Sticky feeling after washing hands

[moodymama]

Arimara should I keep the water around 30 and just up the lye solution as you posted?

The water will change when you change the lye concentration.

 

[Candle Guy]

Oh ok great thank you very much

 

[Microchick]

Awesome I will try that. Not sure where to find palm kernel flakes. I am lost when.it comes to what ingredients to add and what does what? Lol

Also what kind of lard to use? When I hear lard I hear crisco lmao

I just got pkf from Amazon

 

[Candle Guy]

Thanks microchick

 

[Zing]

Welcome, @Candle Guy and good luck with this fun addiction er um I mean hobby! You'll eventually find a recipe you like. My only comment is that my 5% castor oil is a 'must have' in all my soaps, I love how it affects lather. The really hard part for me, even now, is waiting 4-6 weeks for the cure. It helps to soap on a regular basis so that something is always ready to use.

I recently bought, didn't make, a soap that is nearly 100% olive oil and me and my family have all commented how it feels slimy and sticky. I'll stick to my variations of avocado/palm/olive/coconut/castor oils!

Keep us posted!

 

[Candle Guy]

Zing thank you for the welcome and everyone seems to be very helpful. I have castor oil, coconut oil and olive oil in my inventory at the moment. I have around 350 different scents to choose from in my candle supplies. I dont use all of them though hahahha. I am sure that I can find some that are compatible with soaping. I have heard lard being mentioned for a great bar of soap but would you suggest and other kind of oil or additive that would work well with my current inventory?

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Arimara should I keep the water around 30 and just up the lye solution as you posted?

If you are using a soap calculator what I would recommend is to not go by the water and base your recipe off of the % of lye and the water will take care of itself. With that much olive oil you want to set your lye % to 33%-35% then the calculator will give you the correct amount of water. It is much easier that way.

 

[Candle Guy]

Awesome thanks Todd. I went out and bought lard this morning and I am in the process of making a 1 lb batch.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Awesome thanks Todd. I went out and bought lard this morning and I am in the process of making a 1 lb batch.

That is great. Let us know how it turned out and if you have any questions just ask. There's always someone with an answer lol.

If you follow the recipe I used or something close, just remember it is slow to trace (thicken) but your fragrance oil can accelerate your soap. Make it thicken fast. But if you remember to just pulse your stick blender for no more than a second or two and wait a few heart beats in between before you pulse your stick blender it will be just fine.

Once you become familiar with your recipes and fragrance oils you will figure out just how long you need to blend. I will pulse my stick blender for 3-4 seconds to emulsify on certain recipes but for others it can be less. The less you use your SB the better.

 

[Candle Guy]

Here is a pic right after I poured.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Here is a pic right after I poured.

Looks good. Lard is slow to trace but depending on the recipe you used, it should be hard enough to cut in 24 hours. Did you use any sodium lactate or salt? They will help your soap harden up quicker.

 

[Candle Guy]

No I didn't use any of that but i will definitely try that next time. How much salt per pound would you suggest? Now I came to a slight trace in just a couple minutes. I stick stirred in bursts and hand stirred in between. I stuck with 40% lard but did 30% olive oil, 5% castor and 25 coconut oil. I used Coconut Lime Verbena at 6%. Figured that I would give that a shot. I used 31% water. Now the superfat I am still kind of a little confused on so I left it at 5%. I have heard people minimizing it to 3%. I need to study up some more on all of that. I let the oils and lye get to about 110 degrees. Funny enough I somehow managed to get them to cool at the same temperature lol. Lucky I guess

 

[Todd Ziegler]

No I didn't use any of that but i will definitely try that next time. How much salt per pound would you suggest? Now I came to a slight trace in just a couple minutes. I stick stirred in bursts and hand stirred in between. I stuck with 40% lard but did 30% olive oil, 5% castor and 25 coconut oil. I used Coconut Lime Verbena at 6%. Figured that I would give that a shot. I used 31% water. Now the superfat I am still kind of a little confused on so I left it at 5%. I have heard people minimizing it to 3%. I need to study up some more on all of that. I let the oils and lye get to about 110 degrees. Funny enough I somehow managed to get them to cool at the same temperature lol. Lucky I guess

Salt 1 teaspoon per pound of oil and dissolve it in your water before you add the water to the lye. I use sodium lactate at 3% of your oil weight. I have my SF at 2% because you honestly can't get a soap that will soften your hands with the oils. The majority of people have a 3-5% SF. If it stays to soft to cut it after 24 hours you might want to use a 33% lye concentration. Try to get away from using the water % on your calculator. I generally mix at between 105° F to 115° F. I always gel my soap because it makes brighter colors and helps the soap harden a little faster.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Here is the setting on the calculator that you should use, if you are not already using it.

 

[Candle Guy]

Great thanks for that info. I might make another batch tomorrow and try that out as well. I will probably go back onto the scent lists that are in the forums and see how certain ones behave. Also I want to see if it has any other scents that I have on hand.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Great thanks for that info. I might make another batch tomorrow and try that out as well. I will probably go back onto the scent lists that are in the forums and see how certain ones behave. Also I want to see if it has any other scents that I have on hand.

No problem,glad to help.

 

[Candle Guy]

Update on the Coconut Lime Verbena. It turned out great so far.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Update on the Coconut Lime Verbena. It turned out great so far.

Really looks great. What was your recipe, just curious?

 

[Candle Guy]

This was the recipe. I will be trying another in a few with the salt being added and the lye concentration at 33 as you suggested.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

This was the recipe. I will be trying another in a few with the salt being added and the lye concentration at 33 as you suggested.

That is a good recipe, you should be happy with how it turns out.

Here's my salt bar recipe and you need to set your super fat at 20% and you should use an individual bar mold. If you don't have a mold like that, then you can use a loaf mold but just remember that the salt bar will harden very fast and you will need to cut it in 1-2 hours. I added 50% of the weight of my oils in salt. For example if your recipe has 20 ounces of oil, you would use 10 ounces of salt. You can use less if you want to but do not adjust the size of your recipe to include the salt. For example if you are going to do a 16 ounce batch, then you will end up with 16 ounces plus the salt, for example let's say you are using 6 ounces of salt you will end up with 22 ounces of batter. What I do and many others do is just have multiple molds on hand and keep pouring until you run out of batter.

Also your stick blender is your enemy with salt bars. Add your scent, if you are using some, to your oils first pulse with your SB then add your lye water and bring it to emulsification then use a whisk or spatula to blend your salt in. Also you want to be as close to room temperature as you can get before you blend everything.

If you have any questions, I will be available all day today, just send me a private conversation.