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kattobrn

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Does anyone have a good recipe for a soap that is low cleansing, super bubbly, and high conditioning? I have the following oils on hand: crisco, palm, evoo, coconut oil, Shea butter, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, castor oil and beeswax.

I am very new to soap making and appreciate any advise. Thank you.
 
hi there! why don't you take a peeky at the pics and recipes here...see what might interest you and then maybe we can help you with any questions...this is one of my most favorite places to look for new ideas and inspiration...recipes for beginners to advanced...a lot of us look here. www.soap-making-essentials.com

you might also look in our tutorials and soap recipes here on the forum, too. http://www.soapmakingforum.com/f24/
 
Just a question. Why do you want one that is low in cleansing? Are you afraid a high cleanser will dry out your skin? I am simply curious.
 
boy, you asked the million $$$ question...everyone here has a "perfect" soap recipe, or is working to perfect one...there are many, many recipes out there that make good soap...the first thing is to make a tried and true (beginner's recipe) a nice soap with simple, readily available ingredients...most of my favorite soaps come right from the walmart grocery isle.

one of the best tool for anyone starting out is to familiarize yourself with www.soapcal.com use the tutorial.

what size mold do you have, or do you know how many ounces of oil you need for a batch?
 
Thank you Heartsong. I have been playing on soapcalc, but I have to admit I am green when it come to exactly what the numbers mean. I have a mold coming that will hold 4-6 lb batches. So far I have only done one soap and 2 shampoo bar batches. I am definitely a hands on learner. So I guess I will just make different recipes...boy that's gonna break my heart :-D When I make a batch, I use soapcalc and print it out, then I can make notes right on the recipe. Thanks again.
 
I have dry sensitive skin too and am working to perfect a gentle soap for my face. cleansing of 15 is too drying for me, so you might aim for something around 10. The higher the conditioning, the more good oil will be left behind, I try to make mine at least 50.
 
Thank you Heartsong. I have been playing on soapcalc, but I have to admit I am green when it come to exactly what the numbers mean. I have a mold coming that will hold 4-6 lb batches. So far I have only done one soap and 2 shampoo bar batches. I am definitely a hands on learner. So I guess I will just make different recipes...boy that's gonna break my heart :-D When I make a batch, I use soapcalc and print it out, then I can make notes right on the recipe. Thanks again.

have you thought of maybe a smaller mold? that way you can tinker around with smaller batches and make adjustments without a lot of expense?

just a thought...here's one that takes 8-9 oz of oils and cuts into nice sized guest bars, perfect for give away, too...had my eye on these, will have to wait until they're back in stock. http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/ProductDetail.aspx?CatalogID=1&GroupID=261&CategoryID=1899&ProductID=8580&ProductName=Crafters+Choice%e2%84%a2+Loaf+-+Guest+Size+-+Clear+Silicone+Mold+1502

btw, if you need help sizing the oils to your mold, we can help you out.

another thing, adding 1-2 tsps. sugar to your water BEFORE adding the lye will help the bubble factor.

a good recipe to begin with is 35% palm, 30% olive, 25% coconut & 10% castor...superfat at 5% and set the water from default to 33%...add 2 oz canned coconut milk (well stirred) per pound of oils at thin trace...makes a nice gentle and bubbly bar with plenty of moisturing...hth!
 
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Heartsong.. I need help with sizing my oils. LOL! Made about 9 soaps now but can't grasp the measuring right. I've watched many videos about measuring your container and such but still it doesn't work.. I've filled with water too but that also doesn't work.

Main thing for me is.. I have a loaf mold I've used for 2 years now with m&p and I use exactly 2.2 lbs to fill it to brim. All the videos and instructions for CP say to put in the oil amount in soapcal for the volume of your mold and disregard the water part. Which I have to do anyways since there isn't an option to really input that part anyways with it coming last.
BUT even at 30 oz of oil this last time I have left over. Every single recipe has had left over for various molds.. sometimes a lot! And now I have funky shaped soaps everywhere from grabbing extra tiny molds and Tupperware. LOL!!!

Also.. heard of sugar.. is that ppo?
 
Its not very hard to size your oils, but I'm used to metric (belgium), maybe you can convert...
My current soap mould is 240mm x 93mm x 75mm. Transfer these to cm: 24x9,3x7,5= 1,674. So my mould can hold 1,674kg of soap. Look at your recipe and add the oils, lye and water (or substitute) up in weight. If you have a number that's higher then what your mould can take, lower the amount of oil and recalculate. If you're to far under get your oils up anddo the same. In my mould I use 1kg of oils with 38% water discount and 8% superfat, just the right amount and still have some space to create a textured top.
I hope any of this makes sense...

About your question for a recipe, in my experience (if I'm wrong, please tell me). Ig you look at soapcalc and create a conditioning recipe, everytime you add fats that make the bubbles go up, the conditioning goes down. You ususally have to chose between creamy or bubbly. There are some other ways to create morre bubbles outside of soapcalc, all things that hold sugars. Sugar itself, honey, goatsmilk, coconut milk,...
If I were you I'd try to get used to soapcalc, it's a great tool and there are many tutorials on how to use it on the internet, look at youtube to! Play around with it, see what happens if you add a certain oil to the mix. This http://www.soapcalc.net/info/Soap Qualities.xls also gives you an idea of what an oil does... If you're not sure about your recipe, you can always put it on the forum and ask for guidance. Hope this helps!
 
Heartsong.. I need help with sizing my oils. LOL! Made about 9 soaps now but can't grasp the measuring right. I've watched many videos about measuring your container and such but still it doesn't work.. I've filled with water too but that also doesn't work.

Main thing for me is.. I have a loaf mold I've used for 2 years now with m&p and I use exactly 2.2 lbs to fill it to brim. All the videos and instructions for CP say to put in the oil amount in soapcal for the volume of your mold and disregard the water part. Which I have to do anyways since there isn't an option to really input that part anyways with it coming last.
BUT even at 30 oz of oil this last time I have left over. Every single recipe has had left over for various molds.. sometimes a lot! And now I have funky shaped soaps everywhere from grabbing extra tiny molds and Tupperware. LOL!!!

Also.. heard of sugar.. is that ppo?

yes, 1-2 tsps. ppo. there is a calculation that will get you close...length x width x height =? then multiply it by .45 and that will be darn close to the ounces of oil you need to soap the mold, using a water discount of 33%.

example: 10" x 3.5" x 2.5" = 87.5 x .45 = 39.375 ozs (round this off to 40) that should get you really close...if it's a bit over or under what you need, then next time add or subtract a few ounces of oils from your calculation until you get a perfect fit.
 
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Going back to your original question, how about a Castile? You have to wait a good 6 months for cure to get a nice, hard, mostly slime free bar but it is really worth it. Add some sugar as suggested to up the bubble factor and you've got a great 0 cleansing, high conditioning bar. I have a 100% buttermilk/olive oil bar with no scents or colors I use on my children. It's cured for a good 6 months and as long as you store it properly and allow it to dry between uses, I've never had the issue with slime and it's surprisingly bubbly, hard and long lasting.
 
Batch sizing for mold capacity

Have you solved your oil sizing yet? Perhaps this comes too late. Your 2.2 pound mold is equal to 35.2 ounces. If you adjust the soap calculator to calculate in ounces ( as opposed to grams or pounds), and then put 24 oz. of oils as your weight (set the water percent at the standard 38%) and hit the "calculate" button. You will then see the number of ounces of water that is used at 38%. In this case, it is 9.1 oz. 9.1 + 24= 33.1oz.
You could get a little closer to the capacity of your mold by increasing the ounces in oils, and decreasing the percent water. (Ex: 26% oils and choosing a 32% water will yield a total of 34.3 ounces.)
 
Does anyone have a good recipe for a soap that is low cleansing, super bubbly, and high conditioning? I have the following oils on hand: crisco, palm, evoo, coconut oil, Shea butter, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, castor oil and beeswax.
By now you'll have read the advice concerning the trade-offs. I have just a little to add.

If you're interested in the kind of individual bubbles you can blow, oleate soap (which you'd get a lot of from olive and almost as much from peanut) does have that property. It's probably not what you mean by "super bubbly" -- you're probably looking for fluffy lather -- but is bubbly in that sense.

Of the oils you've listed, castor is said to be pretty sudsy while reducing the irritation of other soaps, although I haven't tried it, so you might want to use a good deal of that.

Other than that, the best products to combine the criteria you listed are non-soap or partial-soap recipes like Dove/Caress or Lowila.
 
Thanks everyone. I have a friend coming on Monday who wants to learn how to make soap. I'll try the olive oil, coconut, palm and castor oil soap.


KattOBRN
 

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