Regarding recipe #1, OO tracing speed can be all over the board. RBO might be a more consistent slow tracer, and maybe up the avocado by 10% if you're worried about hardness.
Thank you! Would you replace all the OO with RBO or just part of it? I like the feel and look of RBO in my soaps, but was concerned it is not as long-lasting as OO?
I believe avocado is longer lasting than OO. On its own, it's too hard with too many unsaponifiables to lather. Like.. at all. But in a balanced recipe, it brings hardness, creaminess, and with other oils doing the heavy lifting on cleaning, it's own Oleic FAs can help loosen up the bar for bubbles.
But how 'bout the RBO? Is it any more prone to DOS than OO or can I exchange it for the OO with no problem?
When I started, I used other people's recipes. Only recently did I start playing with SoapCalc numbers. I am all over the place, sometimes into a design, sometimes into simplicity -- but no matter what it looks like, I want it to feel good, smell good, lather and bubble, and last awhile. Sometimes I like the challenge of a new technique and appreciate these monthly challenges, sometimes I feel I just wasted hours and ingredients. Sometimes I like a mono-colored or non-colored, uni-scented soap. I do like this hobby that engages my math/science side and my creative side. I keep reminding myself to have fun with it -- easier said that done. But I know for a fact that no matter what I make, it's way better than commercial brands. Soap on, soapy friends!
Do not always plan on not having problems with high lye concentrations. It is recipe dependent. My vegan recipe cannot be made with high lye concentration unless you want to play with soap on a stick.
Took the words right out of my mouth. This is exactly how I feel sometimes. Always have fun but sometimes it can be a little stressful as well.
RBO is a little more prone to DOS than OO, but I know someone around here has 100% RBO soap they have had for a while and love, and others use it as a majority oil. You shouldn't run into problems swapping OO for RBO in a balanced recipe.
)Do you find your soaps are hard? I'm finding my recipes like this have the soap disappearing in 10 days with 2 people using almost daily.TD definitely speeds up trace. White mica generally does not, but it's also not as white as TD.
I actually soap with 40% lye concentration and find that it is actually slower than using 33-38% concentration. But not every soaper experiences that, so it's probably recipe dependent. I always have at least 50% lard (usually more), which is slow tracing any way.
I don't make vegan soaps so won't comment on recipe #1.
I'm not a fan of high OO, but if you are, then your recipe #2 should be very nice for you. To suit my own preferences, I'd up the lard to 60%, and swap out the OO with a mix of any two of these soft oils: HO sunflower oil, RBO, avocado, or sweet almond.
RBO?
Rice Bran Oil
You need to understand soap hardness really has very little to do with the longevity of a bar of soap, it is the solubility of the soap, such as a high CO soap is highly soluble although it is a very hard bar it will not last long. If you subtract your cleansing value from your hardness value you end up with your longevity value. The recommended range for Longevity is 25-50 I like mine no less than a value of 30. As an example, 100% CO soap has a Longevity value of 12.
Edited: @cmzaha answered your questions very well, so I've deleted my duplicate reply.
Thank you!
I do always plan on the possibility of problems and have a Plan B at the ready for every batch.
