# Legit recipe?



## Felgie (Jan 4, 2018)

Hi i am new in soap making and found a recipe 

Castor Oil  -  90 gr.  |  3.18 oz.  |  10%

Coconut Oil  -  630 gr.  |  22.22 oz.  |  70%

Olive Oil  -  180 gr.  |  6.35 oz.  |  20%

Distilled Water  -  324 gr.  |  11.43 oz.	 

Lye  -  128.67 gr.  |  4.5 oz.	 

I heard a high amount of CO may make the soap dry so to counter that effect we should be applying 15% superfat. However, the higher the superfat increase the chance of dos and soda ash. 
So i was just wondering, is this recipe legit or is there a tricks to prevent the problem??

Thank you for your guidance!!


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## shunt2011 (Jan 4, 2018)

Felgie said:


> Hi i am new in soap making and found a recipe
> 
> Castor Oil - 90 gr. | 3.18 oz. | 10%
> 
> ...


 
Totally depends on what kind of soap you are making. That much coconut oil would likely strip the hide of most people. That much Castor could possibly make the soap sticky. I never go above 7% and generally just stay at 5%. I don't think you would find this such a good soap at all though you can certainly try it.

If you haven't made soap as yet, I would recommend making something more well rounded. 60% Palm/Lard, 20% CO, 15% Olive/Avocado and 5% Castor. 5-6% SF 

 What are you looking for in a soap? 

Welcome to the forum!


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## BattleGnome (Jan 4, 2018)

Where did you find this recipe? It does look ok to me, just run it through a soap calculator to make sure you have the right superfat. As to your DOS and ash concerns, you don’t have to do anything special as long as your oils are fresh. If you want you can add tetrasodium EDTA or citric acid (plus extra NaOH) to combat DOS and hard water. Ensuring the soap goes through gel phase will battle any soda ash.

Personally, I’d add 50-100% of the oil weigh in salt. I don’t like high CO but the addition of fine grain sea salt transforms coconut oil into something magical. You are good to go as is if you want to try this recipe (just run it through a soap calculator to be extra sure, I don’t like messing around with high CO)


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## lsg (Jan 4, 2018)

It is much too high in coconut oil for most people.  I would change it to this:   5% Castor oil, 25% coconut oil, 50% Olive Oil, 20% Palm or Lard.  Run it through SoapCalc to get the numbers for liquid and lye.


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## gloopygloop (Jan 4, 2018)

Just on the oil percentages this soap would tear my skin off! I would not go above 20% CO and I would not go above 8% maximum Castor Oil but probably less. I would want to up the Olive but I would also want to add butters, otherwise you are nearing more like a laundry soap rather than a skin friendly soap.


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## toxikon (Jan 4, 2018)

If you swap the coconut oil and olive oil percentages, you will have a pretty standard high-OO recipe that should be nice after a long cure - and you'd just need a standard 3-5% superfat.

Do you have access to palm oil, tallow or lard? Those are classic hard oils that can help make the recipe more balanced.


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## DeeAnna (Jan 4, 2018)

As the others are saying ... it's a soap recipe, but it's more of a specialty type of soap, not one that most people would make as a typical bath soap for most people. The high superfat is used to "tame down" the high percentage of coconut. It's more like a "salt bar" or "spa bar" recipe -- a soap that has salt in it -- as BattleGnome explained.

This recipe may be a little bit tricky to make, and it also won't suit a fair number of people for bathing with. For both reasons, this recipe is not something I'd give to a first-time soaper. Second or third batch, sure, go for it. But for the first batch, I'd stick with a classic recipe like the others are suggesting. It will be more likely to behave nicely so it will be easy to make. It will also more likely be the kind of soap that will make you want to make more.


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## dixiedragon (Jan 4, 2018)

Are you in love with this recipe? If so, go for it. Just make a small batch (16 oz of oils would equal about 4 bars) to test. If you are just looking for a good beginner recipe:

40-60% lard or palm (Walmart. Lard is Manteca brand, green and white container. Palm is Spectrum brand shortening.)
5% castor (Wal-Mart, pharmacy section with the laxatives)
Coconut 10-20% (Walmart, Lou-Ann brand. No need for virgin coconut oil unless you have some already)
remainder in olive oil
5% superfat


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## Felgie (Jan 4, 2018)

shunt2011 said:


> Totally depends on what kind of soap you are making. That much coconut oil would likely strip the hide of most people. That much Castor could possibly make the soap sticky. I never go above 7% and generally just stay at 5%. I don't think you would find this such a good soap at all though you can certainly try it.
> 
> If you haven't made soap as yet, I would recommend making something more well rounded. 60% Palm/Lard, 20% CO, 15% Olive/Avocado and 5% Castor. 5-6% SF
> 
> ...


In my country its difficult to get palm oil and lard. The most basic oil here is castor, canola, coconut and olive. Thats why im trying to soap using this oils. Do you have any recomrndations? Thanks for ur guidance!!



toxikon said:


> If you swap the coconut oil and olive oil percentages, you will have a pretty standard high-OO recipe that should be nice after a long cure - and you'd just need a standard 3-5% superfat.
> 
> Do you have access to palm oil, tallow or lard? Those are classic hard oils that can help make the recipe more balanced.


In my country its difficult to gain access to lard, tallow and palm. Basic one is coco, olive, canola, and castor. Is there any way to soaping using this as base? ��



toxikon said:


> If you swap the coconut oil and olive oil percentages, you will have a pretty standard high-OO recipe that should be nice after a long cure - and you'd just need a standard 3-5% superfat.
> 
> Do you have access to palm oil, tallow or lard? Those are classic hard oils that can help make the recipe more balanced.


How long do we need to wait to unmold a OO soap? Will it get sticky to be unmold as i heard high oo soap is a bit soft..and how long do we need to cure a high OO soap so that the soap will be at its prime when i use it? ��


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## toxikon (Jan 4, 2018)

Felgie said:


> In my country its difficult to gain access to lard, tallow and palm. Basic one is coco, olive, canola, and castor. Is there any way to soaping using this as base? ��



You can definitely make those oils work! I personally wouldn't use canola as it has a shorter shelf-life and can make your soap go rancid if it isn't fresh enough.

I'd suggest a recipe like this:

65% Olive Oil
30% Coconut Oil
5% Castor Oil

5% Superfat
35% Lye Concentration (when using a Lye Calculator, this is the preferred way of calculating how much lye/water to use)

You can add 1 tablespoon of sugar (dissolve fully in your water before adding your lye) per pound of oils to increase the bubbles a bit. 

Let it cure with good airflow for a good long time, 2 months at least.


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## shunt2011 (Jan 4, 2018)

Felgie said:


> In my country its difficult to get palm oil and lard. The most basic oil here is castor, canola, coconut and olive. Thats why im trying to soap using this oils. Do you have any recomrndations? Thanks for ur guidance!!


 
You can make 100% CO or 85% CO with 15% Olive/Canola and 5% Castor.  If you have access to fine salt add that at 30-100% of the oil weight and superfat at 15-20%.   Needs a long cure (I prefer 6 months-1 year or more)

I suggest you try the recipe you posted with a 15% SF and see how you like it.   Give it at least 4-6 weeks to cure.



With the oils available to you they will require a longer cure.  You can do 75% OO, 20% CO, 5% Castor.  Again it will require a longer cure as high olive oil take a long time to cure so as not to have a snotty texture to the lather.  I personally do not like high Olive in any soap.  Some love it.


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## Felgie (Jan 4, 2018)

Usually how long do i need to wait before unmolding it?? What lye calculator are you using??


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## toxikon (Jan 4, 2018)

Felgie said:


> Usually how long do i need to wait before unmolding it?? What lye calculator are you using??



Unmolding time has a few factors at play. The type of mold you're using, whether the soap gelled or not, etc. Average unmolding time could be anywhere between 12-48 hours. You can gently press the corner of your soap to see if it's ready - it should feel firm like a hard cheese.

I like to use the Soapee lye calculator. Others like Soapcalc.

I'd recommend checking out some Soapmaking 101 videos on Youtube if you're not too familiar with the process yet!


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## Felgie (Jan 4, 2018)

Thank you for all your suggestion and reccomendations! Will try to do my first batch...
Here i go


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## cmzaha (Jan 4, 2018)

I have to disagree a bit with Toxican in regards to Canola Oil I happen to really like it in soap. Here is a link for a few recipes using CO, Canola and Olive Oil, which make a lovely soap. I have never had dos with canola oil.  http://www.millersoap.com/soapallveg.html#Canolive


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## toxikon (Jan 4, 2018)

cmzaha said:


> I have to disagree a bit with Toxican in regards to Canola Oil I happen to really like it in soap. Here is a link for a few recipes using CO, Canola and Olive Oil, which make a lovely soap. I have never had dos with canola oil.  http://www.millersoap.com/soapallveg.html#Canolive



No worries! Glad it's worked for you. I'm judging it simply by its fatty acid profile and linolenic content. Perhaps I'm an over-worrier when it comes to DOS. :mrgreen:


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## Steve85569 (Jan 4, 2018)

http://soapcalc.net/calc/soapcalcWP.asp


Is a good calculator to start with.
As you have seen there are lots of different skin types and therefore opinions as to how much coconut oil to use and at what superfat ( lye discount).
I wouldn't worry too much about what others think ( including me).
Just run your choice of oils into the calculator, weight everything as accurately as possible and start.
I would start with a small ish batch - 500 grams or so. It's easy to get overloaded with soap while finding your favorite recipe.:mrgreen:

I do not use the same recipes now that I did when I started.
I don't know many that do.
That is part of the fun of it all after all!!!

Welcome to the forum!:bunny:


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## cmzaha (Jan 4, 2018)

toxikon said:


> No worries! Glad it's worked for you. I'm judging it simply by its fatty acid profile and linolenic content. Perhaps I'm an over-worrier when it comes to DOS. :mrgreen:


 LOL, I have severe dos problems with high lard, even with additional BHT added in, so I never go over 25% lard. It always amazing how different soapmakers have different results, I do realize the fatty acid profile of regular Canola says we should get dos, of course if I did it as a single oil soap I am sure it would get sickie orange...As much as I dislike high OO I do like the canolive soap recipes. I will mention I do not make them to sell but not because of dos issues I just do not purchase much OO.


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## IrishLass (Jan 4, 2018)

The recipe in your opening post looks to me like another variation on the 100% coconut oil/high superfat themed formula. I've made several variations of them myself-  all _without_ salt, by the way...... although I do also make a salt/spa bar with 100% coconut oil and 25% sea salt, but that's a completely different kind of soap.

Some folks (like myself and my family and friends) love the high coconut oil/high superfat themed formulas, but they are definitely not for everyone. It all depends on ones skin-type. I personally would try it out with a small batch and see how you like it. If you don't end up liking it, you can always grate it up and use it as 'confetti' in a batch made with a different formula. 

For what it's worth, coconut oil is very shelf-stable and can handle being used at a high % with an accompanying high superfat without developing DOS. I superfat mine anywhere from 15% to 20% depending on my variation. My favorite variation is 70% coconut oil and 30% mango butter with a 15% superfat. 


IrishLass


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## elurah (Jan 4, 2018)

Hey Felgie! A lot of people have posted great comments about oil percentages and superfat percentages. The one thing I would add is that it might be nice to do two recipes, one with high coconut and high superfat, the other with lower coconut and lower superfat, to see what works best for your skin and your water conditions. It's actually kind of fun to play around with it. You could also do single oil soap tests where you make bars that are 100% of one oil and see what you like about or don't like about each one. 

Just to give you example of how I played around with my own base recipe:
I'm from a place with really hard water and I like bubbles. I don't like soaps with a high olive oil percentage because with my water the bubbles become slimy. So, my recipe has a higher coconut oil percentage than most (40%), but I also have a higher superfat than most (10-20%!). 

I still like to make little tweaks here and there. Best of luck with your first batch, hope you have fun!


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## Felgie (Jan 5, 2018)

cmzaha said:


> I have to disagree a bit with Toxican in regards to Canola Oil I happen to really like it in soap. Here is a link for a few recipes using CO, Canola and Olive Oil, which make a lovely soap. I have never had dos with canola oil.  http://www.millersoap.com/soapallveg.html#Canolive


Thanks for the recipes! I Am planning to do the canolive in small batch. the lye calc shows that the bar has low percentage of longevity and stable. Is ghere any way to help increase this point??


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## shunt2011 (Jan 5, 2018)

Felgie said:


> Usually how long do i need to wait before unmolding it?? What lye calculator are you using??


 
High CO soaps can generally be unmolded pretty quickly.  My salt bars I unmold and cut at about 3 hours.  Non salt 4-6 or so.   I use either soap calc or soapee.


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