Single oil soap experiment

[marghewitt]

Wow Thank you! I am looking forward to keeping up with this thread and the results.

 

[thefarmerdaughter]

It's a long shot but is there maybe another soaper in your area, who might be already rendering it and might sell some to you....?

 

[Cherry Bomb]

Oh, yes...and blind testing! I will emboss each soap with a number. I was going to emboss each with its name, but a number system is smarter :wink:

It is super humid here in Florida most of the time, but with the AC going, it's not so bad. I will note the temperature in the kitchen when I soap and the temperature in the curing areas. Is there an (easy) way to measure humidity?
I'm leaving all the soaps unwrapped, since I think that would be another variable that could affect outcome, and even oils that could normally stand the test of time could have a problem with plastic wrapping. There's another experiment idea right there: How does packaging effect soap longevity or rancidity?
Any takers? :wink:

Hello AlchemyandAshes! It just so happens that I can help you figure out your % relative humidity (RH) in your rooms if you'd like! I will do my best to explain. The actual formulas are time consuming but pretty basic once you have the information you need. I can't picture anyone wanting to do math formulas every morning! Well, maybe I would at first and then I would get bored or tired! lol There are humidity calculators online and this is the easiest one I have found. You will need to know the dew point of outside temp and the temp in the room you are using. You can easily get the dew point of the day by asking Siri (lol) or using THe Weather Channel website.

http://www.weather.com/maps/maptype/currentweatherusnational/uscurrentdewpoints_large.html

Just go to maps/current weather/ and at the bottom of the map just select dew points)

Then go to this website and plug in your current temp of the room you are in and the dew point and hit calculate. It will give you the % of relative humidity in that room.

http://andrew.rsmas.miami.edu/bmcnoldy/Humidity.html

I hope the links work and that this MSG is not confusing! I tried my best to help you out

 

[nebetmiw]

I find myself constantly referring to the Zen Soaps Single Oil Soap Swap because I find it so interesting, and think it is helpful to determine which oil you may or may not want to use in your formula.

However, part of me wishes it was a bit more "scientific"...since the single oil soaps were made for a "swap" by different people in different environments with different water and such, there's no real way to determine what caused the DOS, or to really validate some of the results.

So I decided I am going to try to replicate the experiment myself, as scientifically as I can, so that all the soaps will be made in the same environment, with the same water, and the same method.

I chose 12 oils based on common usage, availability, and cost:
(I will list brand, price and place of purchase with the results)

CANOLA
CASTOR
COCONUT (LouAna 76 degree)
CRISCO (New)
GRAPESEED
LARD
OLIVE (Refined)
PALM (Hydrogenated Organic)
RICE BRAN
SAFFLOWER
SUNFLOWER
TALLOW

I will soap each oil with full water (distilled) with a 5% superfat and pour them into individual molds. I will (hopefully) gel all of the soaps. I will keep one of each soaps in two different places: one in a cool, dark room and one in a moist bathroom cabinet.

I'm hoping to start this experiment after my next show, so it will be the beginning of February before I gather all the oils I don't personally use. I will post updates to this thread and to my blog.

Does anyone have any suggestions or requests? What oils would you like to see in my experiment?

There was someone many years ago on this forum that did this. It was not a swap either and they made a blog about it. I do not remember who for I saw it back when I joined and by then it had been a few years. Glad to see it done again it is real interesting and good help for the new people.

 

[Trxflyer]

HELP!
I have all of my supplies ready to go for this experiment...but I CAN NOT for the life of me find RENDERED TALLOW anywhere locally! I can purchase 1 quart from Essential Depot for $7.49...plus $15.75 shipping!!! They are about an hour drive from me, and I may consider it if I don't have any other options. I don't even use animal fats in my soaps so I would only be using it for this experiment. I've checked all the local grocery stores, and can find the bulk fat, but would have to render it myself, which I'd highly prefer not to do. The local butcher also only carries it unrendered.

Any suggestions? Anyone have the Tallow hook-up?

Big experiment about to begin?

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

Well, since my search for Tallow (in small amounts) only led me to Essential Depot, I'm going to order it this week...plus they sent me a 20% off my entire order coupon, so that seals the deal I wanted to have everything at once so there wouldn't be much variance in ambient temperature and what not. Hopefully I can get this show on the road next week!

 

[lizflowers42]

Exciting!

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

Tallow order placed! (Finally!)

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

Got my Tallow! Experiment to commence on Friday!

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

The anticipation is killing me...

 

[AngelMomma]

Beauty to the OCD eye!!! I'm so excited that you are doing this :smile:

 

[Trxflyer]

I'm with AngelMomma. Nice!

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

Phase One Complete...or almost, I should say.
All oils have been soaped. 10 were unmolded after 24 hours. 5 are still too soft to unmold, so I will check again in the morning, but will probably leave them another 24 hours.
I will start a new thread titled "Single Oil Soap Experiment : Phase 1" with all the updated information and pictures (hopefully) on Monday. I'm already a little surprised at some of the early results!

 

[Badger]

Looking forward to hearing more about how the experiment turns out!

 

[melstan775]

Woot! Any hints about results so far?

 

[green soap]

Are you going you mark them or stamp them to differentiate them?

Looking forward to reading about your results.

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

Are you going you mark them or stamp them to differentiate them?

Looking forward to reading about your results.

Yes...I cut them in half, and carved a number and "a" or "b" so that they can be cured in separate environments, one in a damp bathroom and one in a dry closet.
I started to stamp them with plastic embossers but the Tallow started crumbling because it was already so hard...so I used a clay tool to "scratch" their assigned number into them.
I have a master list with their assigned numbers for "blind study" purposes, so my testers won't have preconceived notions.

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

Woot! Any hints about results so far?

Five oils were too soft still to unmold after 24 hours...can you guess which ones?

 

[hlee]

No, but anxious to hear.
Love that you are doing this!

 

[AngelMomma]

Canola, Soybean, Sunflower, Olive and Safflower........or maybe Castor:roll:


Its cool how already you can see a difference in colors. Did you gel them? I think I missed that detail somewhere.