Additives and Lather (Bubbles)

[Sunibee]

I don't know, but if it reconstitutes to juice rather than gel I don't see why not.

Hi dibbles , I hvae a doubt. Should you not use Aloe gel I have been using it as a partial substitute for liquid. My soaps are fine .. can anyone comment on this please .. will it have an adverse output ?

 

[dibbles]

Aloe gel is fine to use, I just don't. I also don't know anything about using it to make a lye solution.

 

[Sunibee]

What an intriguing thread! Blind tests are fun!

Has someone done it to dual-lye bar soap? My non-blindness is fooling me, I can't tell if replacement of a small fraction of NaOH by KOH has a lather boosting effect too.

I make dual lye bars. Till I wanted to add citric acid for lessening the soap scum.. then it was too much to calculate. I stopped. .now back again as I am using sodium gluconate ... The next batch is gonna be 80:20 naoh:koh .. the later is more n stable as well. .

 

[Sunibee]

Aloe gel is fine to use, I just don't. I also don't know anything about using it to make a lye solution.

I don't use it in the lye solution... I add it to my oils. Aloe juice :lye is always 1:1. Rest 1.. I use other liquids / sometimes Aloe gel

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

@dibbles
Thank you for your blind soap testing, most interesting & informative.

 

[dibbles]

I don't use it in the lye solution... I add it to my oils. Aloe juice :lye is always 1:1. Rest 1.. I use other liquids / sometimes Aloe gel

Then all is well!

 

[Johnez]

Interesting that sorbitol caused a drying sensation, I've read of it's humectant properties similar to glycerin. I wonder if this is an interaction with hard water, the "everyone's skin is different" thing (like Castile), or some other factor.

 

[dibbles]

@Johnez I do think water in use plays a role, as well as the 'everyone's skin is different'. I did find it interesting that both of the testers that found added sugar to be drying were very hard water testers.

 

[SirSoapsAlot]

Hi dibbles , I hvae a doubt. Should you not use Aloe gel I have been using it as a partial substitute for liquid. My soaps are fine .. can anyone comment on this please .. will it have an adverse output ?

Some people just don't use it do to the many additives that can be in it and they want to control the ingredients to avoid these.

 

[dibbles]

Some people just don't use it do to the many additives that can be in it and they want to control the ingredients to avoid these.

Good point - I tend to think of aloe gel that people take directly from the leaves of the plant rather than something purchased off the shelf.

 

[SavonP]

Sometimes I dilute it as I go - just add half a teaspoon (about 2g) to my water and stir it through before adding the lye. But because it weighs so little it's actually easier I find to make up a litre or two and freeze it. What I find works really well is to make it up as double strength and freeze it that way. Let me explain:
5g powder (200x) makes 1 litre, so 10g powder makes 2 litres. I make 10g powder with only 1 litre of water and weigh it out into 160g baggies (it fits into a snack size ziplock), then freeze them. My usual batch of soap uses 320g water, so when I want to make a batch, I pull out one bag of 160g aloe concentrate from the freezer and bang it on the side of the sink to break it up a bit, then drop it into my mixing jug. Then I pour over 160g of distilled water. Then i mix in my lye. Having half ice and half water suits me well so that the lye solution doesn't get too hot.

Thanks so much for this explanation. I’m new but Aloe is something I would eventually like to try. But Aloe Vera juice is so expensive here in the UK. I’ve seen the powder here so I will definitely be trying it in the future.

 

[Sunibee]

Thanks so much for this explanation. I’m new but Aloe is something I would eventually like to try. But Aloe Vera juice is so expensive here in the UK. I’ve seen the powder here so I will definitely be trying it in the future.

Please grow your own Aloe. It's a very easy plant yo grow. ..I harvest mine from my plants everytime.

 

[SavonP]

Please grow your own Aloe. It's a very easy plant yo grow. ..I harvest mine from my plants everytime.

Funny you should say that. I just realised I have one in a terrarium. I’ve been looking to buy a couple. I live in the UK so i can’t grow outside, but will surely buy a couple more for inside.

 

[Sunibee]

Funny you should say that. I just realised I have one in a terrarium. I’ve been looking to buy a couple. I live in the UK so i can’t grow outside, but will surely buy a couple more for inside.

My aunt n family live in the UK . My aunt lover her Cacti..she grows it indoors

 

[KiwiMoose]

Please grow your own Aloe. It's a very easy plant yo grow. ..I harvest mine from my plants everytime.

Yes I have a cutting off my friends aloe plant that I am growing. I used to harvest from her plant directly, but I am waiting for mine to grow big enough now to start cutting bits off

 

[lenarenee]

I'm just re-reading this thread because for the past 2 years I've been using sugar in a combo palm/lard or palm/butter recipe (rather than my usual high lard no palm/butter recipe). I noticed that the combo recipes need a much longer cure to be decent in lather, and especially non-drying. (sf is usually 3 to 5% in any of my recipes). Three months is a bare minimum but my skin prefers 6 months.

This thread has me wondering if it's the recipe, the sugar, or a combo of both contributing to this.

 

[AliOop]

I'm just re-reading this thread because for the past 2 years I've been using sugar in a combo palm/lard or palm/butter recipe (rather than my usual high lard no palm/butter recipe). I noticed that the combo recipes need a much longer cure to be decent in lather, and especially non-drying. (sf is usually 3 to 5% in any of my recipes). Three months is a bare minimum but my skin prefers 6 months.

This thread has me wondering if it's the recipe, the sugar, or a combo of both contributing to this.

I'm very interested to read this. I've always said that palm doesn't agree with my skin - I find it drying. I've never heard anyone else complain about that before reading your post. And like you, my typical recipe is high lard, with no palm and no butter. That's not to say that my skin has any trouble with butters - just palm. Maybe I need to try curing the palm-combo recipes a little longer as you have noted.

 

[bookworm]

Sometimes I dilute it as I go - just add half a teaspoon (about 2g) to my water and stir it through before adding the lye. But because it weighs so little it's actually easier I find to make up a litre or two and freeze it. What I find works really well is to make it up as double strength and freeze it that way. Let me explain:
5g powder (200x) makes 1 litre, so 10g powder makes 2 litres. I make 10g powder with only 1 litre of water and weigh it out into 160g baggies (it fits into a snack size ziplock), then freeze them. My usual batch of soap uses 320g water, so when I want to make a batch, I pull out one bag of 160g aloe concentrate from the freezer and bang it on the side of the sink to break it up a bit, then drop it into my mixing jug. Then I pour over 160g of distilled water. Then i mix in my lye. Having half ice and half water suits me well so that the lye solution doesn't get too hot.

Thank you so much, I’m very happy to report that I’ve tried the aloe powder and am quite thrilled with the results thus far.
I will be adding to my next batches as well and will monitor this.

 

[Sunibee]

And the aloe pictures

Very interesting Dibbles. Thank you for the images. So clear

 

[Sunibee]

Yes I have a cutting off my friends aloe plant that I am growing. I used to harvest from her plant directly, but I am waiting for mine to grow big enough now to start cutting bits off