hardness vs conditioning

[Bnky]

I have been trying to create a good hard, creamy, bubbly, conditioning bar (like everyone), but whenever I calculate a hard bar (I've made some recipes at 48), I lose on conditioning. So, after experimenting with many recipes, I've come up with this and wanted an opionion on what I could do to make it better with the oils I have (castor, coconut, palm, olive & rice bran) before I make it.
hardness - 43
cleansing - 18
conditioning - 53
bubbly - 27
creamy - 33
iodine - 61
INS - 149

The last batch I made was a hard bar (which I really like), but the conditioning is lower then. the hardness was 48% & conditioning was only 48% also and cleansing is 20% (so I add oil to this recipe at thin trace to superfat (avocado or jojoba). Also it seems when I get hardness at 48%, the palm content is over 30%, should I keep the palm below 30%, like coconut? I've have played and played 24/7 with calculations. Any advise is much appreciated.
Bnky

 

[Milla]

Oops I just saw this. Finding the perfect recipe is HARD! I would say give it a shot and maybe use a higher superfat like 7 or 8%. Good luck!

Also you can use whatever palm percentage you want. Even over 30%. Be careful what FO's you use because when I go that high I tend to have seizing problems due to the hardness of palm.

 

[Guest]

Try some stearic acid for hardness/conditioning

 

[Bnky]

Thanks for the info! I tried a small batch. Will know in about 4 to 6 weeks how it turned out (I hate waiting ). Bnky

 

[carebear]

numbers really don't tell you the whole story. at all. first - the numbers are often NOT representative of reality. second, you have the superfat to play with.

make a batch, look at the numbers and see for yourself. tweak (change only one thing, maybe 2) and see what happens...

formulating is more complex than plugging in numbers. the chemisty is beyond the mix of fatty acids in the oils.

 

[Bnky]

Thank you, I tweaked my recipe and it is sooo much nicer now.

 

[lecheymiel]

to make your soap stronger the best is beewax (just a little bit) or if you prefer can you add cocoa butter to increase the aconditioning without to lost the strong...

Just try... good luck :wink:

Bibs

 

[Bnky]

Thanks Bibs...I haven't ever tried beeswax. Do you add that to your hard oils when melting and proceed as usual?

 

[lecheymiel]

Yes,

just like another hard oil... but be carefull because is really efective!! probably you have to work faster than normal

good luck and show the photos

 

[hobbiz]

I am new in soap making and I dont know whether the numbers in soapcalc is accurate or not? I would like to know the numbers that you guys feel or find acceptable or good on soaps. Please share.

 

[ohsoap]

I've been soaping over a year now and what I've recently learnt is to ignore hardness. All soap gets harder as it cures for longer. For myself I don't like cleansing over 20, but it does happen with some of my recipes.

I don't play around with discounts on lye/water, and I just do the 5% SF that's already in soapcalc.

For me it's how the different oils feel, right now I'm tweaking my favorite recipe to see if I can make it for cheaper (I have a very expensive luxury bar). I tried doing a couple simple recipes, and didn't like them at all. I give them away as hand soap, the only exception was with Sunflower oil, it is very slippery and glides across your skin in the shower, still not my favorite though. My husband and I both like a creamy lather so I focus mostly on that.

 

[artisan soaps]

..

 

[ohsoap]

All soap gets harder as it cures for longer.

No, not ALL

lol, yeah you're right... I had this one rebatch I did and added too much water and 5 months later I could still put my finger threw it... which I kinda did by accident.

 

[artisan soaps]

..

 

[ohsoap]

how do I do that?