INS calc question

[mysoapopera]

Hi all sorry I haven't bee around lately.. but Im back with more questions!! ( a little one was sick, but all better now)I have a recipe for a olive oil and Im trying to sub. half out with soybean oil and soapcalc tells me the qualities of the oils are very close. but when I divide the oo in half the INS level drops below a good level (128). all oo gives me 145. all of the other levels read the same?? (except of course the iodine). oils im using:
castor 6%
coconut 20%
pkf 8%
oo 33%
soy 33%
I have tried different combos of these oils?? maybe I need to add a different oil?? any suggestions/advice??

 

[Rubi]

Soybean oil is very different from olive oil. It has a much shorter shelf life and can make a softer soap if used in large quantities. I would stick with the olive oil when you're percentage of soft oils is so high. Otherwise, cut back on your percentage of soft oils and add some palm oil or other hard fat. hth

 

[IrishLass]

What Rubi said.

If you look below the 'Soap Quality' chart on SoapCalc, you'll see the "Fatty Acids" chart. That there 'Fatty Acids' chart is actually a much more reliable source of info than the 'Soap Quality' chart. It breaks the soap down to its fatty acid profile, and if you compare the olive oil with the soy oil at the fatty acid level, they are not very close at all.......Soy oil is very high in linoleic acid and low in oleic acid, while olive oil is very low in linoleic acid and very high in oleci acid. Lots of linoleic in your recipe contributes to softer soaps with shorter shelf lives. On the other hand, oleic acid is a much more stable acid and actually contributes to the hardness of soap over time instead of reducing it. HTH!


IrishLass

 

[mysoapopera]

wow, thanks!! still learning. thanks for the good info. I did make the soap late last night. today I will use all olive oil. I had made a high % of olive oil before and it seemed soft. maybe I just did not give it enough time to dry. thanks kathleen

 

[mysoapopera]

I keep hearing about shelf life and of course I do not want to use any oils that are not long lasting. just how and what factors determine the shelf life of the soap?

 

[MikeInPdx]

I keep hearing about shelf life and of course I do not want to use any oils that are not long lasting. just how and what factors determine the shelf life of the soap?

Here's a good article on oils and properties....it's on David Fisher's site, and he knows his stuff

http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/soapm ... ngoils.htm

 

[mysoapopera]

Thanks for the tip thats good info, Im at work and just had to peek!! Ill read it better when im not on the clock kathleen

 

[IrishLass]

I keep hearing about shelf life and of course I do not want to use any oils that are not long lasting. just how and what factors determine the shelf life of the soap?

Here is a link to an excellent explanation about fatty acids and exactly what factors determine their shelf life. I've not found a better or more understandable explanation than this in all the places I've looked so far:

http://www.soapdishforum.com/forum/inde ... mmies&st=0


HTH!
IrishLass

 

[mysoapopera]

thanks Irish, that was good. I m trying to learn as much as I can about the make up of the oils. my goal is to make a good hard bar of soap that is good for your skin. there are so many factors that go into the oils....ive been out of school for a looooong time kathleen btw do you sell your soaps?

 

[MikeInPdx]

ITA....thank you....I had totally forgotten about that thread!

 

[wildcat]

The INS number or Iodine and Saponification Value has been discussed most recently in Dr.McDaniels Essentially Soap book (check out the library). It is an artificial calculated term that relates an oil to the properties of soap made from that oil. INS relates to both the degree of unsaturation and the size (molecular weight) of the oil. Dr. McDaniels calculated the INS for several single oils - thus where this comes from.

In my research I have found that iodine levels really have nothing to do with a soaps properties and can vary widely.

Dr. McDaniels in his book has several recipes and very few fit in his magical number. I personally think it means absoulutely nothing at all and ignore it entirely.

HTH

 

[mysoapopera]

widcat...you are to funny. it does seem like there is alot of info out there and i am always striving for the "perfect" combo of oils...I have thrown away "perfect" bars because i am just not happy with the feel or softness. it is hard to come up the the magic number. I have used a recipe of coconut/olive/lard/castor and funny enough it is quite a nice bar? ( or atleast I think so, Im new at this) I keep wanting to change out the lard and the final product is just not what i looking for. so I keep searching!!!

 

[IrishLass]

I have used a recipe of coconut/olive/lard/castor and funny enough it is quite a nice bar? ( or atleast I think so, Im new at this) I keep wanting to change out the lard and the final product is just not what i looking for. so I keep searching!!!

I make a great soap with very similar ingredients. It makes such a nice soap that I consider it an important 'keeper' recipe. It's made with Olive, PKO, Lard and Castor, and I like it so much that I've decided to use it as the 'main' base recipe out of the my 6 'keeper' recipes that I make on a regular basis.


IrishLass

P.S. Like Wildcat, I don't pay much attention to the INS/Iodine numbers either.