A batch of soap for mom.

[boyago]

So I am making a batch for my mom. She's an older lady and says she has dry skin. She likes creamy soaps that rinse clean. I was thinking a OO, RBO base with shea butter for the base. Was thinking egg or corn starch additive to help with the creamy part + vit E. hat do you think and do you have any suggestions? These will also be poured into Han solo frozen in cabonite silicone molds. I haven't cast soap into molds before but if you have any tips on making it easier I'd appreciate it. Thanks for your bubbly wosdom. -B

 

[new12soap]

I think if your mom wants soap in the shape of Han Solo frozen in carbonite you may very well have the coolest mom ever.

RBO is fine but in soap it is so similar to OO I very rarely use both. An egg would be a nice addition, be sure you temper it or your soap will be full of scrambled egg bits. For creamy lather you may want to use lard, tallow, or palm oil. I also would almost always recommend adding some castor oil, 5-6% makes a difference.

Some people love shea butter in soap, others don't, some say it contributes to ash... All a matter of personal preference, try it and see what you think.

edited to add: pouring in silicone molds is easy, just go slow so you don't overfill, and it may take a little extra time before you can unmold. soap tends to stay "sticky" for a little longer in silicone.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I'm thinking it's not true, but I do have an image of your dear mother being a massive fan of Star Wars, doing Jabba impressions every morning with the soap!

I was wondering why you mix OO and RBO?

 

[pamielynn]

I think if your mom wants soap in the shape of Han Solo frozen in carbonite you may very well have the coolest mom ever.

this.

 

[kikajess]

A little mineral oil rubbed into the molds will help when it comes time to release the soap. I've been eyeballing those molds...do you have the tray with one big cavity and six little ones?

 

[boyago]

I think if your mom wants soap in the shape of Han Solo frozen in carbonite you may very well have the coolest mom ever.

She is a damn fine lady. I would say that she has a very special bond to Star Wars. Not like she dresses up for comicon or anything like that, but I'll explain. This gift is also kind of an apology. Get a hanky out if your sensitive. When I was in high school I got into Star Wars. This was right before the THX re-release and Lucas went crazy with the merchandise. My mom got really into giving me star wars stuff. This continued through my early adult life till one year she asked me what I wanted for my birthday and like a stupid kid I basically said anything but more Star Wars crap. She was hurt and later told me that while she was going trough the end of my parents marriage and divorce Return of the Jedi was playing in the theater. When life was too much she would go watch it and it would let her check out and made her feel better. So that is why she was happy to get me all the starwars stuff and was happy to be into that stuff with me. So yeah, I'm the douche that didn't want "crap" anymore.

That and she's hot for Harison Ford.

I'm thinking it's not true, but I do have an image of your dear mother being a massive fan of Star Wars, doing Jabba impressions every morning with the soap!

I was wondering why you mix OO and RBO?

I'm just going to ahead and assume you did not just call my mom fat in that first part.

To tell the truth it partially because I just found a local supplier with RBO and I want to experiment with it more and partly due to my ignorance of chemistry and dermatology. The RBO has some benefits with topical applications. These probably get fried with the lye but I have also read that shea has beneficial that do not get zapped in saponification. But I really don't have the knowledge base or experience to say wither that is so or not.

A little mineral oil rubbed into the molds will help when it comes time to release the soap. I've been eyeballing those molds...do you have the tray with one big cavity and six little ones?

It's in the mail. I plan to use the large one to make several positives and make a new multi Han mold.


Thank you all for the tips so far and keep em coming if you got em.

 

[judymoody]

RBO is good for "mature" skin in leave on products but I'm not convinced those benefits carry through in CP soap.

My mothers' day soap is loaded with luxurious oils like avocado oil, hemp oil (small %) and kokum or cocoa butter. Shea butter in high % feels kind of waxy to me.

If you're not averse to animal oils, a mix of lard, olive oil (or RBO), avocado oil and a small % of coconut or palm kernel oil (less than 20%) would be nice. I'd SF at 8-10%. If not lard, then palm oil.

I find castor can produce a sensation of stickiness or drag for some people for what it's worth.

 

[soap_rat]

If the mold is stiffer silicone, definitely soak some mineral oil into it (and it wouldn't hurt floppy silicone either, but I needed it on the stiffer silicone). Wipe most of it away before using. Try to pour in a thin layer of soap, then shake or bounce the mold to get air bubbles out of the soap. Then add more and more, shake at least one more time.

I usually put my molds onto some sort of tray and into a 170 degree oven that has been turned off and let them sit for awhile--up to overnight. Then I freeze them, let them sit about 10 minutes, and gently pop them out and put them in front of a fan (condensation)

 

[My Mountain Soaps]

Where on earth did you find a solo mold???? I want one now!!!!

 

[TVivian]

Your story got me all teary! Gives me hope that one day my kids won't be such jerks to me haha!

 

[boyago]

Where on earth did you find a solo mold???? I want one now!!!!

Amazon, there are really big ones too. Also death star ice trays that are pretty sweet.

Your story got me all teary! Gives me hope that one day my kids won't be such jerks to me haha!

I was just talking to a bunch of guys about this tonight and the median age was determined to be about 19 before we are able to stop being so self involved.