Stearic Acid

[morena_mama]

Has anyone used it in CP? Will it work?


Will it ruin my soap?

 

[petrine65]

Yes, it will work .

It gives you a hard bar of soap and a lovely lather.

Use it from 3 - 5 %.

Good luck!

Best regards
Petra

 

[MissMori]

Yes it works. I use anywhere from 2% to 5%. I throw it in with my other oils and melt all together. As the oils cool, you will get a film on top. Mix back in. It is the top cooling faster than the rest of the oils.

 

[IrishLass]

The melting point of stearic acid is 152-156 degreesF (67-69 degreesC). I would soap it on the hot side to keep it from precipitating out, but like the others have said- yes- it will work.

If you want, you can try cetyl alcohol instead of stearic. Cetyl alcohol is a waxy, fatty alcohol with similar properties to stearic acid and is a comparable sub for stearic acid in lotion making, but it has a much lower melting point than stearic (120 degreesF). I just made an experimental soap with it the day before yesterday at a 5% usage rate. I gave it a try after reading an interview with Dr. Kevin Dunn (the chemist who wrote 'Scientific Soapmaking') who recommended it's use in soapmaking to help susrtain lather. I kept my soaping temps above 120 degreesF and it soaped absolutely wonderful. No A in sight.


IrishLass

 

[morena_mama]

If I have to maintain temps that high I wont do it. I'll wait until I get my crock pot to do cream soaps.

I will look into cetyl alcohol. I like soaping at high temps. I have no patience for everything to cool.

I've learned over the last few weeks I am a PKO girl. Maybe I'll just keep experimenting with that.



Thank you!

 

[Fragola]

If you want, you can try cetyl alcohol instead of stearic.

Does it have a SAP number or how you calculate the lye ?

 

[AmyW]

I think all the lye calcs have stearic listed.

I used it for my shaving soap. I love my shaving soap, I covet it (actually my legs do)... it wouldn't have turned out as nice without stearic. I used 4% but also used other oils/butters with higher stearic amounts. Man I love that soap. lol

 

[IrishLass]

If you want, you can try cetyl alcohol instead of stearic.

Does it have a SAP number or how you calculate the lye ?

It does not have a sap value. Just add it as you would oatmeal or poppy seeds or any other additive.


IrishLass

 

[RDak]

I use stearic in my soap (HP is only what I do).

It hardens soap at 1TBL per pound of oil for me.

The soap calc. program lists the SAP at 0.141 for sodium hydroxide.

http://soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp

 

[busymakinsoap!]

Does it give your finished bar stearic spots/streaks? (I've quit using palm for this reason)

 

[paillo]

i use sodium lactate (liquid) instead of stearic acid for a harder bar. i like to soap at room temp or even lower, and the sl works very well.

 

[pure&simple]

Can stearic acid be purchased in a hardware store?

 

[carebear]

stearic acid can be purchased at craft stores, and of course online.
but the stuff in craft stores is generally sold as a candlemaking supply - and I'm not sure it's "clean" enough for soap use.

 

[dOttY]

Does it give your finished bar stearic spots/streaks? (I've quit using palm for this reason)

I'm really interested in your experiences. I have noticed I've been getting stearic spots in some soaps. I couldn't work out why though.

Eliminating palm oil will stop the spots? And what do we use instead of palm? I like to use more hard fats than soft.

Thank you so much! You've been a big help with your post!

 

[pure&simple]

What exactly are stearic spots/streaks? what do they look like?

 

[Lynnz]

What exactly are stearic spots/streaks? what do they look like?

My understanding is that these are caused by the palm starting to crystalyze again so possibly by soaping with cooler oils and they are just little white spots or small clusters of white in your soap. Not harmful at all.