how much clay to add

[younglivingmargo]

Hi all

I'm making a cold process soap and I'm wanting to add some Australian White Clay to the mix but cant find any information on how much to add.
Could someone please help with quantities/measurements.
Truly thankful for any advice or help

Cheers,
Margo

 

[Kersten]

There are no hard and fast rules, but generally the usage rate for finer clays is between 1/2 - 2 teaspoons ppo, and for rougher clays stay on the lighter end, so closer to 1/2 tsp ppo.

 

[Sanguine]

Hii!
I always use clays in my soap, just love the feel of it! Usually its kaolin or bentonite at a usage rate of 20grams per 1kg of oils. Roughly converted, that's 0,7oz of clay per 2lbs of oils. Thats the amount that I like but it's not set in stone how much you have to use. Play with it a bit make a few batches of the same recipe but with different amounts of clay.
Hope this helps!

 

[navash]

hi
sorry for going off track a bit but i am new to soap making, and have just made a few very basic batches, just to get the feel of the process. now i would like to experiment further and making a soap with clay sounds interesting. but what i can't understand is, when should the clay be mixed? at trace? or before that?

thanks

 

[kazmi]

I've used clay a couple of times and have added it both with the oils and at trace. The soaps came out good either way. If you add it at trace just make sure it is thoroughly mixed in so you don't have clumps.

 

[theath2010]

I always use white clay and colloidal oatmeal in my soaps and add it to the oils before the lye. I will stick blend the oils to ensure there are no clumps then continue as normal with my lye solution, etc.

 

[Relle]

If adding your clay at trace, just mix with a little oil first to a slurry, then that will prevent any clumping.

 

[navash]

thanks everyone!