Lather booster for a foaming cleanser?

[Kutabaru]

Hi guys,

I made a foaming cleanser with about 50/50 Castile soap and water, and added about 20% almond oil and 5% honey.

I'm looking for an additive that can make the foam a bit more fluffy/dense? It's a rich foam but it kind of "melts" around the edges after you pump it out. Other than that I'm extremely happy with it. I've used sodium lactate in cold process soaps to boost lather, and I know sugar can also boost lather, but I'm just curious if anyone has experience with this?

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

 

[shunt2011]

Adding oil and honey, I hope you're also adding extra preservative as the honey is going to feed growth of stuff in the soap. Are you grating the soap and adding water to it or are you making liquid soap and adding extras? Please clarify what you are doing. May be able to help more.

 

[Kutabaru]

Thank you for the reply! I'm using Optiphen Plus at 1%, and am using a pre-made Castile soap I purchased in store. Should I bump it up to 1.5%? Also, it's not true Castile, but a blend of coconut, olive, palm, argan and kukui I believe.

I'm also using essential oils at about 1.5-2%, probably should have mentioned that originally.

 

[IrishLass]

Was the pre-made soap a bar-type soap, or a liquid-type soap?


IrishLass

 

[Kutabaru]

Ah, sorry, it's a liquid Castile.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

I think you're going to have trouble getting much lather in a soap with 20% added superfat.

 

[Kutabaru]

Right? What's strange is that my first few test batches turned out swimmingly with around 20% superfat, and it's been hard to reproduce. I ordered some sodium lactate, so I'll try that. Will cut the superfat first and see how it goes.

Edit: Now that I think about it, I did a few batches with around 10% superfat and it didn't seem to make much difference. I also tried different Castile soap bases (brands). Some are more thick than others. Argh, the frustration of getting a consistent product!

 

[BattleGnome]

Did you use an emulsifier? With 20%SF I’d worry about separation. Some polysorbate should help with that.

If your water:soap ratio gives you the foam you want then the additives are bringing down the foam.

 

[Kutabaru]

It separates, but I liked the aesthetic and so didn't add an emulsifier. It's a "milk and honey" foaming cleanser, but without milk. The superfat blended with the honey has a beautiful milky look to it and people who use it just shake before use.

 

[Kutabaru]

Hi guys, just an update: I cut the superfat by about 1/3rd and reduced the essential oil % a bit and bam - beautiful, fluffy silky foam that isn't runny.

Thanks for the help!