Recipe feedback

[JenBell]

Hi all, I'm a newb in search of help. I made a batch of soap on Wednesday that still feels too soft to unmold today. I was trying for a bar that was more moisturizing than previous batches. I ran this through soap calc and felt okay with the numbers, but maybe I'm overlooking something? The recipe is as follows:
Castor oil- 7.5oz 15%
Shea butter 7.5oz 15%
Coconut Oil 10oz 20%
Olive Oil 25oz 50%
5% super fat

13.77oz distilled water
Lye 6.78oz *33% concentration
1.56oz fragrance oil
3tsp sodium lactate

Soaped at 90 degrees. I was hoping for a little more fluidity so that I could try a swirl, but this one thickened up to a medium trace pretty quick, despite light stick blending.

I made a very similar 1lb test batch right before this one that I've already unmolded and cut. I subbed half of the water with coconut milk, it got pretty hot and accelerated, but turned out great.

Thank you in advance for any guidance.

 

[cmzaha]

Soap is not moisturizing it is just more or less stripping of the natural skin oils. That being said, your CO is to high if you want a less stripping soap, your castor oil is much to high and lead to a sticky soap. Many that want a very mild soap will use CO in the 10-17% range, you will have less bubbles but it becomes a trade-off. If using the lower range of CO use a superfat less than 5%. Castor oil does not add lather it just supports lather, it traces quickly causing your trace problem and should be kept at 5% or lower. Shea at 15% is nice in soap, although I find lard gives just a nice feeling if you are not vegan and opposed to animal fats, add that to your amount of Castor you end up with a quick tracing soap batter. If you keep your Shea at 15% I would up the CO to around 17% since Shea deters lather, as most butters do.

Making soap and enjoying it is pretty subjective. You have to take the time to test and experiment with different fat combinations. I love my soap and many do, but you may hate it...Balancing the fatty acid profile is the biggest key and that knowledge come with testing. This is a good place to start reading that is written by our resident chemist DeeAnna . She has a lot of good info on this page
https://classicbells.com/soap/soapyStuff.html

 

[Cathy S]

Castor oil is an additive that supports and enhances the benefits of your other oils. It does not turn to soap when mixed with lye. Never use more than 1 Oz per pound of soap. You do not need to add it in your calculations.

 

[JenBell]

Thank you so much for your advice. I will not make the mistake of using that much castor oil again. I'm going to let this batch sit for another day or two and see if I can unmold it. It may be beyond help.
I haven't used lard or tallow yet, but am not at all opposed to it. I think I'll try out a test batch soon.
Thank you again for the advice and the link. Heading there now.

 

[SunRiseArts]

I personally like the coconut oil up to 20%, but I do not have sensitive skin. The castor, yep, no more than 5% of your recipe.

When I want to unmold faster, not that I am sure if it is ok to do, I pop it in the freezer for 5 hours, and then take it out of the mold and cut it 2 hours later.

With your recipe, I think in time the soap will be ok, but I you need to let it cure for at least 6 weeks, I would more, since you have a lot of OO.

But ..... pictures please!

 

[DeeAnna]

Castor oil ... does not turn to soap when mixed with lye.... You do not need to add it in your calculations.

These statements are incorrect.

Castor most definitely does saponify -- in other words, it does turn into soap when it reacts with NaOH. For proof, see the 100% castor oil soap here -- http://www.zensoaps.com/singleoil.htm -- and here -- http://alchemyandashes.blogspot.com/2014/03/single-oil-soap-experiment-phase-3-one.html

Yes, it definitely should be included when you do your soap recipe calculations. It's in every reputable soap recipe calc that I know of -- it has an NaOH saponification value of about 0.128.

 

[JenBell]

Yes, it definitely should be included when you do your soap recipe calculations.

I'm so new, EVERYTHING goes in the soap calc! Yet, I'm still making rookie mistakes, but this is how I'm going to learn.

I've visited your site that was linked in the first response above. The information ive read has been very useful already.

Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[JenBell]

With your recipe, I think in time the soap will be ok, but I you need to let it cure for at least 6 weeks, I would more, since you have a lot of OO.

I'm going to try your freezer trick right now. I'll post pics, but it may look like a disaster!

 

[BattleGnome]

If I don’t gel my soaps it can take me up to a week to unmold. You have lots of soft oils. Give it time and check every day. I used to make a very similar recipe and all it needed was time

 

[earlene]

Castor oil is an additive that supports and enhances the benefits of your other oils. It does not turn to soap when mixed with lye. Never use more than 1 Oz per pound of soap. You do not need to add it in your calculations.

Castor Oil does react with lye and become soap. I am not the only person to ever make a soap with only Castor oil, lye and water (using a soap calculator, of course.) And yes, it should be entered into the lye calculator because it DOES have saponification value which is the same as Shea Butter, in fact.

You may be thinking of Red Turkey Oil, which has already been reacted with lye before it is sold.

ETA: I responded before seeing the rest of the replies.

 

[JenBell]

The freezer trick worked very well! It unmolded like a dream. I let it sit for another 2 full days, then cut it this evening. It's still mildly soft, but nothing like what I was expecting. It smells heavenly and didn't turn out half bad, except the color faded. The pic is directly after the cut.

 

[KristaY]

Very pretty soap!

 

[shunt2011]

Pretty soap! Congratulations!!!

 

[MKLonestar]

Soap looks very pretty. I like the color combo

 

[Pjclark1]

Like everyone else says 5% Castor maximum.
I'd also forget the Shea butter, it adds nothing to the soap and is expensive.
(Try a batch without it, then do a blind test, nobody will be able to tell the difference.)

 

[amd]

I'd also forget the Shea butter, it adds nothing to the soap and is expensive.
(Try a batch without it, then do a blind test, nobody will be able to tell the difference.)

I disagree, I really like shea butter in my soap, but I do believe there is a limit to how much makes a good soap. I started with 30% and have settled at 15%. Source your oils for the part of the world that you live in. My shea butter runs cheaper than the OO that I use.