Soap Bark

[Justcallmewillie]

I seem to be on the never ending quest to get more rich bubbly lather with LS without the drying effect of coconut oil.

I do add CA to the lye water and that really cuts the soap scum from forming but now wonder if the addition of CA inhibits the lather to a point.

I recently stumbled upon soap bark powder and curious if anyone had tried this, how much was used per pound of oils. I wonder how it would work; meaning does it dissolve in the mix, does it sink to the bottom, does it lend a foul odor etc.. it’s very pricey though at $85 per pack

 

[AliOop]

Haven't tried these, but any botanicals added to LS will normally sink to the bottom, or float to the top - and then go moldy on you.

Have you tried using canola or babassu in your LS? Both make wonderful lather. Canola is usually pretty cheap, babassu not so much.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

get more rich bubbly lather with LS

Slightly XY, but I guess you already know foamer bottles?

 

[Justcallmewillie]

Haven't tried these, but any botanicals added to LS will normally sink to the bottom, or float to the top - and then go moldy on you.

Have you tried using canola or babassu in your LS? Both make wonderful lather. Canola is usually pretty cheap, babassu not so much.

Curious if after sitting a few weeks if the lye would “extract “ the goodness in the powder then strain. Always curious but this would be a very expensive project. Even in liquid form. I have seen babassu oil before snd that’s very $$ also, which is why I didn’t buy. As far as canola goes, how much is suggested?

 

[Justcallmewillie]

Slightly XY, but I guess you already know foamer bottles?

I have foamer bottles. I’m referring to lather during use. I’m wanting bubbles out the door

 

[ResolvableOwl]

I have seen babassu oil before snd that’s very $$ also, which is why I didn’t buy. As far as canola goes, how much is suggested?

Keep in mind that babaçu is very similar to coconut oil. Replace CO by it if you are coconut allergic, but if it's for the stripping/drying properties, you don't win much.
Canola: It's a base oil, you can use up to 100% of it (though then it's quite castile-like and has only slight lather lead over olive & co.)

 

[AliOop]

Canola percentages would depend on whether you are using high-oleic canola (recommended use up to 70%) or regular canola (recommended up to 60%). You can certainly use it up to 100%; it will be wonderfully clear, but it may not have the lather you want.

Regarding babassu, it is pricey, but some people feel a marked difference from coconut. Others say it feels the same.

If you want to try the soap bark, I'd recommend doing an oil infusion and then straining it out before adding the lye solution. Hard to know whether anything will survive the lye.

Sounds like canola, babassu, and soap bark experiments may be in order.

 

[Justcallmewillie]

I’ll try canola first cause of cost reasons and I should test the soap bark but it’s so pricey. Babassu…I’ll hold off on that.
off the top of my tiny head with what I have lol I thought about doing:
20% PKO
20% coconut
30% sunflower
20% castor
10% hemp

 

[AliOop]

I'd probably put in canola instead of your sunflower; either way, high oleic for those is best if you have access to it. Costco usually has a pretty good price on HO canola, assuming you want to buy that much at one time.

I honestly haven't tried either PKO or hemp in LS so would love to hear what you think of them. PKO is almost identical to CO in its FA profile, but still, some report, and I agree, that PKO is a tad gentler than CO in bar soap. It will be interesting to see if that shows up in LS, too.

FWIW, I've been meaning to search for turkey red castor oil, which is supposedly suitable as a post-cook LS superfat since it is water-soluble. I normally keep a 1 or 2SF for LS to avoid separation, but the turkey red castor oil is supposed to allow for a higher SF without that problem.

 

[Justcallmewillie]

I'd probably put in canola instead of your sunflower; either way, high oleic for those is best if you have access to it. Costco usually has a pretty good price on HO canola, assuming you want to buy that much at one time.

I honestly haven't tried either PKO or hemp in LS so would love to hear what you think of them. PKO and CO is almost identical to CO in its FA profile, but still, some report, and I agree, that PKO is a tad gentler than CO in bar soap. It will be interesting to see if that shows up in LS, too.

FWIW, I've been meaning to search for turkey red castor oil, which is supposedly suitable as a post-cook LS superfat since it is water-soluble. I normally keep a 1 or 2SF for LS to avoid separation, but the turkey red castor oil is supposed to allow for a higher SF without that problem.

I’ll have to get some HO canola cause I don’t have any. I made a year round #3 LS a while back but don’t have access on mobile. I’ll get that and write it down or picture it for you. It’s got PKO and coconut plus hemp. With so many different oils in this, I can’t give a yay or nay on having a particular oil in the mix.

i would like to try soap bark but still can’t see past the $85 price for something I’m going to have to steep in oil. It is an emulsifier also so Im unsure how to incorporate this into the mix. I can see it gelling immediately thus throwing a hammer in the crankcase. If I could add to water, then drop in for a thickener, it might work. I’ve got so much off the wall additives at home I never use so I’m afraid the soap bark would turn into another unused additive.

 

[AliOop]

I’ve got so much off the wall additives at home I never use so I’m afraid the soap bark would turn into another unused additive.

Why, how strange... I certainly don't have any of those in my soap cabinets.

 

[Justcallmewillie]

Why how strange... I certainly don't have any of those in my soap cabinets.

I used some in chemical soap mixes. That became too iffy snd so inconsistent that I stopped trying to make chemical type soaps. It’s why I have 2 pounds of methylcellulose. That stuff works great for a thickener in LS with no hoops to jump over when using it. I will try reading up on soap bark more to try and get a plan of action because as of now, I have no idea.

 

[cmzaha]

I'd probably put in canola instead of your sunflower; either way, high oleic for those is best if you have access to it. Costco usually has a pretty good price on HO canola, assuming you want to buy that much at one time.

I honestly haven't tried either PKO or hemp in LS so would love to hear what you think of them. PKO and CO is almost identical to CO in its FA profile, but still, some report, and I agree, that PKO is a tad gentler than CO in bar soap. It will be interesting to see if that shows up in LS, too.

FWIW, I've been meaning to search for turkey red castor oil, which is supposedly suitable as a post-cook LS superfat since it is water-soluble. I normally keep a 1 or 2SF for LS to avoid separation, but the turkey red castor oil is supposed to allow for a higher SF without that problem.

Sure wish you had mentioned this when I was destashing. I sent an almost full gallon of Turkey Red to Hazardous Waste. :-( I like PKO in LS myself. What I always to do was make batches of Single Oil LS and mix them together until I came up with the feel I liked. You can either do this and track your percentages of each single oil LS you added or do this every time you make LS. If you track the percentages you can make your next batch of LS using the oil percentage of how you mixed the single oil LS combination. Hope this made sense. This was how I came up with the LS end product I preferred.

 

[Justcallmewillie]

That’s a brilliant idea!

 

[AliOop]

I sent an almost full gallon of Turkey Red to Hazardous Waste. :-( I like PKO in LS myself.

Rats, I didn't know about it then

 

[AliOop]

I used some in chemical soap mixes.

I hope you know from the Pinocchio faces that I was being quite facetious. I have two 36"x72" cabinets, plus several racks, plus big containers on the floor. There are a fair number of unopened items there...

 

[Justcallmewillie]

It’s so easy to get a stock pile of stuff. I don’t have a lot of volume of additives but let’s say plenty as one doesn’t use much of those.
I made a 60% coconut oil soap and while it lathered well, it’s just too drying for my skin. Maybe @Zany_in_CO would have a few tricks for lather up her sleeve.?

 

[AliOop]

It’s so easy to get a stock pile of stuff. I don’t have a lot of volume of additives but let’s say plenty as one doesn’t use much of those.
I made a 60% coconut oil soap and while it lathered well, it’s just too drying for my skin. Maybe @Zany_in_CO would have a few tricks for lather up her sleeve.?

She probably does... she makes a lot of LS.

 

[cmzaha]

Sorbitol even helps when making LS Paste.
Stock pile of stuff, we won't talk about how much I destashed after 11 yrs of soaping... and still have to move.

 

[AliOop]

@cmzaha I didn't realize sorbitol was good for LS, too. Do you use the same percentage as when making bar soap?