Looking for a lanolin soap recipe

[MGM]

I've found a number of threads that mention lanolin, but I'm looking for a good recipe for soap using a lot of lanolin.
This one looks promising, but I don't have soybean oil....would RBO or Avocado be a good sub? More olive? Something else?

Or maybe this one, but I don't have canola oil (I swear I have *so many*oils).

Any thoughts?

 

[lsg]

A soap high in lanolin is apt to be very sticky. Here is an example recipe that I got years ago from the Cole Brothers website. It was just on the verge of being sticky. I think any more than 5% lanolin is going to be too much.

24% coconut oil
5% Castor oil
42% olive oil
5% lanolin
24% palm oil

 

[DeeAnna]

You definitely do not need to use someone else's recipes. Pick one of your own recipes that lathers well and has good longevity and just add the lanolin as another fat to that recipe.

If you're wanting to use the soap as a regular bath soap, I suggest limiting the lanolin to no more than about 5% of the total fats. Use whatever lye concentration you like to use. Keep the superfat in the moderate to low range.

In my experience, 4% lanolin will leave a faint but detectable film on skin. It's not a substitute for a good lotion in dry winter weather, but it certainly helps reduce ashy-ness, has a soothing soft skin feel, and adds a slight luster to the skin. This amount of lanolin does not create a sticky skin feel, nor does it leave a lanolin odor on the skin. My soap bar with 4% lanolin stays about as hard as the no-lanolin version. If you want the recipe, I'd be glad to share it but it's not magical or anything. Just my usual recipe with 4% lanolin added.

Are you wanting to make a type of soap for washing wool? To make a soap with even more lanolin, I'd use exactly the same approach with the understanding the lanolin will cut the lather and soften the finished soap bars. And there's some potential, with too much lanolin, that the wool will feel sticky after washing if there's not enough soap to properly emulsify the lanolin waxes and other unsaponifiables.

A tip -- the ladies who write on the MMS website often blog about projects they've done that aren't necessarily guaranteed wonderful. They also don't provide any followup on how the products work in the long run. They sometimes try stuff just to try it. I don't get any sense that their 25% lanolin soap actually did a good job of washing woolens. It also doesn't seem like it would be a nice soap for bathing.

 

[MGM]

Interesting, thanks @lsg @DeeAnna . Yes, now that I read a bit more carefully, it's unclear whether this really is a hand soap or wool soap....she surmises that 2oz of lanolin would be "extremely luxurious" so who knows what double that would be! Apparently, WAY TOO MUCH, is what!

So I suppose you're telling me I shouldn't believe everything I read on the internet?? ;-)

@DeeAnna , if you wouldn't mind sharing your recipe, I'd love to try it. I'm bored with my current recipes...they all seem *fine* but nothing outstanding or anything...

 

[DeeAnna]

Here you go --

Avocado Oil ... 4.8% (if you don't want to use any avocado, add this % to the high oleic oil)
Coconut Oil ... 14.4%
Sunflower high oleic ... 19.2% (use any high oleic oil here -- olive, HO canola, HO safflower, rice bran, etc.)
Lard ... 57.6% (I'm fond of lard, but I realize not everyone is okay with using it.)
Lanolin ... 4.0%

The percentages are weird numbers because I was entering round numbers for grams. I use 2% superfat and 33% lye concentration. I also add 0.5% tetrasodium EDTA as insurance against rancidity and also to reduce soap scum.

 

[MGM]

Thank you! I just used the last of my lard yesterday but that's the easiest one to buy from the grocery store, so once I have that in hand, I'll be ready to go.
Only 2% superfat, hmmm? I'll have to measure my lye carefully....JK I always do! (Kinda....)

 

[earlene]

I have used lanolin in several soaps. The best are low in lanolin, around the same as DeeAnna uses. The one time I used over 10%, the soap was very sticky ans sort of waxy, but more along the lines of sticky. That never cured out. I kept some in hopes it would improve. It didn't.

 

[DeeAnna]

I make pretty much all of my soap with a 2-3% superfat and I also correct for lye purity (97% NaOH). So I'm skating closer to making a lye heavy soap than most people do, but it's never been a problem for me.

I think people worry about it way more than is necessary. There's a little insurance built into most recipe calcs because they assume NaOH is 100% pure when we know it never is. That "hidden" superfat is added to the superfat you enter into the calc, so a recipe with 2% superfat is more like 5% superfat or more, depending on the NaOH you're using.

 

[linne1gi]

Here you go --

Avocado Oil ... 4.8% (if you don't want to use any avocado, add this % to the high oleic oil)
Coconut Oil ... 14.4%
Sunflower high oleic ... 19.2% (use any high oleic oil here -- olive, HO canola, HO safflower, rice bran, etc.)
Lard ... 57.6% (I'm fond of lard, but I realize not everyone is okay with using it.)
Lanolin ... 4.0%

The percentages are weird numbers because I was entering round numbers for grams. I use 2% superfat and 33% lye concentration. I also add 0.5% tetrasodium EDTA as insurance against rancidity and also to reduce soap scum.

DeeAnna, I’v Recently begun adding EDTA at 0.5% also. By recently, about a year now. Have you found that EDTA prevents DOS completely for you? I have read that ROE is better, have you heard this as well?

 

[DeeAnna]

EDTA is a chelator and it immobilizes metal contaminants. Metals, especially copper and iron, accelerate the rate of oxidation of fats and fatty acids (and thus of soap as well.) EDTA will not stop oxidation and rancidity caused by any other path such as UV light degradation, bacterial decomposition, hydrolysis from water, etc.

Rosemary oleoresin (ROE) is an antioxidant that prevents oxidation in general, but it is not necessarily strong enough to stop oxidation that's been triggered by metal contamination.

You would want to use ROE and EDTA together for the most effective results in controlling rancidity in soap. That said, I recently read a scholarly article that said if you had to choose one or the other, you would definitely want to use a chelator over an antioxidant. Their reasoning for this advice was rancidity from metallic contamination is much more troublesome and widespread in soap than rancidity caused by other methods.

I add ROE to my soap-making fats as they arrive in my home, if they're not already protected by chemicals added by the manufacturer. I add EDTA when I make the soap, since EDTA is not soluble in fats.

I have not seen or smelled obvious rancidity in my soaping fats or my soap since I started using ROE and EDTA.

Some people have reported alternatives to EDTA, such as sodium gluconate, that degrade quicker in the natural environment than EDTA does. I'd like to try sodium gluconate and see how it performs in my soap -- if it's reasonably comparable to EDTA as far as controlling rancidity and reducing soap scum, I'd happily make the switch.

 

[linne1gi]

EDTA is a chelator and it immobilizes metal contaminants. Metals, especially copper and iron, accelerate the rate of oxidation of fats and fatty acids (and thus of soap as well.) EDTA will not stop oxidation and rancidity caused by any other path such as UV light degradation, bacterial decomposition, hydrolysis from water, etc.

Rosemary oleoresin (ROE) is an antioxidant that prevents oxidation in general, but it is not necessarily strong enough to stop oxidation that's been triggered by metal contamination.

You would want to use ROE and EDTA together for the most effective results in controlling rancidity in soap. That said, I recently read a scholarly article that said if you had to choose one or the other, you would definitely want to use a chelator over an antioxidant. Their reasoning for this advice was rancidity from metallic contamination is much more troublesome and widespread in soap than rancidity caused by other methods.

I add ROE to my soap-making fats as they arrive in my home, if they're not already protected by chemicals added by the manufacturer. I add EDTA when I make the soap, since EDTA is not soluble in fats.

I have not seen or smelled obvious rancidity in my soaping fats or my soap since I started using ROE and EDTA.

Some people have reported alternatives to EDTA, such as sodium gluconate, that degrade quicker in the natural environment than EDTA does. I'd like to try sodium gluconate and see how it performs in my soap -- if it's reasonably comparable to EDTA as far as controlling rancidity and reducing soap scum, I'd happily make the switch.

I know that Dr Kevin Dunn, author of Scientific Soapmaking advises both EDTA and ROE. How much ROE do you use? I also have not had any DOS since using EDTA and I no longer use any tap water. Only distilled when I use water. But I like the insurance of ROE and maybe I’ll start using that as well. Thanks for your reply.

 

[DeeAnna]

Please see my article on ROE for my recommendations: https://classicbells.com/soap/ROE.asp

 

[cmzaha]

I use BHT with EDTA in lard soaps that are my troublemakers.

 

[linne1gi]

I use BHT with EDTA in lard soaps that are my troublemakers.

What is BHT, where do you purchase it and how much do you use?

 

[RogueRose]

I know this is an old thread, but I thought I would add my thoughts about adding lanolin to a recipe for a "wool washing" soap. I think this is a ridiculous idea and seems it would only be tried by people who have a very poor understanding of chemistry AND don't know how fresh wool is processed. The ENTIRE reason we have lanolin as a product, is because it is ALL removed from the wool when it's processed/cleaned (at least in mass production - I'm sure some small time wool users may not wash it as much, but you will feel it in the texture of the wool).
I would suggest to stay far away from adding this to any laundry soap and I think it is really only useful in things like lip balm, lotions, salves and MAYBE some soaps (but I think I would avoid this - especially if the recipe has castor oil in it already! - or reduce the castor by 50% and add in 50% lanolin). Most people know how terrible soap is with too much castor oil, and I think lanolin behaves very similarly.

 

[DeeAnna]

I'm not sure I agree the idea is entirely ridiculous -- unusual, perhaps, but not ridiculous. I appreciate why it's a good idea to remove most or all of the lanolin from fiber before spinning and weaving/knitting/crocheting the fiber, but there are good reasons for adding lanolin back into some types of finished clothing.

For example, some people "lanolinize" (sp?) wool diaper covers and other wool items to make them more water repellant. The usual way it's done is the lanolin is emuslified with soap and warm water, and the item is soaked in this mixture. I've never done this, but I gather it's less of a cleanser and more of a specialty treatment -- and definitely not something you'd want to do to all woolen items.

 

[Tara_H]

I'm sure some small time wool users may not wash it as much, but you will feel it in the texture of the wool

You seem to be implying that this is a bad thing, but when very fresh fleece can be obtained and the lanolin has not yet hardened, spinning it without removing any of the oil can give a very smooth and even result (not to mention leaving the spinner's hands lovely and soft ). Once it's finished being spun, it must be washed to set the twist anyway, and again for blocking the finished item most likely, so by the time it's worn there will be little or no lanolin remaining.