Help me with recipe ideas?

kniquy · Feb 1, 2019

I am going to make my 3rd batch of soap this weekend. I am going to experiment with adding color - maybe 2 colors with a hanger swirl. I keep playing with the soapcal for creating different recipes but the small adjustments I made don't seem to make a big difference in the properties of the soap. I also look at different recipes, but often i don't have one ingredient and I want to use what i have on hand.

Can you tell me your best recipes using any combination of these? Probably something that won't get to trace too quickly so that I will have working time with the colors.

Olive
Palm Oil
Coconut Oil
Apricot Kernel Oil
Soybean (Vegetable Oil)

I also have shea butter and cocoa butter on hand.

If needed I can run out and get castor oil.

Soybean, Palm and Apricot Kernel are ones I have not used yet in a recipe.

I appreciate any recipes you have to share!

zanzalawi · Feb 1, 2019

if you're looking for a slow-mover, keep in mind that palm will accelerate trace, have you considered lard?
if it was me, i'd go get the $10 bucket of 8lbs of lard at walmart, and i'd do something along the lines of
40% OO
40% lard
20% CO
for the sake of keeping it simple while you're getting comfortable with the process and incorporating colors

Dawni · Feb 1, 2019

A high percentage of coconut and butters will do the same.

I have tried olive, coconut, shea and cocoa butter in a recipe, with 10% each of the butters, 15% coconut and the rest olive (and/or any other conditioning oil you have) and castor.

I've not used palm but maybe you can add that also at 10-20? Or switch out both butters for palm?

If you can just mix only til emulsion that should still give you time for colors before it thickens up I think?

Meena · Feb 1, 2019

I've done sunflower, o/s palm, coconut, and castor that was a really nice soap for me. You can easily substitute olive for the sunflower. Try 8% castor (or leave it out if you don't have it), 20% coconut (unless you are oily skinned, then you can go 25%), 25% palm, and the rest olive or a mix of olive and about 10% cocoa butter for even more hardness. You can sub in some apricot kernal for some of the olive oil, as well. Play around with those in soapcalc.

I've never used cocoa butter myself, so can't speak about effect on trace, but none of my soap recipes come to trace quickly. I have to SB a lot more than I'm expecting to get close to medium-light trace. I guess I have all well-behaved EOs (and sometimes I forget to put them in

).

o/s = organic sustainable

shunt2011 · Feb 1, 2019

I would do 40% Palm, 20-25% CO, the rest olive oil. If you get Castor I would do 5-7%. Palm does move some so be prepared. You should still have plenty of time to work with it though. Lard is much more friendly but palm is good too. Keep it simple till you have the hang of it.