Easiest way to pure white that won't dry me out?

[PacificSoaper]

Hello all,

I'm a newbie soaper looking to make the whitest soap I can, but so far, the 100% coconut soap I've made is too drying to the skin. What's the best way to get pure white soap that actually works well? I've heard of:

1) titanium dioxide
2) white colorants
3) animal lard

I'm looking to avoid #3, so does anyone have any recipes for getting a result that's more or less "coconut" white?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Gryfonmoon]

100% Olive oil soap almost always turns white for me. Also, If you up the coconut oil soap SF to 20% I find it's not drying to my skin.

 

[PacificSoaper]

100% Olive oil soap almost always turns white for me. Also, If you up the coconut oil soap SF to 20% I find it's not drying to my skin.

Thanks! For superfatting, is there any way to prevent spoilage? I've been told that it will go bad if you have left over oil in the soap.

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

Kevin Dunn (author of Scientific Soapmaking) did a scientific experiment with the goal of determining what caused rancidity (DOS) and part of the test was if unsaponified oils in soap caused rancidity. His conclusions were that in the same conditions, both a 0% superfat and a 10% superfat acquired DOS in the same amount of time:
http://cavemanchemistry.com/HsmgDos2006.pdf

 

[melstan775]

But if DOS are present in olive oil, does that also make it true in blends where olive oil or other soft oils are used? I'm going back to school in the fall (I hope), for Chemistry Masters. Perhaps I will make this an experiment.

 

[dyclement05]

Hello all,

I'm a newbie soaper looking to make the whitest soap I can, but so far, the 100% coconut soap I've made is too drying to the skin. What's the best way to get pure white soap that actually works well? I've heard of:

1) titanium dioxide
2) white colorants
3) animal lard

I'm looking to avoid #3, so does anyone have any recipes for getting a result that's more or less "coconut" white?

Thanks in advance.

I'm a noob here but have you considered a 100% coconut oil salt bar? I've heard those are quite conditioning. Made some myself but they're still curing, so sadly, I can only speak to their whiteness from experience. And they are very white.

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

DOS isn't "present in" Olive Oil or other soft oils. It is oxidation and break down of the oils, and the result is rancidity that in soap shows up as orangish spots that we "lovingly refer to" as DOS - Dreaded Orange Spots. Some oils are more prone than others, but its mostly "soft" oils. Beyond the fatty acid composition of the oil, it also is dependent on other factors, like curing conditions.

 

[PacificSoaper]

I'm a noob here but have you considered a 100% coconut oil salt bar? I've heard those are quite conditioning. Made some myself but they're still curing, so sadly, I can only speak to their whiteness from experience. And they are very white.

I hadn't even heard of that! Is it an exfoliating soap bar, basically? If I could get a recipe, I'd love to try it! I would think the salt would act as a natural preservative, to some extent. Very interested - thanks to everyone for the input. :razz:

 

[Kersten]

In my experience, titanium dioxide works best when I want a very white soap and don't want to be limited to a particular kind of oil. I have the TD from Brambleberry, which is suppose to be both oil and water soluble, and I found that mixing it with a small amount of water (just enough for it to fully dissolve) works best to avoid clumps and other unwanted results, but others prefer to mix it with the oils before adding lye. I have gotten some very white soaps.

 

[dyclement05]

Here's the link I used to get more info:
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/beyondbasics/ss/How-To-Make-Salt-Soap-Bars_2.htm
I then just googled "salt bar soap recipe" and got a ton more info!!! Hope this helps.

 

[dyclement05]

Oh, one more thing. If you're doing a salt bar for the first time, I highly recommend silicone individual cavity molds. The "batter" gets super hot and gets hard very quickly. If you do a log you have to time the cutting of the bar pretty carefully so as to avoid a crumbly mess. With the silicone molds, I just left mine alone for a about 8 hours and then popped them out without a problem.

 

[PacificSoaper]

Thanks, everyone! This is such an invaluable resource for information on soap making. I never would have imagined so much helpful info in just a couple of hours. Very much appreciated

 

[Gryfonmoon]

Thanks! For superfatting, is there any way to prevent spoilage? I've been told that it will go bad if you have left over oil in the soap.

I would actually say normally that is the case- but coconut oil is extremely stable with a shelf life of years, so extra oil in this case is okay. I wouldn't say the same for an oil such as canola or sunflower or any other oil that goes rancid easily.

 

[PacificSoaper]

I would actually say normally that is the case- but coconut oil is extremely stable with a shelf life of years, so extra oil in this case is okay. I wouldn't say the same for an oil such as canola or sunflower or any other oil that goes rancid easily.

Thanks, Gryfonmoon. This is great to hear. I see fractionated coconut oil as being listed with an indefinite shelf life on several sites. Is the nonfractionated variety that is available in supermarkets also unlimited in shelf life? Would you say that one better than the other for CP soap making, in your experience?

 

[Maythorn]

I never heard of titanium dioxide being drying. I heard somewhere it wasn't entirely healthy to absorb into the skin. It's in most white commercial bars and maybe colored ones, too. I think the coconut oil with the salt would be plenty white unless you added a scent that discolored.

 

[Gryfonmoon]

Thanks, Gryfonmoon. This is great to hear. I see fractionated coconut oil as being listed with an indefinite shelf life on several sites. Is the nonfractionated variety that is available in supermarkets also unlimited in shelf life? Would you say that one better than the other for CP soap making, in your experience?

No problem, glad to help. As for the store coconut oil, I can tell you from personal experience that it lasts for a few years if stored properly. As for fractionated coconut oil, I couldn't tell you, I've never used it.

 

[Kersten]

I never heard of titanium dioxide being drying. I heard somewhere it wasn't entirely healthy to absorb into the skin. It's in most white commercial bars and maybe colored ones, too. I think the coconut oil with the salt would be plenty white unless you added a scent that discolored.

This is an informative article on the safety of titanium dioxide: http://www.organicmakeup.ca/ca/titaniumdioxide.asp

 

[Maythorn]

Thank you for that Kersten.

 

[judymoody]

I'm curious, why is it important to you that the soap be very white?

To answer your question, I made a Bastille soap awhile back which was about 10-15% each of coconut and palm and the balance was regular olive oil. I wouldn't say it was bright, bright white, but it was a beautiful creamy, ever so slightly off white. I have a bar left over, it is going on 2.5 years old and it is still in perfect condition.

 

[VanessaP]

Fractionated coconut oil does not have the same profile that regular coconut oil does, so its hard to just interchange them. I made a 100% coconut oil salt bar, 18% superfat, and I think I did 70% weight of the oils as salt. Still very light cream colored, pretty much white.