# Im so confused



## SeaGoat (Aug 17, 2012)

I discovered that I am allergic to chapstick. 
Ive suffered from cold sores all my life, but I noticed this year it has been terrible. Yesterday I bought a brand new tube of black label chapstick, only to wake up with a swollen side lip and a sore on top. At first I thought it was a cold sore, but then I realized it was probably an allergic reaction after thinking back and noticing this ONLY happens when I have applied chapstick (and various other lip stuff that contains SPF and petroleum)
Ive decided to start making my own lip balm and if it is a success I want to sell it at the Farmers Market this year..


Well, my body has been breaking out (face, back, chest) and is exceptionally dry (years now). Im tired of trying new soaps that just do not work..
I thought that if I could come up with a good soap, I might sell a little on the side as well 


But I am utterly confused. 
I watched some youtube videos and people are on there 'OH! Thats the melt and poor! Thats cheating and still full of chemicals! You need to use lye!'

Now Im on here and people are talking about mixing lye with bear fat :help:


Im seeing lye vs glycerin (sls free?)
But then reading if you want glycerin soap you still have to have lye

Then I have simple questions like:
How much soap will 1lb of lye make?
What is good additives for break outs/sensitive skin?
Is there some essential oils (for fragrant reasons) you should stay away from for people with sensitive and dry skin?


My head is spinning, and to top it off I have Bushes song, Glycerine, stuck in my head, distracting me :bash:


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## barnyardgal (Sep 21, 2009)

Cannot help ya with soap making or any of that other stuff but for cold sores take Lysine 1000mg tablets-when ya first feel one coming one-pop a pill then a couple hours later take another one-the lysine keeps them from getting bad or developing~thats what i use & i think i read about Lysine on a forum here some where~


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## SeaGoat (Aug 17, 2012)

Thanks.. I know about Lysine, but these sores/swelling are an allergic reaction. 
They actually sell a lip balm for the stuff, but if I remember, it wasnt all that cheap & tasted nasty


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## tentance (Aug 16, 2012)

you are probably allergic to a food...just the mouth involvement and the probability. now i know you immediately want to argue, but statistically it is much more likely to be a food allergy over chapstick and all soaps/detergents. open mind and all.
that being said, soapcalc will tell you how much soap goes with the lye. i made a 1 pound batch for my first batch, and that was about 2.5 oz of lye or so.
if i was so convinced it was chemicals in soaps, i would make plain tallow soap and slowly add in other ingredients. one at a time. forgo any additives until i'm sure. start with safest ones, like olive oil...forget about milk soaps, with all the different natural proteins its more likely to irritate, even though 95% will be denatured by the sodium hydroxide, some will still be there. etc.


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## SeaGoat (Aug 17, 2012)

tentance said:


> you are probably allergic to a food...just the mouth involvement and the probability. now i know you immediately want to argue, but statistically it is much more likely to be a food allergy over chapstick and all soaps/detergents. open mind and all.
> that being said, soapcalc will tell you how much soap goes with the lye. i made a 1 pound batch for my first batch, and that was about 2.5 oz of lye or so.
> if i was so convinced it was chemicals in soaps, i would make plain tallow soap and slowly add in other ingredients. one at a time. forgo any additives until i'm sure. start with safest ones, like olive oil...forget about milk soaps, with all the different natural proteins its more likely to irritate, even though 95% will be denatured by the sodium hydroxide, some will still be there. etc.


Thanks for the info..

I looked up how to make tallow here 
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/soapmakingoils/ss/rendertallow.htm


Seems pretty straight forward, but what does the tallow replace in a recipe?


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

Some surfactants are very eco friendly. Having said that I do have a recipe for translucent melt and pour soap using lye, water, coconut oil, castor and plam oil. There is also one using tallow. If anyone is interested pm me and I will give you the recipe.


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## halfpint (Jan 24, 2005)

1 lb of lye will make about 24-32 4 oz bars of soap - depending upon what fats you use.

I've always been allergic to chapstick and for years could use Burts bees, but began having reactions to it about 4-5 years ago and then found the company had been sold and changed many of the formulas. I've never been able to use lipstick - even the hypoallergenic types.

I now make my own lip balm in a stick using beeswax & oils. 

I also make my own soap due to allergies.

Dawn


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## SeaGoat (Aug 17, 2012)

halfpint said:


> 1 lb of lye will make about 24-32 4 oz bars of soap - depending upon what fats you use.
> 
> I've always been allergic to chapstick and for years could use Burts bees, but began having reactions to it about 4-5 years ago and then found the company had been sold and changed many of the formulas. I've never been able to use lipstick - even the hypoallergenic types.
> 
> ...


I thought about beeswax but :shocked:
So expensive!
It might be a little costly to make my own, but it seems a little more rewarding


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## hiddensprings (Aug 6, 2009)

SarahFair said:


> I thought about beeswax but :shocked:
> So expensive!
> It might be a little costly to make my own, but it seems a little more rewarding


Find a local beekeeper to buy beeswax from. I found the local beekeepers group in my area and went to a meeting. Most are ultra-focused on selling honey, so I can get the wax very inexpensively and as much as I need.


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## SeaGoat (Aug 17, 2012)

Oh I ment the beeswax brand :happy2:

My dad raises bees, only has a hive or 2 letf after the flood took them out.
Ill see if he has some wax

But good idea with the local bee keepers!
I want to keep all my ingredients as local as possible!
In my community they are big on advertising BUY LOCAL, which a lot of people seem to support.. so just an added perk!


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## SeaGoat (Aug 17, 2012)

Okay, so Im being extremley difficult in making my soap.

I dont want lard or tallow unless I know it comes from natural non GMO fed animals.
So store bout lard and 90% of regular tallow is out..

I dont want to use Palm oil due to reasons a lot people dont want to use them..


Im was wondering if beeswax can be substituted? 
I use the http://www.soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp calculator and I dont think its factoring the hardness for beeswax.


The Recipe Ive put into the calculator (%):
Beeswax 1%
Coconut Oil 76 deg - 20%
Olive Oil - 45%
Sunflower Oil - 20%
Shea Butter - 14%

Its giving me a reading of 
Sat:UnSat
33:67

And I read that it needs to be about 60:40


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## lathermaker (May 7, 2010)

Here's one for simple. 20% Coconut, 80% Olive oil. It will be hard as a rock in about 5 weeks....

Watch any formula's that have beeswax and shea butter in them. They both can cause the batch to trace pretty fast, so have your molds prepared and be ready to pour quickly.


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## pamda (Oct 14, 2004)

I can not use chapstick or lipsticks at all. My mouth does the same thing..it really hurts. I use Blistik or coconut oil only right now. I am thinking I need to try making something with some color in it for going out of the house.


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## SeaGoat (Aug 17, 2012)

Might be a silly question, but what does Stable Lather mean?


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