Best products from r/soapmaking

We found 30 comments on r/soapmaking discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 92 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.

10. Silicone Molds [Loaf Pan, 1 PC] Cupcake Baking Pan - Free Paper Muffin Cups - Non Stick, BPA Free, 100% Silicon & Dishwasher Safe Silicon Bakeware Tin - Kitchen Rubber Tray & Soap Molds

    Features:
  • ✅ PINCH TEST APPROVED – Our silicone loaf pan is made out of the highest quality 100% pure European LFGB grade silicon which is BPA free silicone and has no additives & no plastic fillers. Our silicone mold never turns white, please be noted that LFGB surpasses FDA (US Standard).
  • ✅ CLEAN UP IS A BREEZE – If this is your first time using silicone bakeware, you will never go back to metal ones. Our silicone muffin pans are super easy to clean. Just put the pans in the dishwasher or use warm water & soap and clean up is done. That's how easy it is!
  • ✅ MUFFINS POP RIGHT OUT – Our silicone muffin pans are absolutely non-stick. So wether you‘re making muffins, brownies, cornbread or soaps - nothings sticks to the pan. If you wanted to replace your old metal pans, our silicone muffin and soap molds are exactly what you‘re looking for.
  • ✅ SUPER EASY TO USE – Just put your silicone muffin pans on a cookie sheet for stability when you put them in and out of the oven and you‘re good to go! Depending on your batter you can always spray a little olive oil on the pans and/or use paper liners – but it is not needed.
  • ✅ SATISFACTION GUARANTEED - No hassles and no back talk! We know we have a superior product and we think it's time you do too. For any reason you aren't satisfied all you have to do is let us know and we'll refund your money. We want you to be happy above all else and we will gladly go out of our way to make sure you are.
Silicone Molds [Loaf Pan, 1 PC] Cupcake Baking Pan - Free Paper Muffin Cups - Non Stick, BPA Free, 100% Silicon & Dishwasher Safe Silicon Bakeware Tin - Kitchen Rubber Tray & Soap Molds
▼ Read Reddit mentions

11. Silicone Molds [Petite Loaf, 12 Cup] Cupcake Baking Pan - Free Paper Muffin Cups - Non Stick, BPA Free, 100% Silicon & Dishwasher Safe Silicon Bakeware Tin - Kitchen Rubber Tray & Soap Molds

    Features:
  • ✅ PINCH TEST APPROVED – Our 12 cup silicone petite loaf pan is made out of the highest quality 100% pure European LFGB grade silicon which is BPA free silicone and has no additives & no plastic fillers. Our silicone mold never turns white, please be noted that LFGB surpasses FDA (US Standard).
  • ✅ CLEAN UP IS A BREEZE – If this is your first time using silicone bakeware, you will never go back to metal ones. Our silicone muffin pans are super easy to clean. Just put the pans in the dishwasher or use warm water & soap and clean up is done. That's how easy it is!
  • ✅ MUFFINS POP RIGHT OUT – Our silicone muffin pans are absolutely non-stick. So wether you‘re making muffins, brownies, cornbread or soaps - nothings sticks to the pan. If you wanted to replace your old metal pans, our silicone muffin and soap molds are exactly what you‘re looking for.
  • ✅ SUPER EASY TO USE – Just put your silicone muffin pans on a cookie sheet for stability when you put them in and out of the oven and you‘re good to go! Depending on your batter you can always spray a little olive oil on the pans and/or use paper liners – but it is not needed.
  • ✅ SATISFACTION GUARANTEED - No hassles and no back talk! We know we have a superior product and we think it's time you do too. For any reason you aren't satisfied all you have to do is let us know and we'll refund your money. We want you to be happy above all else and we will gladly go out of our way to make sure you are.
Silicone Molds [Petite Loaf, 12 Cup] Cupcake Baking Pan - Free Paper Muffin Cups - Non Stick, BPA Free, 100% Silicon & Dishwasher Safe Silicon Bakeware Tin - Kitchen Rubber Tray & Soap Molds
▼ Read Reddit mentions

Top comments mentioning products on r/soapmaking:

u/J0hnnyArs0n · 2 pointsr/soapmaking

> Will I always divide the lye grams by the percentage of water I want? Like if I decides to use 35% water instead, I'd divide by 0.35?

That's correct. The good thing about that website I listed, is it has a range of acceptable water amounts (30% is great for me).

> Also, how many pounds does this recipe make?

My recipe makes about 2 pounds. This fits perfectly in this silicon bread pan here.

> If I wanted to use it, but at a smaller scale, would it be okay to simply calculate the equivalent percentage? Like, if it makes 5 lbs, and I wanted to make 1 lb, could I just calculate 20% of each quantity, or would I need some more complex calculations?

I would recommend that you first determine what types oils you are going to use, then calculate percentages/weights. I wouldn't make anything under 900g as it's too much work for that little soap being produced. With my recipe, I can get 8-14 bars of soap depending on how thin I cut them.

> And finally, could I sub palm oil with more lard? I've been reading they're pretty similar, and I'm not too keen on using palm oil (despite how apparently awesome it is)..

YES! Thats the awesome part of soap, is you can make whatever recipe you want. And Palm oil is the shit, it makes a nice hard bar of soap. I would be cautious on adding too much lard, as I think it makes a softer bar overall. Unless you intend to add sodium lactate/salt in your recipe.

> ETA: How do you figure out the amount of oils to use before hand? Do you know the total amount of grams you'll use first, then take out the water's percentage, or what? Sorry for all the questions :|

I've come up with a personal range of amounts I like to use in my soaps with the exception of lard (cant seem to find a specific value yet!), but there is a ton of knowledge out there. Also check out SAP values too, if you like doing math, you can calculate exactly how much Lye you'll need.: Avocado Oil: 5 to 10%, Castor oil: 3 to 8%, Coconut oil: 15 to 30%, Palm Oil= 20-30%, Palm Kernel Oil: 10-15%, Shea Butter: 10-15%, Olive Oil: 20-50%, Lard: ? (20% seems to make a good bar).

Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions! I think you should get your recipe down first before trying to add any color/fragrance. Unscented bars of soap are also great too! Bonus pic of our soap:

http://imgur.com/nrw5lTG.jpg

http://imgur.com/M8qQUt4.jpg

http://imgur.com/rTWH7qr.jpg

http://imgur.com/DkgstXS.jpg

u/BleuberryCream · 5 pointsr/soapmaking

To add to everyone else, please get a scale. Are you new to this? Stay away from essential oils and milk till you get at least some YouTube videos on it down. I would just toss this batch because it's hard knowing where exactly you went wrong. Also, start small. Your batch is like 9 pounds and not many people start out that big. My first batch was 2.5 and I used individual soap molds. If you cook in that pan, you can't anymore. You might want to toss it. Get a wood/silicone mold for soap. It's going to be hell trying to get soap out of there. Also, if you really wanted to keep that as a soap pan, line it with wax/freezer paper to make it easier to get out. I'm sorry there are just so many mistakes here and maybe watch some videos by SoapQueenTV and Soaping101 on YouTube or pick up a few books. I'm not sure who inspired you to make soap but please please please do more research. You need to read up on lye, get a good soap calculator, read up on essential oils, safety, what to use for molds, oil properties...everything. I put the there because I want to mention that one ounce of lavender wouldn't have done much for that recipe. It would have most likely fade very fast.

Don't let people scare you off of using a ton of cocoa butter. I've used it up to 50% of a bar and had something decent. Your bar would not have come out right either way. Nothing in there would have created a lather you needed and it might have been semi-soft for a long time. I recommend getting some coconut oil, investing in Palm Oil/Lard/Tallow for conditioning and lather, olive oil, and castor oil to boost lather.

Here are some of those helpful links:

u/Janiewise · 1 pointr/soapmaking

I agree with pp who said that it mostly depends on your washing skills - and good reminders about the saponification process using up the lye. Think about the material of your tools as well- a glass bowl is much easier to clean for safe food use than a plastic bowl would be.

That being said I personally did buy a separate set of tools mostly because it's not that expensive. I bought a $27 Cuisinart Hand Blender in pink so there is no confusion and bought the rest of my tools from the dollar store like mixing bowls and spatulas (I confess I did also buy 3 nice pour spout containers off Amazon when I ordered my mold :))

Good luck! edit: forgot a word

u/violetrage · 1 pointr/soapmaking

Have you looked over the Soap Queen's website? https://www.soapqueen.com/

I've been learning how to do this via her site, her book, and advice from my mother. I picked up her book Pure Soapmaking Friday and I love it. Things that I did not understand are sorting themselves out. She explains what each of the oils do, so you can understand why you would use them, goes over tips and tricks, explains why weird stuff happens to soap, goes over equipment...pretty much it's been an amazing starting point. The first 1/4 of the book is all the basics and the rest is recipes.

Full disclosure, this author also owns Bramble Berry, which is a US (not sure if you can order from the UK) soap supplier site. Having said that, most of my stuff I've purchased from other sources and it hasn't made a bit of difference. The site also does a lot of video tutorials.

I really suggest looking up YouTube videos, too. YouTube has been a huge help in sorting out what trace is, what different sorts of trace there are, and design info. I think YouTube soap stuff is addicting. Be careful. Search "soap making challenge" and get ready to watch a zillion of the most amazing videos. :)

u/ardycake · 2 pointsr/soapmaking

First, I want to say your bars look amazing. I've made sailor moon soap before and you are topping me without question.

There are these great little molds on amazon that I use to make sailor moon melt and pour imbeds.

https://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Crafting-Earrings-Decoration-Semi-Transparent/dp/B075R5PS9P/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=sailor+moon+silicone+mold&qid=1571076334&sprefix=sailor+moon+sili&sr=8-4

The wands come out just fine and I think if you top your bars with these guys it'll take your soap to the next level! Happy soaping and I love your work!

u/Fahrenheit915 · 15 pointsr/soapmaking

Just a heads up, a better blending tool might be an immersion blender. These types of blenders are really popular for soapmaking because they blend the lye water and oils at a much higher rate than a kitchenaid. I can hit trace with mine in roughly 5 minutes, which is a huge step up from stirring.

I hope that helps!

u/time_again · 1 pointr/soapmaking

Ok, I trust you know best, but for the sake of being a know it all, I'm going to say that is actually takes very little space (if you have a small kitchen/bathroom/a sink and some ventilation, that's probably enough) and very little special equipment.

This is what I would say the basics would be for you:

  • Beer;
  • Oil/Fat (you can just use cooking oil, like canola or vegetable oil).
  • Lye;
  • A crappy thermometer;
  • A kitchen scale;
  • Mixing bowls;
  • A pot (to make a double boiler out of);
    Mixing spoons;
  • A casserole dish, cardboard box, whatever, and plastic wrap to line it with, as a mold;
  • A knife and spatula (technically cake turner) for getting the soaps out.

    It's really pretty basic/cheap stuff. You can use used plastic bags and tape as gloves, you can wear sunglasses as safety glasses. Just be careful with the lye. When you mix the lye and water, its going to stink a bit, so you need some ventilation for that. You'll need the oil/fat to get to 110 degrees Fahrenheit, so you'll use a double boiler for for (a bowl sitting on-top a sauce pan/pot is what I use).
u/homebrewchemist · 1 pointr/soapmaking

The chemistry of making soap is just simple saponification a book like this would probably help. Scientific Soapmaking: The Chemistry of the Cold Process https://www.amazon.com/dp/1935652095/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_t6GFAbDRF0CTQ if you really want to go in depth there are engineering books on soap as well. Soap Manufacturing Technology, Second Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/1630670650/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_68GFAbVMD7SK7 this would be really in depth and probably cover modern soap and surfactant chemistry as well. My specialty is mostly Hair Color and personal care, i’ve only begun making soap recently. Beside when i was a kid and we made soap from rendered animals.

u/EpilepticDogs · 1 pointr/soapmaking

Also, I would recommend reading The Natural Soap Book or The Soapmaker's Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch - if not for the recipes, certainly for lye safety information. It is very important you educate yourself about lye and the entire soap-making process.

u/-_galaxy_- · 5 pointsr/soapmaking

The kit isn't bad, however, I'm not crazy about the scale, it can only hold 3kg. I'd much rather see you get a scale that will hold 5kg. (they're not expensive).


Also not crazy about the "blend of oils". You'll get much more for your money if you choose a recipe that has some common oils used and buy them separately (olive, coconut, shea butter, palm/castor).

Also you will certainly want a stick blender, which is $15-20. This is a must have, not sure why the kit doesn't include it.

Anyway, if you think this is something that you will stick with and want to make more, I suggest buying your own quality stuff.

Stick Blender - $15 (Proctor silex at Walmart)

Digital scale $12 (linked above)

Digital Thermometer - $9 (Taylor waterproof - look on Amazon)

Goggles - $2 (amazon)

Isopropyl Alcohol - $3 (Walmart)

Spoons/silicone spatulas/bowls/cups - Dollar store - maybe $7?

Gloves (box of disposables) $4 (Walmart)

Mold $12 (Amazon)

Lye $10


Distilled water $1 (Walmart)


Oil will cost you less per oz if you buy in quantity, but even "regular" sizes of olive/coconut/shea butter/palm (Palm oil is a bit controversial because of sustainability concerns, all you can really do besides avoiding it altogether is buy from reputable companies that state that their Palm oil is RSPO certified) will cost you around $50 (Walmart and Amazon).


All told you're still under $100 and you've got a great kit that's got a lot more in it (more oil, blender, thermometer, bowls, etc).

It doesn't come with fragrance or lavender buds, but you can add some essential oil for a few dollars more and for what it's worth, I strongly suggest your first batch should be scent-free and color-free. Get your basic soap recipe the way you want it, then add scent, color, etc.

u/loz_64 · 1 pointr/soapmaking

Thanks for your help!

I got my FOs from Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R9A74BM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I recently received an order from CandleScience of some scents that are soap-safe (I meant to use them for candles), so I can experiment with one of those to see if they are stronger.

I'm guessing the smell is lye, but it may be the natural soap smell. It is unfamiliar to me but is not sharp, it just lingers in your nose. In any case I don't like it at all. The goat's milk base I bought smells strongly of it too.

u/BraaainFud · 1 pointr/soapmaking

Cocoa butter lends a lovely, light chocolaty scent. And my family's favorite is made with coffee (mix coffee with Kahlua, let it sit for a week or so, then use the grounds as an exfoliant and a small bit of the extract for scent). I don't recall the exact ratios, the recipe came from Dr. Bob's Essentially Soap book (https://www.amazon.com/Essentially-Soap-Handmade-Scenting-Coloring/dp/0873418328). The coffee acts more like a deodorizer. It gets onion and fish smells off your hands. Also smells really nice in the am, but doesn't leave you smelling like coffee.

u/aresfour · 0 pointsr/soapmaking

Are you located in the US? You can get EO at pretty reasonable prices from Amazon: amazon.com/Lemongrass-Large-ounce-Best-Essential/dp/B00PHLPK1G

I've used this brand with good results.

u/AlexandriaInLove · -3 pointsr/soapmaking

Actually, it's a well-known fact that coconut oil soap is moisturizing - see https://www.amazon.com/Moisturizing-Pure-Coconut-Irritated-Itchy/dp/B01I0L0492?th=1 and countless other links if you search. It's partly because of the fatty acids it contains. I find it to be true personally, too. Trust me, this recipe is different, it's moisturizing and you can cut it after 12 hours. I've made 100's of these batches.

u/generalT · 2 pointsr/soapmaking

no issues seizing, actually. i used the general procedure presented here. that is, i emulsified all the oils with the lye solution before adding the pine tar, then mixed like a mofo and watched like a hawk for trace. also, i heated the pine tar up a bit in the microwave so it would flow better.

this is the pine tar i used, which i found from this recipe.

are you gonna try another pine tar bar?

u/razorbraces · 1 pointr/soapmaking

You can get them pretty cheap, there is not much reason to use one that is also used for food. I use this one and there are some more new ones even cheaper on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TJTASYG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

u/texasrigger · 3 pointsr/soapmaking

For this soap I used this stuff which is pretty good but my first choice is "The Real Stuff" from the American Rope & Tar Co.

The consistency of both is somewhere between corn syrup and molasses.