You're welcome Kerrie. 
A Cream Soap Tutorial
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lizard1232
Well-Known Member
Thank you so much for this tutorial, Lindy. I've been wanting to make cream soap for quite a while and was just too intimidated until I saw this thread. I made it yesterday and just set it to rot after a round in the mixer. I'm always so giddy after trying something new and this is no different. Thanks again for helping me overcome my apprehension.
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You are very welcome
Dorymae
Well-Known Member
Cream soap is too thick for a pump. It has the consistency of whipped cream and after it has cured (rotted) it takes on a beautiful sheen.
It can be used lots of ways. As it is, a luxurious soap. Adding an exfoliant it can be a nice gardeners soap. Added to a scrub it makes a foaming scrub.
Cream soap is the bomb but for it to be good it must be cured (rotted) for a long time, which is why you rarely see the real stuff for sale, and when you do it is pricey. Etsy is full of imitations and "whipped soap", it is not cream soap, the ingredients give it away.
It can be used lots of ways. As it is, a luxurious soap. Adding an exfoliant it can be a nice gardeners soap. Added to a scrub it makes a foaming scrub.
Cream soap is the bomb but for it to be good it must be cured (rotted) for a long time, which is why you rarely see the real stuff for sale, and when you do it is pricey. Etsy is full of imitations and "whipped soap", it is not cream soap, the ingredients give it away.
LBussy
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Did you use the same username?
rogue
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No. I have a yahoo address I've been using since circa1997-1998. The thought of trying to remember yet another e-mail address/password combo makes me want to cry. I've got them for work (medical job), soaping business stuff ( I think I have 3?) there's 3 from Mac I deal with.....remember letters, postcards? It was so exciting as a kid
LBussy
Well-Known Member
I hear ya ... I have tried a lot of different password programs but since I am on a different platform all the time none of them really work all over the place.
Anyway ... this is my last weekend after more than a year of weekends being full for me. So, hopefully starting next week I can try some new things like this cream soap.
Anyway ... this is my last weekend after more than a year of weekends being full for me. So, hopefully starting next week I can try some new things like this cream soap.
TRBeck
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I'm due to try a cream soap as well. It seems a natural outgrowth of lots of things I already do regularly (shave soap, HP, etc.). Thanks for this great tutorial, Lindy! Hope to try it in the next couple of weeks, although rot time dictates that the final result will not be apparent for some time.
"...What's special about adding the stearic and glycerin to the cook after the batch has turned to mashed potatoes? Why couldn't you add everything to the pot at once?..."
Adding stearic and glycerin "super cream" after the cook does seem inefficient and rather silly at first glance, but I strongly suspect there are good reasons for doing this. It's too bad the theory and practice of cream soap making seem to be shrouded in mystery, but it is what it is. Being a curious sort (as y'all have probably noticed), I did my first cream-style shaving soap a few weeks ago following Lindy's basic procedure. I evaluated the process as I made the soap. Given my background in chemical process engineering and soap making, I think I'm qualified to take a stab at answering these questions, subject to revision as I get more experience.
First off, stearic acid has two basic functions in the bath and body world -- stearic-as-soap and stearic-as-thickener. The two are not necessarily the same. Soapers don't usually think of stearic acid as a thickener and texture modifier, but lotion makers use it routinely in their products for these benefits.
Stearic acid added after the cook will help the product to be thicker and less sticky. If you added all of the stearic to the soap pot, the other fats in the recipe are much more likely to be the "superfat" since stearic saponifies so readily. This is not going to give the same results of thickening and texture modification as when you would add stearic after the cook as a "superfat" aka supercream.
One of the complaints about adding stearic as the thickener is that the cream soap can end up rather waxy feeling, so it's clear that stearic-as-thickener should be used with a light hand.
Adding glycerin after the cook will act as a processing and mixing aid. It will help loosen the sticky, heavy soap so you can more easily mix the soap, incorporate the stearic, and whip the soap to a lighter texture (if that's what you want to do). If you add all the glycerin to the soap pot, it will not function as a processing aid at the time of mixing.
A close analogy is making a cake by hand. Some recipes have you cream the sugar and butter, beat in the eggs, and then add the flour and milk, alternating about 1/4 of the flour, 1/4 of the liquid, 1/4 flour, etc. until all of the flour and milk are stirred in. You could mix in all of the flour in one go and then mix in all of the milk, or vice versa, but the process would be considerably more difficult.
One could use water as a processing aid, and I think some cream soap makers do, but water evaporates, so the end texture of the soap will change with time. Glycerin has its drawbacks too, but evaporating is not one of them.
Soap is more soluble in glycerin than in water, so that is another consideration for using at least some glycerin for efficient processing.
Adding stearic and glycerin "super cream" after the cook does seem inefficient and rather silly at first glance, but I strongly suspect there are good reasons for doing this. It's too bad the theory and practice of cream soap making seem to be shrouded in mystery, but it is what it is. Being a curious sort (as y'all have probably noticed), I did my first cream-style shaving soap a few weeks ago following Lindy's basic procedure. I evaluated the process as I made the soap. Given my background in chemical process engineering and soap making, I think I'm qualified to take a stab at answering these questions, subject to revision as I get more experience.
First off, stearic acid has two basic functions in the bath and body world -- stearic-as-soap and stearic-as-thickener. The two are not necessarily the same. Soapers don't usually think of stearic acid as a thickener and texture modifier, but lotion makers use it routinely in their products for these benefits.
Stearic acid added after the cook will help the product to be thicker and less sticky. If you added all of the stearic to the soap pot, the other fats in the recipe are much more likely to be the "superfat" since stearic saponifies so readily. This is not going to give the same results of thickening and texture modification as when you would add stearic after the cook as a "superfat" aka supercream.
One of the complaints about adding stearic as the thickener is that the cream soap can end up rather waxy feeling, so it's clear that stearic-as-thickener should be used with a light hand.
Adding glycerin after the cook will act as a processing and mixing aid. It will help loosen the sticky, heavy soap so you can more easily mix the soap, incorporate the stearic, and whip the soap to a lighter texture (if that's what you want to do). If you add all the glycerin to the soap pot, it will not function as a processing aid at the time of mixing.
A close analogy is making a cake by hand. Some recipes have you cream the sugar and butter, beat in the eggs, and then add the flour and milk, alternating about 1/4 of the flour, 1/4 of the liquid, 1/4 flour, etc. until all of the flour and milk are stirred in. You could mix in all of the flour in one go and then mix in all of the milk, or vice versa, but the process would be considerably more difficult.
One could use water as a processing aid, and I think some cream soap makers do, but water evaporates, so the end texture of the soap will change with time. Glycerin has its drawbacks too, but evaporating is not one of them.
Soap is more soluble in glycerin than in water, so that is another consideration for using at least some glycerin for efficient processing.
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Another question that's been asked is why let a cream soap "rot" (ugh, I hate that term!) for a good time after being made.
If you think back to comments you might have read about cream soap, one of the things people sometimes say is that cream soap becomes more "pearly" with age. The reason why this pearly effect is happening is that the soap molecules are getting organized. The molecules in a fresh cream soap are an amorphous (random/disorganized) mess.
As time goes on, the insoluble soaps gradually organize themselves into solid structures of rod and plate shaped crystals. These rods/plates reflect light in a way that an amorphous system does not, hence the pearly look.
The soluble soaps also organize themselves into tidy structures of micelles within the fluid phase of the soap's structure. All of this crystallization and organization tends to make the soap milder to the skin, better lathering, and longer-lived. This also happens in bar soaps, but the changes caused by curing are not quite as obvious to the naked eye. I mostly see the changes to my bar soap in terms of its performance -- lather production, longevity, and mildness to the skin.
Whether the benefits of a longer cure are worth the wait or not depends on the maker and his or her perceptions of the changes.
If you think back to comments you might have read about cream soap, one of the things people sometimes say is that cream soap becomes more "pearly" with age. The reason why this pearly effect is happening is that the soap molecules are getting organized. The molecules in a fresh cream soap are an amorphous (random/disorganized) mess.
As time goes on, the insoluble soaps gradually organize themselves into solid structures of rod and plate shaped crystals. These rods/plates reflect light in a way that an amorphous system does not, hence the pearly look.
The soluble soaps also organize themselves into tidy structures of micelles within the fluid phase of the soap's structure. All of this crystallization and organization tends to make the soap milder to the skin, better lathering, and longer-lived. This also happens in bar soaps, but the changes caused by curing are not quite as obvious to the naked eye. I mostly see the changes to my bar soap in terms of its performance -- lather production, longevity, and mildness to the skin.
Whether the benefits of a longer cure are worth the wait or not depends on the maker and his or her perceptions of the changes.
HoneyLady
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Lindy --
Thankee for the tutorial with PICTURES! Dee Anna -- thankee for the explanations! If you ever give up engineering, please consider being a teacher. I might have passed HS Chem if I'd had someone who spoke layman.
Lindy, I wonder if you can give us some ideas for percentages with this sort of thing. Obviously, stearic acid is the base. But what about the rest? If I use all solid oils (PKO, CO, Lard, shea) does it make a stiff soap? If I use all liquid oils (almond, avocado, olive) does it make it sloppy? What about lanolin?
I know most CP makers use a combo of solid/liquid oils based on preferences, recipes, etc. I know most lotion makers use different oils depending on the amount of glide, occlusion, and sink-in-ability they desire for the final texture.
Just wondering how all that plays into something that will never be solid -- as opposed to a bar -- or not.
Thanks!
~Honey Lady~
Thankee for the tutorial with PICTURES! Dee Anna -- thankee for the explanations! If you ever give up engineering, please consider being a teacher. I might have passed HS Chem if I'd had someone who spoke layman.
Lindy, I wonder if you can give us some ideas for percentages with this sort of thing. Obviously, stearic acid is the base. But what about the rest? If I use all solid oils (PKO, CO, Lard, shea) does it make a stiff soap? If I use all liquid oils (almond, avocado, olive) does it make it sloppy? What about lanolin?
I know most CP makers use a combo of solid/liquid oils based on preferences, recipes, etc. I know most lotion makers use different oils depending on the amount of glide, occlusion, and sink-in-ability they desire for the final texture.
Just wondering how all that plays into something that will never be solid -- as opposed to a bar -- or not.
Thanks!
~Honey Lady~
Just a quick note on Deeanna posts. Although you can whip this soap it does not have the structure to hold that whip and will quickly flatten back down. I do "whip" mine with a dough hook prior to putting it to bed if I am doing a small batch. If I am doing a large one then I use a paint mixer and a drill.
Honeylady, other than the base being stearic acid you are not limited to any percentages of oils/butters. You can make this as a single oil/butter soap if you chose. I know a lady that made a shaving soap using just olive oil which in the world of wet shaving is a big no no and yet the group of hard core wet shavers she tried it on all loved it. I personally don't have the guts to try that due to label appeal, or should I say not.
The amount of Stearic is going to determine the density of the soap rather than the oils. I tend to do a blend of oils/butters, but that is simply my preference.
Honeylady, other than the base being stearic acid you are not limited to any percentages of oils/butters. You can make this as a single oil/butter soap if you chose. I know a lady that made a shaving soap using just olive oil which in the world of wet shaving is a big no no and yet the group of hard core wet shavers she tried it on all loved it. I personally don't have the guts to try that due to label appeal, or should I say not.
The amount of Stearic is going to determine the density of the soap rather than the oils. I tend to do a blend of oils/butters, but that is simply my preference.
LBussy
Well-Known Member
There's always someone that wants to eat someone elses cooking. I'm sure you've seen the folks on one of the Shaving forums all arguing about which soap is better - the two contenders both using the M&P same base.
Tentatively planning to try this recipe this coming weekend. Of course I've said that about a lot of things.
LOL -yup but they can't seem to see that. They could make the same soap if they had a mind to. Mind being the most important part of that sentence. :lolno:
ParadiseFarm
Member
Hi, did anyone ever try this with GM? I make GM CP and would love to try this. My thoughts would be it would go brown though, I've tried liquid GM soap and it does go brown. But I do use 100% GM as liquid and go from frozen so that is all my experience.
Can anything be added to keep it whipped?
