A very newbie recipe question

[Chaiat5]

Hi everyone!

My 11-year-old son and I are into soap making ... we have such a long way to go, but are having a lot of fun. We've been keeping things simple – we've made coconut oil soaps and used cooking oil soaps.

A couple of months ago, we made this soap (recipe we found online):

Olive oil – 269g
Coconut oil – 149g
Castor oil – 35g
Lye – 64g
Water 184g

It came out really gooey and we had to wait more than a week to unmould it.

We'd like to try again and this time, I ran the recipe through soapcalc. I'm still trying to find my bearings there and concerned I'm not doing it right. Would you say that this recipe is OK? (I've attached the readings.) What would you recommend to make it better? [It isn't easy to find oils like shea/cocoa butter or palm oil at the moment!]

Thanks so much in advance!

 

[KiwiMoose]

You need to change to 'lye concentration' (in the top left corner table) and set it to 33%. This will help it set up a bit quicker. Your previous recipe had a lesser amount of lye and more water which would make it slower to set up.

Most people would use a lesser mount of CO as it can dry the skin out in higher amounts. I use 20% in mine, but you could try 25% ( and increase the OO accordingly) and see how you like it.

High OO soap does take a long time to harden, so that, coupled with the low lye amount would be why your original recipe took so long to unmold.

Other than those small tweaks your recipe is fine. if you can get hold of some butters or palm it would help your soap last longer.

I found this helpful in my early days: What Fatty Acid Profiles in Soapmaking Are the Most Popular?

 

[Chaiat5]

You need to change to 'lye concentration' (in the top left corner table) and set it to 33%. This will help it set up a bit quicker. Your previous recipe had a lesser amount of lye and more water which would make it slower to set up.

Most people would use a lesser mount of CO as it can dry the skin out in higher amounts. I use 20% in mine, but you could try 25% ( and increase the OO accordingly) and see how you like it.

High OO soap does take a long time to harden, so that, coupled with the low lye amount would be why your original recipe took so long to unmold.

Other than those small tweaks your recipe is fine. if you can get hold of some butters or palm it would help your soap last longer.

I found this helpful in my early days: What Fatty Acid Profiles in Soapmaking Are the Most Popular?

Thank you so much... I am writing all this down I'll tweak some more I am trying to find palm oil here... really dying to get my hands on butters, but there have been import restrictions so foreign goods are hard to come by.

 

[artemis]

Also, don't be afraid to try a different soap calculator, like soapee.com which I found to be less confusing than soapcalc

I would suggest soap making friend, except free accounts can only have 3 recipes. You need more than that to experiment with.

 

[Chaiat5]

Also, don't be afraid to try a different soap calculator, like soapee.com which I found to be less confusing than soapcalc

I would suggest soap making friend, except free accounts can only have 3 recipes. You need more than that to experiment with.

Oh thank you! What a world we’re navigating. My son says Fridays are soap days so we’ll have lots to research

 

[Zing]

Also, if you have access to sodium lactate, that speeds up the unmolding process. I use a high ratio at 3% per total oil weight, others use 1 teaspoon per pound of oil. Good luck.

 

[Chaiat5]

Also, if you have access to sodium lactate, that speeds up the unmolding process. I use a high ratio at 3% per total oil weight, others use 1 teaspoon per pound of oil. Good luck.

Thank you for this tip! I’ll look out for it!

 

[artemis]

Oh thank you! What a world we’re navigating. My son says Fridays are soap days so we’ll have lots to research

My son is the reason I started making soap 8 years ago. He was 9 and had to do a report on George Washington Carver. "Mom! It says he made soap from peanut oil. We should make some to go with my report!"

He doesn't soap with me often, but he has made some batches and likes to help pick out fragrances and additives.

 

[Chaiat5]

My son is the reason I started making soap 8 years ago. He was 9 and had to do a report on George Washington Carver. "Mom! It says he made soap from peanut oil. We should make some to go with my report!"

He doesn't soap with me often, but he has made some batches and likes to help pick out fragrances and additives.

Ohhhh... that is SO special! How amazing is that???

 

[Shelley D]

Thank you so much... I am writing all this down I'll tweak some more I am trying to find palm oil here... really dying to get my hands on butters, but there have been import restrictions so foreign goods are hard to come by.

I can't help my curiosity ~ where do live? Are there any ethnic hair salons nearby? Sometimes they have/use natural/organic products and maybe, just maybe, they could be a useful source of information for obtaining said oils and butters. Just a far reaching thought

 

[mx5inpenn]

Are you needing plant based oils specifically? Lard or tallow will both help you unmold faster and make hard, long lasting bars.

 

[Georgeandstella]

I can't help my curiosity ~ where do live? Are there any ethnic hair salons nearby? Sometimes they have/use natural/organic products and maybe, just maybe, they could be a useful source of information for obtaining said oils and butters. Just a far reaching thought

Hello Shelley, I love browsing through various ethnic shops for ingredients! I usually find red palm oil and nice shea at African grocers. I haven’t checked the Beaty supply shops

 

[Chaiat5]

I can't help my curiosity ~ where do live? Are there any ethnic hair salons nearby? Sometimes they have/use natural/organic products and maybe, just maybe, they could be a useful source of information for obtaining said oils and butters. Just a far reaching thought

I am based in Pakistan … I can get coconut, olive, castor, sunflower and canola oils easily. Butters are a little harder to come by – they are either extremely expensive or possibly not of good quality/the real thing? (Found an online store selling cocoa butter and shea butter but reviews were so bad that I just dropped the whole idea!) I have seen avocado oils, not a lot, but some.

Palm oil, which is common where I come from (I am from Singapore) is imported for food industries etc., I’m sure, but is not sold here very commonly for household use.

I think checking out ethnic salons is a great idea!

 

[Chaiat5]

Are you needing plant based oils specifically? Lard or tallow will both help you unmold faster and make hard, long lasting bars.

I am soooo fascinated with tallow. I made friends with a soapmaker here and she rendered her own beef tallow. She said the smell did permeate the house for a bit, haha, but it was totally worth it. Thank you so much for these tips. I am learning a lot