How do you make a perfectly white soap? I've been challenged..

[Johnez]

Oh yeah! I tried that one, just made it light blue so forgot that it would otherwise be white

It’s really good, cleans well with a nice lather and gentle on the hands. Just had a bit of a flexible core, which was kind of odd, but still lasted a while.

I think the longer the cure with this one the better. Feels harder and better at 8 weeks than 4. Have a bar saved for 12 weeks and 16 and will update. My girlfriend also mentioned the flexibility.

 

[Mistrael]

We have a multi-gen home & my mother hates when the hand soaps leave colors on the white sinks. Meanwhile, I'm asthmatic & not big on white, and therefore not interested in titanium dioxide. So I make our hand soaps with coconut oil & fine sea salt & a fragrance that doesn't discolor or accelerate. Easy-peasy!

Thought I'd add a quick shot from my bathroom. The counter is actually the edge of the perfectly white ceramic sink.

 

[Vicki C]

My “light” recipe uses
virgin coconut oil (lighter than refined, oddly)
light tasting olive oil
refined shea
bleached deodorized cocoa
hydrogenated palm
castor oil

It‘s pretty light - the light olive oil makes a big difference as well as the virgin coconut

 

[JRose]

I got a bautifully white bar with a simple castille recipe - just regular olive oil, water, and lye. I sped up trace a bit by warming on the stove as I stirred. (Otherwise would have taken forever as there were no hard fats.) Took a few days to firm up, but produced a nice gentle bar after a few weeks. Lather is more lotiony than bubbly is my only complaint.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Lather is more lotiony than bubbly is my only complaint.

You can increase lather by adding 10% coconut oil 76° and 5% castor oil to 85% olive oil. To reduce "slime" that's typical of 100% OO castile, and for faster cure, try making Zany's No Slime Castile. I have mature dry sensitive skin and that's the combo I use to wash my face AM and PM. Rich, dense creamy lather almost like cold cream but rinses cleanly and quickly. leaving my face feeling nice rather than "too tight" that happens with other formulas.

 

[JRose]

View attachment 71519


You can increase lather by adding 10% coconut oil 96° and 5% castor oil to 85% olive oil. To reduce "slime" that's typical of 100% OO castile, and for faster cure, try making Zany's No Slime Castile. I have mature dry sensitive skin and that's the combo I use to wash my face AM and PM. Rich, dense creamy lather almost like cold cream but rinses cleanly and quickly. leaving my face feeling nice rather than "too tight" that happens with other formulas.

Thank you, will definitely try it!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Thank you, will definitely try it!

You're welcome!

PS: I meant coconut oil 76° not 96°.
I corrected the original post but not the reply above.

 

[user 58006]

Hey soap Fam .
How much titanium dioxide per pound of soap ? Also what is the proper way to add to batch ?
Thanks everyone for there help !!!!
Happy soaping

 

[johnnyusa]

coconut, palm, lard, sunflower OR sweet almond oil, kaolin

 

[CecileBC]

Hi everyone !

Here in the EU, titanium dioxide has been banned.... Here is what I found about alternatives:

https://www.foodingredientsfirst.co...-hitting-the-market-fda-review-continues.html
I think it dates from 2022 though...does anyone have updated info ?

Just a quick laugh: my lovely husband wanted to show some interest in my new soaping adventure, and decided to try all the different soaps I had made so far - range going from full Olive to full Coconut.
So that you know: why do we bother ourselves ! Yeah, it's soap all right ! All of them ! ...lacks a little bubbles though...

 

[Blufuz]

Hi everyone !

Here in the EU, titanium dioxide has been banned.... Here is what I found about alternatives:

https://www.foodingredientsfirst.co...-hitting-the-market-fda-review-continues.html
I think it dates from 2022 though...does anyone have updated info ?

your article indicates a FOOD ban; that should not affect soap. Maybe avoid it in lip balms though

 

[CecileBC]

Hi Blufuz ! Thanks !
Yes, I know, but I believe that customers with a tendency towards things natural and safe will scrutinize the label; so I wouldn't use it here...

 

[Blufuz]

Hi Blufuz ! Thanks !
Yes, I know, but I believe that customers with a tendency towards things natural and safe will scrutinize the label; so I wouldn't use it here...

They did that anyway anything chemical-sounding makes some people’s lips curl good thing we don’t have to list sodium hydroxide!

 

[user 58006]

They did that anyway anything chemical-sounding makes some people’s lips curl good thing we don’t have to list sodium hydroxide!

Why don’t you have to list it ?

!!!!!!

 

[CecileBC]

Why don’t you have to list it ?

I think it's because it disappears during the saponification process, and after cure there isn't any remaining in the soap...

 

[Blufuz]

Why don’t you have to list it ?

Disclaimer, I don’t sell soap, so I didn’t look too hard, but whenever I read the labels of hand made soap in Europe, they list the oils and additives, but not lye

 

[Savage Daughter]

I have found that when I make coconut milk soaps, my whites are a whole lot whiter, regardless of the oils I use & regardless of whether or not I freeze it first. I simply put my coconut milk in the fridge overnight when I'm measuring out my oils & butters the night before.

That being said, if you haven't worked with milks before, they may freak you out a bit as they can get quite ugly when the lye hits it. My last batch looked grainy as all @!#$ no matter how much I stirred my lye in, I was convinced the lye had not properly dissolved (it was the milk fats chunking up actually) and it separated with a layer of yellowish looking liquid at the bottom. Not sexy

Nonetheless, since it was a smaller test batch for some new combinations of natural colorants & not a batch for sale, I went ahead I proceeded as usual. Everything turned out fine. The white portions of the bars turned out very white.

I often use kaolin but don't find it gives a very stark white unless I add so much that it speeds up trace significantly due to the amount of water it sucks up.

 

[Savage Daughter]

I know there's this persistent idea in the soap making community that adding powders (clay, starches, etc.) will "anchor" a scent, meaning the scent will last longer. Unfortunately, most of the experienced soap makers who say they have tried this also pretty uniformly say it doesn't work. And everything I know about the chemical processes of adsorption and absorption agree with their findings -- adding an "anchor" really won't have much if any effect on longevity of a fragrance.

I have always added some of my essential oils to my dry plant colorants, sealing them in a jar at least overnight - sometimes a week in advance of when I know I will be making a specific batch - which seems to work quite well in terms of my soaps retaining scent, even though I use essential oils exclusively, no fragrance oils. I also add kaolin to the portion of my essential oils which will be used in the uncoloured part of a batch & leave to sit in the same way.

Zany also mentioned in another post that she adds her fragrance to castor oil & lets it sit, which I have begun adding to my plant colorant / essential oil blends, and yes, this works even more effectively in combination to what I do above.

Vetiver & patchouli essential oils in a blend also help in terms of anchoring & longevity, especially when blended ahead of time & left to sit & 'marinate' together. That has been my own personal experience.

 

[UnScented Arizona]

I agree that kaolin won't make much difference, but it is nice in soap. Titanium dioxide will make white. My soaps with lard, coconut, (regular, not extra virgin) olive oil, sunflower oil and castor oil is pretty white and I don't use TD. It's not snow white, but is a creamy white.

That's my recipe as well. Nice color. Almost white.

 

[UnScented Arizona]

My “light” recipe uses
virgin coconut oil (lighter than refined, oddly)
light tasting olive oil
refined shea
bleached deodorized cocoa
hydrogenated palm
castor oil

It‘s pretty light - the light olive oil makes a big difference as well as the virgin coconut

oh. nice. refined shea. Great idea. unrefined is so yellow. Hard to use some colored clays because it comes out brown or gray.