Silk.....

[gallerygirl]

Are we talking silk, silk?? I have seen it in soap recipes, but I don't understand what it is exactly and what the benefit is. Can someone explain to me please? Thanks k

 

[Guest]

I haven't use it but I know Paul and others do.

I believe they are talking about natural silk fibers as in just spun and in their raw state.

Silk is actually produced by a bug (beatle) of some kind or another. It's a natural product and is refined and changed to the silk we think of when we think of it used in the clothing industry.



Dang I wish i paid more attention when I saw them on my trip to Thailand........ But it's really pretty when it's just spun.

 

[Soapmaker Man]

Yea, I use silk fibers in every batch of soap I make. The proteins or silk amino acid is what gives my bars a nice , well, silky feel to them, that and the fact I use aloe vera juice and goat's milk. I just sold 2 ounces to a member here of some Silk Noils. @ ounces of silk is a lot of silk. I was in a C)-OP a year ago and got a couple pounds of silk fibers, natural. Every one is seeing "silk" on labels these days. Dove and a few other chemical "soap" detergent bar manufacturers are even using silk these days! I have a great source, but you have to buy 13 pounds at a time!

Paul....

 

[Guest]

*whispers* are you selling bits of silk Paul. Wonders what the price is if you are.

 

[Lane]

*Stands behind Faithy in line...*

 

[Tabitha]

Paul, do you use silk in it's liquid form?

 

[Soapmaker Man]

I still have about 8 or 10 ounces I'd sell. Here is a picture. It is the silk on the right side, not the left.

Close up of the Tussa Silk Noils;
[img]http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e228/mofencer/TussahSilkNoil1.jpg

2 ounces will last avery, very long time! PM me, OK.

Paul

 

[gallerygirl]

Thanks everyone for the info. k

 

[dragonfly princess]

ITS FURRY!!! ahahahahahaahah Ok I had Starbucks today!! Can you tell?

 

[Becky]

The proteins or silk amino acid is what gives my bars a nice , well, silky feel to them

So, would a silk protien powder like this one:
http://newdirections.com.au/shop/produc ... hp?id=1201

or this one:
http://newdirections.com.au/shop/produc ... hp?id=1199

do the same job, do you think?


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[SouthernEssence]

bitter creek sells silk fibers

 

[NEASoapWorks]

LOL!

ITS FURRY!!! ahahahahahaahah Ok I had Starbucks today!! Can you tell?

Girl,
LOL! You are totally SICK!!!...but in a GOOD way!

@Paul
You need to start your own soap supply company. QUIT PLAYIN' and just sell us EVERYTHING!!!!! Molds, lye, oils, butters, silk, goatsmilk, cheese, bread, coffee, tea, ice cream......

 

[Guest]

Re: LOL!

ITS FURRY!!! ahahahahahaahah Ok I had Starbucks today!! Can you tell?

Girl,
LOL! You are totally SICK!!!...but in a GOOD way!

@Paul
You need to start your own soap supply company. QUIT PLAYIN' and just sell us EVERYTHING!!!!! Molds, lye, oils, butters, silk, goatsmilk, cheese, bread, coffee, tea, ice cream......

Well they say the profits really are in selling supplies to make the product rather than the actual product. So you could have the best of both worlds if you wanted Paul. (A lot more work though, but it's something to think about.)

 

[Soapmaker Man]

Thinking, thinking, thinking! :wink: I'm serious about the sodium Hydroxide though. I need a source for 2 pound containers to ship the Lye in.

Paul :wink:

 

[Lane]

Thinking, thinking, thinking! :wink: I'm serious about the sodium Hydroxide though. I need a source for 2 pound containers to ship the Lye in.

Paul :wink:

I have about a zillion empty ones you can fill for me.

 

[morsedillon]

Thinking, thinking, thinking! :wink: I'm serious about the sodium Hydroxide though. I need a source for 2 pound containers to ship the Lye in.

Containers are going to be tough because you may wind up paying as much or more for the packaging as you are the NaOH.

For 2 lb. of NaOH you'll need about a 1000mL container.

I didn't look all that hard, but the least expensive option I could find that would be suitable was this, at $0.92/ea in a case of 48:
http://www.bottles.us/bottleinfo.asp?bo ... S%20-%20PP

Of course, with the closure it still puts you close to $1.25-$1.75 total depending on quantity:
http://www.bottles.us/bottleinfo.asp?bo ... 0-%20BLACK

Interestingly enough, one of the simplest options may be the semi-disposable Ziploc Twist n' Loc containers that you can find at Wal*Mart. They come in a 32-ounce (946mL) size which holds 2 lb. of NaOH quite nicely (I have some and can confirm this). They're also polypropylene (yay) with a tight-fitting screw-on closure. Cost for 2 of them is around $3.29 which is right in line with the above option and they're a lot nicer container IMO.

If you're paying $1/lb. for NaOH, plus the $1.65 or so for a container, you're still at only $2.65/lb. If someone goes the drain cleaner route, they're in it for around $3.50-$3.75/lb. On second thought though, I'm not sure if the savings would still be there after shipping, but if you can find less expensive packaging it could still be worth it...

Hope this helps...

 

[TW]

Silk differences

Look China sent me samples of two different types of silk; Chopped Tussah Silk Sliver, natural Gold and Tussah Silk Noil, carded and bleached. The Sliver is so nice and silky where the Noil is sort of rough. Does it matter in the soap? I have not used it before. Bitter Creek sells the Noil apparently from the picture and said to use a golfball size in a 3 lb batch of soap. Isn't that a lot?

 

[tanuki]

I use raw silk from silk cocoons in all of my soaps. One cocoon per soap added to the water and lye. It takes about 2 minutes for the cocoons to dissolve with gentle stirring.They don't come cheap though. They can be bought in the drugstores in Japan in bags of 20 for around 50 yen (48 cents about) per cocoon. I buy a Kg (about 2500 cocoons) at a time from a silk farm, so my price is considerably less.

I wouldn't make soap without silk. It really does give that extra something special . I have some information on my website about Japanese use of silk cocoons. Is only a little bit, I'm still writing... But if you're interested, click the link in my signature and got to 'Japanese Style'

 

[TW]

Silk

Thanks Tanuki! You have a nice website!
Look China also sent two cocoons (steamed silk cocoon, natural white) with the sample package but I had no idea what they could be used for. How big do you suggest my soap batch be for me to use one of these cocoons.

 

[tanuki]

Hi TW,

How big are the cocoons from Look China? Some can be as small as a pea. An average sized cocoon will be about as big as the tip of your index finger - from finger tip to first knuckle. The cocoons I use are about a big as my thumb and weight close to 1gr a piece. There's about 1000 meters of very (VERY) fine silk thread on each cocoon.

Effective formulations for soaps and other cosmetics , I understand, have between 0.2% and 0.5% percent silk content by weight. If you're making 100gr bars of soap, anywhere from 0.2gr to 0.5gr per bar.

So 2 large cocoons, would be suitable for use in a small batch of soap from 4 to 10 bars. 2 average sized cocoons would be good from 2 to 6 bars of soap.

My soaps have 1 large cocoon added per soap and are 1% silk. I make soap in 50 bar batches, so each batch I add 50 silk cocoons to the lye water. And in case anyone is wondering... the silk amino acids are not damaged by alkaline extraction and remain stable and effective in your lye solution.

I use an exceptional amount of silk in my soaps, as I have found nothing else that can quite compare to the qualities that silk imparts. No oil, no butter, nor any other additive I've experimented with can come close to what silk does for soap.

But I live in Japan. Silk grows on trees whereas shea butter has to be flown in from Australia at exorbitant prices.

And thank you for you kind words about my website. I made it with my very own two little paws. Tomoko, my other half, takes all the pictures. -- I hope my soap gallery will be ready soon.