A Cream Soap Tutorial
- Thread starter Lindy
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LBussy
Well-Known Member
I may have said that in another thread, but then IrishLass shared that LotionCrafter's has that stuff and it's real SA.
I check my cream soap for the first time since I made it about 3 weeks ago and it seems almost snotty. Is this normal or should I whip in some more water? I plan on using it for a foaming sugar scrub with a little added oil that will be made in small batches as needed.
Have you tried using homemade cream soap as a sugar scrub base before? I attempted a small batch using Catherine Failor's #4 recipe and added the same amount of sugar I would normally add to foaming bath butter base. Let's just say it didn't turn out as planned. The sugar just seemed to liquify and didn't stay grainy/scrubby at all. Anyone have tips on how to make this work with a homemade cream soap?
Only a couple spoonfuls at a time and it was used immediately. I used 2:1 sugar:soap, it didn't really foam that much but it was nice.
Don't add anymore water, it sounds like there may be a bit too much. Whip it again using your SB. Once you've done that take a bit out and add warm water to it to see what your lather is like.
Try adding sugar until it becomes more solid/grainy.
I tried to SB it but it's just too thick, much like marshmallow cream. Its also full of air bubbles and not creamy at all. I did test lather it, a little added water smoothed it out quite a lot and more produced a decent amount of lather. I'm going to mix a little with sugar today and try it on my legs, they need exfoliated badly.
If you need to add water do it slowly so you don't get too much. Sounds nice though.
I stumbled upon this cream soap calculator today: http://www.soulgazersundries.com/calculator.html
It's not an online calc -- it is an Excel spreadsheet for use on your computer. You can download a free trial version with 25 fats loaded in, or you can buy the full version with 125 fats for about $10 USD. What's really cool is the instructions give the rationale for calculating the amounts of water, glycerin, and such in a cream soap recipe. Cool!
A tip: To get the trial version, it might not download properly if you click on the "download" button. At least it didn't work for me. I had to right click on the "download" button and choose "save link as" in Firefox. If you are using another browser, follow this general method and look for the equivalent command to save the file to your computer.
Enjoy!
It's not an online calc -- it is an Excel spreadsheet for use on your computer. You can download a free trial version with 25 fats loaded in, or you can buy the full version with 125 fats for about $10 USD. What's really cool is the instructions give the rationale for calculating the amounts of water, glycerin, and such in a cream soap recipe. Cool!
A tip: To get the trial version, it might not download properly if you click on the "download" button. At least it didn't work for me. I had to right click on the "download" button and choose "save link as" in Firefox. If you are using another browser, follow this general method and look for the equivalent command to save the file to your computer.
Enjoy!
Thanks DeeAnna
LBussy
Well-Known Member
Thanks DeeAnna!
janzo
Well-Known Member
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Thank you Lindy, I made my first batch of cream soap yesterday and it turned out great. Your tutorial was invaluable, it's always good to check that you are on the right track. It is now in a sealed container put away for a few months. Now to give liquid soap a try!!
I am thrilled that you enjoyed the process. It does become addictive, just a fair warning LOL
alaskazimm
Well-Known Member
Thank you for putting this up, Lindy. There doesn't seem to be much out there on the net about cream soap and this is helpful.
A couple of clarifications, if you will - I made the batch yesterday and whipped it this morning, but the resultant cream seems rather greasy to me. Is this recipe 3.5:1 KOH:NaOH with a lye discount of 17%? That's how I had to work it in SoapMaker to get the numbers you posted.
What little I've been able to find says to use 0% discount with the supercream of 3 - 5% taking the place of the lye discount. Or does the rotting period take care of the greasy feel? Or am I off the mark in my thinking (this being the most likely case)?
A couple of clarifications, if you will - I made the batch yesterday and whipped it this morning, but the resultant cream seems rather greasy to me. Is this recipe 3.5:1 KOH:NaOH with a lye discount of 17%? That's how I had to work it in SoapMaker to get the numbers you posted.
What little I've been able to find says to use 0% discount with the supercream of 3 - 5% taking the place of the lye discount. Or does the rotting period take care of the greasy feel? Or am I off the mark in my thinking (this being the most likely case)?
You can lower the SF but don't take it too far down as cream soap is rather drying which is why I never take it to a 0% SF. The super cream is different than SF as it is just stearic (drying) and glycerin. I've not found this one particularly oily but that could be just me. Do play with it now that you've made it and seen what the different stages look like. Then share you results....
LBussy
Well-Known Member
Lindy, up there in the beginning you showed where you move to the blending bowl. It did not look like the entire batch - was it? Or do you blend a little at a time?
Also; I've put the tutorial in a PDF so folks can download it and print it out. I've attached that as my way of saying thanks for posting this!
View attachment Lindy's Cream Soap.pdf
Also; I've put the tutorial in a PDF so folks can download it and print it out. I've attached that as my way of saying thanks for posting this!
View attachment Lindy's Cream Soap.pdf
Hi Lee, thank you for putting it into a pdf document, you rock. I do put the entire amount into the bowl It is a fairly large bowel LOL
LBussy
Well-Known Member
I went back and added it up ... I imagine the crockpot pictures is a 1.5 QT then? That's the size I use for my shaving soap batches.
It is. For my large batches I put it into a pail and use a paint stirrer attachment that is just for cream soap and stir it that may. Works a dream....
