salt soap and superfat

[wannabesoaper]

Hello...brand new to soap making. I have successfully done several batches of tallow soap with beef fat I rendered myself. In the last couple of batches, I started adding colors and also scents. No problems so far I wanted to make a salt bar so I started researching I ran my recipe through a lye calculator and have unmolded and cut successfully sort of, the bars took a lot longer to set up and aren't lathering much. i had read that coconut and salt would make a hard bar so I am concerned. because they also seem soft. i had leftover batter after filing my loaf mold so I threw it into a mold I had. there was quite a bit of lye water after 24 hours in one of the individual molds it burnt my finger tips because I was not expecting this. I did 80% CO 20% Avocado oil with 28% superfat and 50 percent oil weight in salt when I unmolded the last one where I found lye water I tested one of the bars from loaf mold, it is luxuriously soft but not much if any lather. will they get more bubbly as they cure or do you think it wasn't emulsified properly with the discovery of the excess lye water I found in the extra mold?

 

[DeeAnna]

A 28% superfat is very generous for a coconut bar. The consensus of soap makers here tends to be lower -- more like 17% to 20% superfat.

Did you let the soap get warm enough to gel? If it doesn't get sufficiently warm during saponification, the soap will definitely remain softer and it may take quite a bit longer to fully saponify.

Also don't be hasty to try freshly made soap, especially if it stays cooler during saponification. I'm not surprised to hear the soap was "hot" after only 24 hours in an individual mold. Give it more time before you test it -- at least several days if not a week.

Also how much water in proportion to the alkali does the recipe use? More water can result in softer soap.

Also be aware that salt bars require a long cure to lather at their best and also to be mild to the skin.