mildness number

[Debbie K]

Hi there. Newbie here with a stupid question. I'm playing around with the lye calculator trying to come up with a recipe for some kids soap I want to make. I want it to be bubbly, cleansing and mild. I can figure out the lather, bubbling, hardness conditioning and such, but is the iodine what I need to look at for the mildness? I know castille soap made with olive oil is a really mild soap but I want it to be a little harder, clean and bubble. These are the numbers I got on the calculator...

Soap Bar Quality Range Your Recipe
Hardness 29 - 54 35
Cleansing 12 - 22 17
Conditioning 44 - 69 60
Bubbly 14 - 46 21
Creamy 16 - 48 23
Iodine 41 - 70 70
INS 136 - 165 147
Lauric 12
Myristic 5
Palmitic 12
Stearic 7
Ricinoleic 5
Oleic 29
Linoleic 26
Linolenic 0

Thank you for any insight you can provide.

 

[DeeAnna]

Your question isn't stupid, but I have to say it's hard to critique a recipe using only the fatty acid profile. Why don't you also post your actual recipe so people can be fully informed?

For example, I know you're using a polyunsaturated fat like grapeseed or hemp to get that much linoleic acid, but it would be nice to know which one. And the perception of "mildness" varies. A lot. For example, you talk about castile as a mild soap, but not every one feels that way -- some find a 100% olive oil soap to be drying.

More about INS and iodine number: https://classicbells.com/soap/iodineINS.html

 

[Debbie K]

 

[Dawni]

I'm a newbie but from what I've learned here is that the higher the cleansing number there is a greater tendency for the soap to be drying.. So I figure if you're making kid's soap you maybe want a lower number. As explained here, even a soap with 0 cleansing will clean.

That probably means less coconut oil, and maybe use something else to boost bubbles, like sugar?