Lost without lard

[lenarenee]

I don't sell yet, so often have lots of old lard bars sitting on the shelves. I don't have a high rate of dos, but it happens and when/if I do sell, I want recipes that have a longer shelf life - because you never know what a customer is going to do with the soap.

I made this recipe: 17% co, 5 castor, 20 palm, 20 lard, 23 ho safflower, 8 avocado, 7 shea. SF 4%

They are 4 weeks old and have 2 problems: drying, lather

I hope more curing will fix the drying issue. ( I used my lard soaps at 3 weeks)

Lard soap (60% or more lard) makes a thick creamy lather that is voluminous - aka takes up space.
The lather from this new recipe is not bad - but it sure lacks volume. Initially it makes large bubbles that quickly drip from your hands. As you scrub your hands together it results in the secondary or creamy lather...which is pretty thin.

Other than doubling the lard - any other ideas how to fix this?

 

[dibbles]

How about no palm and 40% lard? That's where I tend to keep it.

 

[lenarenee]

How about no palm and 40% lard? That's where I tend to keep it.

How long do your soaps last?

 

[dibbles]

How long do your soaps last?

They last at least a year. I make small batches, so they are generally given away or used before they are much older than that. I rarely get DOS, but it has happened. I recently visited a friend who has left the same bar in her guest bathroom for over 3 years, and it was getting funky - I told her to replace it. She leaves it in a soap dish without good drainage, and obviously doesn't get a lot of use. The bars or small pieces I do have that are 2 or 3 years - and a couple older - are all fine. They haven't been used.

 

[lsg]

How about using 8% Castor oil in your recipe and a little sugar.

 

[DeeAnna]

...She leaves it in a soap dish without good drainage, and obviously doesn't get a lot of use. The bars or small pieces I do have that are 2 or 3 years - and a couple older - are all fine. They haven't been used.

That's the problem with your friend's soap -- it gets used only occasionally, so contaminants from skin and tap water don't get washed off the surface of the soap often enough. The presence of these contaminants trigger oxidation and eventually rancidity. The best thing you can do with soap is to either not use it or to use it often. The "use it once in a blue moon" situation is tough on soap.

The 2012 Lather Lover's soap swap found the same thing -- soap that had been used and then left dry for a year had a higher incidence of rancidity than the unused test samples.

2012 initial results: https://www.flickr.com/photos/amathiasoapworks/albums/72157629324839760/with/6878518116/

2013 followup: https://www.modernsoapmaking.com/updated-lather-lovers-additive-testing/ Here's one comment from this followup as an example: "...Multiple other testers’ used samples developed DOS. Mine does not show any signs of DOS, however, it doesn’t smell “right.” Interestingly enough, Shannon had a spare unused sample and it did not show any signs of DOS in comparison...."

I've also seen this happen to soap bars at my shop sink that don't get used often.

 

[shunt2011]

I too only use 40% lard. I’ve only had DOS a couple times when using more. They last at least a year but much longer in most cases. I do tend to use a higher amount of CO (20%) but not drying at all on my old skin. Palm to me is more drying than lard.

 

[dibbles]

That's the problem with your friend's soap -- it gets used only occasionally, so contaminants from skin and tap water don't get washed off the surface of the soap often enough. The presence of these contaminants trigger oxidation and eventually rancidity. The best thing you can do with soap is to either not use it or to use it often. The "use it once in a blue moon" situation is tough on soap.

That's essentially what I told her - keep it in the guest bathroom for awhile and then move it to the shower and use it. I give her plenty of soap!