First Time

[Nick75]

Hi All,

I'm new to soap making, and I really want to try it. I've been researching on many different sites on how to make soap, more specifically vegan soap. However, the one thing I can't seem to figure out is how you determine the amount of additives to add to your soap. I'm attaching the formula from Soapcalc that I'm attempting to do. Can someone please help me figure out the additive amounts?

Thanks!
Nick

 

[OliveOil2]

The aloe vera you can use as all or part of your water, for the Tea Tree you can the fragrance option above to figure the amount, just remember that Tea Tree is very strong. I haven't used it in awhile, so hopefully someone else will chime in, I would say .50 per pound. I normally make 5 pound batches and use between 1/3 and 1/2 oatmeal for that size batch, so not much oatmeal for a 1 pound batch. Is there a recommended usage rate on the grapefruit extract, either on the bottle, or the from where you purchased it?

 

[OliveOil2]

PS you might want to bring down the coconut oil a bit, or increase the super fat to 6%, the recipe looks great otherwise. With 30% coconut you have a cleansing of 20, which is drying for some skin types. You can increase the olive oil about 10%, just play with soap calc, and the cleansing number will come down.

 

[neeners]

what a luxurious bar you've come up with!

aloe - are you using that to replace your water or just as an additive?

I would say with tea tree, it's really strong. the recommended EO amt to use is 3% (so 0.5oz ppo), so you can start with that, or go with something less and see if you like it.

oatmeal, is it blended or are you putting in whole oats? I did some research before I made my OHM soap, and I remember seeing 1 tbsp ppo, but of course you can use less. I blended my oatmeal until it was super fine (I didn't want anything scratchy)

i've never used gse, and I dont' plan to so I can't comment on how much. just curious why you want to put that in your soap?

 

[seven]

hi Nick, welcome to the addiction!

are you using fresh aloe vera? if so, if you are using it as an additive, you can use it to sub some of your water (50-50). just stick blend the aloe vera to your oils till everything is dissolved nicely (no more aloe chunks). do this before the lye.

you've been given great advices so far regarding the other additives.

 

[neeners]

I agree with OliveOil, decrease your CO and up the OO. with respect to the butters, are you using them for luxury purposes or adding hardness or just b/c you have them on hand? my recipe that i've been using has a butter in it, and i've gown down 10% with the butter and the bar is still hard. I keep my CO in the low 20's.

maybe if you also let us know what you're looking for in your bar, it will help us with your recipe?

 

[Nick75]

Thank you all for your quick responses and wonderful advice. I can't express how appreciative I am for your help.

OlvieOil2 - The Aloe Vera is a gel, so if I replace some of the water with it, I would just subtract that from the water used in the lye concentration?
- I read somewhere that the oil shouldn't be more than 3% of the batch.
- For the oatmeal is that 1/2 cup per 5lbs? Also, is that before or after grounding it?
- Ironically, I originally had the coconut oil at 20% and olive oil at 50% lol

Neeners - I was going to use the aloe as an additive, but perhaps a small water replacement would be better, perhaps 10%?
- I was planning on grinding the oats to use as exfoliation
- I read that the GSE was an antioxidant and helped the oils from spoiling.
- I'm using the butters as moisturizers

Seven - The aloe is a gel, so would I mix that with the water/lye solution, or add it with the other additives?

Thanks again all!

 

[OliveOil2]

Yes, subtract it from the water amount, and I would stir in at trace, but first look at the label and make sure there isn't any alcohol in the gel, I've only used regular aloe vera juice. The water needs to be enough to dissolve the lye; and my mind is going blank, believe it it twice the lye amount. Someone will chime in I'm sure. The 1/2 cup of oatmeal for 5lb. was ground, I eventually switched to baby oatmeal, since it is less scrubby, but lots of people like the scrubby effect.

 

[Nick75]

So, I've updated it to a 5lb batch, and made the appropriate changes thanks to everyone's suggestions. How does this look now?

 

[neeners]

if you want to water replace, I think 10% is a good start so you don't have too much of a water discount to work with on your first batch.

I've never put gse in my soaps, and I have yet to have any go bad. the oils/butters you use don't go rancid easily. see this link http://www.zensoaps.com/singleoil.htm

ETA: 5lb batch is a lot. I suggest keeping it at 1lb for your first soap try. you don't want to make THAT much soap only to find out you don't like it.....

 

[OliveOil2]

Yes one or two lbs would be great for your first batch, and in the above recipe you have 80 ounces of oil, but you only need about 60 for 5lbs, because you count the water. Your recipe looks very gentle and conditioning. Have fun with your first batch of soap.

 

[Nick75]

I agree...5lbs for my first batch may be too much. I think my enthusiasm got the best of me. lol

Thanks again for all your help. I'll post pics when it's done.

 

[Stacy]

I agree on the 5lb advice, my first batch--ah i remember it so well, it was 5 days ago now--was very well researched and planned. I didn't expect it to go flawlessly however, and it didn't!

I learned a lot about the process that can only be gained from doing no matter how many youtube videos I watched...things like the stick blender I was using wasn't powerful enough and my work surface wasn't large enough to be comfortable. My recipe didn't come out terribly and the soap looks very usable but I'm certain I can do better and I'm glad it was a small batch. My next small batch will be better (hopefully)

Edit: all that agreement came in while I was typing!

Good luck Nick!

 

[Seawolfe]

I think the ideal recipe size for beginners is 1.5 to 2 lbs. Because of the small amounts, mistakes get amplified around a pound, 1.5-2 lbs is more forgiving.

 

[cmzaha]

If you are not opposed to lard I would use lard in place of expensive butters for a first batch. Lard will slow trace whereas shea and coco butter will quicken trace. Lard really makes gorgeous soap especially when used with OO, which also slows trace. Save the GSE for something else, like a solid lotion bar that can go rancid. I buy oil in bulk and add in a small amount of ROE Rosemary Oleoresin to each tote of oil when I bring it home. Happy soaping!! and be prepared to support the soap suppliers

 

[Susie]

I'm with Carolyn on the lard. Save those expensive butters for later batches or leave on products so you don't waste them in case of an "oops".

I, personally, would avoid all additives for a first batch, with the possible exception of EOs or FOs. You are just multiplying what could go wrong with additives. I am not saying forgo them forever, but just for a first batch.

Tea Tree is very, very strong. I would start with something around the 5 g/PPO amount, then see if you think it needs more.