Burning sensation

[Pollipure]

I am very new to soap making...
I made the following soap a few days ago and used it yesterday. My entire body feels wind burned... Is this a lye issue or a not high enough superfat issue?
I showered this am without soap and slathered myself in Sesame oil to hydrate it, but its still burning.
I zap tested it repeatedly- but I never had a zap. It felt fine as I was using it but as the day went on it began to burn...

Next time I will superfat 8% and let it cure 4-6 weeks! Any thoughts?
roblem:

 

[melstan775]

Could you possibly be allergic to something in the soap?

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

You would need to post your recipe and method for us to help troubleshoot. Did you use CP soap fresh out of the mold with no cure?

 

[Pollipure]

I used the crock pot method... Also it is certainly possible I am allergic- I have a new coconut and nut allergy. My skin isn't red at all... Its just the chapped sensation that present.

water 38%
super fat 5 %
lye concentration 26.167%

Caster oil 18.18%
Jojoba oil 9.09%
sunflower oil 18.18%
palm oil 13.64%
cocoa butter 9.09%
palm kernel flakes 31.82%

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

Could you be allergic to Cocoa Butter? That's a somewhat common allergy.
Also, I think the PKO is a bit much - even though your cleansing value falls in (the high) normal range, it may be too high for you. Cutting back on that and upping your superfat to 8% should help out.

 

[christinak]

Well I'm guessing you have a problem with the cocoa butter and maybe the palm oil if you have a nut allergy. Once my zap test is A-OK I can use my tester bars with no problem before cure. Sometimes my skin feels taught but nothing is ever burning...

 

[houseofwool]

If you have a coconut allergy, I would think that it might encompass other palm products, so the PKO is a likely culprit.

 

[Pollipure]

Thank you everyone Once I stop burning i'll do patch tests for each oil. This is very frustrating as I started soap making to avoid coconut. Is it possible to make good soaps without Coconut, Palm Kernal, palm and Coco butter?

 

[houseofwool]

Have you ever used castile soaps before? They are made with 100% olive oil. They do take quite a while to cure, but are usually very mild.

 

[houseofwool]

That said, I don't think cocoa butter is a palm, so unless you have a known allergy to chocolate, my thought would be that cocoa butter isn't the source of the burning.

ETA: be really careful doing patch tests as each additional exposure can have an exponential increase in the allergic reaction. I wouldn't even consider doing it considering the type of reaction you are describing. Maybe do the patch test with the cocoa butter, but definitely don't do it with the PKO.

 

[Ruthie]

Thank you everyone Once I stop burning i'll do patch tests for each oil. This is very frustrating as I started soap making to avoid coconut. Is it possible to make good soaps without Coconut, Palm Kernal, palm and Coco butter?

Do you feel the need to keep it vegetarian? If not lard feels wonderful and makes a nice hard bar.k

 

[WallFlower]

You said next time you'll "let it cure 4-6 weeks" how long did you let it cure for? You should already be waiting 4-6 weeks minimum. The soap is probably still too harsh to use would be my guess. I hope you're skin feels better soon. I'm sure thats very uncomfortable.

 

[christinak]

I don't know, I use mine after 2 days and it's fine. It would melt away fast in the shower but it's not harsh at all....I don't think she'd be burning. She said it passed the zap test. Of course it will have to cure but to use it right away shouldn't hurt her if it's not zapping

 

[Genny]

Did you use a fragrance oil or eo?