Soaps causing skin problem on hands

[KiwiMoose]

I'm another superfan of Zany's No-Slime Castile and recommend it highly. My favorite is the bastile variation, which calls for the same 85% olive oil you are thinking of, and you could use 15% coconut if you don't have the castor oil (although it's truly worthwhile to include if you can get it). Here's a YouTube video of someone trying out the 100% olive oil recipe; note that the maker soaped cooler than Zany specifies, and I've not experienced the difficulty getting to trace that she did:
Making Zany's No-Slime Castile

One last note: at first I was nervous about the 0% superfat as well, but the calculator allows you to enter 0.25% or 0.5% SF, which isn't enough to disrupt the "no slime" formula but does provide a little peace of mind if needed!

Best of luck with whatever you decide to make!

First time I made it I added a little superfat, but it was slimy, so the next batch I did as I was told!

 

[DeeAnna]

The idea is incorrect that high oleic soap will be less slimy when made with very low to negative superfat.

I've made high oleic soap with -40% superfat (yes, negative four zero), cured it for multiple years, and it slimes just fine.

It's the soap itself that forms a slick gelatinous gel when the soap absorbs water. Superfat has little or nothing to do with that.

What can alter this tendency is making the soap more water soluble by introducing alkalas other than sodium. I use some KOH to make a dual lye soap. Zany's recipe might accomplish somewhat the same thing with the fake seawater.

 

[Ekuzo]

The idea is incorrect that high oleic soap will be less slimy when made with very low to negative superfat.

I've made high oleic soap with -40% superfat (yes, negative four zero), cured it for multiple years, and it slimes just fine.

It's the soap itself that forms a slick gelatinous gel when the soap absorbs water. Superfat has little or nothing to do with that.

What can alter this tendency is making the soap more water soluble by introducing alkalas other than sodium. I use some KOH to make a dual lye soap. Zany's recipe might accomplish somewhat the same thing with the fake seawater.

Hi DeeAnna!

What's the reason you made -40% SF soap, apart from "for experiment's sake"?

 

[DeeAnna]

...What's the reason you made -40% SF soap, apart from "for experiment's sake"?

It was purely an experiment that a bunch of us on SMF tried some years ago based on this idea that making an olive oil (or other high oleic) soap with a large excess of NaOH would result in a no-slime soap.

This method is not something I think a beginner should try, but it was an interesting worthwhile experience for those of us who enjoy experimentation.

Main experiment: https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/deanna-i-have-a-question.42922/

One soaper's followup: https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/castile-superlye-method-experiment.76385/

 

[Ekuzo]

It was purely an experiment that a bunch of us on SMF tried some years ago based on this idea that making an olive oil (or other high oleic) soap with a large excess of NaOH would result in a no-slime soap.

This method is not something I think a beginner should try, but it was an interesting worthwhile experience for those of us who enjoy experimentation.

Main experiment: https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/deanna-i-have-a-question.42922/

One soaper's followup: https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/castile-superlye-method-experiment.76385/

Thanks, will check it out - sounds interesting!

 

[Jackie H]

Just wanted to say this happens to my hands too with store bought soap, and my Aunt’s hands, and we don’t know why. I have noticed if I wash my hands too frequently in a short period of time it happens. It seems like the soap doesn’t get completely rinsed off and then builds up on my hands and causes this, that’s my theory anyway. It’s only happens in summertime too which is weird

 

[QuietWorker]

@Ekuzo Yeah, unfortunately things are never 100%, but this should be pretty close to it. It's always better to assume the things are 100% anyway for calculations sake, right? It's better to have an excess of oil rather than an excess of lye!

@A-Polly I may have actually spoken too soon. I could not find castor oil in my local stores, but I searched online and only realized it's sold as a laxative/hair product, not a cooking oil (which is where I was looking lol)

I was able to find this from my local walmart, which is edible-grade: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Freskaro...ystem-Booster-Oral-Solution-6fl-oz/1601510879

But there are tons of it on Amazon for rather cheap that I imagine should work just fine, like this: https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Solutions-Versatile-Multi-Purpose-Softener/dp/B0013TM9UQ/

If doing 85% Olive, 10% coconut and 5% castor, as the thread suggests, do all of the other parts of the recipe remain the same? E.g. the lye ratio and the faux sea water?

Just wanted to say this happens to my hands too with store bought soap, and my Aunt’s hands, and we don’t know why. I have noticed if I wash my hands too frequently in a short period of time it happens. It seems like the soap doesn’t get completely rinsed off and then builds up on my hands and causes this, that’s my theory anyway. It’s only happens in summertime too which is weird

@Jackie H Wow, your experience is so interesting to me. I only noticed it happening in the summer, too. And it does seem to only first appear when I wash my hands in the following day(s).

 

[A-Polly]

@A-Polly[/ I may have actually spoken too soon. I could not find castor oil in my local stores, but I searched online and only realized it's sold as a laxative/hair product, not a cooking oil (which is where I was looking lol)

I was able to find this from my local walmart, which is edible-grade: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Freskaro...ystem-Booster-Oral-Solution-6fl-oz/1601510879

But there are tons of it on Amazon for rather cheap that I imagine should work just fine, like this: https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Solutions-Versatile-Multi-Purpose-Softener/dp/B0013TM9UQ/

If doing 85% Olive, 10% coconut and 5% castor, as the thread suggests, do all of the other parts of the recipe remain the same? E.g. the lye ratio and the faux sea water?

Glad you found it! I'd forgotten that castor oil is a laxative (ha ha, or maybe just didn't want to think about it!). And yes, the rest of the recipe remains exactly the same, faux sea water and all. For me, the bars come out hard and smooth — nicely white and with a faint but very pleasant aroma of pure soap, even without added fragrance or color. Hope you have fun testing!

 

[ScentimentallyYours]

If doing 85% Olive, 10% coconut and 5% castor, as the thread suggests, do all of the other parts of the recipe remain the same? E.g. the lye ratio and the faux sea water?

Yes @QuietWorker. You understand correctly, so go for it!!!

 

[Ekuzo]

Just wanted to say this happens to my hands too with store bought soap, and my Aunt’s hands, and we don’t know why. I have noticed if I wash my hands too frequently in a short period of time it happens. It seems like the soap doesn’t get completely rinsed off and then builds up on my hands and causes this, that’s my theory anyway. It’s only happens in summertime too which is weird

No matter what soap you use, always make sure 110% that it's all rinsed off. If it stays for longer than needed, it can cause skin burn, which is always worse when you have sensitive skin. Of course, there may be something else, but that's just a suggestion

@QuietWorker exactly! Always assume things are stronger and more dangerous than they actually are, for safety reasons. As someone else on the forum said, don't fear the lye, respect it - and you'll be good partners!

I saw the castor oil bottles - look like normal castor oil to me, at least it says 100% pure castor. Still, always make sure there are no additives and it's just oil before you use it, because otherwise it will: 1) mess up your calculations; 2) probably ruin your batch.

Yes, you can follow the recipe the way it is. Just use a lye calculator, input your percentages and adjust for the weight of your batch, and you are good to go!

Edit: not sure why every time I type in "lye calculator" it turns into a link for the SM Friend recipe builder and it looks like I'm advertising for them. Looks like it's some sort of a shortcut/trigger and I can't turn it off. I noticed it happens when other people post too, just wanted to mention it.

 

[artemis]

Edit: not sure why every time I type in "lye calculator" it turns into a link for the SM Friend recipe builder and it looks like I'm advertising for them.

Yup. When you type "lye calculator" it automatically gets linked to SM Friend. You can try linking a specific calc or creatively type it out. Ly3 calculat0r

 

[Ekuzo]

Yup. When you type "lye calculator" it automatically gets linked to SM Friend. You can try linking a specific calc or creatively type it out. Ly3 calculat0r

Thought so. Bad grammar will save the day

 

[artemis]

Thought so. Bad grammar will save the day

(As an experiment, I just successfully linked to different calculator in my previous post. Shh...)

And now, back to the topic of the thread!

 

[QuietWorker]

@A-Polly
@Ekuzo
@DeeAnna (you seem scientifically inclined, so maybe you can check my work below?)

Okay so I went down a bit of a rabbit hole. I was wondering just how pure the Freskaro castor oil I got from Walmart was. The title says it's 100% pure but I couldn't find anything on the bottle, and it didn't list any inactive ingredients.

I wasn't able to find out much about the company, but I did find this: https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=fbd6bdd5-a7a1-3f28-e053-6294a90aab87

Firstly, what an amazing resource the NIH has set up! Secondly, it lists the active ingredient as castor oil (good), but it also lists water as in inactive ingredient (bad). It says the strength of the castor oil is 1 mg in 1 mL. If my calculations are correct, that makes it 0.1% pure castor oil????

Maybe it's a typo or my math is wrong? I checked a different product, just a random one that said it was 100% castor oil (https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=16a82033-1a99-480f-e063-6294a90a87f6) and I found it was listed as having a strength of 100 g in 100 mL (or 1g/1mL). That's 1000x stronger (100% castor oil)!!!

Good thing I didn't open the bottle. I will have to return it and find something better.

 

[justsomeguy]

@A-Polly
@Ekuzo
@DeeAnna (you seem scientifically inclined, so maybe you can check my work below?)

Okay so I went down a bit of a rabbit hole. I was wondering just how pure the Freskaro castor oil I got from Walmart was. The title says it's 100% pure but I couldn't find anything on the bottle, and it didn't list any inactive ingredients.

I wasn't able to find out much about the company, but I did find this: https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=fbd6bdd5-a7a1-3f28-e053-6294a90aab87

Firstly, what an amazing resource the NIH has set up! Secondly, it lists the active ingredient as castor oil (good), but it also lists water as in inactive ingredient (bad). It says the strength of the castor oil is 1 mg in 1 mL. If my calculations are correct, that makes it 0.1% pure castor oil????

The site says there are no inactive ingredients in the castor oil so it's pure per the site.

 

[DeeAnna]

...If my calculations are correct, that makes it 0.1% pure castor oil????...

If I'm following you correctly, what you're talking about is castor oil that is 99.9% pure with 0.1% impurities.

You're using some creative math and drawing incorrect conclusions based on your math. My advice is to buy from reputable sources and don't read more into things than are actually there.

There is no such thing as 100% purity for any chemical. For example, a glass of water from the tap is 100% water. You haven't intentionally added any other ingredients such as flavoring or sweetener. But that glass of 100% water contains trace amounts of minerals that are naturally found in water. What that means is that glass of 100% water is not 100% pure. No biggie.

 

[QuietWorker]

The site says there are no inactive ingredients in the castor oil so it's pure per the site.

No, for the Freskaro castor oil it says there is water as an inactive ingredient. E.g. the castor oil is diluted in water.

If I'm following you correctly, what you're talking about is castor oil that is 99.9% pure with 0.1% impurities.

You're using some creative math and drawing incorrect conclusions based on your math. My advice is to buy from reputable sources and don't read more into things than are actually there.

There is no such thing as 100% purity for any chemical. For example, a glass of water from the tap is 100% water. You haven't intentionally added any other ingredients such as flavoring or sweetener. But that glass of 100% water contains trace amounts of minerals that are naturally found in water. What that means is that glass of 100% water is not 100% pure. No biggie.

I think you're misunderstanding. I am not talking about purity, so I shouldn't have used that word. I am saying the Freskaro brand has diluted the castor oil and the bottle is 99.9% water, 0.1% castor oil, per the data I found. It seems like a lot of laxatives like that are diluted in order to get easier dosages.

 

[A-Polly]

No, for the Freskaro castor oil it says there is water as an inactive ingredient. E.g. the castor oil is diluted in water.


I think you're misunderstanding. I am not talking about purity, so I shouldn't have used that word. I am saying the Freskaro brand has diluted the castor oil and the bottle is 99.9% water, 0.1% castor oil, per the data I found. It seems like a lot of laxatives like that are diluted in order to get easier dosages.

Perhaps you have picked up a different product? The link goes to a product with this ingredient panel, no water or other inactives mentioned. So you are right about needing to exchange the one you bought. Also looks like WalMart has several other castor oil options, especially if you don't mind having it shipped. And there's always Amazon, or any of the regular soap supply vendors. Hope you find what you need!

 

[justsomeguy]

No, for the Freskaro castor oil it says there is water as an inactive ingredient. E.g. the castor oil is diluted in water.

Nope.

 

[QuietWorker]

Interesting, @A-Polly and @justsomeguy . Perhaps I am mistaken. I was taking my information from here:

Are they required to list the inactive ingredients on the label? If so, I think that is definitive proof that I am wrong because you're right, they only list one ingredient, the castor oil.