Hello All! Here to share my recent experiment with 100% Coconut Oil. One set of plain bars and one set of salt bars.
I haven't really liked any of the soaps I've made that have +15% CO in them, so this experiment with SF came about because I had +2lbs of CO that expired in 2020. I'm using new CO in my current oil-blend soap experiments, and I figured this would be a great opportunity to learn about my skin's feelings for 100% CO with SF and use up oil that seems fine but that I didn't trust in my "good" soaps. (they aren't good, but they're getting better lol).
Base recipe was
100% coconut (2 lbs)
28% lye concentration
30% SF
Oils were 105 degrees, Lye solution was 110 degrees
Half the mix was poured into my first Pringles can mold at the worlds-lightest trace. The other half stayed in the bowl and was meant to be stick blended until medium trace so that I could add .5 lbs of table salt. ...medium trace did not come. I went for the 28% lye concentration because I was concerned about a 100% CO soap tracing too quickly, and while it reached emulsion fairly quickly it took forever to trace. Eventually the stick blender started to overheat so I switched to stirring for awhile, but eventually I gave up and mixed in the salt at barely-there trace. The salt bars I poured into rectangle cavity molds.
Lessons Learned:
Some folks appreciate a Pringles can mold, but I am not one of them and I will never go through the hassle of trying to line one again lol. As you can see I have some lumpy, lumpy edges on my circles. I'm sure that I could do a better job with some Pringles-can-lining practice, but I'd rather invest in a circle cavity mold in the future if I want a circle soap.
I would try a lye concentration of 33% next time.
The salt bars also took longer to become firm than I expected based on my research. Some of the smushed corners are from my attempts at 2/3 hours to see if they've stiffened.
Based on holding the salt bars up to light at different angles, it appears that the salt didn't sink to the bottom despite the light trace. Considering myself lucky there.
The real test will be in 6-12 months when they're done their cure and I can compare them against one another in the sink.
Thanks again to all here who've provided their knowledge over the years that led to me soaping.
I haven't really liked any of the soaps I've made that have +15% CO in them, so this experiment with SF came about because I had +2lbs of CO that expired in 2020. I'm using new CO in my current oil-blend soap experiments, and I figured this would be a great opportunity to learn about my skin's feelings for 100% CO with SF and use up oil that seems fine but that I didn't trust in my "good" soaps. (they aren't good, but they're getting better lol).
Base recipe was
100% coconut (2 lbs)
28% lye concentration
30% SF
Oils were 105 degrees, Lye solution was 110 degrees
Half the mix was poured into my first Pringles can mold at the worlds-lightest trace. The other half stayed in the bowl and was meant to be stick blended until medium trace so that I could add .5 lbs of table salt. ...medium trace did not come. I went for the 28% lye concentration because I was concerned about a 100% CO soap tracing too quickly, and while it reached emulsion fairly quickly it took forever to trace. Eventually the stick blender started to overheat so I switched to stirring for awhile, but eventually I gave up and mixed in the salt at barely-there trace. The salt bars I poured into rectangle cavity molds.
Lessons Learned:
Some folks appreciate a Pringles can mold, but I am not one of them and I will never go through the hassle of trying to line one again lol. As you can see I have some lumpy, lumpy edges on my circles. I'm sure that I could do a better job with some Pringles-can-lining practice, but I'd rather invest in a circle cavity mold in the future if I want a circle soap.
I would try a lye concentration of 33% next time.
The salt bars also took longer to become firm than I expected based on my research. Some of the smushed corners are from my attempts at 2/3 hours to see if they've stiffened.
Based on holding the salt bars up to light at different angles, it appears that the salt didn't sink to the bottom despite the light trace. Considering myself lucky there.
The real test will be in 6-12 months when they're done their cure and I can compare them against one another in the sink.
Thanks again to all here who've provided their knowledge over the years that led to me soaping.
). On the other end of the spectrum, my cosmetic-grade 92°F (hydrogenated) CO is really fast-moving, and thickens up within minutes even without stick-blending.
