New soap maker - Viggie Vegan soap for sensitive soap

[sal]

Hello all,

New to soap making (started soaping in June this year). I have been experimenting a lot with my house filled with lots and lots of soaps. My family are not forced to use them all up (no waste) .

Currently coming up with a formula for sensitive skin and this is the recipe I think I am settling on. I am after a nice dense creamy yet bubbly soap. We are vegan so no animal fats and trying to stay clear off palm oil.

What do you think of this formula? Although it trace quick, I have mastered keeping it under control. Any suggestions or help?

ALSO ANYONE IN THE UK KNOW WHERE I CAN PURCHASE SODIUM GLUCONATE PLEASE??

Recipe:

OO - 25%
RBO - 25%
CO - 20%
Shea butter - 12%
Coco butter - 11.5%
castor oil - 6.5%

thank you all in advance for sharing your experiences.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Looks pretty good - similar to what I make. After I while I switched out the cocoa butter and now use soy wax instead - it is much cheaper. I think the brand you can get over there is eurosoy. I also make palm-free, vegan soap.

Just check you're not stick blending too much if it is coming to trace quickly.

Have fun!

 

[SeaSuds]

Hello Sal Are you wanting to use sodium gluconate as a chelator? I don't think it is easily available in the UK but if you take a look here: Citric acid, Citrus juice | Soapy Stuff you can try citric acid

 

[sal]

Looks pretty good - similar to what I make. After I while I switched out the cocoa butter and now use soy wax instead - it is much cheaper. I think the brand you can get over there is eurosoy. I also make palm-free, vegan soap.

Just check you're not stick blending too much if it is coming to trace quickly.

Have fun!

Thank you for your reply . I does trace fairly quickly. I wonder how the soy wax will lather if any lather at all?? At what percentage will that be used ?

Hello Sal Are you wanting to use sodium gluconate as a chelator? I don't think it is easily available in the UK but if you take a look here: Citric acid, Citrus juice | Soapy Stuff you can try citric acid

Hi, thank you for your reply. Yes is for chelating purposes. I have really bad hard water (use de-ionized water) as distilled water is pretty expensive here in the UK.
Thank you for the link, I shall try sodium citrate then

 

[SeaSuds]

If you use soap making friend as your soap calculator it works out the extra lye you need if using citric acid to save you any brain drain.

 

[GemstonePony]

How sensitive is the sensitive skin? 19% CO with a 5% SF is as much as I'll use for kitchen/bathroom hand soap, and 15% CO for bath soap. For face soap I'll drop the CO or raise the SF even further.
I care less about attaining a particular lather type than avoiding dry skin and breakouts, though. I always add sugar of some sort, and my soaps end up pretty bubbly, but if your priority is the lather, then it looks fine.
Also, this recipe is 50% slow-tracing, high-Oleic oils. It's good that you can control the trace on it, but I would consider this recipe very slow-moving. Most of my recipes that give me dense, foamy lather soaps relatively quickly are at least 33%+ butters, with at most 35% high-Oleic oils.
I specify that the recipes give this type of soap relatively quickly because over time most soaps should give more dense, mild lather. If you don't want to use soy wax or up the butters by a lot or decrease your CO, you may get the lather you want by making your current recipe and waiting a year or two.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Thank you for your reply . I does trace fairly quickly. I wonder how the soy wax will lather if any lather at all?? At what percentage will that be used ?

My soap is a similar recipe to yours and I use soy wax at 20%. It lathers very well. It has a dense, creamy lather rather than big bubbles.

 

[sal]

If you use soap making friend as your soap calculator it works out the extra lye you need if using citric acid to save you any brain drain.

Oh that's great thank you. The maths definitely made my brain spin for a while lol. Thank you SeaSuds

My soap is a similar recipe to yours and I use soy wax at 20%. It lathers very well. It has a dense, creamy lather rather than big bubbles.

Thank you - I might give it a go. What is your hardness normal are at ?

How sensitive is the sensitive skin? 19% CO with a 5% SF is as much as I'll use for kitchen/bathroom hand soap, and 15% CO for bath soap. For face soap I'll drop the CO or raise the SF even further.
I care less about attaining a particular lather type than avoiding dry skin and breakouts, though. I always add sugar of some sort, and my soaps end up pretty bubbly, but if your priority is the lather, then it looks fine.
Also, this recipe is 50% slow-tracing, high-Oleic oils. It's good that you can control the trace on it, but I would consider this recipe very slow-moving. Most of my recipes that give me dense, foamy lather soaps relatively quickly are at least 33%+ butters, with at most 35% high-Oleic oils.
I specify that the recipes give this type of soap relatively quickly because over time most soaps should give more dense, mild lather. If you don't want to use soy wax or up the butters by a lot or decrease your CO, you may get the lather you want by making your current recipe and waiting a year or two.

Thank you got your input there. Are you suggesting I drop the the CO and up the butter to up to 30%?

 

[Marsi]

sugar makes soap bubblier
golden syrup can substitute for honey in vegan oatmeal soap
starches make soap feel milder

a few soapers here use 20% CO for their personal soaps without any issue
CO can be drying for some (possibly most) skins
lowering the CO can help make your soap less irritating for people with sensitive skin

the soy wax KiwiMoose is referring to isn't a wax at all
it is soy oil has been modified to make it harder like butter, in a process similar to margarine making
the Eurosoy brand KiwiMoose mentioned is soy "wax" made in Europe from certified GMO free beans

Company: International Trading Company for Food Ingredients | Eurosoy
Distributor (one example, located in UK): Soy Wax | Poth Hille

 

[sal]

sugar makes soap bubblier
golden syrup can substitute for honey in vegan oatmeal soap
starches make soap feel milder

a few soapers here use 20% CO for their personal soaps without any issue
CO can be drying for some (possibly most) skins
lowering the CO can help make your soap less irritating for people with sensitive skin

the soy wax KiwiMoose is referring to isn't a wax at all
it is soy oil has been modified to make it harder like butter, in a process similar to margarine making
the Eurosoy brand KiwiMoose mentioned is soy "wax" made in Europe from certified GMO free beans

Company: International Trading Company for Food Ingredients | Eurosoy
Distributor (one example, located in UK): Soy Wax | Poth Hille

Thank you for your reply Marsi. Sorry I think I am getting confuse - is it the soy wax I should be using or soy oil ?
Also what will be the usage for the golden syrup and at what stage do you usually add it at ? Thanking you in advance

 

[GemstonePony]

Thank you got your input there. Are you suggesting I drop the the CO and up the butter to up to 30%?

Soy wax contains over 2 times as much Stearic fatty acids as Shea butter, so 20% soy wax would be roughly equivalent to 40% butters. If you're not using soy wax, then I would absolutely up the butters. But if you are using soy wax, you'll want to either lower or drop the butters, or use less than the full 20% soy wax. The Stearic and Palmitic fatty acids in butters and soy wax contribute to stable, foamy lather and longevity, but if they're too high the bar will be so insoluble it won't give much lather. If your Palmitic/Stearic% totals fall in the 30-40% range, I would drop the CO to 15% with 2-3% SF, lower the avocado to 15% tops, but up the Castor to 8%. If your Stearic/Palmitic totals are 40%+, I would keep the 20% CO and raise the Castor oil, but drop the avocado completely, since at that point the bar will be struggling to lather.
I'm not Marsi, but fully hydrogenated soy oil is referred to as soy wax. It is misnamed.

 

[SeaSuds]

The soy wax I buy in the UK is Eurosoy800 from Livemoor. Nowadays I typically use 8-10% but have gone as high as 28% in the past. As KiwiMoose and GemstonePony say it adds a nice creaminess to the lather and there are several threads on here that you can learn from.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Using aloe vera juice instead of water will also contribute to your bubbles.

 

[sal]

Thank you all for your generous help - is very very helpful. The soy wax from Livermore is currently out of stock but once is back in, I will get myself some to play around (trying to be patience until then lol).

does this look alright ?

RBO - 20%
OO - 20%
CO - 20%
soy wax - 20%
castor oil - 10%
shea - 10%

Fatty acid profile:

Bubbly Lather

23

Longevity

35

Hardness

49

Cleansing

14

Saturated : Unsaturated 49:52

Will this work ? Oh and what do you suggest the superfat to be at ?
Thank you

 

[Marsi]

Thank you for your reply Marsi. Sorry I think I am getting confuse - is it the soy wax I should be using or soy oil ?
Also what will be the usage for the golden syrup and at what stage do you usually add it at ? Thanking you in advance

Soy wax
it is like the butters (cocoa etc.) in soapmaking

sugar (or golden syrup) is used between a teaspoon to a tablespoon per 500g (or per pound)
it can make soap soft if much more is used
like Kiwi said, aloe is nice too

 

[sal]

Soy wax
it is like the butters (cocoa etc.) in soapmaking

sugar (or golden syrup) is used between a teaspoon to a tablespoon per 500g (or per pound)
it can make soap soft if much more is used
like Kiwi said, aloe is nice too

Thank you Marsi . I shall try a batch once I have soy wax and report back

 

[KiwiMoose]

Thank you all for your generous help - is very very helpful. The soy wax from Livermore is currently out of stock but once is back in, I will get myself some to play around (trying to be patience until then lol).

does this look alright ?

RBO - 20%
OO - 20%
CO - 20%
soy wax - 20%
castor oil - 10%
shea - 10%

Fatty acid profile:

Bubbly Lather

23

Longevity

35

Hardness

49

Cleansing

14

Saturated : Unsaturated 49:52

Will this work ? Oh and what do you suggest the superfat to be at ?
Thank you

That's pretty much my recipe you have right there and I like it. I split the castor with avocado oil though. I do a 5% superfat but have been pondering reducing that. If your skin is sensitive i would suggest starting at 5% though.

 

[sal]

That's pretty much my recipe you have right there and I like it. I split the castor with avocado oil though. I do a 5% superfat but have been pondering reducing that. If your skin is sensitive i would suggest starting at 5% though.

Rockstar - feeling like I have nailed it even before trying haha. What is your skin type? My skin is a little bit dry so wonder how my skin will take it.
Do you sell your soaps by any chance ?

 

[GemstonePony]

Thank you all for your generous help - is very very helpful. The soy wax from Livermore is currently out of stock but once is back in, I will get myself some to play around (trying to be patience until then lol).

does this look alright ?

RBO - 20%
OO - 20%
CO - 20%
soy wax - 20%
castor oil - 10%
shea - 10%

Fatty acid profile:

Bubbly Lather

23

Longevity

35

Hardness

49

Cleansing

14

Saturated : Unsaturated 49:52

Will this work ? Oh and what do you suggest the superfat to be at ?
Thank you

Hmm. Maybe 5% SF? And I would lean towards both 1/2 tablespoon per pound of oils on the sugar, and either Aloe Vera juice or an alcoholic beverage of choice (with the alcohol boiled off) as the liquid.

 

[KiwiMoose]

My skin is fairly hardy - a little on the dry side if anything.
Yes I do sell - including to my sister in law who gets eczema and she loves my soap.