Advice, constructive criticisms

[jayo2009]

So I made my first loaf of CP soap today. All in all I think the first step came out OK. I managed to get it in my home made wood soap mold without spilling it everywhere. I think I may have over mixed it a tad. I have a few adjustments to make next time like using Castor oil and more fragrance oil. My oils I used was using was

Coconut oil 76° 50%
Shea butter 15%
Canola oil 10%
Olive oil 25%

Any ways to improve on this in your opinions. Thanks

 

[cmzaha]

I would cut the coconut oil to 20% or less, use lard, tallow or palm for the hard oil, cut the shea to 10% or lower it does not add a lot to soap and deters lather, if and oils you cut down on can be added to the lard, tallow or palm. The canola and olive I would leave alone.

 

[CaraBou]

Congrats on your first batch, jayo, and welcome to the forum.

That's quite a lot of coconut oil -- is there a reason you used so much? Many people find it drying in high amounts, plus it is kind of expensive in some places, like the US.

You could try reducing the coconut oil down to about 20%, and substitute the remaining amount in a hard oil such as lard, tallow or palm oil. You could also sub the castor oil from there (you only need about 5% castor).

ETA: I see cmzaha beat me to the punch! Well, at least our advice was pretty consistent

 

[jayo2009]

I would cut the coconut oil to 20% or less, use lard, tallow or palm for the hard oil, cut the shea to 10% or lower it does not add a lot to soap and deters lather, if and oils you cut down on can be added to the lard, tallow or palm. The canola and olive I would leave alone.

OK thanks. I appreciate your advice on that. I enjoyed making it though for the first time:smile:

 

[Nao]

Congratulations on your first soap! The first one is always the scariest one :mrgreen:

I think take 30% of the coconut and add that amount in some hard oil like Palm/lard/tallow/shortening or maybe even some other butter.

Also have you tried formulating with any soap calculator that shows the properties in your recipe?

Like this one, playing around with a soap calculator helps a lot to understand how and why you should formulate a soap.

http://soapee.com/calculator

 

[jayo2009]

Congrats on your first batch, jayo, and welcome to the forum.

That's quite a lot of coconut oil -- is there a reason you used so much? Many people find it drying in high amounts, plus it is kind of expensive in some places, like the US.

You could try reducing the coconut oil down to about 20%, and substitute the remaining amount in a hard oil such as lard, tallow or palm oil. You could also sub the castor oil from there (you only need about 5% castor).

ETA: I see cmzaha beat me to the punch! Well, at least our advice was pretty consistent

Well, again. First time making soap so I didn't know how much was too much, lol. And that was even researching oils, properties, and using soapcal.net to get my help. Thank you for the advice also. I had originally planned on using palm oil but I couldn't find any stores that sell it so I had to come up with a new plan.

Congratulations on your first soap! The first one is always the scariest one :mrgreen:

I think take 30% of the coconut and add that amount in some hard oil like Palm/lard/tallow/shortening or maybe even some other butter.

Also have you tried formulating with any soap calculator that shows the properties in your recipe?

Like this one, playing around with a soap calculator helps a lot to understand how and why you should formulate a soap.

http://soapee.com/calculator

I used soapcal.net to help get that formulations

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Can you go through each ingredient and let us know why you then formulated the recipe with that amount? It might be that you've picked up some information somewhere that isn't quite accurate

 

[jayo2009]

Can you go through each ingredient and let us know why you then formulated the recipe with that amount? It might be that you've picked up some information somewhere that isn't quite accurate

Well I went to soapcal.net. Used calculations for 3lbs of oils, 5% superfat, that's how I came to those formulations. Hopefully I gave you the info you are looking for

 

[mx5inpenn]

Well I went to soapcal.net. Used calculations for 3lbs of oils, 5% superfat, that's how I came to those formulations. Hopefully I gave you the info you are looking for

I believe what TEG was wondering was why did you choose the amounts you did based on the numbers you get in soap calc.

For example, you used a lot of coconut. That adds to 2 categories, hardness and bubbles. If you did it for bubbles, we can suggest something that helps that with less stripping qualities.

Congrats on your first batch!

 

[jayo2009]

I believe what TEG was wondering was why did you choose the amounts you did based on the numbers you get in soap calc.

For example, you used a lot of coconut. That adds to 2 categories, hardness and bubbles. If you did it for bubbles, we can suggest something that helps that with less stripping qualities.

Congrats on your first batch!

Ahh, sorry TEG for not answering how you wanted, I'm wanting some bubbles and to increase the hardness more. All in all I want bubbles, hardness, and conditioning

 

[IrishLass]

Actually, 50% coconut oil is not a bad thing, depending on your superfat. I make a soap with 100% coconut oil, and also a soap with 70% coconut oil/30% mango butter. Both make awesome soaps, but in order to keep them from stripping too much of the natural oils from the skin, I superfat them at 20% and 15%, respectively.


IrishLass

 

[Dahila]

I would not respond well even to such high superfat as 20% , I made a soap just 25% CO OO, SO , AO, castor and could not use it the superfat was ten ......

 

[jewels621]

Some good advice on here for you! I agree with lessening the coconut oil. Please, please, please post some pics so we can share your joy of accomplishing your first batch. Congratulations! :bathtub:

 

[jayo2009]

Congratulations on your first soap! The first one is always the scariest one :mrgreen:

I think take 30% of the coconut and add that amount in some hard oil like Palm/lard/tallow/shortening or maybe even some other butter.

Also have you tried formulating with any soap calculator that shows the properties in your recipe?

Like this one, playing around with a soap calculator helps a lot to understand how and why you should formulate a soap.

http://soapee.com/calculator

I was taking a look at your calculator that you use, I like that one more since I can look at the properties of the oil before I decide on it. Thanks for the tips and insight

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

The numbers on the lye calcs aren't the best for formulating if you don't know what they mean. Hardness, for example, mean how physically hard the bar is - that doesn't translate in to long lasting, though, as coconut soap bubbles well because it dissolves quickly.

I would (and did!) look through the first 10 pages of the beginner, lye based, recipe feedback, and tutorial sections. Sounds like a lot of reading, but that will give you a great foundation to work from, including how to formulate a recipe

 

[Arimara]

So I made my first loaf of CP soap today. All in all I think the first step came out OK. I managed to get it in my home made wood soap mold without spilling it everywhere. I think I may have over mixed it a tad. I have a few adjustments to make next time like using Castor oil and more fragrance oil. My oils I used was using was

Coconut oil 76° 50%
Shea butter 15%
Canola oil 10%
Olive oil 25%

Any ways to improve on this in your opinions. Thanks

My personal advice is that you try to keep the cleansing level at or under twlve if you use a cleansing oil (coconut oil, babassu oil or palm kernel oil) until you are aware of how your skin takes to those oils. I can personally use 20% babassu in a soap with little issue but palm kernal and coconut oils must remain at 10% or my skin will have itself a fit. Also, if you should feel the need to use more than one cleansing oil, set a total amount (like 20% of your oil weight for example) and figure out how much of each oil you would want in your soap.

A suggested recipe with those particular ingredients and with castor oil is this:

Coconut- 20% (this amount isn't too bad for most people)
Olive- 50% (this might bump up cure time but you's still get a hard bar)
Castor- 5% (do not exceed 10% with this oil or you will have a tacky soap. 5% is plenty for bubbles)
Canola- 10% (I have never used this oil and probably never will. I like rice bran and avocado oils since I could use them at higher rates without increasing my risk for DOS. Lard, palm, or beef tallow would also make good additions to your soap, if you're not opposed.)
Shea- 15% (This butter can strangely make your soap a little softer for a while. it will harden eventually. Going over 15% will affect your bubbles)

Hope that helps a little bit.

 

[penelopejane]

I like Animara's advice because those are the oils I use and like too.
Where are you located? Someone will be able to tell you where to get cheap supplies of palm oil or whatever oil you need.

 

[toxikon]

If you'd like to learn more about what properties each oil has when it comes to soapmaking, check out this website: http://www.lovinsoap.com/oils-chart/

 

[dixiedragon]

Congrats! Pics please! Why do you think you over mixed it?

If you stirred it until it was thick and needed to be glopped rather than poured into the mold, that's just cosmetic. The soap itself will be fine, but maybe a bit lumpy.

I encourage you to try another batch in line with Cmzaha's and Carabou's suggestions - just to see how it compares.

Coconut oil and saponified coconut oil are very different creatures, but I think a lot of folks think they are similar. Coconut oil is a great for your skin - it is moisturizing, absorbs quickly. It's great in lotions and lip balms. But saponified coconut oil is an entirely different chemical - sodium cocoate. It makes big bubbles but it makes a very harsh soap in higher quantities.

 

[jayo2009]

Thanks everyone for all the help. I have not given up and don't plan on it. I just been working and thinking about my next recipe. My soap came out fine when I cut it. Now its waiting to be used. Kinda anxious 4-6 weeks