of few failed attempts on new recipe.  Unsuccessful high foaming cold cream liquid soap based on Catherine Failor's P52 recipe.

Coconut oil 1170g,
Castor 468g,
Beef Tallow 117g,
 KOH 418g ,
water 1240g,
I couldn't get it to gel stage after four days using cold process method. (3/31/11-4/4/11) . The failure might be not enough mixing. I was ill during these days.  I will try it again next time.  I beleive I failed due to my weakness so that I didn't mix it well.

pH was ‥‥            I always wonder if the test paper really works.    That was a proof. The fail high foaming cold cream liquid soap was very alkalis. I used this fail soap batch to do laundry with citric acid, and it cleaned wonderfully. Not a total loss after all.

Cold Process Castile Soap

 ↑       One of  most gooey soap paste I encountered .        3/9/11 to 3/17/11

↑          Cold Process Castile Soap pH Sud test 3/17/11

Following  are the the records I pulled out from my facebook page.  Hopefully you can connect them through the following link :




1)   As the story goes, making pure olive oil liquid soap is a long process. Oil temperature was around 73ºC (161ºF). When I mixed the olive oil with potassium hydroxide to viscous stage (Not yet totally blended), I still saw some olive oil stayed on top. The soap paste smelled like a kind of eraser scent. How interesting and it really smelled good.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=134058836662574&set=a.133927046675753.26461.133926833342441&type=1&theater#!/video/video.php?v=103549329728437&oid=133926833342441&comments




2)   I had to put the soap pot on stove to keep the temperature to 62ºC (143ºF) over and over again.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=134058836662574&set=a.133927046675753.26461.133926833342441&type=1&theater#!/video/video.php?v=103552933061410&oid=133926833342441&comments


3)   Strangely, the appearance of soap paste tuned from mayonnaise to cake-batter-like again.http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=134058836662574&set=a.133927046675753.26461.133926833342441&type=1&theater#!/video/video.php?v=103554423061261&oid=133926833342441&comments


4)    That was very close to finish. I was hand stirring for two hours already. The other cold process liquid soaps were never difficult like the pure olive liquid soap at 62ºC was..... Do you notice the soap volume raised up due to the mixing?
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=134058836662574&set=a.133927046675753.26461.133926833342441&type=1&theater#!/video/video.php?v=103555776394459&oid=133926833342441&comments



5)    The stirring process of my castile soap was finished. Finally I saw the soap paste become translucent. It was the result after six sore stirrings as the soap pot in and out the warm oven and chest cooler. Now is the waiting game for another two weeks for the potassium hydroxide to break down..... Then I will have my doggies shampoo ready.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=134058836662574&set=a.133927046675753.26461.133926833342441&type=1&theater#!/video/video.php?v=103856213031082&oid=133926833342441&comments

Bar Soap Cutting Tool

The old bread slicer can be reused as bar soap slicer.

Green Papaya Soap

 The green papayas are full of papain.  Using  this soap frequently, it will help lighten the blemish on your skin.

coconut oil    400g
palm oil      400g
shortening   480g (should be 600g, short of 120g )
sweet almond oil   50g
olive oil       600g
orange juice    600g
bee wax   120g
smashed green papaya  320g
Lye   292g

papaya soaps      5/11/11
It was a frightening waiting time for me. I found out that I left out 120g lard after I put the traced soap in mold.   I needed to add 120g lard because my shortening ran out on me. (The INS of shortening and lard is about the same, therefor they can replace each other)
Fortunately, I tested the batch when it was cured, the pH was still reasonable. Measuring in grams is the best way to make soap successfully.

Pure Olive Oil Marseille Honey Milk Soaps

 ↑      100% pure olive oil Marseille honey milk soaps.        4/6/11 
They smell like honey cookies.


olive oil  1810g
lye 243g
milk  + distill water   608g
honey   28g
ps : First  use 86g water to mix with honey before adding it to the rest 522g liquid.  (608- 86 = 522)

 5/23/11   room temperature 72℉  humidity 46%  
oil temperature 63℃   lye solution temperature at 46℃  。   The soap mixture was  65℃


olive oil  1810g
lye 243g
milk  + distill water   608g
honey   28g

The temperature was too high.  It become trace so fast.  After I unmold the soap, I found slight trace of lye solution  on bottom(it was brown gooey  liquid outside the bottom part)

↑       I found slight trace of lye solution  on bottom(it was brown liquid outside the bottom part)5/23/11
 You can see the blue test paper(litmus paper)  The green one was tested on same batch of soap.

Binchoutan Tea Tree Soap and Carrot Soap

 The black soap is "Binchoutan Tea Tree Soap"  the yellow part is Carrot Soap.     Binchoutan in soap can remove excess grease and  odor from our body during summer .


Binchoutan Tea Tree Soap       6/21/11  Mixing at 51℃     room temperature 77℉    humidity 36%
sweet almond oil   198g
olive oil                         280g
coconut oil                 280g
palm oil                    280g
evening primrose oil 200g
Grape Seed Oil      200g
 shea butter        200g
Lye              230g
houttuynia cordata tea 450g  +  whipping cream 40g
water 60g +  charcoal(Binchoutan)   25g
tea tree EO                    10g
Patchouli  EO           10g
5 minute trace, 


Carrot Soap        6/22/11
mixing at 55℃     room temperature 78℉    humidity  38%

coconut oil      400g
palm oil         600g
red palm oil   200g
sunflower oil     498g
apricot kennel oil 102g
wheat germ oil  60g
cocoa butter       200g
carrot juice    700g
lye        280g

Elderberry Soy Milk Soap

Elderberry Soy Milk Soap           9/21/10
                   humidity 39%   room temperature 75℉        Based on 娜娜媽配方
coconut oil   140g
palm oil  150gevening primrose oil 60g
grape seed oil    89g
Avocado oil   100g
canola oil     279g
Kukui Nut oil 夏威夷核果油 50g
Lye 132g
soy milk  280g
elderberry powder  10geucalyptus EO 6g
tea tree EO  4g


This recipe is good for seborrheic dermatitis & acne type oily skin.  Worth trying.

Avocado Milk Soap ( with) Houttuynia cordata soap

1     The sage color is 
Avocado Milk Soap 10/29/10 娜娜媽配方
coconut oil 140g
 palm oil 140g
avocado oil 120g
rice bran oil 100g
hazelnut oil 100g
apricot kernel oil 100g
240g
lye 102g

2.  The olive color is
Houttuynia cordata soap 10/27/10魚腥草修護皂
humidity 43%  room temperature 73℉   娜娜媽配方
coconut oil 280g
palm oil 280g
shea butter 400g
sweet almond oil 240g
evening primrose oil 200g
Houttuynia cordata tea 440g

Houttuynia Cordata Soap

 Houttuynia Cordata Soap        9/8/10   娜娜媽配方
               humidity 42%                room temperature 77℉ coconut oil  140gpalm oil 140g shea butter 96g (ran out.  modified amount)sweet almond oil  120gevening primrose oil  100g Houttuynia cordata tea  192g
Lye 89ghouttuynia cordata powder 12g (or more) 30g waterEucalyptus EO 10g