Sacrifice longevity/hardness for design

[SoapDaddy70]

Bentonite is an accelerator and does nothing to anchor scents for me anyway. But I do use it to colour some soap and I like the feel of it in soap.
You could be over mixing and going passed emulsion which will accelerate a mix.
Or it could be the FO or a combo of the three.
My main concern is 1/4tsp ROE in each oil. How much oil do you add 1/4 tsp to?
I bought a jewellery scale so I could measure my ROE. DeeAnna suggests 0.05% ROE. That is 0.5 g in 1000g of oils. I weigh it out to put in 3,000g tin of oils and 1.5g of ROE is way less than 1/4tsp. You may be dosing huge amounts of oils, I just thought I’d check.

https://classicbells.com/soap/ROE.asp

The 1 TBSP Bentonite was definitely a mistake on my part. If I use it again it will be at 1 tsp ppo. Over mixing wasn’t the issue because all I did was mix with a spatula. FO most likely was part of the issue. As for the ROE the 1/4 tsp was added to the full batch of 800g of oils not to each individual oil.

 

[cmzaha]

The 1 TBSP Bentonite was definitely a mistake on my part. If I use it again it will be at 1 tsp ppo. Over mixing wasn’t the issue because all I did was mix with a spatula. FO most likely was part of the issue. As for the ROE the 1/4 tsp was added to the full batch of 800g of oils not to each individual oil.

It still would not require 1/4 tsp ROE, you would use 0.4g of roe which would be about 6 drops, and a hint a tiny pinch of BHT work better than ROE in my opinion, which can be purchased in capsules. It is such a small percentage you really do not have to put it on your label, also many brands of lard already contain BHT. BHT with SG or EDTA works fantastically alongside a few grains of BHT. I only add ROE to new 5 gallon containers of liquid oils when I open them.

 

[penelopejane]

The 1 TBSP Bentonite was definitely a mistake on my part. If I use it again it will be at 1 tsp ppo. Over mixing wasn’t the issue because all I did was mix with a spatula. FO most likely was part of the issue. As for the ROE the 1/4 tsp was added to the full batch of 800g of oils not to each individual oil.

It is easier to add ROE to your oils as soon as they arrive and so you don’t have to deal in tiny measurements. This also extends the life of your oils. It’s too late to put it in when making your soap. I like ROE because it is natural and it works.

I just weighed some out for you and a level 1/8 tsp of my ROE = 1 g enough to treat 2,000g of oil. So 1/4 tsp would treat 4kg of oils.

So I’d treat your base SOFT oils when they arrive by mixing the required amount of ROE (1/2 a gram per 1 kg) in a small container with some of your oil and mix thoroughly. Then pour back into your main container and shake well.

I don’t eat BHT so won’t use it in soap but that is just me. It’s in some pork product so many people do eat it. It’s just a personal preference of mine not to use it.

 

[cmzaha]

My mom is now 95 yrs old has used lard for many yrs in cooking eaten pork and many products with BHT, it does not scare me. Also, soap is a wash-off product. Just my opinion, and it wards off DOS very well in tiny amounts.

 

[dolchrls]

If you would like a workable recipe using palm and not opposed to lard that will have longevity pm me. Sorry, I will not post my recipes publicly nor do I give up my recipes easily that I have spent years coming up with. but I will mention I would cut the cocoa butter out and not up the Avo oil.

As a fairly new soap maker, still trying to formulate "my perfect recipe" I can fully understand why, especially if you sell your products. I feel such a sense of accomplishment in the few recipes I've put together thus far. I've gotten bars which cleanses, feels good on my skin, with nice bubbles and sufficient creaminess, even though they sometimes fall short of the Soap Calc "quality" numbers. The added bonus is that friends and family love them and requests to purchase. As far as selling in a public forum, I'm not yet at that stage. Truth be told, I'm a little scared.

 

[SPowers]

my go-to recipe is almost all hard oils... lard, CO, PO, Shea and castor. It's a beautiful recipe to work with providing the fo's don't give me a problem. It must be the lard that helps it stay fluid.

 

[Funmi]

my go-to recipe is almost all hard oils... lard, CO, PO, Shea and castor. It's a beautiful recipe to work with providing the fo's don't give me a problem. It must be the lard that helps it stay fluid.

I noticed it too. Lard took more time to reach trace. This made pouring so much easier.

Do you miss soft oils in soap like olive and sunflower?

 

[SPowers]

Personally I don't like working with Olive oil and the few soaps I've made with I don't care for either. I read somewhere on here that some ppl have an issue with it feeling kind of 'slimy' and I fall into that group. Interestingly enough, the 2nd soap I made last May was made with olive oil and my husband and bestie like it the best. Different strokes. Also, going back to the beginning, I decided I wouldn't use sunflower, canola, or any of those other type oils. I don't use them in cooking and don't find the need to put them on my shelf since there are so many other oils to use.

 

[Tracy von Elling]

I was thinking what Dibbles said about lard - unless you want a vegan recipe. I use 50% lard (depending on the fragrance oil and mica of course) but my recipe stays fluid for ages. I do still use 35% coconut oil and am going to lower that again as the bar doesn't last as long with a high % of coconut oil but I LOVE my bubbles with it!