Check Me?

[BrewerGeorge]

This is a GLS paste I made last night.

70% high-oleic safflower
20% coconut oil 76F
10% cocoa butter, bleached and descented

I did not cook this, just stirred occasionally over a few hours and hit it with the SB a couple times.

 

[Arimara]

Does it zap?

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Accidentally posted without finishing...

I wanted to run this by the gurus here because this paste isn't clear the way my last attempt was and seems visually to have stopped at the 'mashed potato' phase. However, it does not zap and does lather as much as you'd expect a high-oliec soap to lather. It seems done, but doesn't look like I'd expected.

Is it just the cocoa butter making it cloudy?

 

[bumbleklutz]

I'm a Ls newbie myself, but that's what my paste looked like except it was more taffy-like than mashed potato like. When it was diluted, it came out a crystal clear amber color. I'm guessing that if it doesn't zap, it will be fine; and it will dilute a clear amber color.

 

[Susie]

If it does not zap, it is soap. Mine hardly ever makes crystal clear gel phase. My suspicion is that I stick blend too much and mix air in there. When I dilute, it is clear, so I don't worry about it.

Oh, yeah, butters will make cloudy soap. Not bad soap, mind you, just not clear. Who cares, anyway? I make soap for me and my family. Judgy people can just go make their own soap!

Congratulations!

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Thanks, Susie. Now is the starting point for the dilution twice the weight of soap or half the weight?

 

[DeeAnna]

That looks fine to me, BG -- nicely done! My freshly made LS paste varies in appearance from slightly translucent amber to more opaque white like yours. You may find the paste will become more translucent and amber as time goes on.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

The safflower is very light, so this might be less amber than one made with olive oil.

 

[DeeAnna]

I'd start diluting with 1 part water to 2 parts paste.

 

[lenarenee]

It's gorgeous! Can you post a pic of the finished product and let us know how you like the recipe??

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Ok, this is interesting.

I started with 200g of soap paste, 100g of water, 9g sodium lactate and 6g sodium citrate.

That wasn't cutting it, so I kept adding water slowly until I got to a total of 250g of water with the original 200g paste. Scented with 7g of rose FO and 7g PS80. It was so thick and creamy that I decided to risk adding some pink mica as well. Here's what we've got.

 

[CTAnton]

Looks good to me BG...how's it feel?

 

[BrewerGeorge]

It feels a little slimy, but it lathers well and rinses clean. I think I might be a little sensitive to this rose (which is from a sample I've never used before) or just washing my hands a dozen times today had made them sensitive.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Whoa, stop the presses.

When I checked this morning it had begun separating. I didn't have time to play around with it, so we'll see what it's like in the evening. I was sure that was going to be a stable colloid too, dangit.

 

[Dahila]

I think your paste is beautiful.

 

[DeeAnna]

I had a personal bet with myself that you'd see some separation, since the diluted soap is opaque. :mrgreen: Several possibilities -- it may be free fatty acid or excess superfat from not quite enough KOH (always a possibility even with the most careful of soap makers), or it is unsaponifiable components in the recipe (less likely given the fats in your recipe), or it is stearic and palmitic soap that tends to separate out (a possibility).

If you feel like experimenting, skim off some of the white layer -- say 1/4 cup or so -- and put it in a lye safe container. Stir in 1/2 to 1 gram of dry KOH until the KOH dissolves. Let it sit for a day or two to let the KOH do its thing. Check carefully for zap. Continue to add a bit of KOH until the mixture is slightly zappy. See what happens to the appearance. If the soap becomes clear as a response to the added KOH, then it's excess fatty acid or fat. If it remains cloudy, it's most likely stearic-palmitic soap.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

I'm hoping that I whipped it up like whipped cream and it's just falling back down. We'll see.

 

[DeeAnna]

I know Irish Lass uses polysorbate 80 to solubilize/emulsify the stearic acid she adds to her coco-shea liquid soap. That might be an option to try -- it may help the diluted soap to stay mixed on its own.

 

[earlene]

Re: the Rose FO. I used Rose FO from Mad Oils in my deodorant and found that it made my armpit skin feel uncomfortably sensitive for a few days. So much so the first time using it that I stopped for a 2 or 3 days before using it again. Then it was less sensitive, but still somewhat. Although being concerned, I carried on with using it carefully applying sparingly and found that after a week or two, the sensitivity seemed to go away.

In my case, I believe it was too much of the FO (I actually spilled the FO during the measuring and ruined my 0.01g scale). But it certainly showed me that skin sensitivity to some FO's can sure be a very real concern, as well as careful measuring.

Maybe you will experience a similar lessening of the sensitive response to your Rose FO as it 'settles or mellows' in the liquid. Then again, sometimes sensitivities get worse with exposure.

 

[cmzaha]

I think it looks lovely. My LS paste color and texture always depends of what oils I have use.