Compare help confused

[pootsiesgirl]

I'm happy with my soap & so are friends & family that have tried my bars but I'm a little perplexed about something. My soap even when cured cuts through like cheese but my daughter bought me a bar of unscented, uncoloured CP soap & just out of curiosity I cut the bar to see if it was similar to mine. It cut like flaky? plasticy? & was super hard. Then I tried a Lux bar & it cut the same as the bought one.

I'm getting confident enough to think about selling my bars but I don't want to waste giving $$$$ to the govt. if my bars aren't up to standard.
So I have waffled forever, my question is should my bars cut like cheese/butter even once fully cured.

My recipe does contain 10% cocoa butter & 5% shea butter as I don't use palm.
TIA

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

What is your entire recipe and how long has it cured? That would help

 

[100%Natural]

My bars all cut and feel the same...even the unscented ones. Have you tested the ph?

 

[pootsiesgirl]

My recipe is castor 5% cocoa 10% coconut oil 30% olive oil 50% shea 5%. water @ 38%

I haven't tried the ph yet, I have to get some strips but it feels nice when I wash my hands & no zap. I should also mention our humidity never goes below about 60% for most of the year so I don't know if that makes a difference.

 

[pootsiesgirl]

Cure time 6 weeks

 

[Moonshea Botanicals]

From what I understand any recipe with 50% Olive oil needs a longer cure time. Not sure how long, but I think that might be the issue.

 

[pootsiesgirl]

It could be the olive oil so it will take longer to firm up but just in general I was wondering should my soap cut like cheese when fully cured or should it be flaky?

 

[new12soap]

neither, it shouldn't be like cheese and it shouldn't be flaky, just hard firm soap. give it more cure time.

don't bother testing your soap's pH, strips are not accurate at all. if you really really need to know the pH (which, as long as it doesn't zap and isn't lye heavy, IMO the pH does not matter at all), get a very good pH meter, and keep it calibrated.