Feedback on my first facial soap recipe...

[gladysjones]

Baby shampoo is extremely drying! The pediatricians recommend it only when babies are first born to remove Cradle Cap and then say you can use it but, not every day.

As a former hairdresser we used to tell customers that baby shampoo was formulated for the eyes ergo the pH was for that it wouldn't sting the eyes. So that explains the harshness of baby shampoo and even body wash. I don't recall the pH exactly, but I wouldn't want to use it for either now.

 

[Sudds]

The only time I use it is to wash my dogs' faces so it won't sting their eyes!

 

[jwarnerca]

The only time I ever use soap on my face is if I run out of Noxzema when traveling, so also not much help in formulation. But what I have noticed is that pine tar soap feels slightly better than other soaps when I have used soap on my face.

If you want more bubbles you can add egg or sugar or aloe. Just subbing 5% Castor for some of the grapeseed oil would give you more lather.


View attachment 56453

Soapmaking Recipe Builder & Lye Calculator

Thank you!

 

[FragranceGuy]

THANK YOU @The_Phoenix I’ll be hitting the calculator today

Yes!! @AliOop Some SAE 20, a little crushed gravel, top it off with 5 sprays of Dior Fahrenheit (which I LOVE ) and you’ll be smelling like a an extra on Son’s of Anarchy in no time!

You’ve mentioned before that your high lard soaps benefit from 8 week plus cures. Slow to trace, slow to cure? Do you think that might be a thing??

Thanks for sharing your recipe with me Do you add your goat milk powder to your lye solution? If so, when do you add it?

 

[FragranceGuy]

As a former hairdresser we used to tell customers that baby shampoo was formulated for the eyes ergo the pH was for that it wouldn't sting the eyes. So that explains the harshness of baby shampoo and even body wash. I don't recall the pH exactly, but I wouldn't want to use it for either now.

I believe the ph of Johnson’s baby shampoo is roughly 7, aka water. Dove beauty bars are somewhere between 6 and 7. Supposedly our sebum/skin averages somewhere between 4.7-5.7. Considering that our homemade soaps are probably 9 or above, I don’t see how baby shampoo or dove bars could be any more harsh on our skin based on ph alone. Other additives maybe, but a ph close to water shouldn’t be harsh on skin unless it’s very hot, very cold or subjected to prolonged exposure.

 

[AliOop]

Yes!! @AliOop Some SAE 20, a little crushed gravel, top it off with 5 sprays of Dior Fahrenheit (which I LOVE ) and you’ll be smelling like a an extra on Son’s of Anarchy in no time!

🏍

You’ve mentioned before that your high lard soaps benefit from 8 week plus cures. Slow to trace, slow to cure? Do you think that might be a thing??

Never considered that before; maybe one of our more chemistry-minded folks can weigh in on that, or explain whether it is related to the FA profile, or something else that it outside my knowledge base.

Thanks for sharing your recipe with me Do you add your goat milk powder to your lye solution? If so, when do you add it?

You are welcome! I SB the GMP into the melted oils, making sure no lumps remain. If I'm using EO/FO or any other liquid additive, I make a GMP slurry with that first, and then SB into the oils. That avoids the stank from adding milk products directly to the lye solution, and also keeps the fat in the milk from saponifying into little lumps before the lye solution can reaction with the oils.

 

[FragranceGuy]

@The_Phoenix Aptly named The Phoenix “1”

 

[The_Phoenix]

@The_Phoenix Aptly named The Phoenix “1”

Aw shucks. The pressure! I confess that I use a 50% lard soap as my family's all around, every day, soap. It's the only recipe my dad can tolerate. I've never soaped with canola. I'll be curious to hear about the properties of your finished soap.

 

[FragranceGuy]

Aw shucks. The pressure! I confess that I use a 50% lard soap as my family's all around, every day, soap. It's the only recipe my dad can tolerate. I've never soaped with canola. I'll be curious to hear about the properties of your finished soap.

If the soap sucks I’ll vocally blame you!! I’ve had a fascination with canola and sunflower lately because it’s easy to balance them to get an oleic and linoleic profile that pleases me. I think olive oil is great, but it’s slippery in a good way. Canola oil seems to grab my skin a bit more, so I’m experimenting with the ugly cousin of OO. So far I’m pleased. If I ever decide to sell my soap I’m going to have a tough time. Who wants pig fat, genetically modified seed oil and a few other ingredients of my choice? Gosh, bury me now

 

[KiwiMoose]

I don't use a facial soap, never have. Nor have I ever done that cleansing and toning regime that they try to sell you at every beauty counter for $$$$. I've only ever done as you described earlier @FragranceGuy, wash my face once a day in the shower with my usual bar of soap. SO that means (eek!) any makeup from the day prior stays on my face all night until my morning shower.
One woman at the beauty counter asked me once - do you cleanse and tone your skin every day (night)? When i replied no, she said well by the time you are thirty your skin will look really aged. I replied " I'm 34". LOL - that shut her up!
Anyhoo - I guess I'm just lucky in that I don't have sensitive skin and I don't need to buy/make specialist products for it. My profile pic on here was taken a year ago when I was 54.
I'm off to bed now - here in New Zealand - with a dirty face that will be cleaned with soap in the shower tomorrow morning

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I only rarely use soap on my face, but also spent time early on trying to understand what’s best for the dry skin crowd.

There’s a long thread about a shampoo bar recipe that many on the forum have tried over the years and like as a gentle bar. It may have been linked above, but I didn’t read through every post. Shampoo Bar - Thanks Lindy!!
I made a version with extra avocado oil subbed in for the soybean and liked it as a gentle soap.

I also like the recipe shared by @DKing in this post: Favorite soap for personal use?

The point someone made above regarding lather quality for a face bar is a good one. Starting with a low cleansing recipe, I would like a light lather that leans towards lotion like with small bubbles. I want it to rinse off easily. Zany’s no slime castile (100% OO) is a little too lotion like for me, but it’s closer to what I’m imagining compared with the recipes I’ve formulated to produce abundant bubbly lather for bath/shower bars. I might add RBO because I like a bit of linoleic in my soap and would probably add goat milk. It adds some fat as well as a little sugar and protein that I think will enhance/support the lather.

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

@ FragranceGuy
Ive never put soap on my face & I dont want to sound like i'm bragging but i've always had perfect complexion' I only use hot & cold water w/ a washcloth along w/ a good scrubbing for cleaning' then a great moisturizer after.

 

[FragranceGuy]

I don't use a facial soap, never have. Nor have I ever done that cleansing and toning regime that they try to sell you at every beauty counter for $$$$. I've only ever done as you described earlier @FragranceGuy, wash my face once a day in the shower with my usual bar of soap. SO that means (eek!) any makeup from the day prior stays on my face all night until my morning shower.
One woman at the beauty counter asked me once - do you cleanse and tone your skin every day (night)? When i replied no, she said well by the time you are thirty your skin will look really aged. I replied " I'm 34". LOL - that shut her up!
Anyhoo - I guess I'm just lucky in that I don't have sensitive skin and I don't need to buy/make specialist products for it. My profile pic on here was taken a year ago when I was 54.
I'm off to bed now - here in New Zealand - with a dirty face that will be cleaned with soap in the shower tomorrow morning

Wow!! You look 30yo in your profile pic!!! You’re blessed with beautiful skin.

 

[The_Phoenix]

If the soap sucks I’ll vocally blame you!! I’ve had a fascination with canola and sunflower lately because it’s easy to balance them to get an oleic and linoleic profile that pleases me. I think olive oil is great, but it’s slippery in a good way. Canola oil seems to grab my skin a bit more, so I’m experimenting with the ugly cousin of OO. So far I’m pleased. If I ever decide to sell my soap I’m going to have a tough time. Who wants pig fat, genetically modified seed oil and a few other ingredients of my choice? Gosh, bury me now

Keep in mind that everyone's skin is different. I don't market any of my soap as a facial or body bar. It just happens to be the soap that I use for myself personally. And the 50% lard soap recipe is used by lots of people. Many months ago, it was @Obsidian who first planted the idea in my brain.

 

[Aromasuzie]

I don't use a facial soap, never have. Nor have I ever done that cleansing and toning regime that they try to sell you at every beauty counter for $$$$. I've only ever done as you described earlier @FragranceGuy, wash my face once a day in the shower with my usual bar of soap. SO that means (eek!) any makeup from the day prior stays on my face all night until my morning shower.
One woman at the beauty counter asked me once - do you cleanse and tone your skin every day (night)? When i replied no, she said well by the time you are thirty your skin will look really aged. I replied " I'm 34". LOL - that shut her up!
Anyhoo - I guess I'm just lucky in that I don't have sensitive skin and I don't need to buy/make specialist products for it. My profile pic on here was taken a year ago when I was 54.
I'm off to bed now - here in New Zealand - with a dirty face that will be cleaned with soap in the shower tomorrow morning

I'm with you. I use rose hydrosol as cleanser/toner and jojoba oil with added essential oils. That's my whole beauty routine. I am thankful for family genetics that make me look young, though migraines are giving me wrinkles! @FragranceGuy I'm sure you could put a spin on pig lard, closest to human sebum and all that. I think if you were brought up cleaning your face with soap, it's probably ingrained in your genetics.

 

[FragranceGuy]

@The_Phoenix Since I started incorporating lard into my recipes it’s become the backbone in my calculator. I haven’t developed a recipe idea that I truly liked (in the calc, in theory) that didn’t have between 45 and 60% lard @Zany_in_CO got me down the “Lardinator” path and I haven’t looked back. I’m very interested in developing a vegan soap, but I’m not sure it’ll be as good to me personally as a lard bar. I believe it’s possible, but I don’t think I’ve harbored the skills/experience to develop or to choose a recipe without going down a laundry list of mediocre soaps to find a gem. Let me know what you think of canola oil if you ever try it. I like 12-18%

@Aromasuzie Thanks for the encouragement! I’m not planning to sell my soap anytime soon, but you can bet your bottom bar that when I’m satisfied with a recipe I won’t be ashamed to explain why I choose my oils I’ve got reasons and they’ll probably sound something like this... “I chose these oils because, to me, in this combination, they make a great soap.” ☺ The fact that lard has such similar sebum qualities as human skin oils will hopefully help! I’m lucky in genetics as far as skin outbreaks are concerned. I’m grateful for that

I may have Thursday off work. If I do I’m going to make this recipe and see it through. Of course, I’ll let you all know my successes and failures..