welsh black
Well-Known Member
I love glycerin in soap, I know it's a by product of the process, but is there a way to increase the amount in soap by the type of oils I use, or is there a process which would help?
Glycerin in soap , how to maximise?
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I've always felt that some formulas produce more glycerin than others. My "bubble test" says yes but the chemistry says different. So in the soaps that I think are lacking I just add some vegetable glycerin to recipe. I can tell the difference with just a tablespoon per my 54 oz batch.
Yes. The lower mol. wt., shorter avg. chain oils yield more. Chief example: coconut. Castor oil yields more than its avg. mol. wt. would predict, because it contains a considerable amount of diglyceride as well as the triglycerides that chiefly compose most fats & oils.
Yes, the "process" of buying and adding it.
Oh, and of course not salting out the soap.
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You can always add a little glycerin to your soap. I add it to my shampoos and body washes, it is a humectant and also helps with the bubbles.
They do make a difference, but maybe not as much difference as you think. Trilaurin would yield about 50% more glycerol than tristearin, and the actual oils you'll be using are mixtures of glycerides mostly somewhere between those extremes, so it's not like you're going to double it by judicious choice of fats.
See if you can hook up with someone making biodiesel and trade a little soap for some glycerine. I don't know if people are still doing that as a hobby or money saver now that diesel's come down in price from the heights it'd soared to a few yrs. back.
How much glycerine to add in CP soap?
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You can buy glycerin at Wholesalesuppliesplus.com -- $19 for 10 lb and free shipping with a $30. order. To add extra glycerin to a recipe I would start with 1/2 ounce ppo.
welsh black
Well-Known Member
Thanks for all your replies. I'll lay off the salt and up the castor. May add some bought glycerin as extra!!
"...not salting out the soap...."
"...I'll lay off the salt..."
FWIW, adding salt to a CP soap recipe is not remotely the same as "salting out" a soap, so don't worry about it if you have salt in your recipe. The glycerin will still be in your soap.
"...I'll lay off the salt..."
FWIW, adding salt to a CP soap recipe is not remotely the same as "salting out" a soap, so don't worry about it if you have salt in your recipe. The glycerin will still be in your soap.
Depends how gooey you want it.
