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@AliOop and @Servant4Christ, I’ve been testing a 100% coconut oil dual lye stain stick with 5% d-limonene. It works well on fresh stains, but not as well on older oil stains (but what does?). I gave some to a friend to try—she was impressed because it got blood out of her son’s football jersey...

@AliOop, I’m definitely leaning towards the Irish Lass route. I started playing with thickeners this weekend. I have a three part problem that might not be solvable without syndets (I’m not really interested in them). I want it to be liquid enough for a pump bottle, I want it to produce a dense...

Update: all attempts to dilute have separated. I’m switching tracks and playing with thickeners. So far I have successfully made snot using guar gum. On the plus side, it is very slippery snot. I’ll keep experimenting and report back.

I figured it was worth a shot while I was playing with KOH. Honestly, the results surprised me. I did use 3% sodium lactate, 1% sucrose, 1% sodium citrate, and 1% arrowroot powder mixed with 5% lavender EO.

Sorry! This should read “I haven’t tried it, but was wondering the same thing.” FWIW, @AliOop, I just tried a piece of the 95% NaOH: 5% KOH castile test batch I have curing. It is only three weeks old, so this should be interpretation with caution: 1) It is SO nice! 2) Dense creamy lather...

I have many tried it, but was wondering the same thing. I do have a test batch of dual lye Castile curing. If you try it, please report back.

It does seem to make a very dense, long lasting foam. As a paste or cream, with a shaving brush, it would make a fantastic shave soap. Unfortunately, that isn’t what I’m hoping to make. I’m starting to rethink my strategy on this. Rather than trying to make a cream soap more liquidy, I’m...

Thanks, @Mobjack Bay! I remember reading through this and just re-read it. It sent me down an elaidic acid rabbit hole. The chemistry on this is way above my head, so you’ll have to correct me. Your post equated elaidic acid with oleic acid. From what I read, it seemed like elaidic was also...

@Mobjack Bay, I’ll have to go back and re-read the thread. I thought the consensus was 415 is mostly hydrogenated, and mostly stearic. Back to the drawing board!

@DeeAnna, I was going to reference your posts about capric and caprylic acids, but you did it for me. I think I first read about it in an old thread with you and Zany. FWIW I started by decreasing the coconut oil, and then by mixing PKO and coconut oil. I systematically decreased the coconut...

Hi @Sri Astuti, yes PKO is used similarly to coconut oil. I find it slightly less stripping than coconut oil. It could be completely psychosomatic. As I’ve gotten older I prefer lower amounts of CO/PKO. When I started soaping I liked around 25%. Now I find that too harsh. I find I get more than...

@AliOop, I take it all back. This morning it looks more like there is a foam on the surface. I’m wondering if I dissolved the paste in water without mixing what would happen. I’m going to try that and report back.

Thanks, @justsomeguy. I’ve read through that thread. It was one of the threads that made me interested in soy wax. All I can say is it behaves differently than stearic acid for me. From my limited experience soy wax doesn’t seem to trace as quickly as stearic acid. It also seems to stay milky in...

Update: the 1:1 dilution is separating. But riddle me this, the one with polysorbate and avocado oil seems to be holding better. Still some separation, but much less.

AliOop, I’ve read the soy wax is “supposed” to be about 80% stearic acid. I hoped that the soy wax and lard would boost the stearic high enough in the main cook. From other threads it sounded like others had swapped soy wax for stearic with good success. The post cook stearic was for...

Here is a 1:1 dilution totaling 100g that includes .5% liquid germal. To a separate 100g batch I added a mix of 1g bergamot EO, 2g avocado oil, and 3g polysorbate 80. Both are sequestering.

Daring! 😂

Ok @AliOop, @Mobjack Bay, and @DeeAnna, here’s the first test: It is cooling on the stove. Hot paste is smooth, slippery, and spreadable. It is very slick and creamy on the hands, almost like lotion, but works up into a dense stable lather. This is the first KOH soap paste (I’m not writing...

So interesting. My favorite liquid hand soap recipe has about 58% oleic acid. I haven’t noticed that yet at a 50:50 or 40:60 soap:water dilution.

Thank you, @DeeAnna, and arg! Reliably pump-able is the goal. That is part of why I used 100% KOH instead of part NaOH. What do you think of trying other water alternatives like more glycerine, or propylene glycol. I could also try an emulsifier like Polysorbate 80. Maybe I will have to...