My first soap recipe

[Ethereal]

Hello guys. I am just starting out with soap-making and I would like you to help me create my first recipe. I have checked out local stores and apart from olive oil which is abundant in my country, I can find relatively cheap coconut oil and castor oil. There is also avocado and hemp oil available but at a higher price. Could you please suggest me a recipe using the oils above - preferably the first three - that would make a decent bar of soap. Thank you in advance

 

[Noreen Moore]

Hi! My recipe also has a very cheap shortening in it. The type with tallows and palm oils.
175gm shortening. 150 gm olive oil. 75 gm coconut oil (72 deg) 75 gm Castor oil. 25 gm shea butter.
185 gm distilled water and 68 gm of Lye. Plus 28 gm of lavender oil. I am really pleased how this one came out.
Curing now.

 

[shunt2011]

Hello and welcome! Be sure to go to the introduction section and tell is a little about yourself. You can make soap with Olive, coconut, castor. It will however take a good long cure. Do you have access to lard, tallow or Palm? Any of these will male it a much better soap.

With just the three listed I would do 75% Olive, 20% coconut, 5 castor. But as stated it will take a really long cure to be at its best. I’m one who doesn’t like high OO soap. Also, if you have sensitive skin you can up the OO and drop the coconut to 15%.

you could also add some avocado in place of the OO. I don’t use more than 15% avocado.

 

[lsg]

Are you adverse to the use of tallow or lard? Adding one of those to your three available oils would make a good soap. Is Crisco shortening or its equivalent available in stores in your country? You can use hydrogenated shortening in combination with the first three ingredients you listed.

 

[Ethereal]

Thank you for the replies guys, I see a lot of you believe that the adittion of lard, tallow or palm oil would help shorten the curing process. After a bit of research I have found a cosmetic store near my area that sells palm oil at a more than reasonable price. I am looking forward to making my first bar of soap.

 

[Dawni]

I have no experience with palm or tallow but I agree that lard in soap is awesome lol

It's actually the lowering of the amount of olive oil that will shorten your cure time, not because the other oils cure faster, but because the nature of olive oil is - it needs a longer than usual cure if used above 30%.

At least in my experience that is the case...

Higher than 25-30% olive oil for me is drying with a minimal cure and only gets better after like 6mos. I have a bastille similar to shunt's recipe that I still don't like and it's around 7mos old.

Also, I noticed that a high olive oil soap that isn't cured for longer tends to get mushier in the shower compared to when it's left to do its thing.

Of course it could be different for you

 

[SoapySuds]

Olive oil - 72%
Castor oil - 8%
Coconut oil - 20%

Run it through a lye calculator give yourself about 5% superfat

For the next six months make batches no bigger than 500grams each month, preferably about 250g to start.

Your soap will start to be good soap around the 3 month mark.

You will have a lot of soap by six months, you’ll know how much you’re going to use, and you’ll know how it changes over time, and how to adjust the recipe.

More coconut = drying and super cleansing bar

More olive oil = moisturizing and nourishing for your skin

Don’t go over 10% castor oil, it makes a nasty bar if too much is used.