Measurements vs. Percentages in CP Soap Recipes

From David Fisher,Your Guide to Candle & Soap Making.

A Soap-Making Way to Look at Recipes

You are probably familiar with recipes that call for one cup of this, two tablespoons of that. You mix it up and pour it into a standard pan and cook it. You may double or halve the recipe at some point, but they're otherwise pretty standard.

However, in soap making, it’s best to use percentages for a couple of reasons:

It allows you to easily adjust the recipe to any size mold.

It allows you to easily adjust the proportions of the various oils in your recipe to affect the quality of the soap.

For example, let’s say you have a recipe that makes two pounds of soap. In it you might have 1/2 cup of coconut oil. You try the recipe and the lather isn't as good as you'd like, so you'd like to increase the proportion of coconut oil. With measurements, this is hard, with percentages, it’s easy.

So, let’s convert a recipe from measurements to percentages. We’ll start with a simple recipe-(Remember we're weighing everything, not using liquid measures.)

12 oz. Olive Oil
10 oz. Palm Oil
9 oz. Coconut Oil
8 oz. Canola Oil
2.5 oz. Castor Oil
2.5 oz. Cocoa Butter

This will make about a 4 pound batch of soap. But what are the ratios of each oil? Is this a well balanced recipe? And what if you want to make 7 pounds of soap? Here’s what we do:

- Total up the total number of ounces of oils. In this case, it’s 44. Divide each individual weight by 44 to get the percentage of that oil in the recipe.

12 oz. Olive Oil – divided by 44 = 27% (I’m rounding.)
10 oz. Palm Oil – divided by 44 = 23%
9 oz. Coconut Oil – divided by 44 = 20%
8 oz. Canola Oil – divided by 44 = 18%2.
5 oz. Castor Oil – divided by 44 = 6%
2.5 oz. Cocoa Butter – divided by 44 = 6%

So your recipe is:

27% Olive Oil
23% Palm Oil
20% Coconut Oil
18% Canola Oil
6% Castor Oil
6% Cocoa Butter

A pretty well-balanced recipe.

So let’s say you want to make a 7 pound (112 ounces) batch of soap. (Remember, that’s just the measurement of your oils. Leave room for the lye and water.)

Multiply the percentage by the desired amount.
27 % Olive Oil x 112 oz. = 30.2 oz.
23% Palm Oil x 112 oz. = 25.8 oz.
20% Coconut Oil x 112 = 22.4 oz
18% Canola Oil x 112 = 20.2 oz.
And so on.

Now, whether you’re creating a recipe from scratch, or have found one online, you can both understand the proportions of the oils, and scale it to any size you like.

Happy Soaping!

Source: http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/coldprocesssoapmaking/a/measvspercent.htm

Whipped & Push-Up Body Butters Class by Joan

This class is a great addition to your repertoire. Even if you have previously taken Lori's class. You will learn how to create two types of body butter - one whipped and one solid push-up version- which are all made with natural and organic ingredients.

Just to let you know that this class is a 3 hour demonstration style class. So, Joan first starts out the class discussing the ingredients. This is a great way to start out, but sometimes it gets to be too much and it seems like she has to rush to complete the class by the ending time. I would suggest condensing the discussion of the ingredients in the beginning in order to accommodate ample time to complete the products. This is only a minor thing which does not diminish the overall atmosphere of the class.

Joan is very easy going and is more than happy to answer any questions one may have. Her handouts are very easy to follow and have wealth of information from ingredients to suppliers. By the end of the class, students will take home with them a jar of whipped body butter, a solid stick body butter bar.

I really liked the feel of the whipped butter. And the recipe is pretty easy, but the most time consuming part of this recipes is whipping and cooling down the hot mixture over a an ice bath. The push up lotion stick is very convenient to travel with and makes the product easy to apply. What is really great about Joan's recipes is that they are small enough to make a small batch of products to make. And it is really easy to multiple up to make more. That is a definite plus! Because I do not want to have to make 20 lotions sticks when I only need to make 10 for gift giving purposes.

I would highly recommend taking this class. So, if you would like to see when Joan is teaching this class next at the Nova Studio, go to the studio's website at http://www.thenovastudio.com/ or check out Joan's website at http://www.joanmorais.com./. If you would like to see a full description of this class, then check out this link, http://www.thenovastudio.com/description_joan_butters.htm.

I would like to take Joan's Aromatherapy Soy Candles class. I am not sure if I am able to take it the next time it is offerred since money is on the tight side. She also teaches a beeswax candle making class. I think it may be offered on the same day. If you can take these classes, I would suggested it. Because candles make great gifts and this is the right time for it. It always seems that friends and family like to receive gifts that you make, especially the type they can use.

What is aromatherapy? Advice Tips

Aromatherapy is the practice of using volatile plant oils, including essential oils, for psychological and physical well-being. Aromatherapy uses essential oils from plants to heal, alleviate pain and regulate mood. Aromatherapy can help ease a wide assortment of ailments; easing aches, pains, and injuries, while relieving the discomforts of many health problems. Aromatherapy works on our sense of smell and by absorption into the bloodstream. About 15 per cent of the air we inhale goes to the roof of the nose, where olfactory receptors transport odours straight to a part of the brain called the limbic system. Aromatherapy is one of the fastest growing fields in alternative medicine. Essential oils can affect the mood, alleviate fatigue, reduce anxiety and promote relaxation.

When inhaled, they work on the brain and nervous system through stimulation of the olfactory nerves. Essential oils are also believed to be absorbed through the skin. There are around 150 essential oils used in aromatherapy, which are thought to have a number of benefits – including antiviral, anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, and antidepressant properties.Essential oils are the highly concentrated, volatile, aromatic essences of plants. Essential oils may perform more than one function in living plants. In some cases they seem to be a part of the plant's immune system. In other cases they may simply be end products of metabolism. Essential oils can contain hundreds of organic constituents, including hormones, vitamins and other natural elements that work on many levels.

Patients with cancer, particularly in the palliative care setting, are increasingly using aromatherapy and massage. The different types of Aromatherapy are cosmetic, massage and olfactory. Cosmetic Aromatherapy joined essential oils with facial, skin, body and hair care products containing all natural ingredients. Massage Aromatherapy combines the healing touch of massage therapy with the aromatic benefits of essential oils. Olfactory Aromatherapy releases essential oils into the environment around you either by inhaling or diffusion. Aromatherapy can be used for treatments from acne (Rosemary and Geranium) and other skin problems such as eczema (Chamomile), dry, chapped (Rose, Lavender, neroli) , oily, insect bites, athletes' feet and other fungal infections.

Grapefruit essential oil is a pleasant and refreshing scent with a lot of health benefits. It must be cold-pressed, but when it's been properly prepared, grapefruit essential oil has the same bright, clean perfume as the peels of a fresh grapefruit. People with certain chronic illnesses or conditions should not use aromatherapy. These illnesses and conditions include skin allergies, lung conditions such as asthma and pregnant women should not use aromatherapy. Some oils (such as juniper, rosemary, and sage) may cause uterine contractions. The effects of aromatherapy tend to vary from person to person, and no two people will be affected by the same essential oil in exactly the same way. Even the same person can be affected differently by the same oil depending on their surroundings, time of day or mood.

About the Author
Juliet Cohen writes articles for http://www.beauty-makeup-guide.com/blog">skin care blog and http://www.hairstyles-picture.com/hairstyles picture.

Source:http://www.articletrader.com/

Basket Building Techniques

Combine lip balm, soaps and scrubs into one fantastically rejuvenating gift basket.

Materials:

basket or other container
shredded paperbath and beauty products
24" or 30" clear cellophane
ribbon

optional: a printed card that includes a personal message and the product ingredients, or additional bath items such as towels, a rubber duck, etc.

1. Place shredded paper in the bottom of the basket/container. Arrange the bath and beauty products on top of the paper. If desired, add a card.

2. Cut a piece of cellophane 24" longer than the total length of the sides and bottom of the basket. Place the basket in the center of the length of cellophane and gather the ends together.

3. Tie the cellophane ends together with a small piece of ribbon; tape the sides of the cellophane down, if necessary.

Source: http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/cr_baskets/article/0,2025,DIY_13744_5297905_02,00.html

Perfect Pumpkin Whipped Soap Loaf

This soap is so cool. It will impress all of your customers. Great for the fall!!

Ingredients:
5 lb. Crafter’s Choice Ultra White Soap
1 lb. Crafter’s Choice Foaming Bath Whip
2.5 oz Crafter’s Choice Perfect Pumpkin FO
0.5 oz Crafter's Choice Vanilla Buttercream FO
Crafter’s Choice Red Liquid Pigment
Crafter’s Choice Citrus Orange Liquid Dye
Crafter's Choice Bronze Mica Powder
1 Silicone Loaf Mold
1 Jelly Roll Pan
Hand Mixer
Spatula or Spoon

Directions for Loaf:

Melt 4 lb. Crafter’s Choice Ultra White Soap. Add pumpkin fragrance. Set loaf mold on jelly roll pan (this will allow you to move the loaf while cooling). Pour fragranced soap into silicone loaf mold. Fill the mold approximately 2/3 full. While soap is cooling, prepare whipped topping. When soap has cooled enough to support whipped soap topping, add soap topping directly to loaf soap. (Do not spritz the loaf with rubbing alcohol before adding topping) Create peaks on loaf with spoon or spatula. Sprinkle topping with bronze mica powder.Allow soap to cool for 12 hours. Carefully remove from mold. Wait 24 hours to slice. Topping should be hard at this time. Package as directed.

Directions for Whipped Topping:

Measure Crafter's Choice Foaming Bath Whip and place in large mixing bowl. Melt 1 lb. of Crafter's Choice Ultra White Soap. Add fragrance to soap. Add soap to bowl with foaming bath whip. Using a hand mixer, mix well. As contents being whipped begin to return to room temperature, peaks will form on your topping. If you are having trouble getting peaks to form, add more melted soap. Once peaks have formed, your soap topping is now ready for use.

Working Hard for Your Success!
Debbie May
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/
1-800-359-0944


Source: http://wholesalesuppliesplus.blogspot.com/2008/09/perfect-pumpkin-whipped-soap-loaf.html