Sticky Soap

[Buckscent]

So I tried a couple of my first soaps, cured 4-5 weeks. They seems sticky. I mean when washing they seems to stick to your skin for just a sec every once in awhile, any ideas?

 

[Susie]

If you could post your recipe in weights, we could help you figure that out faster.

Off the top of my head, though, I wonder if you have shea or cocoa butters in the soap. I do not like the "drag" I get from those.

 

[cmzaha]

I find high olive oil soaps sticky and really dislike them, even after long cure times

 

[shunt2011]

I'm with Carolyn on the high OO recipes. I'm not a fan either. But, if you post your recipe we can certainly try to help.

 

[Buckscent]

My initial recipe for these are
30% OO, CO and PO
10% RBO
I just need a good Recipe. DO you all have like a goto you use all the time? or do you have one depending if it a basic soap, swirl soap (slower tracing)? I have made so many soaps with different recipes I am getting to the point I don't know which one is which


Thanks for the help!!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

50% lard, 30% olive, 15% coconut, 5% castor.

 

[penelopejane]

My initial recipe for these are
30% OO, CO and PO
10% RBO
I just need a good Recipe. DO you all have like a goto you use all the time? or do you have one depending if it a basic soap, swirl soap (slower tracing)? I have made so many soaps with different recipes I am getting to the point I don't know which one is which


Thanks for the help!!

30/30/30 CO/OO/PO and 10% castor oil
Is a standard recipe that produces a rock hard bar in 6 weeks. It lasts really well and doesn't go mushy.

I think the CO is too high for my skin and I find 5% castor oil aides bubbles but doesn't get sticky in any recipe. I would drop the CO a bit and add it to the OO. I have friends who love this soap because it gives them that clean feeling especially dirty hands etc.

You can swap the CO altogether for avocado or almond oil and it will still be a good hard soap. For a really creamy soap that's a little softer and takes a longer cure try Lindys Shampoo bar (search on this forum) NOT for hair - for skin. Do not use soap on your hair.

I love castille but it has to be cured 1 year at least to get a fabulous bar. I don't get slimy Castile or any high OO soaps. I don't know if it's because of our water, or because I use EVOO or if it's because I add 1 tsp salt ppo or if it's the brand of oil I use.

You have to experiment and have a philosophy. Because you are you and your soaps reflect you. Do you use lard or palm? Do you like CO? Work it out through trial and error.

It is very frustrating but it is the only way you will come up with a great soap that suits you.

 

[Buckscent]

30/30/30 CO/OO/PO and 10% castor oil
Is a standard recipe that produces a rock hard bar in 6 weeks. It lasts really well and doesn't go mushy.

I think the CO is too high for my skin and I find 5% castor oil aides bubbles but doesn't get sticky in any recipe. I would drop the CO a bit and add it to the OO. I have friends who love this soap because it gives them that clean feeling especially dirty hands etc.

You can swap the CO altogether for avocado or almond oil and it will still be a good hard soap. For a really creamy soap that's a little softer and takes a longer cure try Lindys Shampoo bar (search on this forum) NOT for hair - for skin. Do not use soap on your hair.

I love castille but it has to be cured 1 year at least to get a fabulous bar. I don't get slimy Castile or any high OO soaps. I don't know if it's because of our water, or because I use EVOO or if it's because I add 1 tsp salt ppo or if it's the brand of oil I use.

You have to experiment and have a philosophy. Because you are you and your soaps reflect you. Do you use lard or palm? Do you like CO? Work it out through trial and error.

It is very frustrating but it is the only way you will come up with a great soap that suits you.

All great points. Thank you. i am a very impatient person, at least thats what my wife tells me, it is hard to do a soap, wait 6 weeks and if is not good then change and wait another 6 weeks.... This could take years

 

[DeeAnna]

"... i am a very impatient person, at least thats what my wife tells me, it is hard to do a soap, wait 6 weeks and if is not good then change and wait another 6 weeks..."

I know it seems like that's what you're up against, but the situation is really rather different.

Do you wear your hair exactly the same way that you did, say, 15 years ago, because there is only one best hair style for you? Is there only one best color of car? Have you only lived in one home because there's only one best place to live? Like these examples, soap is an evolution of perception and preference. It's not really a journey to a single "it's all good!" end point.

Very few soaps that are truly "not good" soaps. It's more a question of whether the soap pleases you at that particular moment or whether you'd like something a little different. Your skin may give you different answers depending on the seasons, the age of your skin, the water you are bathing with, the ingredients most easily available to you, etc.

 

[BattleGnome]

I mean when washing they seems to stick to your skin for just a sec every once in awhile, any ideas?

Do they continue to stick or do they stop sticking after a few washes?

Occasionally I make a recipe that seems sticky for a few washes but it passes. I think that's why some people swear by conditioning or dipping a bar before use. If it doesn't continue to stick then you probably don't need to worry about anything.

 

[penelopejane]

All great points. Thank you. i am a very impatient person, at least thats what my wife tells me, it is hard to do a soap, wait 6 weeks and if is not good then change and wait another 6 weeks.... This could take years

What DeeAnna says is great advice because you can also make a soap that you love in the kitchen to cut grease but is not so good in the shower. So there will be a few soaps in your repertoire.

The funny thing about sticky soap is that you have to write good notes and go back and check. I have quite a soaps of the same recipe one is the best I've made, the other has goats milk pretty good, then I some with CA pretty good and one with goats milk and CA. It's a disaster. It is the same OO as the my "best" one and some of the others. So I can only deduce that GM and CA don't mix. This took a great deal of detective work on my part as an easy assumption would be that it's the OO but because I took good notes (ok a bit micro managing!!) writing down the type of OO I could work it out. I THINK. :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:

 

[Susie]

I have made so many soaps with different recipes I am getting to the point I don't know which one is which
Thanks for the help!!

You need to keep your recipes, name your batches, and create a label for each batch that stays with the soap until it is gone. This is the only way you are going to keep track. Trust me when I tell you this!

My favorite recipe is this:

Lard 65%
Olive Oil 15%
Coconut Oil 15%
Castor Oil 5%
Superfat 5-8%

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

You can make the lard soap that Susie or I suggested one week. The next week make a salt bar, the week after the PO bar and then have a week off - after a while of doing that you will have soaps coming out of cure regularly. Just keep the batch size low while you're tweaking recipes