Oils benefits

[SaltedFig]

0.50grams of Cocoa Butter
(Whole body amount of superfat used in one 10% SF soap wash, from DeeAnna's calculations above)

And now my hands smell all chocolatey cocoa butter! Yum :mrgreen:

Correcting my error - 0.50grams is the whole body amount for a soapy superfat (if it all got left on), the 0.26grams is for 1 square metre of skin.

 

[DeeAnna]

I stand corrected -- 0.26 g of fat is larger than a pencil lead. But still pretty small. I've updated my previous post to take advantage of the nice visual aids.

Thank you for the help, SaltedFig. Nicely done!

 

[RDak]

Maybe this thought problem will put matters in perspective.

Being a engineer-y kind of geek, let's say I weigh my soap before and after my bathing. I determine the soap weighs 5 grams less per shower. (Based on a 140 g bar of soap, 30 days of use, 1 shower per day, so 140/30 = 4.7 g) Let's also say I take the bar to my soapy science lab and determine the soap is superfatted with a true 10% fat excess. I break out my trusty calculator, pencil, and paper and determine the 5 grams of soap with which I bathed contained a total of 5 X 10/100 = 0.5 grams of fat.

If I were an overly optimistic sort, I might assume every molecule of that fat happens to stick to my skin. Knowing what I do about how soap emulsifies fats to make them water soluble, I know only a fraction of that tiny amount of fat actually sticks to my skin. But I'll stick with the overly-optimistic view that it all sticks.

According to Cornell University, the surface area of my skin is about 1.9 square meters (m2). The amount of fat on my skin is thus 0.5 g / 1.9 m2 = 0.26 g / m2.

A quarter of a gram of fat on 1 square METER -- that's about 1 square YARD for us Americans. (See SaltedFig's photos below for how much cocoa butter weighs 0.26 grams.)

Let me compare this to using my favorite lotion. I use 1-2 tablespoons (0.5-1 ounce or 15-30 grams) of lotion on my skin after showering. The lotion contains 15% fat, so at a minimum I am applying 15 grams X 15 / 100 = 2.25 grams fat to my skin. That is 2.25 / 1.9 = 1.18 g of fat / m2 of skin.

At least 4.6 times more fat ends up on my skin from the lotion than from the soap. Which one is going to make my skin feel more conditioned and soothed?

Bluntly, the idea of superfat doing amazing things to one's skin doesn't hold water. Superfat enough for safety and to ensure the soap is not overly drying to the skin. For the best skin benefit from the fats themselves, however, put the fats in a lotion or balm where your skin can really enjoy them.

No doubt it is a very small amount of oil that stays deposited on the skin with superfatting.

Another question.........this is off topic.......my wife wants me to make her another batch of cream and I see a lot of you use cocoa butter and mango butter.

I usually have shea because I put a little bit in each batch of soap so that is what I always use as a butter in the creams I make her.

What is the overall opinion of those 3 butters for a cream?

Is there a preference or are all three pretty good, etc.

Thanks for any info.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

For the best skin benefit from the fats themselves, however, put the fats in a lotion or balm where your skin can really enjoy them.

:clap:

 

[DeeAnna]

"... Another question.........this is off topic.......my wife wants me to make her another batch of cream and I see a lot of you use cocoa butter and mango butter...."

RDak -- if you want the best chance at good answers, I'd say your chances are better if you start a new thread with your question.

 

[randycoxclemson]

A quarter of a gram of fat on 1 square METER -- that's about 1 square YARD for us Americans. (See SaltedFig's photos below for how much cocoa butter weighs 0.26 grams.)

Let me compare this to using my favorite lotion. I use 1-2 tablespoons (0.5-1 ounce or 15-30 grams) of lotion on my skin after showering. The lotion contains 15% fat, so at a minimum I am applying 15 grams X 15 / 100 = 2.25 grams fat to my skin. That is 2.25 / 1.9 = 1.18 g of fat / m2 of skin.

At least 4.6 times more fat ends up on my skin from the lotion than from the soap. Which one is going to make my skin feel more conditioned and soothed?

To me, that is an amazing amount of fat getting on my skin in the shower. If I take a pea-sized bit of lotion and rub it on my skin, it'll still be there tomorrow, so to think that I can get that same amount on my skin from bathing is encouraging--if you're one who likes to get oil on your skin, that is.

 

[DeeAnna]

I'll say this once more -- I made the highly unrealistic assumption in my thought experiment that ALL of the superfat from the soap sticks to the skin. That absolutely does not happen.

If you want to ignore the fact that very little superfat remains on the skin after washing and towel drying and all that, I can't stop you. But understand that you're not going to get any kudos from me if you choose to misread my words by taking that tack.

If you have dry skin, adding fat via lotion or balm is the better way to go.

 

[Susie]

It is far better to add oils to leave on products.

I like my skin when I am using 5-8% superfat much better than lower SF soaps. Plain and simple. The lower SF soaps leave my skin feeling tight and uncomfortable.

 

[Arimara]

It is far better to add oils to leave on products.

I like my skin when I am using 5-8% superfat much better than lower SF soaps. Plain and simple. The lower SF soaps leave my skin feeling tight and uncomfortable.

I like lower superfats than 5% only if I have a soap low in cleansing oils and made with some milk. Other than that it's generally 4-5% superfatting to me.

As for lotions, I'm not a fan of stearic acid based lotions, it appears. There's another thickener that I've tried in two batches that I loved. Too bad it was a sample.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

To me, that is an amazing amount of fat getting on my skin in the shower. If I take a pea-sized bit of lotion and rub it on my skin, it'll still be there tomorrow, so to think that I can get that same amount on my skin from bathing is encouraging--if you're one who likes to get oil on your skin, that is.

But how much skin will it cover? If you put that amount on your skin in one location and rub it in, it most likely would feel good...........on that small area that it covered. That much covering the whole surface area washed during bathing, however, is a tiny amount indeed.

Try it, though. Take that amount and try to effectively cover one arm. By effectively, I mean that a useful amount of oil can be absorbed, that would make some sort of positive difference to the condition of the skin.

ETA - for those times when a higher SF = less dry feeling, is that any oil from the soap staying on the skin, or less unbound salts bonding with the oils on your skin? I would imagine that is it at most a mix of the two, rather than the soap cleaning the oils off of your skin and replacing it with the oils from the superfat. I'm not chemphys, but I think that it would be easier for the soap to bind with the superfat as you use the soap so that less of your skin oil is removed, and we all know that nature loves to take the easiest route most of the time.

 

[SaltedFig]

But how much skin will it cover? ...

I was thinking of trying this with some coconut oil of the same weight. It has the ability to absorb into the skin a bit more and would be a lot easier to apply due to its thin slipperyness. Not sure whether it would be more resistant to washing off than cocoa butter ... hmmm, maybe I'll try both after all ... then I get to smell all cocoa-coconut :mrgreen:!

 

[randycoxclemson]

I'll say this once more -- I made the highly unrealistic assumption in my thought experiment that ALL of the superfat from the soap sticks to the skin. That absolutely does not happen.

If you want to ignore the fact that very little superfat remains on the skin after washing and towel drying and all that, I can't stop you. But understand that you're not going to get any kudos from me if you choose to misread my words by taking that tack.

If you have dry skin, adding fat via lotion or balm is the better way to go.

I guess tone doesn't play well on the internet.

I was trying to make a light-hearted point that for those who don't suffer from dry skin (like me), it feels like a lot of oil. That's what I meant about a speck of oil still being on my skin tomorrow if I put it on today. It's funny that when I shower, none of the scent ever remains on me (then again, it doesn't seem to stick much in the soap itself, either), but the oil is there on me and gets wiped off not by the water, but the towel. I feel like a car covered with Turtle Wax in the rain. That oil just beads right up.

 

[DeeAnna]

Yep, I definitely didn't catch your humorous tone. Thanks for explaining, because I thought you had totally missed my point.