Top 10 tools for Making Soap, Lotion & other Bath & Body Products

The neat little gadget I found yesterday (see it here) made me wonder....how many other neat little gadgets are there out there that I'm missing out on. So let's hear from all you soapers and bath and body crafters out there. What are some of your favorite tools?

Here are some of mine, in no particular order.

1) My stick blender. I can't live without it. In fact I have 3. One is for soap, one is for lotion, and one is a spare in case one of the other 2 should die in the middle of a batch.,

2) A crock pot. Again, I have multiples. I really like instant gratification so of course I like to do hot process, and frequently have more than one batch going at a time.

3) An accurate, dependable scale. This is a must have. Accurate measuring of ingredients is critical. I prefer to measure in grams as it is more precise than measuring in ounces, so that feature is a must, as is a tare feature that allows you to place the bowl on the scale then reset the scale to zero.

4) An assortment of stainless steel bowls and pots in various sizes from small condiment containers with lids to large stock pots.

5) An assortment of stainless steel spoons in various sizes from measuring spoons to large ladles.

6) Several heavy duty heat resistant glass measuring cups in sizes from 2 cups all the way up to batter bowl size for things that need to be microwaved.

7) Spatulas. My favorite remains the one that SoapEquipment.com gave to all of the attendees of one of our past Alabama Soap and Candle Association Annual Meetings. It's big, sturdy, and very heat resistant since it's made of silicone.

8) My infrared thermometer, the point and shoot type, that I can use for testing the temp of an emulsion to see if it's cooled enough to add preservative and/or fragrance. I can also use this if making soap using the method in Anne L. Watson's book, Smart Soapmaking, where you recognize trace by temperature changes.

9) Soapmaker Software - I use this for everything from keeping up with inventory/ ingredients to calculating correct lye amounts, and predicting the hardness, lathering ability, and conditioning of a particular recipe.

10) I can't say for sure on this one yet, but I'm thinking that digital measuring spoon that can also measure volume is going to have to be on my top 10 list.

So what's on your top 10 list? Do you know of any other cool gadgets that I need to check out? Maybe it needs to be a top 15 or top 20 list. I'm thinking now about my favorite soap mold, my cutter, goodness, the list could be endless, couldn't it?