How do you think my 70% olive oil/30% palm kernel oil soaps will be?

[aab1]

I don't like how 100% olive oil soaps become slimey/gooey so last year I made 60% olive oil soaps with the other 40% being a blend of hard oils like palm kernel, coconut, palm and shea butter to try to get them to remain harder and I love how they came out.

I decided to try something simpler and with more olive oil, and was confident enough to make a fairly big batch, and made 70% olive oil soaps with 30% palm kernel oil. My thinking is that adding only the hardest oil should make up for the extra 10% olive oil in keeping the bar harder.

How do you think these will turn out and has anyone made a similar recipe before using only olive and palm kernel oils in a similar ratio?

Thanks

 

[navigator9]

I haven't made a recipe with just olive and PKO, so I can't tell you anything from personal experience. The number don't always tell the whole story, I say try a small test batch and see what happens. Could turn out to be amazing!

 

[aab1]

I had already made a fairly large batch when I asked this because I don't see how they could turn out bad. After close to 24 hours they're still too soft to unmold, I'm really anxious to see how they are after 1-2 months, If I find them too soft I may do 60% olive oil 40% palm kernel oil for my next batch but I'm hoping the 30% pko will prevent them from getting slimy like 100% olive oil soaps. My 60% olive oil soaps with the other 40% being a blend of hard oils came out a perfect hardness, I'm hoping this simplified recipe turns out similar as I prefer to have something closer to a 100% olive oil soap minus the slimy texture.

 

[navigator9]

I agree, with all that olive, how can you go wrong? I don't know if it's just me, or maybe because I have very hard water, but I can't say I notice sliminess in true castile. I just find it creamy. I do make a bastile with a bit of coconut added and a splash of castor oil. that's lovely too, with a bit more lather. I use PKO flakes in my standard recipe, so maybe I'll give it a try next time I make a bastile. As for when it will be ready to unmold...you're talking to a fervent geller, here. No matter what time of day I soap, I cut the next morning. It does my heart good, because I hate to wait! Anxious to hear what you think of your new recipe. I'm sure it will be delicious.

 

[aab1]

I use individual cavity silicone molds so I need to wait for them to be firm otherwise the edges or corners stay stuck in the molds.

The 100% olive oil soaps I've made, especially after they've been used a bit and even after 1-2 years of curing, always end up with this gooey coating of clear "slime" when I use them, if I pass my finger over it after using it I get this blob of clear slime on my finger which I assume is glycerin, it's almost like the soap was dipped in hair gel.

 

[aab1]

I must admit I hadn't done a high % olive oil soap in months but this batch after over 2 days is still very soft, I would have thought the 30% pko would have made them harder faster.

Is olive oil soap normally still soft after 2 days? I normally make soaps out of mostly hard oils which are often rock hard and ready to unmold in 1-3 hours. I'm anxious to free my molds to make more soaps.

 

[shunt2011]

Just remember that PKO is very similar to Coconut and may be drying at too high of a level. I personally wouldn't use it at more than 20-25%. I use a mix of CO & PKO in my soaps. But you may like how it turns out. You'll just have to give it a good cure and give it a try.

 

[Susie]

I can't help you on the recipe, but the individual silicone mold is what is delaying unmolding. I have to wait typically 2-3 days longer to unmold silicone molds than a loaf type mold. Even when it is the same batch and I only pour one bar into a silicone mold.(I have someone who is trying small bars of my soap trying to decide on one to get a whole recipe made for them.)

 

[aab1]

I can't help you on the recipe, but the individual silicone mold is what is delaying unmolding. I have to wait typically 2-3 days longer to unmold silicone molds than a loaf type mold. Even when it is the same batch and I only pour one bar into a silicone mold.(I have someone who is trying small bars of my soap trying to decide on one to get a whole recipe made for them.)

I know from experience the smaller the soap the longer it takes to harden but I didn't remember olive oil soaps taking this long to harden, but I've rarely made olive oil soaps. I normally make soaps from hard oils which can often be unmolded 1-2 hours after pouring, even in small silicone molds.

The smaller ones are finally starting to get harder and anyway I've freed enough molds to be able to make another batch which is what I was waiting for.

Thanks

 

[aab1]

I was finally able to unmold the soaps without them getting damaged. They just take much longer to harden (around 5 days) than I'm used to (1-2 hours for salt soaps).

Even after just a few days I already like them a lot more. They to get a thin acceptable layer of slime but not blobs of glycerin forming on the soap like 100% oo soap. I assume the sliminess will reduce even more as they cure. I did superfat them at 10% to make up for the drying effect of the 30% pko. They are a bit drying now but that's to be expected after just a few days of curing, I think they will be fine when cured and I'll make more scents and unscented ones of with this recipe.

I wanted a recipe for soaps as close to 100% oo but without the sliminess and this recipe seems to be just what I wanted.