How does my recipe look? Also wondering about numbers

[Jamison]

This is the 3rd rendition to the soap I make, just wondering if there's room for improvement while I'm going to do some other changes.

Olive: 35.7%
Coconut: 24.8%
Palm: 18.6%
Hemp: 8.5%
Castor: 7.8%
Grapeseed: 4.7%

I just put these numbers through the calculator again to post here, and found something new. It now shows the "number" and where it should be.

Range, then my number
Hardness 29-54, 36
Cleansing 12-22 , 17
Conditioning 44-69, 60
Bubbly 14-46, 24
Creamy 16-48, 26
Iodine 41-70, 69
INS 136-165, 142


I'm not sure what this chart means:
Lauric 12
Myristic 5
Palmitic 16
Stearic 3
Ricinoleic 7
Oleic 36
Linoleic 15
Linolenic 2

 

[Jamison]

As for superfatting I believe it's at the standard 5% with the soap calc.

 

[lsg]

I like the hardness number to be at about 40, you can add some beeswax or sodium lactate or increase your coconut oil to 30%.

 

[Jamison]

I would like a slightly harder bar. I also recently noticed a goatmilk bar I tried felt much creamier than my soaps do.


As for scenting. I have been using .11oz of essential oil per 4.75oz bar (for a rough figure) and was getting feedback it wasn't strong enough so I have recently increased it to about .125oz per bar.

 

[maiseycat]

I'm not sure what this chart means:
Lauric 12
Myristic 5
Palmitic 16
Stearic 3
Ricinoleic 7
Oleic 36
Linoleic 15
Linolenic 2

Those are the different types of fatty acids, and what approximate percentage of each is in your bar. It doesn't always add up to 100, because it is based on average values for the oils you used. There is a little chart at the top of this page http://www.soapcalc.net/info/SoapQualities.asp that shows what properties each of the types generally bring to your soap.

 

[Jamison]

As per lsg's recommendation, I made the adjustment for coconut oil.

Olive: 30.5%
Coconut: 30%
Palm: 18.6%
Hemp: 8.5%
Castor: 7.75%
Grapeseed: 4.65%

I'd like to increase my hemp oil as well.

Hardness 29 - 54 39
Cleansing 12 - 22 20
Conditioning 44 - 69 56
Bubbly 14 - 46 27
Creamy 16 - 48 26
Iodine 41 - 70 66
INS 136 - 165 150

 

[Jamison]

How do you feel about these numbers after some further adjustments? Is the Iodine number too high?

Hardness 29-54, 39
Cleansing 12-22, 21
Conditioning 44-69, 57
Bubbly 14-46, 27
Creamy 16-48, 24
Iodine 41-70, 67
INS 136-165, 149

 

[Hausfrau007]

For me, the iodine of 67 is too high, and the INS of 149 is too low. I aim for an INS of about 160 or so to optimize hardness. If your aim is to have a slightly harder bar, then an INS of 160 is the target you should keep an eye on.

 

[Jamison]

For me, the iodine of 67 is too high, and the INS of 149 is too low. I aim for an INS of about 160 or so to optimize hardness. If your aim is to have a slightly harder bar, then an INS of 160 is the target you should keep an eye on.

Thank you for your input. So what do you suggest I do to tweak those numbers a bit?

They are based on this recipe:
Olive: 31%
Coconut: 31%
Palm: 16%
Hemp: 11%
Castor: 7%
Grapeseed: 4%

I was told a while ago that my castor should be up closer to 10%. Thoughts on that?

 

[maiseycat]

Some of this is going to come down to what you, personally, like in a bar of soap. Different oils are going to bring different properties to your soap bar. Increasing castor will increase bubbliness and conditioning, but decrease hardness and cleansing. That's where that last chart that you asked about comes into play. When you know what the properties of each of your oils brings to the table, you know what to change to get the properties you want.

For me, your hardness is actually fine, but I prefer something lower on the cleansing and higher on the conditioning because my husband and I are both prone to dry skin, so I would probably chnage different things than what Esther would change.

With your recipe, here is what each oil brings to the party :

Olive - High Oleic, Hardness 17, Cleansing 0, Condition 82, Creamy 17, Iodine 85
Coconut - High Lauric, Hardness 79, Cleansing 67, Condition 10, Bubbly 67, Creamy 12, Iodine 10
Palm - High stearic and Oleic, Hardness 50, Cleansing 1, Condition 49, Bubbly 1, creamy 49, Iodine 53
Hemp - High Linoleic - Hardness 8, cleansing 0, condition 90, bubbly 0, creamy 8, Iodine 165
Castor -High Rincinoleic - Hardness 0, cleansing 0, condition 98, bubbly 90, creamy 90, iodine 86
Grapeseed - High Linoleic - hardness 12, cleansing 0, condition 88, bubbly 0, creamy 12, iodine 131

If you were wanting to increase the hardness, I would actually cut out the hemp entirely, and increaser your palm by that amount.
#√Oil/Fat%PoundsOuncesGrams 1Olive Oil310.314.96140.6142Coconut Oil, 76 deg310.314.96140.6143Palm Oil270.274.32122.474Castor Oil70.071.1231.7515Grapeseed Oil40.040.6418.144 Totals100116453.592

Soap Bar Quality Suggested Range Your Recipe Hardness 29 - 54 44 Cleansing 12 - 22 21 Conditioning 44 - 69 52 Bubbly 14 - 46 27 Creamy 16 - 48 29 Iodine 41 - 70 55 INS 136 - 165 161

Keep in mind, these numbers are just guidelines. That is why they are listed as ranges and not absolutes. As long as you are not way off on something, you should be fine. And there are exceptions even to that. Castille soap, which is 100% olive oil, is widely regarded as a very gentle and pure soap, that if cured long enough , is very hard. It's numbers according to soapcalc are horrendous.

If you're not sure which properties are best for soap you want to use, then experiment! What you have posted is fairly balanced, and should make something that might melt a bit faster when used, but will still be good soap most likely. Then try a batch with a higher hardness factor. Have fun with it

 

[Jamison]

I personally don't have skin issues and have pretty soft skin. I use my soap for shampoo and shaving as well (my hair is very soft as well). But I'd want to have an overall quality bar that's good for anyone/anything, nothing too specific or on one side of the spectrum.

I figured the guidelines were just that. So what's your thoughts on the last numbers I posted? I'm sure it's great for a regular soap, just trying to fine-tune things before I change my recipe again. I pre-weight my ingredients so when I go to make soap I just dump the ingredients in the pots, I don't weigh at the time of the actual making of the soap.

 

[Hausfrau007]

You know, to me, your recipe looks a little bit fussy, what with the point percentages and the long list of of oils. My advice would be to tidy it up a bit, use full percentages, keep the hemp (seems to be something you're fond of), lower the castor and some of the soft oils (may be eliminate one?), increase the coconut, and see what happens.

Or, better yet, make your soap according to your last calculation. It's not a bad mix, and there's no way of finding out what you actually need to tweak unless you make and try that soap. It's important that YOU are happy with the results, regardless of what any of the us suggests.

 

[Jamison]

You know, to me, your recipe looks a little bit fussy, what with the point percentages and the long list of of oils. My advice would be to tidy it up a bit, use full percentages, keep the hemp (seems to be something you're fond of), lower the castor and some of the soft oils (may be eliminate one?), increase the coconut, and see what happens.

Or, better yet, make your soap according to your last calculation. It's not a bad mix, and there's no way of finding out what you actually need to tweak unless you make and try that soap. It's important that YOU are happy with the results, regardless of what any of the us suggests.

I've loved every bit of soap I've ever produced. I have never had an issue with any of it. I do wish it lasted a bit longer though. My bars are about 4.75oz and last about a month. I use it for shampoo and shaving as well. I've never had any complains either. I was just posting here to see if there's some room for improvement from you experts. But that chart I mentioned I had never seen before. So I think I've got a much stronger understanding of what to change.

I've always been told olive oil is best to have higher than everything else. I use to have it over 60% of the recipe.

Those percentage points come from the ounces used for the oils. I created the recipes based on oil weight, not percentages. That's just what they worked out to. I'd rather have whole number weights than percentages for ease when measuring out ingredients.

Perhaps drop the grapeseed oil, then... Yeah, I do use a lot of oils. I've kinda thought of it as a selling point. I also get a bit of color variation with the grapeseed oil.

Thank you for your advice. :-D

 

[Jamison]

Is it odd that the new recipe I put together calls for appx 7 more ounces of water than my previous? Same amount of oil used. The lye didn't change much either.