Hi-I am a new member and have been lurking for several months--too afraid to try a message - but when it comes to soapmaking I have to jump in! You all have saved me alot of mistakes! I use the soap and give it as gifts. I was considering adding fresh herbs to my soaps, but was afraid of just what you have discussed. My problem is finding excellent essential oils, etc. Any suggestions? I look forward to more conversations with all of you!

I thought a fishermans soap was made for fishermen to attract fish. I make a Hunter and Fishersoap that disguises the human scent. I use pure Anise Essential Oil in this. For a soap to get rid of odors including fish you need to make a soap with coffee in it A good strong coffee soap with fresh grounds in it will not only remove fishy odors but the odors from onions and garlic and gasoline and kerosene. In my younger days I was a car detailer and an oldtimer told me about coffee. If a car came in all musty and moldy smelling we would sprinkle fresh coffee grounds on the seats and carpets. and close the car up after several hours we would vacumn and the car smelled fresh again. Doris

I tried the candle warmers that everyone is so crazy about, and I don't like them for the same reason you stated- for some reason the scent seems to burn off, no matter what brand it is, even one of my own, and you are left with a bunch of weak smelling wax. Whether "rebatching" the wax would work or not, I don't know. Since it will already have some oil in it, it may not hold much more fragrance. The wax would have to be completely melted and then the fragrance oil stirred into it quite well- just like making a candle from scratch. Then the candle would need to set up and cure for about a week. Feasibly, you could have a brand new candle or you could have a flop. You may want to consider using fragrance oils in water on the candle warmer. I know people that do that. It is essentially the same as an electric or tea-light fragrance diffuser. The people I know just put the water in something glass and heat resistant (like a coffee cup) and add some fragrance oil, and let it heat on the warmer. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. Susan

To my knowledge, which I will admit is limited when it comes to CP soap as I do rebatching and melt and pour, other than the titanium dioxide, there really isn't anything to whiten soap. Most discoloring is from the ingredients, and especially the fragrance oils. Fragrance oils that contain vanilla are notorious for this. There is an additive you can buy that prevents the natural browning effect of fragrance oils that have vanilla in them. I have never used it, as I prefer my soap to have as few additives as possible. This vanilla stabilizer (as it is called) smells bad. (I have smelled it- that was enough to make me decide not to use it.) People have assured me that the odor dissipates in the soap. I do know that the product works because everyone says it does. I just prefer the natural coloring. Susan