Silk Powder

[Lina]

I have seen a lot of instruction on how to add tussah silk to recipes however, my local supplier only has silk powder. How much should I add ppo and do I add it to the hot lye, cool lye or just blend it in with my oils?

Thank-you

 

[not_ally]

Lina, I have not used silk powder b/c it was so much more expensive than actual silk fibers, so this is not exactly responsive. I did compare the two pretty carefully.

But there are so many silk vendors on ebay (it is easy to use, you just use a pencil erasor amt ppo, snip it up, and add it to the hot lye liquid, also an oz will last forever) that unless you need it urgently I would just get a little bit of it on line and see what you think.

 

[shunt2011]

I've not used the powder either. However, I do use the fibers in every batch except my vegan soaps. I add the silk to my water and let it soak for a couple minutes then add my lye. I imagine you could do the same thing with yours. I would give it a try anyway or just add it to your oils and stick blend it in.

 

[Lina]

Thank-you so much for the info. I have already bought the silk powder so I am eager to hear how to use it. I am having trouble finding anything.

 

[not_ally]

Shunt, I tried soaking the fibers in water before adding to the hot lye liquid, but I did not find that it made a difference with respect to how fast/how much dissolved (mine usually does, although not always, if not I just strain the lye liquid before adding to the oils.) I am not sure if I am doing something wrong, is there some kind of trick to this one?

 

[cmzaha]

I simply cut my cocoons in quarters and toss them in the hot lye. Never had a problem with them dissolving. I simply find cocoons cleaner than tussah silk, or at least the tussah silk I have had

 

[shunt2011]

Shunt, I tried soaking the fibers in water before adding to the hot lye liquid, but I did not find that it made a difference with respect to how fast/how much dissolved (mine usually does, although not always, if not I just strain the lye liquid before adding to the oils.) I am not sure if I am doing something wrong, is there some kind of trick to this one?

I've just always done it that way. I probably read it somewhere and just continued it. I've not tried it a different way to say it makes a difference. However, it usually totally dissolves and I've not had and clumps of silk. I do strain my lye (again out of habit). I think the water just weighs it down some and it's not so fluffy. I just tear it though and don't snip it or anything.

 

[TeaLeavesandTweed]

Thank-you so much for the info. I have already bought the silk powder so I am eager to hear how to use it. I am having trouble finding anything.

This recipe uses 1 tsp. silk powder ppo: http://www.humblebeeandme.com/green-tea-and-silk-soap/

Seems as good a place as any to start.

 

[Dru B.]

I am using silk peptide powder today and also didn’t find much info on how much to use, but I found this recipe-http://www.soap-making-essentials.com/silk-soap-recipe.html
It uses 18g for 900g of oils. I started weighing that out and it is a lot!
I went with 5g for my 958g of oils.
I have made that humblebeeandme.com Green Tea and Silk soap, it was nice, but I don’t remember noticing any difference in feel of the soap due to the addition silk peptide powder. Five grams is about two tablespoons.
Has anyone else used silk peptide powder? (since the original question was posted four years ago).