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!

 

[Benjamin]

Thanks, AliOop! That is exactly what I’m going for. I’ll try 70/30 and report back.

 

[Benjamin]

Ok, I’ve mixed up the following and will report back:

200g Coconut Oil
6g d-Limonene

86g water
6g sodium citrate
25.91g NaOH (70%)
17.13 KOH (30%)

NaOH was calculated with a -1% superfat.
KOH was calculated with 90% purity and 0% superfat.

I used small cavity molds for the test before wasting a bunch of oversized chapstick tubes.

 

[AliOop]

Sounds great, and I'll look forward to hearing how it works out for you.

BTW, I love d-limonene in soaps used for household cleaning, as opposed to handwashing. Besides the lemony smell, I do believe it cuts more grease.

 

[Benjamin]

Sounds great, and I'll look forward to hearing how it works out for you.

BTW, I love d-limonene in soaps used for household cleaning, as opposed to handwashing. Besides the lemony smell, I do believe it cuts more grease.

I just posted in another thread about d-limonene. It cleans greasy hand prints better than anything else I’ve found.

 

[Benjamin]

ok, report back:

As of this morning, no zap. The soap is softer than an 100% NaOH soap, but still relatively hard. It takes significant finger pressure to make a dent. It is, however, MUCH more soluble in water. I’m thinking I’ll make another batch at 60/40 NaOH/KOH. My guess is this will be right on.

 

[AliOop]

Thanks for the report, and I look forward to hearing about the next batch.