Reddit mentions: The best soap making supplies

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/TrashyTripod & /u/gotsmile, you guys are going to laugh at how easy this is.

There are recipes online. Do a little googling about what soap ingredients have different effects, like I did a rose oil (omg, the scent!) and rose clay soap, which is good for skin, or honey and oatmeal which is more exfoliation. Some are better for dry skin, oily skin, or just neutral.

I buy everything from Amazon:

• Molds: gems, bars, fun small shapes
  
  
• Melt and pour soap base: honey, goat's milk. I'm picky and I only buy the organic stuff. Buy it sooner rather than later, it will sell out by the holidays! Learned that the hard way, last year.
  
  
• Mix-ins: oatmeal, activated charcoal. You want everything to be food-grade.
  
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  How To
  
  The soap base breaks apart into 1 inch cubes. In a microwave safe measuring cup, microwave 2-4 cubes in 30 second increments until melted. Stir in any oils, perfumes, or colorants (although I avoid coloring soap, personally; I like the 'natural' stuff). Pour the appropriate amount into your mold. Working quickly, in the soap-filled mold, stir in any large add-ins, like charcoal or oatmeal. Wipe down the measuring cup, repeat as necessary.
  
  Leave the mold out at room temperature to set. Give it time (6-24 hours). Gently remove from the mold and wrap in cling wrap to avoid moisture beads from forming. Later, put the plastic-wrapped soaps in a little goody bag with a piece of colorful tissue paper. FYI, the tissue paper will stick to the soap if they touch.
  
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  Tips:
  
  
• Learn from my mistake: when you're done, wash the measuring cup and molds by hand. If you put them in a dishwasher, it will become coated in soap. This kills the dishwasher.
  
  
• Buy 2 molds. Make a batch in the morning and again in the evening. If you use the bar mold, that gives you 12 bars per mold x 2 molds x 2 times in a day, or 48 bars for ~3 hours of work on a Saturday. You'll get faster as you get the hang of it.
  
  
• How much soap base you need depends on the size of your molds and how many soaps you're making. I found that 2 lbs of soap base was enough for about 16 bars using this mold. But I didn't really like the shape of the soap in that mold because it was too deep.
  
  
• If you're using heavy or large add-ins, it pays to let the soap solidify for a second before mixing them in, or it'll all sink to the bottom.
  
  
• It's fun to combine with other homemade cosmetics gifts, like DIY lip balm or something, but that requires a whole other set of materials, so increases your costs.
  
  
• More tips on how to avoid "weeping." This site is SUPER helpful!

I use Slice of Nature Nilotica organic Shea butter. Nilotica shea is grown in East Africa, usually Uganda or East Africa It's raw, not processed, yet has a beautifully soft consistency and a very faint natural smell. It also sinks nicely into skin. I used to get it on Amazon, but it doesn't seem to be available there. I'm going to buy it on eBay from this 100% seller. Most shea butter is grown in West Africa. It's harder and doesn't have the healing properties of Nilotica.

If you want an alternative, this product looks pretty good. It's also from Uganda so it's the right kind of shea butter, and it's organic. I've never used this brand but looks good. The price seems low for Nilotica. Viva Naturals

Hello all, thanks for looking!

These are the first batch of Dugout One Hitters that my dad and I are making in our garage. We used Amazing Cast Clear epoxy resin. The blue one is dyed with a liquid coloring and the green one is a powder with some metallic flake. We wet sanded them up to 3000 and then used 3M buffing compound for the final finish.

Here are some more pictures.

Resin Used

Liquid Coloring

Powder Coloring

Buffing Compound

We made custom molds out of HDPE and used Smooth On releasing agent.

Any feedback or questions would be appreciated! Check out more on my Instagram

Best glitter I found is https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P6M929L

Lots of glitter weights too much and sinks in resin. This stuff is more a powder and stays in all levels of resin, and has a white sparkle instead of the usual green. Great for non-flat castings

Yes! The kintsugi "kits" are stupid expensive, and not really worth it. Something like this from Amazon would work great. Or, if you have a special food-safe adhesive you like, you can order the powder to color it yourself.

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.

BD lube is water based so you should be able to thin it out before use.

You should also think about getting some jlube mix and food-grade titanium dioxide pigment to just make your own cumlube in large quantities with the thickness you desire.

Just one $20 bottle of that stuff can make up to 8 gallons of sticky cum-like lube. It's effectively the same stuff as what BD sells and it was also used as the xenomorph slime in the Aliens films!

Have fun!

I bought this Stardust Mica pigment pack on Amazon. While I did use the red in this, I actually combined it with Nuture Soap's Raspberry Red Mica because I'd already had one bad experience with the Stardust Mica red not staying true. I've heard WONDERFUL things about Nurture Soap's Really Red mica if you're looking for a true red. It's on my list to try out. :)

Yes, you can tint whitewash using dry pigments. A little goes a long way, measure everything by weight. If you want a little sparkle (like you'd see with quartz or granite), you can also add a little mica powder for a pearlescent effect.

Remember: you want true lime whitewash for this, not just thinned out paint. Simple to mix up, plenty of recipes online.

Use a chemical stripper, Scotch Brite pad, and elbow grease. Avoid acids for stripping - they'll eat the limestone. Power washer is too harsh. After it's stripped, you'll wanna do a light etch to ensure good adhesion of your coating. Use that product in a 1:3 ratio of etch to water.

I’m actually pretty proud of the soaps I made last year as Xmas gifts. Here is the link for some of the base I like to use.

Hate to take away from the handmade feeling but isn't this the mold for the "elven lembas inspired candle"? I mean the candle still has to be molded but it's clearly someone else's design isn't it?

Mica powders for petri? I don’t think that is possible. But, I agree. Mica powder do look a lot better than alcohol inks, they have a glittery effect which I really like. Have some “Artisan Mica Powder “ (brand on amazon) mica powder in my cart.

Sure! I use my little blow torch to get rid of bubbles.

I use this mold which I love.

TOOTO Glossy Silicone Mold for Soap, Cake, Bread, Cupcake, Cheesecake, Cornbread, Muffin, Brownie, and More (6 Cavity Oval Shaped) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XX1LR9W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.g9IDbJ1RBFVY

Thanks for your input. I figured the craft store base would be garbage but I wanted to try it out since I was able to use a coupon on it. Didn't expect it to smell so bad :( What MP base would you recommend from Amazon? I currently have the goat's milk base from here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019M7XCA6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yes, I know the shape you’re talking about..I’ll keep an eye out for that shape, and if I see it, I’ll send it to you!

Yes, I think amazon may even have kits for you to make your own molds somehow..

Edit: I think this may be it or close..
I just searched “curved soap molds”.
Note: I haven’t checked if this seller is reliable or not.

https://www.littlegreenworkshops.com.au/product/curved-oval-bar-silicone-mould/


Edit: also this one
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B68LNJP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_pSCzDbYAPTFST

one of my favourite soaps that a friend made me had actual lavender flowers in it.

I know as someone who makes chocolate -sometimes i have used the molds for candles and soap - so maybe it works both ways because I think this would make super cute little soaps

Kitten hehehe

I molded most of them in plain, rectangle individual molds because of the challenges in cutting salt bars. Here is the 6 plain bar rectangle molds I used. With the extra soap I had, I put the rest into some individual molds that have an impression on them. Here is the 6 bar impression molds I used.

The marbling technique I used was an in-the-pot swirl. 3/4 of my batter was colored with rose clay, 1/4 with titanium dioxide. I poured the white mix into the pink batter in equalish amounts at 12, 4, and 8 as spots on the clock, so to speak. At one spot, I poured high at about 6" above the batter, the next I poured medium at about 3" above, and the final I poured as close to the batter as possible; this makes it so the white gets dispersed at different depths of the pot and doesn't just float all at one level.

Next, I took a spatula and pushed into spot with the closest drop, pushed the spatula to the bottom on the bowl, and swirled once clockwise thru all the dots, meeting back at the center of the original spot, and pulled straight back out. That's it.

From there, I just poured my mix directly into the center of each individual mold, filling them slightly over full. I overfill slightly because I take one of those spatula frosters used for cakes and use it as a squeegee or a trowel, and level the soaps with a clean pass across each soap top. Any extra soap that comes off, I will use to fill an extra small mold so I don't waste soap. Spray with alcohol every 15 minutes for the first hour, and I also forced these thru gel phase to get the colors to pop more!

Voila!

Never mind, I was at work and thought I was replying to the ink guy in another chem thread!

Same thing applies. Get some grey dye and buy some of these. Mix it together with either water/alcohol or mineral oil depending on your set up and chosen dye and you'll be good to go.

If it were me I'd play with the mineral oil idea and use charcoal powder and that mica and see what you can get to work.

here is the resin

here is the silicon

here is the dye

i'm a poor art student so i've gone kinda the cheaper route, other stuff you might need are popsicle sticks, styrofoam cups to make your molds, and glitter and whatsuch if you'd like to go that route. over all i put about $60ish into the stuff i've linked above. good luck dude!

(edit: formatting bc mobile :p)

Thanks, I'm a novice at this. If I just emptied this product into a sink, do you think it would look like that? Is there a difference between normal pigmented mica powder and "shimmer" mica powder?

Like I said, I take the Better Shea out of the bag and store it in a glass container instead.

It looks like the Viva Naturals I ordered is out of stock, but here is the link to the product if you want to watch for stock.

Thanks, you do have to wait longer to pull out. Amazon. Ellipse Silicone Soap Molds - Set of 2 for 12 Cavities - Mixed Patterns - Soap Making Supplies by the Silly Pops https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077P8JW9Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_IJGYDbPNX2P9E