Soap is drying during the winter

[FrayGrants]

Okay so I just started soaping at the beginning of the year so I haven’t used any of my soaps during the winter months. All my soaps are on the milder side with CO never exceeding 15%.

During the spring, summer, and fall they feel great and moisturizing, but the problem is now that it’s getting colder my soaps are drying out my skin.

Do you all use different recipes for the winter months or any special techniques to combat this, or is it just my skin in particular?

 

[DeeAnna]

Controlling the amount of lauric and myristic fatty acids -- the main fatty acids in coconut oil -- is good. Some people drop the coconut oil content even lower than 15%. But it would be best if you gave a full recipe with all ingredients. Other things besides the coconut oil percentage can make the skin feel dry or tight.

The other aspect is ... soap is supposed to clean the skin, not moisturize it. Even the mildest soap I make can still be drying to my skin in winter, especially as I get older, so I've learned to compensate for that. I use lotion after bathing until the weather becomes warmer and more humid. Also I use soap only on the bits that need it -- just rinse the rest of my body with water. Bathe in cooler water if a person normally does blistering-hot showers. Consider bathing less often if you're not getting hot, sweaty, or dirty.

 

[TheGecko]

but the problem is now that it’s getting colder my soaps are drying out my skin.

It's not the soap that is drying out your skin, it's the time of the year. The cold doesn't just pull heat from our bodies, it also pulls moisture.

Do you all use different recipes for the winter months or any special techniques to combat this, or is it just my skin in particular?

Our skin changes throughout the year. I have three different shades of foundation...I have a 'winter blend', 'summer blend' and the standard I use the rest of the year. I have two different moisturizers that I use...one for winter/summer, one for spring/fall. Now that I've gotten older, I've added a foot cream. Pretty much the only time I use hand lotion is during the winter.

 

[FrayGrants]

But it would be best if you gave a full recipe with all ingredients.

My recipe is as follows: 5 castor, 15 coconut, 40 palm, 20 rbo, 5 safflower, 15 shea

 

[KiwiMoose]

Agree wiht Gecko regarding the time of year. I remember getting really itchy legs after my showers when i was in my 20s - I put it down to the soap, but in hindsight it's always been in winter.
Now in my 50s I definitely have drier skin no matter what time of year.
We need to page @Zing to give you a wee lesson in lotion bars. @Zing to the customer service desk please!

 

[Marsi]

I get dry skin with any soap that has high oleic content in winter, if that helps?
(My winter soap has to have less oleic and more stearic, this seems to help - I don't get so dry with those )

 

[KiwiMoose]

I get dry skin with any soap that has high oleic content in winter, if that helps?
(My winter soap has to have less oleic and more stearic, this seems to help - I don't get so dry with those )

That's interesting Marsi. I'm on a mission to reduce oleic gel/slime lately so have been reducing in favour of more stearic/palmitic. I haven't used the new soaps enough yet to determine any difference - and anyhoo we are coming into summer.

 

[FrayGrants]

I get dry skin with any soap that has high oleic content in winter, if that helps?
(My winter soap has to have less oleic and more stearic, this seems to help - I don't get so dry with those )

Huh, I was under the impression that high oleic acid aided in treating dry skin. I will have to do some research on this subject.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I get dry skin with any soap that has high oleic content in winter, if that helps?
(My winter soap has to have less oleic and more stearic, this seems to help - I don't get so dry with those )

Any thoughts as to why less oleic makes a difference in how dry your skin feels? Is it possible that less of the soap bar is dissolving due to the higher stearic content? Do you hold the superfat constant?

 

[Marsi]

I use a low superfat (usually 2-3%)

Solubility is a good thought, except that higher coconut soap (for comparison) doesn't seem to have the same issue (in that my skin doesn't have any more of an issue whether it is winter or summer, stearic and coconut soap depends only on the coconut percentage for oil-stripping effect)

It's not just a feeling either ... my skin will start (mildly ) peeling if I continue using the high oleic soap in winter (which doesn't occur with higher coconut soaps - more drying as the coconut goes up, but no peeling).
I rinse thoroughly and moisturize to get close to avoid peeling in winter with high oleic soaps, but the effect is still obvious ... it took me a while to work out what it was

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Interesting, and I have so many questions . What do you consider to be high oleic? Do you use olive oil in your recipe? It seems to be drying for many who are able to use other high oleic oils without any issues. As I‘ve grown older, my skin has become a lot drier year round. I combat the problem with a combination of balm and lotion in the winter, while lotion alone still works fine in the summer. I haven’t tried adjusting my soap for the seasons, but maybe I should.

 

[Marsi]

Good question ... without doing a deep dive on recipes, I would say that olive oil at 40% or higher seems to trigger it, pure olive is a nightmare lol

I have tried Sunflower, but not at high rates and I haven't tried another high oleic oil.

Good point - I might make a tiny batch of pure sunflower soap to test this (as horrid as that will be), but I won't know until winter now (it's coming into summer, not that you'd know it with the Artic blasts we've been getting )

 

[AliOop]

High OO dries out my skin all year long, honestly.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

High OO dries out my skin all year long, honestly.

Have you tried other high oleic soaps for comparison?

 

[Quilter99755]

I stopped using olive oil as it makes my skin itch, year round. I spent many hours on this forum trying to figure out why my soap was acting like all of the commercial "soaps" that I had been using. Lots of testing by eliminating each of my ingredients (PO, OO and CO) and OO was the last to be eliminated because how could you go wrong with Olive Oil? Bingo!

Then it was another round of testing what I wanted in my soaps. I became one of the lardy ladies...love it. And my other go-to is RBO. I do have to use lotion in the winter...this winter is either a bear for dryness or my skin is changing Again! This weekend will be making Zing's lotion bars and some soap for my grnadson...he loves my 80% lard, 20%CO soap, but forgot to tell me he ran out. Then I will have to decide if I want to start another round of testing soap or stick to more lotion in the winter. As @DeeAnna says, soap cleans it doesn't moisturize. I think this winter is definitely drier but also my skin has taken a change that says "gimme some lotion".

 

[TheGecko]

I stopped using olive oil as it makes my skin itch, year round. I spent many hours on this forum trying to figure out why my soap was acting like all of the commercial "soaps" that I had been using. Lots of testing by eliminating each of my ingredients (PO, OO and CO) and OO was the last to be eliminated because how could you go wrong with Olive Oil? Bingo!

Except that the majority of commercial soaps don't contain Olive Oil...it's too expensive. Four oils that are most commonly found in commercial soaps are Palm Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Coconut Oil and Tallow. And something else...most commercial soap manufacturers remove glycerin and then add a small portion back in...that is why it is listed as an ingredient.

 

[DeeAnna]

"...most commercial soap manufacturers remove glycerin and then add a small portion back in...that is why it is listed as an ingredient...."

Ingredients lists for commercial soaps generally use the "what comes out of the pot" method. In other words, the ingredients list shows the stuff that's in the finished soap, not what you put into the soap pot to make the soap.

An example of a "what comes out of the pot" ingredients list would show ingredients such as sodium cocoate, sodium palm kernelate, sodium tallowate, sodium palmitate, etc. These are the names of the soaps made from coconut oil, palm kernel oil, tallow, and palm oil, respectively.

Whether you leave the naturally-made glycerin in the soap or whether you remove it and then add it back in later, glycerin would always be in the "what comes out of the pot" ingredients list.

It really doesn't matter how the glycerin got there ... if it's present in the finished soap, it will be on the ingredients list.

 

[Quilter99755]

Except that the majority of commercial soaps don't contain Olive Oil...it's too expensive. Four oils that are most commonly found in commercial soaps are Palm Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Coconut Oil and Tallow. And something else...most commercial soap manufacturers remove glycerin and then add a small portion back in...that is why it is listed as an ingredient.

When I talk about commercial soaps, I'm really talking about the detergent bars that pass as soap. I was given a bar of real soap by a friend who makes her own. That was what started my quest on making my own soaps...and then discovering after a while that something was making my skin itch again. It was very obvious once I got rid of the olive oil that it was the oil that was creating the problem.

Now my aging skin is the problem or that we are having a brutally dry winter...or both. I'm going to up my lotion to something heavier and see if that helps and if not, then I will be testing small batches of soap to find another one that doesn't make me itch. I know it was a lot easier testing soap batches when I was 10 years younger! LOL

 

[AliOop]

@Mobjack Bay I haven't tried experimenting, mostly because I do pretty well with my lard soaps.

Huh, I was under the impression that high oleic acid aided in treating dry skin. I will have to do some research on this subject.

I think it depends on the person. Some folks swear by OO soap - including one of my best friends, who only likes my goat milk version of ZNSC (80% OO, 15% CO, 5% castor, GMP, sorbitol, 0% SF)

I actually like that soap, too, but can't use it too often or my hands dry out.