Wondering why this soap is so soft. I can still insert my fingernail
Soap too soft
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Wondering why this soap is so soft. I can still insert my fingernail
That's a fairly high amount of castor, but I would have thought that the high amount of cocoa butter would have offset that. The only other thing that looks off (but probably wouldn't make the soap soft) is that the sodium citrate should be dissolved in water, not added to oils.
I also wasn't sure about the highlighted notes that the bottom. Were you using different amounts of water for a ghost swirl?
Sorry I can't be of more help. Maybe someone else will spot something I missed.
I also wasn't sure about the highlighted notes that the bottom. Were you using different amounts of water for a ghost swirl?
Sorry I can't be of more help. Maybe someone else will spot something I missed.
artemis
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Wondering why this soap is so soft. I can still insert my fingernail
You don't say when it was made... Whether it's been cut it...
I agree the notes are off. You have divided the oils, NaOH and water in 2, and here comes the interesting part. When you add the oils from both sections, you get the total weight of the oils in the recipe. HOWEVER when you combine NaOH¹ with NaOH² and water¹ with water² respectively - their weight is much less than what the recipe calls for. A big part of your lye solution is just missing (or should I say it became a ghost? 
?). Maybe you used less NaOH than needed and ended up with much higher SF, therefore softer soap?
Here goes the math to back up my theory:
329.34+658.66=988 g oils (that's the same)
34.41+62.3=96.71 g of NaOH out of 131.24 (34.53 g NaOH is missing from the batter, according to your notes)
34.41+124.62=159.03 g water out of 262.47 (103.44 g water is missing)
That makes a huge difference. If your notes are correct, this is the reason for the soft soap
?). Maybe you used less NaOH than needed and ended up with much higher SF, therefore softer soap?Here goes the math to back up my theory:
329.34+658.66=988 g oils (that's the same)
34.41+62.3=96.71 g of NaOH out of 131.24 (34.53 g NaOH is missing from the batter, according to your notes)
34.41+124.62=159.03 g water out of 262.47 (103.44 g water is missing)
That makes a huge difference. If your notes are correct, this is the reason for the soft soap
It was made on 6/30 and cut 48 hours later
Yes- was trying for a ghost swirl.
Makes sense. I was coping another’s ghost swirl recipe and I must have missed a step.I agree the notes are off. You have divided the oils, NaOH and water in 2, and here comes the interesting part. When you add the oils from both sections, you get the total weight of the oils in the recipe. HOWEVER when you combine NaOH¹ with NaOH² and water¹ with water² respectively - their weight is much less than what the recipe calls for. A big part of your lye solution is just missing (or should I say it became a ghost?
Here goes the math to back up my theory:
329.34+658.66=988 g oils (that's the same)
34.41+62.3=96.71 g of NaOH out of 131.24 (34.53 g NaOH is missing from the batter, according to your notes)
34.41+124.62=159.03 g water out of 262.47 (103.44 g water is missing)
That makes a huge difference. If your notes are correct, this is the reason for the soft soap
Should I scrap the soap?
Maybe confetti? The others should be able to say if that idea would work or if there would be a problem because of the extra oil
akseattle
Well-Known Member
@ewhitake , aw, no! don't scrap your soap! As Ekuzo says, you can grate it for confetti, OR just let it sit there for several months.
Unless it zaps or smells bad, what's the worst that can happen if you use it? It'll disappear fast?
It takes me so long to make a pound of soap, it would be hard to see that labor go out the window.
I bet your soap will feel great in the shower!
Unless it zaps or smells bad, what's the worst that can happen if you use it? It'll disappear fast?
It takes me so long to make a pound of soap, it would be hard to see that labor go out the window.
I bet your soap will feel great in the shower!
Won't it feel greasy on the skin though, like, not cleansing enough and leaving an oily feeling? I've only used soap with high SF that's 100% CO and it's great, but what about a recipe like the one above? We definitely need an update how it goes if OP decides to use it, now I'm curious
100% CO would be so harsh on my skin!!! These would probably feel wonderful to me. I'll just leave them in the rack and see if they ever firm up.
Yup, let it cure and see how long it takes to get hard. You can always do something else with it if you feel like it later and you are not satisfied.
I was talking about 100% CO soap with 20% SF. Some say it gets really mild after a year of curing. Can't say I've kept one around for that long though
I was talking about 100% CO soap with 20% SF. Some say it gets really mild after a year of curing. Can't say I've kept one around for that long though
Wow!!! 20%!! I don’t know if I have the patience to wait that long. LOL!!!
akseattle
Well-Known Member
so glad you'll give your soap a chance!! Let us know how it turns out!!
akseattle
Well-Known Member
@Ekuzo , I just ran that through soap calc (with 20% SF). That is some hard, seriously bubbly soap!!
The weird thing is, for such a hard bar, its longevity value is pretty low.
I know everyone says "don't treat soapcalc like its the bible" (or whatever your truism might be...)
I learned this when I ran ZNSC through soapcalc before making it. It seems like a cleansing value of 67 would be really drying ( I don't say this from personal experience because I have mainly made only minor deviations in the recipe I settled on -to be able to isolate errors- and I haven't been making soap long enough to test all my soaps- so, this is just theoretically, based on what I read.)
But, you like it. I assume you let it cure for a reasonable amount of time.
Is this as hard and bubbly as soapcalc predicts?
Why have you settled upon this particular recipe with 100% coconut oil?
Once you are able to use the current batch, I'm sure you'll have learned a thing or two about patience
Exactly! The case is very similar to castile - don't take what soapcalc says without the mandatory grain of salt.
Yes, CO makes a harsh soap, but the very high SF offsets that harshness to an acceptable level. And with time it gets better, if you let it cure for a long time. I personally used CO soap 2 or 3 months after it was made and I didn't have issues with it. But I don't recommend you do the same if you are not keen on high CO content and it affects your skin in a bad way.
A side note - soapcalc (or any similar calculator for that matter) shows a lot of things, but some stay hidden. For example, no matter how high or low your SF is, the quality numbers stay the same and SF just isn't accounted for, like it doesn't affect the final soap. Which is far from true. Same with OO soap - it shows the low initial hardness of the bar, but doesn't tell you how hard it can get after a long cure. Nor does it tell you what happens if you use this or that additive. It's after all mostly a calculator for lye, and there are just too many variables in personal recipes to consider.
Yes, with high bubbly factor usually comes low longevity (you noticed that you need to check the Creamy line - for this particular recipe if you use SMF calculator it will show the same number for Longevity, 12, which is low). But keep in mind that this soap dissolves really easily, due to the high lauric/myristic content. After just a couple of rubs you get all the bubbles you need, which makes it economical. It's also called 'sailor's soap' due to the fact it dissolves and lathers well even in sea water - which is not the case with most regular soap recipes, at least not to that extent. That also makes it perfect for use in places with very hard water, without the need for lathering boosting additives. Or even antioxidants, chelators and conservatives - since CO soap develops DOS much harder and slower than other plain soap. If you ever need to make a one-oil-soap for some reason, that's your go-to!
You'll be surprised how many people on the forum like that recipe with 20% SF. It occasionally pops up in threads, I think I managed to cover the main points, but I'm sure there's even more.
And then there are salt bars, with different variations - lots of which have CO content over 80% - the rabbit hole goes deeper, if you're brave enough
akseattle
Well-Known Member
@Ekuzo-what great information!!! Thank you for the discussion!!Exactly! The case is very similar to castile - don't take what soapcalc says without the mandatory grain of salt. .....
A side note - soapcalc (or any similar calculator for that matter) shows a lot of things, but some stay hidden. .....
Yes, with high bubbly factor usually comes low longevity ... It's also called 'sailor's soap' due to the fact it dissolves and lathers well even in sea water....
I think I managed to cover the main points, but I'm sure there's even more.
And then there are salt bars, with different variations - lots of which have CO content over 80% - the rabbit hole goes deeper, if you're brave enough
I have to say, at this point in time, I'm definitely kind of a chicken so I probably won't be trying this 100% coconut recipe anytime soon.
I wish someone really ambitious could invent a soap calc that gives us the full skinny that factors in all those pearls of wisdom shared on this forum!
Thanks again!
You are welcome! CO soap was actually the second or third soap I made, because I wanted to keep it simple until I get used to it
I don't know if such tool is possible (at least at this point), there are too many variables and even unexpected additive effects to consider. Plus it would take most of the fun and the exploration part, since you'll know what the recipe will do as soon as you look at it
But I feel lucky to be able to make soap now, with all the info, equipment and software available. If we were to do this 30 or so years ago, we could only rely on tried and true basic recipes and couldn't experiment - nowadays the sky is the limit
I'm late in replying but try soaping at least once a month for a while. I'm not sure about the 100% CO soap, but my bars last long enough that once I got through the first year of soaping, I wasn't using it fast enough...or giving it away...and now I am using soap that is 2 years+ old, and I no longer soap as often either. My bars are much milder and kinder on my skin, too. The wait for a good cure is worth it.
I tried 100% CO soap once...don't remember the SF number but it was high. My skin did not like it. Neither did my shower walls...our hard water produced a lot of soap scum for the walls and I always wondered if it was also leaving soap scum on my skin at the same time! LOL It sure felt that way. I now soap all the time with 2%SF and use either sodium citrate or sodium gluconate and get very little soap scum on the walls, so am hoping that it translates to cleaner pipes too. I use CO in soaps for my hubby and grandson at 15-20% and 0-5% for me and my daugthers. The higher % of CO would make my skin itch...just can't tolerate it. The amount of CO in soaps is definitely a personal preference as you will see if you search the forum.
The first time I made soap, I used it after a month of cure. Now I have a backlog of sort and I'm currently using batches made more than a year earlier, and I even keep 1 bar from each for future reference - and I'm not making that much lol
Yup, soap scum... sometimes even with sodium citrate/citric acid in the soap, it's still there. As long as the water is hard and there's high humidity in the bathroom (when it's used in a dry place scum doesn't form from what I've seen, but YMMV). I currently stopped at 3% SF and we'll see how that goes... yup, high CO is not for everyone and lots of folks don't like it much. It would be too perfect of a soaping oil if that wasn't the case. Just like OO - loved by some, hated by others
