dry skin and soap

[DeLaureen]

Hey everyone!

I started using and also making cp soaps four months ago. Now there is an big problem with my skin- its very dry and itchy no matter that I use every day sweet almond oil to moisturize my skin.
I make all my soaps with 8 or 10% superfat.

Does it mean that I cant use soap anymore?

Is it possible to make non-alkaline soap? They are selling non-alkaline soaps in shops.

Thanks

 

[whisks]

was this a problem you had before using your soap?

 

[DeLaureen]

No, I never had this problem before. Few months ago my skin gone dry and started itch

 

[whisks]

well, i'd stop using the soap for a start.

did you test zap it to check for lye heaviness? you say it was superfatted, but you have to check that it doesn't zap.

also, you should stop using the sweet almond oil - it's a nut oil and you may be allergic to it.

once your skin corrects itself (hopefully), you could try soap again and see what happens. if you react badly to it, stop. same with the almond oil.

 

[NancyRogers]

Could you be allergic to the fragrance you are using? How long are you curing your bars?

 

[DeLaureen]

To whisks: thanks for good advice
I have done zap but i am not sure I do it correctly:S
What kind of oil do you reccomend to use for dry skin?

To NancyRogers : I cure my soaps at least one month- the one I am using right now is cured two months at least.

I will stop using soap and almond oil for some time and lets see what happens.

 

[ChrisShepp]

I have done zap but i am not sure I do it correctly:S

DeLaureen,
I was not sure I was doing it right either at first, but you basically just give it a good lick When it zaps, you will definitely know it!! Otherwise, it just tastes like... well, soapy.

Good luck with finding out what is bothering your skin; hope your discovery isn't too discouraging.

 

[DeLaureen]

To ChrisShepp: Then I think the zap of my soaps is ok- cause there is only bad taste on it

I hope I'll find out what dries my skin and allso I hope it is not soap, because I love to wash with soaps

 

[NancyRogers]

Have you used soap calc for your recipe? What is your cleansing number? The soaps I make for Hubby have a high cleansing number...between 18-22. They dry my skin out a lot. My soaps stay below 15 for cleansing...usually right at 12.

 

[DeLaureen]

Thanks NancyRogers.
I use soap calc and my cleansing number is usualy 20. I didn't think that it could couse it.
Only thing is I am affraid if the cleansing number is 15 or less then the soap does not bubbly. Or am I wrong?

 

[MagiaDellaLuna]

Have you used CO (coconut oil) in your soap and at what %.

I know a few people who are very sensitive to CO.

ETA

After a long soaping session where I have had a lot of skin contact with CO, my skin feels very sore and sensitive, but strangely enough it does not affect me once the soap has cured. Some of my friends cannot use soap made with any coconut oils including palm, palm kernel etc.

 

[GardenGirl]

Seems to me like the problem is more than likely not with your soap, per se, but with some particular ingredient that you are sensitive to.

Or some other change you may have made in your diet or skin care regimen.

 

[honor435]

what is your recipe? i use po. oo, co, castor , shea and find my skin feels SO soft after. maybe decrease the co and up the oo? are you adding castor? it really helps.

 

[NancyRogers]

Thanks NancyRogers.
I use soap calc and my cleansing number is usualy 20. I didn't think that it could couse it.
Only thing is I am affraid if the cleansing number is 15 or less then the soap does not bubbly. Or am I wrong?

My soaps bubble plenty..sure Hubby's bubble more, but not so much more that I'm willing to have dry skin for it. I add 1 tsp of sugar ppo to my water before adding the lye. It helps with suds. I also almost always use some castor oil. I keep my coconut oil at or below 20%.

 

[DeLaureen]

Thanks for all answers.
My last recipe was:

coconut oil 25,56%
palm oil 25,56%
olive oil 26,67%
sunflower oil 18.89 %
almond oil 3,33 %

Maybe I really am allergic to some componet:S
But in case I am allergic does it make my skin dry?
Maybe I should try to use cocoa butter and shea butter?

 

[djk17]

DeLaureen, perhaps try eliminating ingredients before adding more.

First stop using the almond oil. If there is no change after a good length of time, then use it again, but make soap with no coconut. If that doesn't change anything, re-introduce coconut and remove sunflower. If you try several batches changing only one thing at a time you will have a much more accurate view of what is causing the problem with your skin.
Only then try new ingredients.

 

[honor435]

also, play around with the soap calc(once you find out what is bothering your skin) your bubbly is very low, 17, even adding castor it only goes up to 20, if you want bubbles and creamy try and get those numbers up higher.( I like bubbles at 27-27, creamy 26-30) I do something like this: oo, co, po, shea, castor. Ive never worked with sunflower before. Good luck. Pm me I have many tried recipes.

 

[Best Natural Soap]

check your conditioning numbers too..

I use soap calc- love it!!! Try flip flopping your olive and coconut oil, so that there's a larger percentage of oo. It's very conditoning, whereas coconut can be very cleansing (read: stripping, drying). My first batch years ago was heavy on coconut, because I thought the #1 goal was a hard bar with bubbles. I got it! But, it left me very very dried out. Using a higher percentage (up to 35-40% or so) of olive will still give bubbles- add some castor oil (maybe 8-10%) to help that too.

 

[Stephschre]

Dry Skin and Coconut Oil

Same thing happened to me. It was the coconut oil. I switched to Palm Kernel and Olive Oil - much better!