Help I need a great recipe

[naturalnegeste]

I'm using Babassu oil, Castor, Jojoba and Olive... I'm trying to make a 5lb batch how many oz of each oil should I use (take it easy on me I'm new to this lol)

 

[Kcryss]

A 5lb batch is a lot of soap. Have you made soap before? Have you learned how to use the soap calculators?

If not, here is a great starting point Table of contents | Soapy Stuff (classicbells.com)

 

[cmzaha]

Making "Great Soap", takes a lot of time and testing. I could give you my so-called great recipe that I sold thousands of bars of and you may hate it. It also takes time testing to know what you think is a horrible bar of soap versus a wonderful bar of soap. I know soap makers that sell soap and have for years whose soap I absolutely cannot use, it is much too stripping for my skin. The bottom line is you need to make small batches and test.

Making 5 lbs of soap is a large batch and waste of approx 59 oz of oils if you hate the soap. Depending on the thickness you cut your bars you will get from 14-18 bars of soap from a log mold.

 

[AliOop]

Not to pile on, but I wouldn't waste jojoba oil in soap, since the beneficial properties are not likely to survive saponification. Instead, save your jojoba for something like body butter, facial oils, etc.

Please make a 1lb batch whenever trying a new recipe, so you can see how everything behaves during the soaping process, and whether you like the finished product. With the oils you listed, if you are willing to use lard or palm, you could try:

35% Olive
40% palm or lard
20% babassu
5% castor

Another option to consider instead of palm or lard would be soy wax (hydrogenated soybean oil). I've never used it, but you can search this forum to find out more about it, and how much to use. Happy soaping!

 

[TheGecko]

A 'great' recipe is subjective. And making 5 pounds of soap with a new recipe isn't something you want to do considering the cost of Jojoba and Babassu Oils. At BEST, when trying a new recipe is NOT to go over 14 oz in case things go wrong.

 

[lsg]

I agree with the others, try a one-pound batch with any new recipe.

 

[Zing]

Welcome, good luck, and keep us posted!

 

[naturalnegeste]

It is my first time maybe I will scale it back I plan on selling my soaps.. so maybe I'll just do a small test batch

thank you all I was being overzealous lol... I definitely look in to the links you sent and keep you all updated on this soap making journey!!!

 

[cmzaha]

A 'great' recipe is subjective. And making 5 pounds of soap with a new recipe isn't something you want to do considering the cost of Jojoba and Babassu Oils. At BEST, when trying a new recipe is NOT to go over 14 oz in case things go wrong.

This information is very good. Just a little note I hate OO in soap so it just goes to show how one needs to do their own testing. Jojoba is actually a liquid wax not considered oil. Babassu is one of the cleansing oils the same as Palm Kernel Oil and Coconut Oil which are much less costly to use in soap. Save your Babassu for leave-on products.

 

[maryloucb]

Don't be in a rush to sell. Take your time experimenting and developing recipes. I personally would not sell anything for at least a year, until you have everything dialed in. I know it's exciting, but spend that time giving samples to friends and trying different recipes. I have a group of friends that are my "product testers" and they give me feedback about new recipes.

 

[lucycat]

If you already own these oils then definitely use them. If you don't own them yet then on your first batches consider Coconut (rather than babasu), lard (instead of palm), and olive oil. The advantage is that you can purchase all at the grocery store and keep your costs reasonable. They make a nice soap and you get to learn if this is a hobby you will enjoy without expensive shipping costs.

 

[kaygrrl]

If you can get your hands on tallow that’s another great alternative to palm.

 

[naturalnegeste]

If you already own these oils then definitely use them. If you don't own them yet then on your first batches consider Coconut (rather than babasu), lard (instead of palm), and olive oil. The advantage is that you can purchase all at the grocery store and keep your costs reasonable. They make a nice soap and you get to learn if this is a hobby you will enjoy without expensive shipping costs.

So I do own the oils would you just suggest using a two oil soap instead like coconut and olive I also have castor and I can make it a 3 oil soap

I really appreciate all the feedback it helped me scale back a lot and not overthink it.

 

[lucycat]

So I do own the oils would you just suggest using a two oil soap instead like coconut and olive I also have castor and I can make it a 3 oil soap

You were given a good advice and recipe by Alioop. I would just adjust it to use the coconut instead of babasu and to use lard rather than palm. This should produce a hard bar with creamy lather and enough bubbles. My favorite bars use 60% hard oils which is what this has.

35% Olive
40% lard
20% coconut
5% castor

I think any beginner recipe should have three types of oils: high lauric acid like the coconut or babasu for lather, a palmitic fatty acid like lard or palm
for creaminess and long lasting, and a high oleic fatty acid like olive for conditioning. If you didn't have castor I would have used 40% olive. This 'trinity' was the standard for many years because it makes a good balanced soap. It is a great recipe for your starting point to compare with other recipes. I find after many years my formulations are still very close to this one. A two oil soap of coconut and olive will be nice but not my favorite because I would miss the creamy lather that palm and lard provide plus the bar won't be as long lasting.

I don't use much babasu because of the cost but do enjoy using it in lip balms.

 

[AliOop]

You were given a good basic recipe by Alioop. I would just adjust it to use the coconut instead of babasu and to use lard rather than palm. This should produce a hard bar with creamy lather and enough bubbles. My favorite bars use 60% hard oils which is what this has.

35% Olive
40% lard
20% coconut
5% castor

I agree, CO (or PKO) and lard would be preferable from a cost and availability standpoint.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Since you already have the babassu, you may as well use it, unless you happen to have coconut oil on hand too.

As stated by lucycat you need to get all your bases covered in terms of fatty acids.
Babassu/Coconut gives you your Lauric and myristic (for bubbles)
Olive gives you oleic for 'moisturising' (although as many will tell you that's debatable)
Castor support lather and makes it creamy
You need something in there for palmitic and stearic which will give you bar longevity. This could be palm, lard or tallow, soy 'wax', or other.
In the absence of the latter you could try a Babassu, Olive and castor oil soap in a small quantity to see how you like it. I'd go 25% Babassu, 70% OO and 5% castor. It might take a couple of days or more to harden enough to cut with all that OO, but it will make soap.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

@naturalnegeste With these oils (and no others), consider making a liquid soap from the others (but rescue the jojoba from lye).

Like others said, it is very difficult to make a hard and lasting bar soap without “hard oils”.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I'm trying to make a 5lb batch how many oz of each oil should I use (take it easy on me I'm new to this lol)

Here ya go. Start with this recipe and build from there:
BASIC TRINITY OF OILS STARTER FORMULA

Before doing that, you might want to read:
LOVIN' SOAP COLD PROCESS SOAP MAKING GUIDE

It helps to get your ducks in a row before plunging in.