Properties of oils

[christine.mitra]

Hi guys, I am new to this and have made one and a half successful batches

I've read alot of stuff online about the properties of oils but I was wondering what you guys have experienced with certain oils.

In my second batch it was very heavy on coconut oil, here is the recipe:

310g Coconut oil

115g Almond oil

125 Olive Oil

105 Palm oil

and 95g sodium hydroxide


I found it had a certain smell to it like cheap soap you find at a public toilet. I tested a little bit out after two days of drying and I found it very harsh on my skin.
I wonder if this has something to do with the big proportion of coconut oil. What do you guys think?

[another fiasco during this batch was that I think I did not allow the lye to cool for long enough and I did not insulate the soap and it sort of exploded a little.]

 

[MikeInPdx]

I just ran it through soapcalc, and your coconut oil is at 47%....I'll wager that is what is making it so drying. I keep my coconut oil somewhere between 20-30%, depending on what I'm doing....usually 20%.

Can you elaborate on the exploding? I don't think I understand.

Take care,
Mike

P.S. I don't insulate some of my CP soaps and while they don't gel, they're usually fine.

 

[christine.mitra]

Thanks for replying. I think you are right about the coconut oil. I will definitly use less next time but I tried the soap again today and its made my skin very tight and dry. Too bad I have to chuck it out but its all trial and error I suppose.

As for the exploding... I went to check on it after a few hours of putting it in the mould, as I said I didn't insulate it or cover it with any glad wrap. When I looked closer it had caved in in the middle and it had bubbled out on the sides, like a pot of porridge left on a stove that starts to overflow.
My dad [he's a chemist] said it probably was too hot, possibly the sodium hydroxide wasn't cooled down enough.

I had great success with my first recipe:
200g Olive Oil
300g Palm oil
200g coconut oil
100g tallow
And about 110g of sodium hydroxide


What I'd like to know is what sorts of oils are the best for making creamy soap? Something that makes you feel clean but not dry.

 

[Becky]

Don't throw it out - this is the perfect time to learn how to rebatch. Do a search here on the forum, you'll find plenty of info. I think Pepperi27 has a tutorial here too.

As for the soap being too drying, remember that it will mellow out after a couple of weeks cure time. You can use your soap earlier, but the standard is to give it 4 weeks curing. Don't be too quick to judge it.

Coconut oil is a personal thing too - some people love 100% coconut oil soaps, some people don't like any in their soap.

My favorite recipe, the one I come back to every time, is just Olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil & rice bran oil. I get lovely lather, not too drying, everything I'm looking for in a soap.

 

[beachgurl]

Christine, like Mike mentioned, SoapCalc is invaluable. It allows you to play with the oils to see what you're going to get, without wasting them! Another good program is Soap Maker. Try them out, I know they helped me

 

[Woodi]

If you do check out our soapmaker program, (which is free for the first entire month) you can look at the properties of base oils we made up into a simple chart, based on a value of 1 to 10 for simplicity's sake. It's great for people who like doing math less than they like making soap.

 

[MikeInPdx]

I totally agree with Becky....don't throw it out. Give it some time. You can always rebatch it for something else if it's still too harsh....and you can always use it for laundry.. Just shred it up and cover it with some water. Give it a few days to gel up, and you should have some wickedly GOOD laundry soap

 

[christine.mitra]

Really? I would think it would make my clothes oily! Thanks for the tip but I already chucked it out and my dads taken the garbage out I think, if not I shall salvage!
Where is this link you speak of guys? I cannot find it.

 

[christine.mitra]

Where is this link you speak of guys? I cannot find it.

NM! Found it

 

[MikeInPdx]

Really? I would think it would make my clothes oily! Thanks for the tip but I already chucked it out and my dads taken the garbage out I think, if not I shall salvage!
Where is this link you speak of guys? I cannot find it.

It won't unless it's heavily superfatted. In that case, you can add a smidge of lye to the melting water to saponify the free oils.

I use nothing but soap scraps and homemade soap gel for our clothes and our dishes, along with my own stain sticks made w/turpenoid and everything turns out just fine.