New To CP soap making

[holmerz]

Hello
New member here. Inspired by the numerous companies constantly advertising with their super soaps, I though, I can make this myself.
Wrong! At least up till now. The issue is both getting the right consistency of the soap and obtaining a scent that is barrable.

Consistency: I have used the SoapCalc.net calculator to get the correct amounts of starting materials of a soap consisting of:
olive oil 45%, coconut oil 25%, sunflower oil 25% and beewax 5%, with 5% superfat.
The soap got quite thick before I poured it. The "cured" soap is somewhat "goopy"

The smell isn't what I expected either from what was expected from the scent of the mixture of the essential oils, which were cedar (atlantica) 35%, juniper 20%, cypress 20%, cornmint 15%, camphor 10% at ~20g/kg. It was a rather faint glue like smell!

Looking at the structures of the scent active components in some of the common essential oils, give way to as why the end product scent does not comply with the expected woody notes. The main contributors to the odour of Cedar Atlantica, Vestitenone and 4-acetyl-1-methylcyclohexene among others, contain ketone moieties, which are prone to undergo hydrolysis under the alkaline conditions of saponification.

How do you people obtain soap with a woody scent?

And any input on the soap consistency part will be highly appreciated.

\Erik

 

[Ford]

Hi, that seems like a lot of bee's wax. Probably why it traced so fast. Plenty of threads on beeswax, soy wax usage rates.

 

[LidiaG]

Hi @holmerz
Welcome to the forum and to soapmaking.
I agree with @Ford. Beeswax is tricky to work with. I have never seen a recipe calling for 5%. Mostly 1% is what I recently have been using as a recommended way to reduce soap ash. Can't say that I love Beeswax in soap, because the soap I made is still curing. It had less soda ash.

also Beeswax is supposed to help make a harder bar of soap, however soap is formulated properly you should not need it

Personally I think it's better to start your soap journey with a small batch of a simple soap, 1-3 oils and then still continue with small batches and increase the complexity of the soaps that you make.

Better luck next time

 

[Ekuzo]

I agree with the rest. Using beeswax is usually considered an advanced technique and it demands soaping at higher temperatures. Once you are more comfortable with making simple soap at lower temperatures that doesn't set up quickly, you can experiment with additives, beeswax included.

You can make a hard bar without beeswax. Just play around with the % of every oil. Add another hard oil if possible and reduce the percentage of liquid oils (you don't need that much sunflower, for example).

That being said, looks like your first batch was still okay, so it'll get better from here. Yes, FO and EO tend to change in CP and often don't cover our expectations. That's why some people turn to HP, that way getting much higher chance of scents smelling the way they should. I don't do HP, but in my experience fruity scents (like cassis, strawberry) and sweet scents (like chocolate, vanilla) don't change that much and turn out fine. Floral scents definitely morph more often than not. I don't know about woody scents, maybe someone else will say if it's possible to use them in CP and which ones work best

 

[holmerz]

Thank you all for your replies. The addition of beewax was to counter the drying effect of coconut oil, I'll add it at lower percentages in the future though. I'll turn up the percentage of some other hard oils. Also HP soap making will be in a distant future for me, I'll try some other wood scents like sandal wood.

\Erik

 

[AliOop]

The addition of beewax was to counter the drying effect of coconut oil,

Sorry, adding beeswax is not going to have that effect in your soap. Instead, try raising the superfat, or lowering the coconut oil and adding other ingredients to boost lather.

To make a harder bar without beeswax, reduce the combined percentage of liquid oils to 35-45%, and add oils higher in palmitic and stearic fatty acids, like palm (not palm kernel), lard, tallow, shea butter, cocoa butter, or soy wax.

Since I don't know which type of camphor you used, I am not sure that it would be skin-safe at that percentage. I also don't think it contributes to a forest-type scent. Fir needle EO is great for that.

 

[holmerz]

AliOop, Thank you for the heads up, I'll try and raise the superfat and lower the amount of liquid fats. You're right about camphor, I'll try fir needle instead, thanks

 

[Ekuzo]

Thank you all for your replies. The addition of beewax was to counter the drying effect of coconut oil, I'll add it at lower percentages in the future though. I'll turn up the percentage of some other hard oils. Also HP soap making will be in a distant future for me, I'll try some other wood scents like sandal wood.

\Erik

I've made CP with sandalwood FO and I didn't like how it turned out, but that doesn't mean you'll get the same result with what you have access to. Try it for yourself, maybe you'll like it. It also accelerated trace

 

[holmerz]

Ekuzo, thanks.
I just remembered that I've used kaolin clay as an oil carrier, as I understood this is done, in part, to protect the EO/FO. Also I was wondering how late in the process does people add the EO/FO. I suppose including slow saponifying oils will increase the risk of adding the fragrance oils before all of the lye has been consumed in the saponification process, and hence increase the risk off ruining the EO/FO.
\Erik

 

[Ekuzo]

Some people add the fragrance at trace, some add it to the oils before mixing the lye in. The consensus is that no matter how you do it, the saponification is far from finished when the FO/EO is added and it will still morph the scent, if there is such risk with the particular fragrance. That's when it comes to CP. With HP, you add the scent usually after the saponification is complete, so there's a smaller chance of having such issues, AFAIK

 

[Nona'sFarm]

Hello

Consistency: I have used the SoapCalc.net calculator to get the correct amounts of starting materials of a soap consisting of:
olive oil 45%, coconut oil 25%, sunflower oil 25% and beewax 5%, with 5% superfat.
The soap got quite thick before I poured it. The "cured" soap is somewhat "goopy"

s\Erik

Hi, I agree with the others in that I would leave out the beeswax.

Not sure what oils are available to you, but here is a suggestion -
25% olive oil
20 % coconut oil
40% palm oil or lard
10% sunflower oil - since it appears you have that already
5% castor oil or if not available, then up the olive oil to 30%

5% superfat

As far as woodsy scent, I really like fir needle. Also, I like a combination of fir needle (77%), orange (20%), and clove (3%) EOs - smells like Christmas.

Last note - make small batches as a beginner soap maker, from 100g to 400g of oil (1 - 4 bars). In this way one is not wasting so many oils on their practice batches.

Happy Soaping!

 

[holmerz]

Thnánk you Nona'sFarm, I'll give your oil combo a try. So far I've only done 2-3 at a time, so no big loss. Fir needle seems to be a quite popular choice for obtaining a woody scent.

\Erik