Making my 3rd batch today. Opinions please.

[Jennfromoz]

I will be making my 3rd batch today, and I would like some professional opinions. My recipe will be:

Castor Oil - 2%
Coconut Oil - 24%
Olive Oil - 42%
Palm Oil - 32%

Is this a good recipe? Always appreciate professional advice.

 

[lenarenee]

Nothing "wrong" with the recipe. But I do suggest having at least 5% castor oil for this recipe. I just don't think 2% will do very much. (castor helps support bubbles). Just a fun fact, your recipe is very close to the "holy trinity" recipe of 33.3% each of coconut, palm and olive.

 

[Zing]

Hey there, and welcome! I use castor oil at 4-6% and my beginning recipes were similar to yours. You'll like it. Adding castor oil was a gamechanger for me. Good luck!

 

[kagey]

I'm not a professional - but I'll bite:

recipe seems fine.
but I'd be concerned about creating a bar of soap that stays very soft for a long time.
IMO, you've got the water/lye ratio way too high (at least for my tastes) - and since you've got so much olive oil... it'd be concerned when unmolding after 24-48 hours.

would suggest less water... maybe a 1.5: 1 ratio or even 1.25 : 1 ratio... unless you were planning on making pretty swirls and you wanted your soap to take forever to trace. (not indicated in recipe)

I'd also check with an EOcalc - to figure out how much of what essential oil you're thinking of using.
The recipe calls for 17 grams - but you might want to adjust that based on which EOs you were considering.

I, personally, never use castor oil. I get plenty of lather, bubbles and creaminess with my other ingredients. So, I think 2% or more is fine. It's such a tiny piece of the puzzle, I don't feel that it's worth fretting over.

good luck on your soaping.

 

[Arimara]

I don't think I've ever used 2% castor oil but I have used 3% at the least. I think you might be fine but I suggest making 3 small batches of the same recipe with 0%, 3%, and 5% castor oil.

 

[Jennfromoz]

I'm not a professional - but I'll bite:

recipe seems fine.
but I'd be concerned about creating a bar of soap that stays very soft for a long time.
IMO, you've got the water/lye ratio way too high (at least for my tastes) - and since you've got so much olive oil... it'd be concerned when unmolding after 24-48 hours.

would suggest less water... maybe a 1.5: 1 ratio or even 1.25 : 1 ratio... unless you were planning on making pretty swirls and you wanted your soap to take forever to trace. (not indicated in recipe)

I'd also check with an EOcalc - to figure out how much of what essential oil you're thinking of using.
The recipe calls for 17 grams - but you might want to adjust that based on which EOs you were considering.

I, personally, never use castor oil. I get plenty of lather, bubbles and creaminess with my other ingredients. So, I think 2% or more is fine. It's such a tiny piece of the puzzle, I don't feel that it's worth fretting over.

good luck on your soaping.

I have so much to learn. With the water, I just did what the calculator told me. I heard that 33% lye concentration is good. I also wanted it to trace slowly as my first batch seized.
I think it will take a while to harden. I made it about 5 hours ago and it's still soft. Maybe I should wait 3 days before unmolding it.

Another question, if I put the castor oil up to 5%, from which oil/oils do you think I should deduct from?

 

[dibbles]

The problem with posting a recipe and asking for advice is that you are going to get it I use 33% lye concentration most of the time and it is fine. Your soap will be fine. I always gel my soaps and am able to unmold the next day.

I'd agree with the advice to increase the castor to 5%, but you don't have to do that. If you do want to do that, a lot of people would advise to take it from the coconut since they don't like using it over 20%, but coconut at 24% would be fine for me and many others. I'd probably take it from the olive oil - or take 1% from each of the other 3.

 

[Megan]

I agree with @dibbles

Also, don't worry about the olive oil. 42% is not that high. If you use 33% water and gel you should be able to unmold next day.
I would lower CO if it were for my super sensitive skin, but it's not necessary for most people.

 

[kagey]

I think it will take a while to harden. I made it about 5 hours ago and it's still soft. Maybe I should wait 3 days before unmolding it.

I typically don't use that much olive oil - but others who seem to do, seem to think your water/lye ratio is fine. Fortunately, you doing exactly what you should be doing -- go for it and take notes. That's how we all learn and how we all get better.

I may be wrong - and you may be able to unmold sooner. To tell you the truth - that really isn't any big deal as you'll want it to cure for 4-8 weeks anyway before using it.

Let us know how things go & show photos!
I hope it turns out like you wanted it to.

 

[Jennfromoz]

This is the result. It turned out OK. I found that the batter got thick quickly again but didn't seize.

 

[kagey]

@Jennfromoz nice job on your soap!

Looks like you added some color to it -- maybe even split it in a couple of batches to do a hanger swirl?
did you use activated charcoal? or a very dark mica?

Your batter thickening might be due to the FO or EOs you added. Did you add some of that?