Feedback on this recipe would be greatly appreciated!

[Dmalo]

I’m worried this bar might be too hard and slimy… I was told in a soap making class, a great recipe should always contain a 50/50 split between hard butters and liquid oils. Please share your thoughts on this recipe, as it’s not a perfect 50/50 split but looks good to me.

Olive Oil - 30%
Coconut Oil - 25%
Palm Oil - 25%
Shea Butter - 5%
Cocoa Butter - 5%
HO Sunflower Oil - 5%
Castor Oil - 5%

 

[AliOop]

While the amount of coconut oil would make the final cleansing number too high for my skin, your recipe is a solid one that should make a nice bar of soap.

Take the advice about the hard-soft oil ratio with a grain of salt. You can make wonderful soap with 65% lard, 20% CO, and 15% soft oils, or even 100% olive oil. It all depends on what type of "feel" you and your users prefer.

 

[Ekuzo]

I don't see anything wrong with this recipe. Having a hard bar is usually a good thing, and the oleic content (provided mostly by the olive oil and the HO sunflower oil in this case) is not that high to give you slime. Try it and see how you like it. I'm one of those who like the coconut oil at 25% and I also go for even higher % of hard fats. Once you get into the hobby, you'll develop a taste and tweak your own recipes according to the result you wish for.

Also, if this is your first time or one of the firsts - go for superfat of 4-5%. Once you are more comfortable working with lye, calculating and measuring - as well as being more familiar with the theory behind it all - you can decrease it further.

Also, using 33% lye concentration as a starting point is not a bad idea, you can increase it down the line - again, once you are more familiar with the process and you get to know your taste better. HTH, enjoy!

 

[Dmalo]

Thank you both for your feedback! I’m going to give it go with a 1-pound batch and see if I like it, or what I might tweak after six weeks.