Suggestions Please!!!

[naturalnegeste]

3.99oz water
2.22oz lye
.33lb castor oil
.34lb olive oil
.33lb coconut oil
did I do this right?? trying to do a tester batch

 

[ImpKit]

With those oils, you could look at the below recipe as a starting point and then slowly work on modifying it as you identify traits you want in your soap. What you end up liking in your soap, and the product you may eventually be willing to morally and ethically stand by as "good" soap when you start selling (something you mentioned wanting to do in another thread), will differ from what someone else does.

For example, plenty of people say don't use shea butter in soap because as a rinse off product, it's just a waste; you don't get the benefits of it and it's expensive comparatively to other oils. I, personally, disagree because I FEEL a difference in soaps that do and don't have shea. So my soap includes shea. I don't think those offering the advice are wrong; it just doesn't align to what I want in my soap.

Anyway, the below recipe is okay (to me). It was the recipe I used for my first two batches to get an understanding of the fundamentals needed for soap making (tools, process, observing "trace", etc). I was able to make two and three color swirls with it without any real problem. I ditched it at batch number three and haven't looked back. Credit for this recipe to Katie at Royalty Soaps since it was provided, and I obtained it, from her "Royal Creative Academy" Youtube series (it was provided, and is still available, for free).

Subjectively speaking, if you run the numbers it's not the "best" soap. It's decent. It's not the longest lasting or the hardest and it might be more conditioning than some want. For me it lacks the creamy lotion-like lather that I love. And for some at 20% coconut oil and only 5% superfat, it's going to be way too drying.

 

[naturalnegeste]

With those oils, you could look at the below recipe as a starting point and then slowly work on modifying it as you identify traits you want in your soap. What you end up liking in your soap, and the product you may eventually be willing to morally and ethically stand by as "good" soap when you start selling (something you mentioned wanting to do in another thread), will differ from what someone else does.

For example, plenty of people say don't use shea butter in soap because as a rinse off product, it's just a waste; you don't get the benefits of it and it's expensive comparatively to other oils. I, personally, disagree because I FEEL a difference in soaps that do and don't have shea. So my soap includes shea. I don't think those offering the advice are wrong; it just doesn't align to what I want in my soap.

Anyway, the below recipe is okay (to me). It was the recipe I used for my first two batches to get an understanding of the fundamentals needed for soap making (tools, process, observing "trace", etc). I was able to make two and three color swirls with it without any real problem. I ditched it at batch number three and haven't looked back. Credit for this recipe to Katie at Royalty Soaps since it was provided, and I obtained it, from her "Royal Creative Academy" Youtube series (it was provided, and is still available, for free).

Subjectively speaking, if you run the numbers it's not the "best" soap. It's decent. It's not the longest lasting or the hardest and it might be more conditioning than some want. For me it lacks the creamy lotion-like lather that I love. And for some at 20% coconut oil and only 5% superfat, it's going to be way too drying.

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Thank you and I agree they gave some great feedback but like you said making a product that you stand by it was matters in the end.. and I'll look in to the link you sent

 

[ImpKit]

3.99oz water
2.22oz lye
.33lb castor oil
.34lb olive oil
.33lb coconut oil
did I do this right?? trying to do a tester batch

I've taken this recipe and plugged it into this lye calculator. I love it because of the graphs. I've taken screens of it to discuss here.


It looks like your numbers will work for a safe recipe. But I would find it to probably be drying; that's from a 33% coconut oil. Even with what appears to be ~7% superfat. It's also going to be overly bubbly to some people and the bar is unlikely to survive long in a shower, even if taken care of.

Play with that lye calc. See what you can get. I would also, and this is me being paranoid, recommend you move away from measurement in pounds. I, personally, think it's not precise enough. I would suggest using the same unit of measurement for all your ingredients and I, again personally, prefer grams. Any good kitchen scale will measure in it and it's more accurate overall than pounds or ounces. Especially if you get into small batches.

Oh! And castor oil; I've never gone above 5-6% but most places recommend keeping it under about 10%. It apparently produces a softer / squishier bar at higher percentages. You might read through this; it talks about common soaping oils, what they bring (vaguely) to soap, and some recommended percentages for each one.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I wouldn't use a third of castor oil - it's too soft and will make your bar sticky. And as Impkit has said, too much CO will make it too cleansing ( and thus drying). If you are wedded to just these three ingredients then go with 25% CO maximum, 10% Castor Maximum ( usually 5% is sufficient) and the balance as OO. It will need a long cure to get a long lasting bar, as OO reaches its best after about a year cure. Be aware that high OO soaps tend to be 'slimy' unless you use Zany's No-Slime Castile recipe.
Instead i would suggest adding even just one more ingredient to increase your stearic/palmitic fatty acid. This could be either lard, tallow, shea butter, cocoa butter, palm oil, or soy wax. Depending on which if these you choose I would go for between 15% (cocoa butter) - 40% (lard, palm or tallow).

 

[Zany_in_CO]

DITTO what @KiwiMoose wrote. And DOUBLE DITTO for using Zany's No-Slime Castile.

One other comment about the way you wrote your recipe. Rather than using "0.33lb", it's better to use ounces or grams.

 

[naturalnegeste]

Thank you... I was considering using shea butter.. I had to take a break since I was pregnant but now I'm back and ready to start making some soaps so Im still going to do Olive, castor, shea, babassu and coconut like I said I'm new to this so can you give me a starting recipe.

 

[Zing]

Welcome back and congratulations. I'll ditto KiwiMoose and Zany. I love castor oil and castor at even 5% has a powerful effect. There are good beginner recipes on Soap Queen's website -- but you should still run all recipes through a lye calculator. Keep us posted! I'm impressed that a mom with a newborn is making soap!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Im still going to do Olive, castor, shea, babassu and coconut

Babassu and coconut oil serve the same purpose, i.e., hardness & lather. Babassu is pricey and better for leave-on products like DIY deodorant or lotion bars.

An excellent starter formula for beginners is the BASIC TRINITY OF OILS.
Use coconut (and/or babassu), olive & sub shea butter for the palm oil in the recipe. Add 5% castor (as @Zing recommended) and reduce the olive by an equal amount.