Face Soap Recipe

[unmouton]

I have never made a facial soap before and I would like to make one for my sister's and my oily skin.

So far, I am thinking:

30% coconut oil
45% olive oil
25% palm oil

Superfat at 6%.

At trace add: 2 tsp jojoba oil, 1 tsp french green clay, 1/2 tsp of lavender and lemongrass EOs.

By the way, this would be a 2 lbs. Batch. I don't have much experience with clays (I rarely add anything at trace except fragrance or EOs) and I hate tea tree oil! Do these amounts sound appropriate? Would you add anything else, or should I make jojoba part of the actual recipe instead of adding at trace? Also, I use the base recipe on my face frequently and it doesn't cause any trouble. Any suggestions or things that have worked for your oily skin are much appreciated!

 

[topcat]

Seems like a good recipe. As far as when to add the jojoba....many soapers believe that the saponification process takes place mostly in the mould, so adding it at trace can be a waste of time....? If you HP you can add it after the cook and before moulding to keep it as a superfat.

I have made a soap which my teen daughter swears is the best facial cleanser she has ever used.....her oily spotty skin is so clear now!

I use:
CO 300gm
RBO 250gm
OO 200gm
Mango Butter 100gm
Macadamia Nut Oil 50gm

Superfat 6%. 1 tsp silk peptide powder added to lye water. 2 T fresh pureed mango and strawberries mixed and 1/4 cup strong herbal tea (which is mostly hibiscus, mango and strawberry) added at trace.

BTW - this is one of the nicest body soaps I have used and makes an amazing shampoo bar for my short, bleached hair too.

Tanya

 

[ChrissyB]

Tanya, I thought you were a natural blonde? The secret's out now!! :wink:

I think you need to count the 2 tbsp of jojoba in the lye/soap calculation, because if you don't, your superfat is going to be over 6% and you might be at risk of developing dos.

Clays, teas, all make lovely additives to a soap for the face. I made a soap for my son who has very oily blemished skin using bentonite clay, and tea tree oil, and I also made up my lye/water solution with aloe vera juice. It has worked great for him, and for me around "that time of the month". We are down to the last bar and I need to crack on with it and made some more so we don't run out.

 

[unmouton]

Thank you!

I think I will go ahead and make my jojoba part of my base reecipe along with the mango butter suggested, and mix use mostly aloe juice as part of my lye/water solution. Ill discount that solution a bit so I can add hibiscus tea at trace!

I may also puree a small bit of strawberry and add it to the lye water.

I just bought a bunch of clays for no good reason (sigh!) Should I add it at trace? Take out a small amount of soap, mix it with the clay, and add back to the pot?

Thank you so much for letting me take your ideas!

 

[mandolyn]

Thank you!

I think I will go ahead and make my jojoba part of my base reecipe along with the mango butter suggested, and mix use mostly aloe juice as part of my lye/water solution. Ill discount that solution a bit so I can add hibiscus tea at trace!

I may also puree a small bit of strawberry and add it to the lye water.

I just bought a bunch of clays for no good reason (sigh!) Should I add it at trace? Take out a small amount of soap, mix it with the clay, and add back to the pot?

Thank you so much for letting me take your ideas!

The HSMG (soapmakers guild) published an article about adding oils at trace to super fat. The result of a study showed that the saponification process will utilize any oils added at any time. The process doesn't pick & choose when & what oils to saponify. So, that expensive oil you add at trace for superfatting, may just be more feed for the lye.

A better method is to choose oils & butters like shea butter that have naturally occurring unsaponifiables in their make-up, then add them to the recipe with all the other oils & butters in your recipe.

To mix clays, I pull out a bit of the water from my recipe & mix the clay into it to make a slurry, then add that at trace.

 

[MikeInPdx]

I agree with mandolyn....

Another way you can ensure that your good oils are there when you superfat is to hot process the soap, and add your superfat AFTER the cook. That way, the lye monster has eaten what it will and you have your luxury oils intact.

 

[topcat]

Tanya, I thought you were a natural blonde? The secret's out now!! :wink:

Hmmm.....well, I am dark blonde naturally (for that read 'light brown' :wink: ) though I was white blonde until I hit puberty.....the blonde streaks were supposed to be highlights but my hairdresser sort of went overboard this time!

Tanya

 

[ChrissyB]

My hair is the same.
I started getting foils, then foils on top of foils, then a few hairdressing trips later I was a solid blonde colour. Then had to start getting darker foils to break up the blonde...It's a never ending saga, and my hair sort of died in the process. I was thinking of going back to my natural colour, a mid brown (can't remember the last time I saw it...but my roots are getting darker and darker as I am getting older), but my Hairdresser talked me out of it. She said I would hate it. Maybe next time. We'll see.

I love clay in soap, I can really feel the difference it makes to my quite oily skin. And I use it in exactly the same way as Mandolyn, mix it into a slurry and then mix that through the soap, this will ensure that you get no lumps of air pockets in the clay. Make sure you post pics of your soap!!

 

[unmouton]

I will post pictures, but it could be awhile! A majority of my new oils came yesterday, but I'm still waiting on my jojoba, which I ordered from another company with some FOs.

In the meantime, I was so desperate to soap that I made do with what I had around. I tried a 90% coconut 10% shea butter at a superfat of 12% (I read about it here and wanted to try), and added cucumber, nori seaweed (sushi rolling paper!) Pureed with lye water, and steeped some peppermint in the oils and then left it for flecks of color.

I added a slurry of french green clay and it worked great! The soap is a beautiful earthy flecky green. I threw in an oz of coconut lime oil just because I had it. Anyways, ill be back with face soap pics!

 

[topcat]

Can we please see pics of the one you just made too? It sounds awesome!

Tanya