is this right?

[jayte]

Hi! I finally made my first batch of cp soaps by myself. I did attend a workshop before and all was fine. This time, I tried a supposedly simpler 3 oil recipe (shown in picture) and it turned out softer than I was accustomed to, but I don't have much experience to compare to too. Please tell me if it was just the characteristic of the oil I used?

I used:
olive oil 50%
coconut oil 25%
palm oil 25%

In class, I used:
coconut oil 200gm
palm oil 300gm
olive oil 50gm
castor oil 150gm

and another different recipe that produced similar "hardness" as the one above.

Does a 50% olive oil constitution make it a lot softer? :-|
Any feedback is appreciated, thanks in advance!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

How old is it at the moment? Fully cured? What do you mean by softness? Physically or solubility?

I have to ask, if this is your first batch of CP soap, what are the ones in your etsy shop?

 

[fuzz-juzz]

Soaps with high percentage of olive oil can be soft if they are cut too early. If you measured everything correctly, give it a few days and it should harden up and be fine.

And to answer EG, I had a look at soaps in OPs Etsy shop and they look like MP soaps to me, apart from the one with swirl. I'm not making MP soaps, so I'm not sure if they can be swirled, but OP or anyone who knows more about MP soaps can correct me.

 

[jayte]

Hi efficacious gentleman, nope it is not cured yet, just cut two days ago. But, the ones I cut in the workshop I attended weren't as "soft" on the day of cutting. I don't know how to explain it right.. I used two different molds and with the silicon 6-cube mold, it sticks to the side and is kinda malleable as compared to my first experience.

Yea, the soaps in my etsy are mainly mp soaps now because of strict regulations where i am about sodium hydroxide. I use a plant-based and plant-derivative base though.

Thank you fuzz-juzz, is a 50% olive percentage considered high and when should we usually cut them? I cut them about 2 days after making.

 

[fuzz-juzz]

I don't know, for me it is. I guess anything of 50% might be high IMO. Olive oil makes really soft bar initially but cures very hard. For example, real castille soaps, which are 100% olive oil can only be cut after 3-4 days or more.
What water % have you used? Sometimes more water means softer soap in the beginning. And also if soap hasn't gelled it can be quite soft for a few days.
I gel all my soaps and they can be cut in less than 24h, but I only use 30% of olive oil and rest are all hard oils with a little bit of avocado or castor oil. My water % is 33 or less.

 

[IrishLass]

How much water did you use in the soap you made at home vs the soap you made in the class? I ask because the water amount plays a big part in how soft or hard the soap is when you go to unmold. One of my regular recipes uses 50% olive oil and it's quite hard enough to unmold and cut between 12- 24 hours after pour, depending on how much or how little water I use in my recipe. Less water = harder soap at unmolding time; and more water = softer soap at unmolding time, as Fuzz-Juzz pointed out.

Also, as Fuzz-Juzz pointed out- whether or not your soap goes through the gel stage can affect the softness or hardness at unmolding time as well. Ungelled soap is much softer in comparison to gelled soap- almost like a cream-cheese consistency in comparison- and will need more time to harden up before being ready to unmold. Gelled soap, on the other hand, can be unmolded quicker, and is firmer and easier to handle right out of the mold.

From your description (malleable and sticks to the sides of the mold), it sounds like your soap in the 6-cube mold did not go through the gel-stage, which is pretty typical for those kinds of molds because the soap batter cools off too quickly in them to be able to generate enough heat to either attain or sustain gel, unless of course you force gel by applying heat to the mold (by either sticking it in the oven or setting it on a heating pad).

Not to worry, though- whether gelled or ungelled, or hard or soft at unmolding time, your soap will be fine after a good cure.


IrishLass

 

[jayte]

Thank you fuzz-juzz and IrishLass! I used 280gm and 260gm for the soaps in class and at home used 10.5oz (sorry for using different units, trying to get the most rounded number).

Cool, I read about gelling but didn't really know when it is considered ungelled, thanks for pointing it out to me!

Not to worry, though- whether gelled or ungelled, or hard or soft at unmolding time, your soap will be fine after a good cure. - phew!

Thanks so much for the replies guys, now at least I know where I could have went wrong and can rest assured that it should be fine after a good cure!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

With water, as you can often (I won't say always) round up or down to make a full gram if you want to. The difference between 298 grams of water or 300 grams of water, even at a 2:1 ratio is not going to break the bank. I would do this rather than swap between units, for certain.

 

[AutumnBreezeSoaps]

I just did a recipe with 60% olive oil, 30% coconut and 10% soy oil with 5% SF and mine turned out pretty hard (was able to cut it 15 hrs after pouring it) and now three days later it's very hard feeling. We really love it. I have been sneaking hand washing from my end piece It was also my first batch so I was super pleased with how well it turned out.