How to make my soap harder & last longer

[bither78]

Hello, I could use some help on how to make my soap bars more solid. I do the Hot & Cold process. The products I am currently using to make soap are as follows: Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, Avocado Oil, Castor Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Water, Fragrance, Color. If you have any input on what I can put into my soap to make it last longer, and to make it more solid, I would like to hear it. Hope to hear from you

 

[frogsong]

Hi. I am a newbie myself, but I have read that adding either salt to your recipe will make it stronger.
Here is a link that might help:

http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/tipst ... qtsalt.htm

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

How long are you letting your bars cure? And what is your ratios with the oils you're using now? High Olive content will be a softer bar in the beginning, but cure out to be a harder bar after about 6 months. Castor is great, but high percentages can make your bar sticky and softer. Avocado produces a softer bar. Coconut is good for a long lasting bar.
Adding Palm, Tallow, Cocoa or Shea Butter, or Stearic Acid to your recipe would help. Also, some folks add 1 tsp ppo of salt or Sodium Lactate to their lye solution to help with hardness.

 

[bither78]

Frogsong: I do add 3% Sodium Lactate to the lye. I appreciate your link.

Alchemy&Ashes: I let my bars cure for 4 To 6 weeks. My oil % is as follows:

Avocado Oil: 22.22%

Castor Oil: 5%

Coconut Oil: 29.17%

Olive Oil: 43.16

 

[Maythorn]

Your recipe is over 70% liquid oils. What about using some palm, lard, or tallow in the mix?

 

[DragonQueenHHP]

ummm that does not add up to 100% :? are you meaning ounces ?
I rounded the numbers in %
and this is what I got with a 5% superfat

Hardness 29 - 54 35
Cleansing 12 - 22 19
Conditioning 44 - 69 60
Bubbly 14 - 46 24
Creamy 16 - 48 20
Iodine 41 - 70 63
INS 136 - 165 147

 

[DragonQueenHHP]

if I do it as oz I come up with almost same numbers so my best guess is the high % of OO is making it take longer to cure

 

[Margo]

Making Soaps Harder

I would totally eliminate the avocado oil which makes not only a softer soap, but discolors the soap over time.
You may want to try adding a tablespoon of beeswax pastilles per lb. of soap

Happy soaping!

Margo
www.miraculousbeads.com

 

[green soap]

Salt and bees wax will make your soap harder and longer lasting, however they can reduce lather, and everybody seems to likes lather.

I add a small percentage of either shea or cocoa butter to make soaps harder and longer lasting, as well as creamier (per soapcalc).

Coconut oil will make a bar of extremely hard soap but because of the smaller length of the lauric acid molecules (12 carbons compared to 18 carbons in stearic acid) coconut oil soap - AKA sodium cocoate - does dissolve rather fast, so it makes hard soap bars but they are not long lasting.

 

[cmzaha]

I would totally eliminate the avocado oil which makes not only a softer soap, but discolors the soap over time.
You may want to try adding a tablespoon of beeswax pastilles per lb. of soap

Happy soaping!

Margo
www.miraculousbeads.com

I have never had avocado discolor and it makes fantastic soap. Would definetly leave it in and add in some palm, tallow or lard. Beeswax is a lather killer and need to be a very low percentage 5% or less and will cause overheating.

 

[Lion Of Judah]

I have never had avocado discolor and it makes fantastic soap. Would definetly leave it in and add in some palm, tallow or lard. Beeswax is a lather killer and need to be a very low percentage 5% or less and will cause overheating.

I concur !

 

[Lion Of Judah]

the life of a bar of handmade soap is predicated on a few other factors as well . how you use it is a factor as well , if you are using it straight to your skin without cloth or fluffy scrub then it will wear away much faster , and the number of people to a bar of soap dictates the life of that bar as well . a bar of soap lasts me a month or better with personal use and using a washcloth . i do not use SL in my soap nor beeswax. i use CB, or SB few other hard oils .

 

[shunt2011]

Don't know if anyone noticed but this original post was from 2012.....however I use avocado and love it but not discoloration either.