Favorite soap for personal use?

[Kiti Williams]

I use a receipt that is a great conditioning bar. It uses Malt extract powder and Stearic acid. This is a great body and face wash, it even helps out with acne!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

There are actually a growing number of water buffalo farms in the US. Many on the East Coast, also Colorado, just search google and you will find more than you would have suspected.

That’s good because I love buffalo mozzarella!

 

[earlene]

Yes, Mobjack, me too. It has such a distinctive flavor!

 

[DKing]

I searched for recent threads on this topic and didn’t find this topic exactly...

I’ve decided that it’s time for me to focus sharply on soap qualities. With a lot of time to read in the car on my trip, I’ve learned much in recent days about the qualities various oils and butters bring to soap, as well as the additives. The possibilities seem endless. What’s your favorite soap for personal use and why?

My older skin is drier and more sensitive than it was when I was younger. I plan to work on a facial soap recipe, likely a variation on Genny’s shampoo bar, but think it won’t work for a shower soap because it will be too soft. Is it possible to make a body soap that is creamy, conditioning, produces some bubbles and is hard enough to hold up somewhat to regular use? (I like to rub the bar between my hands, but it will drain/dry well between showers). After all my research here, I think I should start with a lard/tallow base, which I am not opposed to doing. To date I have used lard, but not tallow. Those soaps are just getting to the cure stage and I haven’t been able to give them a trial run. The water at my house tends towards the harder side.

I’m also wondering about goats milk versus coconut milk. Of the early CO heavy soaps I made, a GM recipe seems silkier and a bit less stripping. Many here seem to favor coconut milk and think of GM more for label appeal, but I do think the goats milk in my soap may have added a bit more creaminess. I don’t have the recipe with me, so I can’t give the specifics right now with respect to the oils, but I’m sure both recipes would also have had OO.

ETA: I also think I should try oat milk or colloidal oats because I like lotions with colloidal oats.

Thanks!

One of the reasons that I decided to try making my own soap, is exactly what you are dealing with. My skin has always been sensitive, but now as I get older I have a problem with my skin getting very dry, especially in winter. I have a goat milk bar I make that I like very much. I use frozen goatmilk for the entire water portion in my lye mixture. The recipe after that is...

8% castor
10% sweet almond
17% coconut
17% shea
20% lard
28% olive oil

You could easily add the collodial oatmeal as well, as I will be doing in my next batch.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

One of the reasons that I decided to try making my own soap, is exactly what you are dealing with. My skin has always been sensitive, but now as I get older I have a problem with my skin getting very dry, especially in winter. I have a goat milk bar I make that I like very much. I use frozen goatmilk for the entire water portion in my lye mixture. The recipe after that is...

8% castor
10% sweet almond
17% coconut
17% shea
20% lard
28% olive oil

You could easily add the collodial oatmeal as well, as I will be doing in my next batch.

That looks good and your timing is perfect. I have everything I need to make it tomorrow. One of my earliest soaps used frozen goat milk and everything you listed above except lard, and also included palm and avocado. Despite being 31% CO, it turned out to be much milder/nicer than my other early soaps, which were all 30% CO or above.

 

[beckster51]

I wonder if the luscious lather is due to the higher fat and lactose content of water buffalo milk. If that is the case, then buffalo milk may be a good substitute since it also has a much higher fat content than regular cow's milk. I wish I had some available to try! I love a luscious lathering soap, and it is difficult to produce in my experience.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I wonder if the luscious lather is due to the higher fat and lactose content of water buffalo milk. If that is the case, then buffalo milk may be a good substitute since it also has a much higher fat content than regular cow's milk. I wish I had some available to try! I love a luscious lathering soap, and it is difficult to produce in my experience.

Have you tried lard? My lard bars are very young, but they show significant promise.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I use a receipt that is a great conditioning bar. It uses Malt extract powder and Stearic acid. This is a great body and face wash, it even helps out with acne!

What does the malt extract powder do for the soap?

 

[beckster51]

Have you tried lard? My lard bars are very young, but they show significant promise.

I like lard soap very much, but perhaps my definition of luscious is different from yours. To me, a luscious lather is both creamy and bubbly at the same time. My lard soaps are very creamy, but not as bubbly as some of my other soaps. I haven't been able to produce that thick, creamy lather that is also full of bubbles. My recent soy wax soap is very bubbly, so I am thinking of making a batch with soy wax, lard, and aloe vera for liquid and see how that turns out.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

One of the reasons that I decided to try making my own soap, is exactly what you are dealing with. My skin has always been sensitive, but now as I get older I have a problem with my skin getting very dry, especially in winter. I have a goat milk bar I make that I like very much. I use frozen goatmilk for the entire water portion in my lye mixture. The recipe after that is...

8% castor
10% sweet almond
17% coconut
17% shea
20% lard
28% olive oil

You could easily add the collodial oatmeal as well, as I will be doing in my next batch.

I tried a small test run of a variation of your recipe today. I used 50% water and 50% aloe gel. I mixed oatmeal (baby cereal, something I read about in one of Irish Lass’s posts), coconut cream and a tiny bit of honey powder (on a bit of a whim) into the aloe and then SB’d that mixture into the oils. It looked like it was starting to gel quickly, perhaps due to the honey powder. I didn’t want it to overheat, so I put it in the frig to cool it down and it looked fine when I checked it 30 minutes later. It’s a nice creamy color. Thanks again for sharing the recipe. (p.s. I totally forgot about using goat milk but will try that if I make it again )

 

[linne1gi]

I like lard soap very much, but perhaps my definition of luscious is different from yours. To me, a luscious lather is both creamy and bubbly at the same time. My lard soaps are very creamy, but not as bubbly as some of my other soaps. I haven't been able to produce that thick, creamy lather that is also full of bubbles. My recent soy wax soap is very bubbly, so I am thinking of making a batch with soy wax, lard, and aloe vera for liquid and see how that turns out.

Have you tried adding a sugar solution or honey to your soap recipe?

 

[Rahmi]

Don't use it before 3 months, but after that it's very gentle, has a decent amount of creamy lather and keeps its hardness to the last sliver when used in the shower.

Szaza, I'm interested in this recipe! It sounds like what I'm looking for Do you have the exact recipe? Which oleic oils do you use? Olive? Thanks!

 

[szaza]

Szaza, I'm interested in this recipe! It sounds like what I'm looking for Do you have the exact recipe? Which oleic oils do you use? Olive? Thanks!

I could access the recipe again. It's avocado, almond, olive (and castor) for the remainder. Turns out I've been experimenting with those and everytime I make it the percentages are a bit different. So see what you have and just play around with it a little bit. Percentages probably won't matter much for the recipe[emoji6]
Remember this is a dual lye soap, so 95% NaOH, 5%KOH. If you only use NaOH you could either up the CO or wait at least 6 months for it to cure..

 

[beckster51]

Have you tried adding a sugar solution or honey to your soap recipe?

I add sugar to every batch. I am going to try using aloe vera as the liquid in my next batch and maybe add some almond oil since everyone swears it helps with lather.

 

[LaPrairieLady]

The best way to get a mild soap is to add ingredients. I make HP one pound in the microwave and add after cook, Goat/coconut or Buttermilk powder diluted in 1 tablespoon of water and 1 tea of honey, sometimes yogurt.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Have you tried adding a sugar solution or honey to your soap recipe?

How do you add your honey? I successfully added honey powder directly to the batter, but my attempt to add liquid honey to the lye water was a fail. I was using the split water method and I probably didn’t thin the honey well enough before I added it to the lye. I ended up with a hard ball of honey in the lye water. I typically soap at 33% lye and there’s not all that much water for the lye when I am using some of the water weight to add milk or aloe juice to the batter.

 

[LaPrairieLady]

How do you add your honey? I successfully added honey powder directly to the batter, but my attempt to add liquid honey to the lye water was a fail. I was using the split water method and I probably didn’t thin the honey well enough before I added it to the lye. I ended up with a hard ball of honey in the lye water. I typically soap at 33% lye and there’s not all that much water for the lye when I am using some of the water weight to add milk or aloe juice to the batter.

Add in your batter for CP, heat a little. I add it after cook, I make HP only.

 

[Dawni]

I wonder how the profiles compare in soapcalc or similar? I’m still planning to try a soy wax recipe, but I haven’t gotten around to studying up and ordering the wax.

My lard soaps are very creamy, but not as bubbly as some of my other soaps. I haven't been able to produce that thick, creamy lather that is also full of bubbles. My recent soy wax soap is very bubbly, so I am thinking of making a batch with soy wax, lard, and aloe vera for liquid and see how that turns out.

I did a comparison of lard and soy wax, but for testing hardness. I will try my best to test for lather and update that thread tomorrow. Seems a waste to start the experiment n leave it like that haha. Both are a few months old so I'm expecting a lot lol

@Mobjack Bay, check out how @IrishLass used honey in this awesome soap

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I did a comparison of lard and soy wax, but for testing hardness. I will try my best to test for lather and update that thread tomorrow. Seems a waste to start the experiment n leave it like that haha. Both are a few months old so I'm expecting a lot lol

@Mobjack Bay, check out how @IrishLass used honey in this awesome soap

I read Irish Lass’s honey soap post and tried to do what she did. The problem I ran in to was, I *think*, mostly caused by not having enough water to adequately dissolve both the honey and the lye in the 50% split. I probably need to lower my lye concentration/up my water to get it to work for me.

 

[Logansama]

Have you tried adding a sugar solution or honey to your soap recipe?

I'm also kinda curious how you add your sugar. I do CP, and the other day, I accidentally added 2 tsp of sugar to my lye water instead of 2 tsp of sea salt. No heating that I noticed so I'll be curious to see how it compares to the other batch I did that day, with salt instead of sugar. LOL!