Using high % of Neem

[serenaglynn]

I want to make some large bars for animal use using neem, it’s so effective for sweet itch in horses. However I see neem in the soap calc so I need to use it as an oil rather than making a bar and adding it as an essential oil. I want the soap to be effective and wondered what’s the highest percentage I could go with it?

 

[KiwiMoose]

I used 5% in a soap that I made. It has a very strong smell and it's very thick - I wouldn't imagine you'd want any more than 10 % maximum. But I shall leave it to my more knowledgeable soap-peers to comment.

 

[Obsidian]

I like to use around 25% and yes, it makes a strong scented bar but it will fade with cure. I made a 100% bar but I stored them away for a long cure and now I can't find them...

 

[KiwiMoose]

I made a 100% bar but I stored them away for a long cure and now I can't find them...

LOL - Soapmaking issues of the 21st century.

 

[Els]

Having recently returned to soapmaking, I bought myself a small and very accurate scale. My plan is to go ahead and make 3 or 5 oz batches of single-oil soaps, so I can learn how the oils behave! It has enough palmitic and stearic acids to make me hope for a non-squishy bar...
I also strongly suspect that suppliers advising use as only a small amount (the 5% crowd) are thinking to minimize the smell. I reckon anyone wanting Neem Soap should know (or get to find out!) what Neem smells like. So if I didn't do a test bar at 100%, I'd still test my small batch with 25%. Or more.

 

[Dawni]

One of my earliest experiments is with neem and grapeseed. In fact I've posted in the recipe feedback section and got good advice over there.

I went ahead and made with what little neem I had, which came to a little less than 6% and 15% grapeseed. My son, who the soap was for, has visibly less blackheads and his pimples, while not eliminated completely, are less and not huge n red like they used to be. This is after continuously using the soap for about two weeks? It's been a little more than a month of cure, but the smell is still there but not as bad as when it was in the slow cooker, it's more of an earthy smell now than burnt garlic.

I know the poster intended the soap for horses, but I just wanted to share how potent even a little of neem is, in terms of benefits and smell haha

 

[serenaglynn]

Having recently returned to soapmaking, I bought myself a small and very accurate scale. My plan is to go ahead and make 3 or 5 oz batches of single-oil soaps, so I can learn how the oils behave! It has enough palmitic and stearic acids to make me hope for a non-squishy bar...
I also strongly suspect that suppliers advising use as only a small amount (the 5% crowd) are thinking to minimize the smell. I reckon anyone wanting Neem Soap should know (or get to find out!) what Neem smells like. So if I didn't do a test bar at 100%, I'd still test my small batch with 25%. Or more.

I actually LOVE the smell of neem! Kinda like a mixture of fresh coffee and weed lol.

 

[DeeAnna]

I've made an 85% neem bar soap, cold process method. It's techically quite do-able. But more is not necessarily better from a therapeutic point of view. In looking at some of the literature, around 20% is effective and safe.

I'd not treat neem as if it was an "essential oil" because it's not. You could do a hot process method and add the neem after the cook like Dawni. The neem would be the superfat.

 

[Dawni]

I actually LOVE the smell of neem! Kinda like a mixture of fresh coffee and weed lol.

Yknow what... Now that you mentioned it.... It does smell sort of like strong coffee with weed or some sort of grass that's just been pulled out and still has bits of soil sticking to it.

But really, while it was cooking, it smelled worse than the oil did in the bottle, or the soap after lol so sorta like the above description plus burnt garlic haha

Good luck with your neem soap @serenaglynn!

 

[soapmaker]

I've made an 85% neem bar soap, cold process method. It's techically quite do-able. But more is not necessarily better from a therapeutic point of view. In looking at some of the literature, around 20% is effective and safe.

I'd not treat neem as if it was an "essential oil" because it's not. You could do a hot process method and add the neem after the cook like Dawni. The neem would be the superfat.

Wouldn't it work in cold process? I've made CP neem oil soap but using only 2% neem. I know that's not enough so planned to increase but still do CP.

 

[DeeAnna]

Yes, I just said you can use neem in cold process. I did it at 85% neem. That's no problem. What you cannot do is choose the superfat when you do CP.

If you want the neem to mostly be the superfat, use a hot process method and add the neem after the cook. There are no guarantees that the neem will entirely be the superfat forever, but for some indefinite time after the soap is made, the neem will be most of the superfat.