Drying

juliab86 · May 21, 2013

I'm new to soap making. After I let my CP soaps cure, I test them by washing my hands with them. I find that the first time I wash my hands with a bar, my hands feel tight once they dry, but when I wash my hands with thee same bar later, no tightness and the soaps work fine. I was wondering if this is common or if I am doing something wrong.

mel z · May 21, 2013

Is it common for soap to become milder with longer aging.

When is the first handwash?

What percentage superfat do you use?

juliab86 · May 21, 2013

I tend to be impatient, so the first handwash was 4 weeks. I superfat at 5%. I probably just need to learn patience.

mel z · May 21, 2013

No, you are doing just fine. Some people first wash at 2 days! I found out quickly my skin cannot do that, so I wait at least 4 weeks too to try a hand wash.

Wait for those with more experience to advise properly. I did find 5% superfat was too low (drying) for showering with sensitive skin, so I have upped it, but that is just me.

Sounds like your soap is perfectly normal!

misskat22 · May 21, 2013

I did my first ones around 5% but discovered I like it better at 6 or 7%, it could just be that your skin likes a higher superfat

new12soap · May 21, 2013

For me, 4 weeks is still a little too soon. The difference between 4 and 6 weeks on my soaps is significant, and ideally I wait 8 weeks (I know, most people don't like to wait that long). Your soaps will become more mild, but let a bar or two sit for 6 weeks before you try it and see if that helps.

Another possibility is ash. Do you have any visible ash on your soaps? You could be getting some very fine sodium carbonate, which is quite caustic. That would explain why it would be drying the first time but not after that. Just a thought.

I normally superfat at 5% (other than salt bars). I find that is sufficient for me for a well-balanced bar and I prefer the better lather over that of a higher superfat, but a lot of people do superfat higher, and you may be one of the people that prefer it, so you can try that as well.

juliab86 · May 21, 2013

I pretty sure the very first one was ashed. There was sort of a hard whiteness around it before use, but after the first use it turned and stayed a cream color. None of my other soaps seem to be getting ash, so time and superfat is probably their issue. I used purified water, I should probably switched to distilled, shouldn't I? What else causes ash?