# How to come up with a really good recipe



## Hausfrau007 (Dec 16, 2012)

You see, you wake up at 4:00am on a Sunday thinking about soaping, experimenting with your alkanet infusion and finally give in to the craving at 4:45am. 

You make the batch to relieve the craving, then, at 7:00am with the first load of laundry almost done, a frozen apple pie in the oven and the Mister starting to get hungry for breakfast, start thinking about your next batch and _its_ ingredients.

I'm starting to get a little sleepy, now at 7:10am, but what do you think?

50% lard
20% coconut oil
20% palm oil
10% castor oil
Superfatted at 5%, water at 38%

Running it through soapcalc, it seems nicely balanced. What do you think?


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## 2lilboots (Dec 16, 2012)

Sounds like a good one to me......so take a nap and get up and make your soap!!!!!


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## Hausfrau007 (Dec 16, 2012)

Ah! Someone else is awake. 

Unfortunately, we have a family Christmas thing to go to; otherwise, there would have been a BIG possibility of making this batch. You see, I'm using this for my ball soap, the one that went sideways on you.


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## 2lilboots (Dec 16, 2012)

Hausfrau007 said:
			
		

> Ah! Someone else is awake.
> 
> Unfortunately, we have a family Christmas thing to go to; otherwise, there would have been a BIG possibility of making this batch. You see, I'm using this for my ball soap, the one that went sideways on you.



Oh bummer on the Christmas thingy.  Yeh I have been awake and have been trying to figure out what soap recipe I want to use to make my piped butterflies for my next round of cupcake soaps.  It has to be a little batch because this is going to be tedious work and I don't want it to seize in the bowl.  I don't plan on putting any FO's in it, but I do need to have several colors.  Not to happy with the colorants that I have on hand right now, but I don't want to wait for my colorants to be shipped to start working on this idea I have.  And........I don't have balls that go sideways :shock:


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## Hausfrau007 (Dec 16, 2012)

Lol.

Butterflies sound hard to make! Have you ever seen a peacock swirl? That would be amazing for butterfly wings, but I think that would be almost impossible to make.


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## 2lilboots (Dec 16, 2012)

Hausfrau007 said:
			
		

> Lol.
> 
> Butterflies sound hard to make! Have you ever seen a peacock swirl? That would be amazing for butterfly wings, but I think that would be almost impossible to make.



I will look it up and see if I can do it...lol!  I drew up little templates and I plan on putting them underneath my cellophane so I can trace around them with my decorating tips.  They have to be small so they aren't bigger than the top of a cupcake.  The antenna will be the most difficult thing to make.  I just looked at a tutorial on the peacock swirl and it doesn't even seem that soap mixture reached trace and they were pouring it into the mold.  It is a neat process, but i don't think I can work with soap that thin.  If they turn out I will post them, if they don't I will rebatch them.

I notice you use castor oil at 10% is that because of your lard content?  I just started using castor oil in my last couple of batches.  At first I used 5% but I didn't like how long it took for the soap to set up, so I cut back to 2.5%.  So my OO is 47.5%, CO 30%, and PO 20%.  I was doing 7% superfat, but cut back to 5% since I have been adding milk at trace.  I haven't made soap with lard yet, but am tempted to try it.


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## Hausfrau007 (Dec 16, 2012)

I think if you peacock swirled your butterfly soaps, you'd need a cookie cutter for the wings. Pour it as a single layer on some freezer paper or something? You can't pipe a peacock design, that's for sure....

Regarding the recipe above, I really like working with lard; it makes a very nice bar. Castor at 10% isn't too outrageously high, I don't think. It adds nice, stable bubbles and some much needed conditioning to balance out the other hard oils. I'm on my iPad so let me see if i can intelligently paste the soap properties.

Hardness	                 29 - 54 - 	                 * 47*
Cleansing	                 12 - 22 - 	                 * 14*
Conditioning	         44 - 69 - 	                 * 48*
Bubbly	                 14 - 46 - 	                 * 23*
Creamy	                 16 - 48 - 	                 * 42*
Iodine	                 41 - 70 - 	                  *50*
INS	                         136 - 165 - 	          *160*


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## Ruthie (Dec 16, 2012)

You are not the only one up soaping on a Sunday morning!  I just finished my "batch of the day" (HP).  Started getting stuff ready earlier, but did not turn on the stick blender til 6:30.  It is in the mold now.  Stick blender overheated, so I ended up stirring by hand.  But I think it will be OK.


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## Hausfrau007 (Dec 16, 2012)

Oh my gosh, Ruthie, I'm just waiting for the day my stick blender overheats. I soap at cooler temperatures as it is, and sometimes, the poor thing is working for 30 minutes straight...


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## 2lilboots (Dec 16, 2012)

Bummer on the stick blender overheating.  I notice that mine gets warm, and I really don't run it alot.  I didn't get an expensive one, so I guess I got what I paid for.  

Hausfrau...do you use FO or EO's?  I haven't experimented with any EO's and after reading Lindy's statement that some can be harmful, I am a bit fearful of using them nowl


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## 2lilboots (Dec 16, 2012)

I notice that lard really reduces the iodine content of the bars...yes I was playing on soapcalc.   

I was also reading up on rosemary oleoresin.  Have you used that?   I read it helps to reduce DOS and extend the shelf life of soaping oils as well as cured soap bars.


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## Hausfrau007 (Dec 16, 2012)

Hm. The reason I got into soaping was because the Mister is allergic to sodium laurel sulfates, so I'm trying to use as many natural ingredients as I can while still having fun. The Mister is also allergic to a lot of fragrances, and although he's okay with peppermint eo which I once cautiously added to one of my early batches, he really doesn't enjoy "smelly" things.

So ya. I haven't used fragrances extensively for that reason (and probably won't), and even with my colours, I'm trying to stay natural -- unfortunately, because just playing this morning with my alkanet (pictures are coming!), really got my creative juices flowing.

Oh yes, regarding the iodine, the lard makes a nice hard bar without adding too much harshness.


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## 2lilboots (Dec 16, 2012)

Alkanet is a natural colorant so you are sticking with a natural bar.  I cannot wait to see how purple your bars turn out.  

I notice that I really cannot smell the floral and fruity soap bars as much as I can smell the ones that have spice FO's in them.  Probably because they smell like food.  

I will never use silk fibers in my soap again.  It said to melt the fiber in my lye/water solution.  My lye/water solution did get really hot and I stirred like a nut, but when I poured the lye/water solution into my oils, I noticed that some of the fibers didn't melt so that soap has funky lines in it.  Lesson learned.  

I used to be allergic to aloe products, but I have made soap with aloe juice and I haven't had any adverse reactions to it.


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## Ruthie (Dec 16, 2012)

Esther, that was the "problem" this time, I'm sure.  My lye was much cooler since it was my first milk recipe.  I had hopes the poor thing had just gotten too hot and shut itself off, but its been an hour and a half and it still is silent.  So I guess it bit the dust.  

I'm wanting to know how your recipe goes.  I LOVE castor oil!  But I have heard it should be limited to like 5% due to DOS.  So please keep us posted on how this goes for you.  (Have you used this much castor in a recipe before?)


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## Hausfrau007 (Dec 16, 2012)

You know, I'm not sure if I've used 10% castor before... I might have.

2lilboots, I love love love experimenting, and particularly when it DOESN'T  work out, I'm all the more inspired. So, good for you with your failed silk fibre things. Actually, I can read about stuff and take advice into consideration (like, don't lick your soaps until 48 hours have passed, lol), but I tend to stray off on my own. Unless I've tried it myself, I won't know FOR SURE, you know?


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## Hausfrau007 (Dec 16, 2012)

Now you're making me all antsy about the 10% castor. I've gone back to my recipes, and I've indeed had a couple that had that much castor, but I've never used more than 10%.


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## 2lilboots (Dec 16, 2012)

Hausfrau007 said:
			
		

> Now you're making me all antsy about the 10% castor. I've gone back to my recipes, and I've indeed had a couple that had that much castor, but I've never used more than 10%.



You are not supposed to second guess or doubt your recipe!!!!!!  You are Hausfrau soaper extraordinaire....with a stick blender in one hand.....and your soap mold in the other.


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## AlchemyandAshes (Dec 16, 2012)

I use Castor anywhere from 5-10% and have yet to experience DOS. Some shampoo bars use up to 30% Castor, so you have to consider the rest if the recipe and curing conditions and whatever before blaming the Castor for DOS. It will render a softer bar at a higher percentage.


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## 2lilboots (Dec 16, 2012)

Alchemy&Ashes said:
			
		

> I use Castor anywhere from 5-10% and have yet to experience DOS. Some shampoo bars use up to 30% Castor, so you have to consider the rest if the recipe and curing conditions and whatever before blaming the Castor for DOS. It will render a softer bar at a higher percentage.[/quot
> 
> I read that castor oil will add more suds, but does make a softer bar.  That is why I cut back on what I was using for fear that I would end up with a pile of goop the first time I washed my hands with it.


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## Hausfrau007 (Dec 16, 2012)

I think because I'm using all hard oils (lard, cc and po) the castor at 10% brings just the right music to the party. On paper at least, the recipe looks good to me. Having said that, I'd like to hear opinions...


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## chicklet (Dec 19, 2012)

I am curious as to whether you tried your recipe and, if you did, how it turned out. I haven't made a batch yet that didn't have olive oil except for one 100% Lard batch for laundry soap but I'm tempted to try yours.  

Also, I'm the one with the sideways balls.  I have an update to that tale I'll post later if I can get my pics loaded.


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