Is it possible to make a HARD bar of sensitive soap

[gsc]

I;ve noticed that most recipes I find that are suitable for eczema and sensitive skin with mild cleansing end up being on the "softer" side according to soapcalc. I strive to keep the hardness of my soap at 43 and above. Any advice or recipes?

 

[Lindy]

Soap will always be hard given enough time to cure. The only time you end us with soap that isn't is if you are making liquid or cream soap.

 

[Obsidian]

Try 80% lard, 20% coconut. Its a nice hard bar but very gentle. If you are against animal products, you can use palm instead of lard.

 

[dosco]

Use NaOH and not KOH.

 

[cmzaha]

I like to use lard or beef tallow, palm, 15-18% coconut oil, avocado and castor.

 

[DawninWA]

I made some olive oil bars and they've been very hard since 3 weeks or so. Now they're 4 months and like rocks. It is arid here, though.

 

[Obsidian]

Also keep in mind that the hardness numbers on soapcalc show the initial hardness at unmolding, not hardness after a proper cure.

 

[CaraBou]

Have you been using a water discount? Try using a 2:1 ratio of water to lye with your favorite recipe. It produces a much harder bar right from the start, relative to soapcalc's default of 38% water. It won't be reflected in soapcalc's hardness number, but you should notice the difference. The bars may still be quite soluble in water, so keep them out of direct contact with water as much as possible.

 

[Joseph]

Soap is too dry for skin

I have tried soap using combination of Coconut oil (60%), Palm oil (30%), and castor oil (10%). And total excess of oil about 20%, this soap resulting a hard soap, have a good clean-ability but when i tried for 2 weeks make my skin too dry.
Please give me suggestion what combination to have good soap that doesnt make skin dry and irritate?
do I have to add glycerin? many people said that glycerin are good to increase moisture for skin, another idea is to add olive oil, but this oil is very expensive in my area.

thank you

 

[Susie]

Joseph, the coconut oil is what is so drying.(and the soap needs more cure time) Keep your coconut at or under 20%, increase your palm oil to 75%, and drop your castor oil to 5%. Superfat at 5% at least. That should give you a good non-drying soap.

However, if you don't mind using animal oils, and you have access to them cheaply, try using lard or tallow in place of the palm oil. But, just getting the percentage of coconut oil down and the palm up will help.

 

[Ruthie]

Another vote here for lard. It is so kind to human skin. A local pharmacy sells an unscented 100% lard bar. I'm sure the claims of its maker are untested by FDA standards, but those who have tried it swear by it.

 

[shunt2011]

I too would recommend lard if not opposed to animal fat. You can make a really great hard bar of soap with Olive, CO, Castor (80%, 15%, 5%). With a proper cure will make a nice hard bar. I would us 5-6% Superfat.

 

[DeeAnna]

Joseph and GSC -- are you wanting a physically hard-like-a-rock bar or are you wanting a long-lived bar? They aren't necessarily the same.

A lot of coconut oil makes a hard bar that doesn't last long. The myristic and lauric acids in coconut oil, when turned into soap, are highly soluble in water so the soap "melts away" quickly in the bath.

If you reduce the coconut and add lard/tallow/palm, your recipe will have more palmitic and stearic acids. These acids are much less soluble in water when made into soap. They will make the bar harder AND longer lived.

Here's something I wrote awhile back that may be helpful: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showpost.php?p=383997&postcount=17

 

[sagehill]

Joseph, do you have hard water? Hard water will make your skin feel dry even without soap. Adding salt can make a big difference... sort of like a built-in water softener.

 

[Joseph]

Susie,

Thank you, i will try and will let you know the result

 

[KatieShephard]

Try the Lard!

Joseph...holy smokes...I made a soap a couple of weeks ago that is 45% Lard, 40% Olive oil, 10% coconut oil, 5% castor--superfatted at 5%...and it is amazing! Yes, I know it isn't cured yet, but I get impatient and use my bars anyway I have hard water, and dry skin...which is a huge reason why I started making my own soap. My next experiment is making a similar recipe and adding coconut milk

 

[Susie]

:clap::clap::clap:

 

[KatieShephard]

:clap::clap::clap:

Thank you Susie for recommending the lard. I'm sure others have mentioned it too, but it was your recommendation that I remembered

btw...currently calling it my "grocery store soap"...not too sexy LOL Good thing I'm not selling or I'd be broke!

 

[Susie]

I know what you mean. But I will never be able to return to using store bought soap. Ever. I started making soap due to multiple allergies that every soap I tried made worse. Ended all that when I started making my own soap. Now I am seriously addicted.

I am so glad you tried and loved the lard!

 

[Bubli]

Also keep in mind that the hardness numbers on soapcalc show the initial hardness at unmolding, not hardness after a proper cure.

I did not know that! I thought it was the hardness after cure. That explains why I recently had a recipe that was a 35 hardness on soap calc, be as hard at 6 months old as a 7 month old 100% coconut oil soap.