Kaolin Clay with Lard? Sorbitol... liquid or powder?

[srez]

Hi All,

I have been reading countless threads about lard and went out a bought a little 1lb tub of it while my other soaps cure.

In the threads I've seen different recommended ratios... 50% to 80%.

However, I don't recall seeing anything about koalin clay being used. Would a lard soap benefit from it? Would it help in scent retention?

On another note... I've read the toss up between sugar vs sorbitol. For the sorbitol, is powdered or liquid preferred or does it not matter?

Thanks as usual,

Steve

 

[LynetteO]

I’m not the expert round here but adding kaolin is a preference and yes can be used in a lard recipe.

As far as sugars, I use aloe juice @ 100% liquid replacement whenever I want to add sugar, so really cannot say one way or the other based on my experience. However, have read enough that if I used, I’d go with the liquid sorbitol.

 

[AliOop]

I use a lot of lard or lard-tallow blend in my soaps, typically at least 50% lard. I love an 80% lard soap as well, and tend to use low coconut. That is why I add started adding sorbitol since I wanted more bubbles.

I use the powdered sorbitol because it is very inexpensive. Because I master-batch my lye solution, I dissolve the powdered sorbitol (and sodium citrate as my chelator) in my additional liquid.

I’m not a big kaolin clay user, but when I do, I hydrate it in my FO or EO. Can’t say whether it really helps with scent retention, but it can’t hurt, right?

 

[dibbles]

You can certainly add kaolin to a lard recipe. It will give the same qualities in lard as it will in any other soap. Some people feel that it helps with scent retention, but I remain skeptical about that. I typically use lard at 35-45%.

Powdered sorbitol is very easy to dissolve in a small amount of the batch liquid. I stick blend it into my oils before adding the lye solution.

 

[srez]

Thank you @LynetteO @AliOop @dibbles for your responses! Time to play! For the sorbitol.... I would use 1 tsp ppo? Is that correct?

Thanks again,

Steve

 

[AliOop]

I always measure mine by weight of oils and do 1% of that. So if my oils are 1000 g (just over 2lb), that would be 10g sorbitol.

If I had to guess as to volume, it's about 1T of sorbitol for a 2lb batch, which would be 1.5 tsp PPO. But you can start with 1 tsp PPO and see what you think.

 

[dibbles]

I do the same as @AliOop

 

[srez]

Perfect! Thank you!

 

[Paulie]

I add Kaolin Clay to all my soaps, even my lard bars. I love the feel of it on my skin, so nice and soft. At least I think it's the clay LOL. Could just be the soap. I heard year and years ago that it gives slip for shaving, so there's that too. I have no idea if it holds the scent. I add it to my lye water, along with my Sodium Gluconate (Chelator).

 

[srez]

Thanks @Paulie I'm going to use it. Can't hurt... Right?

 

[Paulie]

Thanks @Paulie I'm going to use it. Can't hurt... Right?

Let us know how it goes.

 

[srez]

Let us know how it goes.

Will do!

 

[Nicolesica]

I use a lot of lard or lard-tallow blend in my soaps, typically at least 50% lard. I love an 80% lard soap as well, and tend to use low coconut. That is why I add started adding sorbitol since I wanted more bubbles.

I use the powdered sorbitol because it is very inexpensive. Because I master-batch my lye solution, I dissolve the powdered sorbitol (and sodium citrate as my chelator) in my additional liquid.

I’m not a big kaolin clay user, but when I do, I hydrate it in my FO or EO. Can’t say whether it really helps with scent retention, but it can’t hurt, right?

Just out of curiosity @AliOop , why do you use a chelator? I’ve seen the term many times but never thought to ask

 

[AliOop]

@Nicolesica Depending on the water source, the soap user’s water may have more or less metals in it. Those metals combine with the soap to create soap scum, inhibit lather, and encourage DOS.

A chelator will bind to those metals, giving you better lather, less soap scum, and less risk of DOS. I previously used citric acid, but that requires an extra calculation for the lye it eats up to make the actual chelator, sodium citrate. Now I just use sodium citrate, which needs no lye adjustment.

However, when I use up my current stash of SC, I’ll probably switch to sodium gluconate or the newer one, the name of which I can’t recall atm. The SC seems to react poorly in my pine tar soap and may also be a contributor to a slight crystallized layer that forms on top of my older soaps. It’s harmless and washes off with a few uses, but I’d like to find a chelator that doesn’t do this.

 

[Nicolesica]

@Nicolesica Depending on the water source, the soap user’s water may have more or less metals in it. Those metals combine with the soap to create soap scum, inhibit lather, and encourage DOS.

A chelator will bind to those metals, giving you better lather, less soap scum, and less risk of DOS. I previously used citric acid, but that requires an extra calculation for the lye it eats up to make the actual chelator, sodium citrate. Now I just use sodium citrate, which needs no lye adjustment.

However, when I use up my current stash of SC, I’ll probably switch to sodium gluconate or the newer one, the name of which I can’t recall atm. The SC seems to react poorly in my pine tar soap and may also be a contributor to a slight crystallized layer that forms on top of my older soaps. It’s harmless and washes off with a few uses, but I’d like to find a chelator that doesn’t do this.

Oh I see. Thank you for that clarification!

 

[srez]

@AliOop I was going to ask about a chelator as well. Is that more for folks that have hard water? Where I live, and surrounding cities and towns, we have soft water. Per my water department "super soft water". Or would soap scum still occur with soft water?

 

[AliOop]

I didn’t get much scum when we had soft water. However, I gave my soaps to friends and family members who did. That’s why I started using it.

 

[srez]

@AliOop gotcha. Do you add via % of PPO as well?

ETA: Do you notice a difference in the soap itself with or without?

 

[AliOop]

Yes, I add at 1% of total oils. It definitely reduces scum and increases lather. I haven't had big issues with DOS so can't really speak to that.

 

[cmzaha]

I have used Sorbitrol for several years, always using powdered, because the liquid was more expensive, and use it at the rate of 1.1% of my total batch weight. So for my batches, I used 31g of sorbitol in my approx 2678g total weight batches which were a total of 1672g oils. I personally never found clay helped hold fragrance.