Anyone had success with a melt and pour base from scratch?

[Mel55]

Hello,
I have spent the last year or so searching for a melt and pour base recipe that works. I have also read through a lot of this forum and have seen discussions about making melt and pour base from scratch. I couldn't find any recent discussions so wondered if anyone had had any success with a recipe they would like to share. Originally I tried a recipe that used glycerin, propylene glycol and sugar water but to this day, 8 months later, I can squish it between my fingers it is so soft.

I have Carolyn Failor's book but don't have access to myristic acid or sodium lactate where I live (I can access most other stuff, including TEA). I have a very basic recipe that I got from the web and have seen mentioned in other threads on this site:

Castor Oil 144 grams
Coconut Oil 144 grams
Palm Oil 144 grams
Stearic Acid 18 grams

Distilled Water 160 grams
Lye 66.04 grams

After Cook: 450 grams Glycerin​

This glycerin amount is 100% of the oil weight. As I live in a tropical climate, I reduced the amount to 50% of the total oil weight. I found it didn't remelt well unless I added propylene glycol at about 30% of the weight of the soap being remelted. The soap was really nice and had a lovely natural fragrance but because of the humidity where I live it sweated to the point of being completely wet. I am wondering if I can reduce the glycerin to much less (maybe around 10%?).

I should stress I'm not interested in a transparent soap. I make a lot of body care products and would like to be able to make a matching soap when giving as a gift (I don't sell anything I make). I would actually like to try to make a goats milk version once I can get the basic formula right.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a low sweat melt and pour base?

Many thanks,

Mel.

 

[cmzaha]

This is a good book about making m&p
https://tinyurl.com/yyguq3y4

 

[Mel55]

Thanks. I do have this book but it relies on myristic acid in all recipes as well.

 

[Relle]

What state are you in ? because SL is available online from a few aussie soap suppliers.

 

[lsg]

Here is a tutorail with a recipe

 

[Mel55]

What state are you in ? because SL is available online from a few aussie soap suppliers.

I'm in North Queensland. The myristic acid seems the most elusive.

Here is a tutorail with a recipe

Thanks but this one also has ingredients I have struggled to find. I did make a batch based on another recipe yesterday which looks great but doesn't lather! I think I added the solvents too early. Might stick to CP for a while.

 

[Callie]

Hi Mel
I have been playing with melt and pour recipies based on a combination of Coconut, Palm and Castor oil or Coconut, Palm and Sunflower Oil with the addition of Glycerin, PG and Sugar Syrup (50% sugar/50% water).
My attempts have all ended up sweaty (we get some nasty humidity here on the south coast), and not transparent. I am going to start playing with the addition of a bit of Ethanol, Fioravanti style (the recipe in development at the back of the book).
I have read that for a successful base that won't end up as a pool of mush in it's own sweat, the recipe for oils and solvents (not including lye and water it is dissolved in) should include:
- No more than 33% PG (will result in sweating)
- No more than 20% sugar solution (will be soft and sticky)
- No more than 10-15% glycerin (will be sweaty)
- May use up to 30% Ethanol if you choose to use it at all.

My most successful recipie so far was as follows:
300g Coconut Oil
180g Palm Oil
120g Sunflower Oil (I think Castor Oil would be better)
193.3g water
96.65 NaOH (adjust if using Castor Oil)
200g PG (20%)
80g Glycerin (8%)
120g Sugar Syrup (12%)

This recipe ends up being 60% oils, 40% solvents. I had difficulty getting the soap to dissolve completely, so was intending to adjust the recipe to 50/50 by adding Ethanol as another solvent.

Have fun....I am ready to give in and use commercially prepared base.

 

[Mel55]

Thanks Callie, this is very helpful. I tried another batch since posting the first message. I used the same oils and stearic acid but added 30% PG, 10% glycerin and 6% sugar dissolved in water. I must confess that having had so many unsuccessful batches I did what I had read someone else online said they had done, and just put it all in the slow cooker and cooked it for 30 minutes (I melted the oils first, added the lye water and then the solvents). The result was a non-sweaty, firm soap that was at least as transparent as any pictures I had seen online. It had a lovely feel but did not lather! I expect the experts will tell me this was because I did not stick blend before adding the solvents. Rather than waste the batch, I read on the forum that I could add SLSa (3%) which I did, with good results. I did have some trouble dissolving the SLSa and ended up skimming the residue off the top. It could still be a little more sudsy but it remelts okay and is not sweating at all. If I were to make this again, I would add the SLSs during the cook to ensure it dissolved.

Here is the final product, along with a remelted version that I coloured and fragranced with lavender oil.

 

[Callie]

Thanks Callie, this is very helpful. I tried another batch since posting the first message. I used the same oils and stearic acid but added 30% PG, 10% glycerin and 6% sugar dissolved in water. I must confess that having had so many unsuccessful batches I did what I had read someone else online said they had done, and just put it all in the slow cooker and cooked it for 30 minutes (I melted the oils first, added the lye water and then the solvents). The result was a non-sweaty, firm soap that was at least as transparent as any pictures I had seen online. It had a lovely feel but did not lather! I expect the experts will tell me this was because I did not stick blend before adding the solvents. Rather than waste the batch, I read on the forum that I could add SLSa (3%) which I did, with good results. I did have some trouble dissolving the SLSa and ended up skimming the residue off the top. It could still be a little more sudsy but it remelts okay and is not sweating at all. If I were to make this again, I would add the SLSs during the cook to ensure it dissolved.

Here is the final product, along with a remelted version that I coloured and fragranced with lavender oil.
View attachment 37627

I think that if you are going to go down the route of using SLS and the acids rather than oil, you might be better off purchasing ready made melt and pour base.
Both of my recipies had a lovely lather, it is just about perfecting the solvents, which I think you have done.
I would give it another go making the hot process soap first (just a nice, hard, high foaming recipe) and then adding the solvents.

You have inspired me again. Perhaps once I have dealt with rebatching my Super Coconut Catastrophy from today, I will have a go.