Dual lye stain stick (cold process?)

[Benjamin]

Hello all,

I made my first 100% coconut oil, 0% superfat, stain sticks. They work great, but are hard as a rock and rough on the hands. I’d like to make them softer and try pouring them in oversized chapstick tubes. I’m thinking of trying a dual lye approach using 50/50 KOH/NaOH. I’ve made hot process KOH liquid soap before, but never a dual lye soap. For those with dual lye experience:

1) Can I use a cold process technique so I can pour the batter into oversized chapstick tubes?

2) Is 50/50 a good KOH/NaOH ratio, or should I try something else?

Thanks,
—-Ben

 

[AliOop]

There are some ingredients that lend themselves better to CP or HP, but really, most any bar soap recipe or LS recipe can be made via CP or HP. If it's bar soap, just change the lye concentration to suit the process that you are using: more for HP, less for CP.

My stain sticks are CP since they get poured into slender cavity molds. But your idea of the oversized lip balm tubes (aka mini deo tubes) is a good one, and I may try it, too! I'd start out with 70/30 NaOH/KOH ratio and see what you think of that. It should be noticeably softer and bubble up quickly when rubbed on a wet piece of clothing.

Let us know how it turns out!