80% Lard Soaps..OK, I Get it Now.

[Susie]

I made my first batch of lard soap the other day. What
A mess. I forgot
To add fragrance and I did put
Jasmine tea in my lye water. The color looks like baby poop and it's soft and wet feeling after 48 hours. Is this normal ( the soft
And wet part)? Also, I didn't cover it
With anything after
I got
Done. No towels or
Plastic wrap. Now it's lighter colored on top and dark brown on the center where I cut it.
I know it's a total flop, but it's my first
Batch of
Lard soap. Apparently my mind wasn't
In it. I shall have to try again only just
Do a basic recipe with no extras. I need to know how it handles before I use it and decide
Whether or
Not I like it. View attachment 16699 just
Wanted to share

If you could post your entire recipe in weights (not percentages) we could troubleshoot it with you much better.

 

[BlackDog]

Don't be surprised if the EO scent sort of fades under the lardy scent while curing. A quick hand wash or two will bring it right back. High lard soaps seem to be the worst for the EO hiding during the cure.

ooh! thanks Susie, I had not heard this little tidbit. I have my first high-lard batch curing right now and I was starting to feel bummed because I had found a dupe of my favorite long-discontinued B&BW scent to use with it, and it wasn't smelling very strong during cure. Now I have reason to hope it will be back!

 

[Susie]

It will be back. Never you fear. At least the EOs that are not citrus. I am afraid you are probably going to lose the pink grapefruit EO. Citrus EOs are notorious faders in CP.

 

[BlackDog]

I should be ok. It's Brown Sugar & Fig. Yummo!

 

[brandnew]

I also disolves 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of table salt in my hot lye water..

What a noonie! I have substituted pwd. sugar in my strawberries but have never considered it for making my soap! Duh! :-? Thank you!

lard is absolutely brilliant....it was my first ever bar and still a fav'

 

[PortlandSoaper]

Calling it "Paleo Soap" ~ My First batch of 80% Lard, 20% CO

I have been soaping for about 4 years & I JUST recently started using Lard. Before this batch, I had made several batches using 25 and 30% lard. This thread inspired me to try the High lard batch. I am out of castor oil, or I would have done 75% lard, 20% CO, 5% castor.

Here is a picture of the bars cut from the small batch (800g) of 80% Lard, 20% coconut oil I made yesterday. I used a combination of FO'S and EO'S and it smells really nice. No lard smell at all. It makes and extremely white bar.

I will definitely be using high lard recipes moving forward. The results are really nice and the cost is awesome! It is going to be a long 4 weeks waiting to use it!

I'm thinking of calling high lard batches my "Paleo Soap"!

80% Lard
20% CO
Water 35%
Fragrance combo: Watermelon FO, Green tea & Honey FO, sweet orange EO, pink grapefruit EO
1 heaping Tablespoon of powdered sugar &
1 Tablespoon of table salt added to lye water

 

[ngian]

It seems sweet as sugar!

I will use a known quote from other soapers around here: "welcome to the Lardy side!"

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Okay, so this is from a bar which is only 11 days old -



I'm in love!

 

[ngian]

Do you have hard water Craig?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Fairly - but I use SC (well, CA and more lye) to help fight it. Considering this is less than 2 weeks old and it's cp, I think it's going to age to be rather nice

 

[ngian]

Where is the bar though? We only see the smoke and not the fire

 

[Susie]

Fairly - but I use SC (well, CA and more lye) to help fight it. Considering this is less than 2 weeks old and it's cp, I think it's going to age to be rather nice

You have read about the wonders of lard soap all this time, and you are just getting around to trying it...

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

You have read about the wonders of lard soap all this time, and you are just getting around to trying it...

I know! All this time wasted. Seriously, people - make this if you don't mind using animal fats

Where is the bar though? We only see the smoke and not the fire

Those are being kept tightly under wraps. Well, not literally, as I want them to cure..................

 

[osso]

Oh, the things you miss when you don't read an entire thread!

Off to buy some lard.

 

[DeeAnna]

I tested the one bar I still have from of a batch I made this past 10th of July. The theme of the soap was the wiry sweetgrass (Hierochloe odorata) that I've been growing and harvesting this summer from a planting I did last year.

The recipe is 75% lard, 20% coconut oil, 5% castor oil, 0.5% EDTA, 2% lye discount (superfat). Sweetgrass FO from Natures Garden -- this is a sweet herbal clean scent. (Real sweetgrass doesn't have an essential oil although you can make a hydrosol from it. Bottom line is I can't get any scent by using the real thing.) The blue-green color is an infusion of sweetgrass (buffalo grass) in distilled water. No other additives. The soap lathers really nicely in cool water, and I like how the FO is sticking well at 3 months out.

The bar seems to be very slightly drying to my hands, but I could easily argue that the dryness is as much the fault of I do for a living as the soap. Working with dyes and solvents tends to keep my hands slightly dried out, so they're already on the edge of dryness when I wash up.

I think I may try the same recipe this weekend except take 5% away from the coconut oil and give it back to the lard -- 80% lard, 15% CO, 5% castor -- and see how that does. Especially now that winter is coming, it might be good to have a lower myristic and lauric acid content for gentler cleansing, even if the lovely lather is affected a wee bit.

 

[brandnew]

Do try a 100% lard bar....don't know how well lots of you hold onto bars but after making batch after batch of soap one tends to discover the odd forgotten bar and one of my 1 1/2 year old lard bars was heavenly!

 

[DeeAnna]

I've done 90% and 100% lard. Like castile, it seems a pure or almost pure lard soap takes a longer time to show its full colors. I'm not particularly impatient, but I'd prefer most of my soaps to do reasonably well within a few months, and a modest dab of coconut and castor help a lot in that regard. Just me....

 

[mandy318]

Okay, today I poured a wee batch of 80% lard, 15% co and 5% castor. Let's see what all the fuss is about.......

I just made a 2lbs batch with these proportions. I have used lard in all but one soap so far. I'm very excited to see how this turns out.

Scented with WSP White Christmas, french green clay and nettle powder added to most of it for green color. Also 2 tbs ppo of sugar added to lye water. (Separated out some for a white top.)

 

[Krystalbee]

I have never had any interest incorporating lard in my soap recipe. To be honest I always kind of wrinkled my nose at the idea I see now that I must simply try using lard because so many people on this forum have raved about. Can't wait for my next day off!

 

[TeaLeavesandTweed]

Has anyone noticed slime from high-lard soaps? My 80% lard, 20% CO soap is lovely and has nice bubbly lather that feels very creamy, too, but sometimes the creaminess edges into slimy territory. I mean, it doesn't not make sense, since lard is high in monounsaturated fats like olive oil is, but has anyone else noticed this? Or could this just be the scummy feel that some get from lard?