what are *your* favorite numbers?

[krissy]

i have seen how people look to see what their ideal recipe is and what the soap calc numbers say about their recipe, and it made me wonder what is your personal favorite recipe's numbers? i am not asking that you share the actual recipe, just wanted to compare numbers and see what happens...

this particular recipe is my favorite because it is my skin's favorite. no dryness, itching or anything. it was my own body's "perfect".

my favorite recipe numbers are

Hardness--48
Cleansing--14
Conditioning--45
Bubbly--16 (i add sugar to up this)
Creamy--37
INS--161

 

[newbie]

I'm not a mass producer and I don't sell, just as disclaimer. I give almost all of mine away.
I personally like to shoot for 40-44 for hardness- have gone down to 37 and just moments ago made a soap that's about a 65-70.

I target cleansing from 15-20 max.

Because I like a harder bar, it seems I tend to be around a 50-58 on conditioning. I wouldn't mind higher on that, but in general it seems to lead to a softer bar.

I like lots of lather, so my soaps tend to be 25-35 for bubbly and likewise for creamy.
I've made lard and lye soap but don't care for the lather much. I like salt bars which have a different lather altogether.

I still have to make a castille soap but I'm too impatient to wait for 3-6 months for the cure. Silly since so many people think they're wonderful soaps.

 

[IrishLass]

I have a variety of favorite formulas with different numbers. My two main faves are:

My all-veg Castile-type with 50% OO:

Hardness 35 (don't let the low number fool you- it's plenty hard)
Cleansing 18
Conditioning 61
Bubbly 27
Creamy 26
INS 136

and

My tallow/lard blend:

Hardness 41
Cleansing 20
Conditioning 54
Bubbly 31
Creamy 31
INS 144

I basically found through trial and error that my skin can take as high as a 20 on cleansing as long as my conditioning hovers around the mid 50's range (with the one exception being my 100% CO bar which has a cleansing # in the 60's, but has a 15%-20% superfat to compensate for the high cleansing #).

IrishLass

 

[carebear]

I don't have favorite numbers - they vary widely and the level of lye discount isn't part of the calculation... Both soaps are plenty hard, luxurious and mild - even mild enough for my old lady skin.

Here's one:
Hardness 71
Cleansing 50
Conditioning 21
Bubbly 50
Creamy 20
INS 223


and here's another:
Hardness 35
Cleansing 19
Conditioning 60
Bubbly 19
Creamy 15
INS 127

 

[see]

whats the lowest bubble number that would be ok on its on? When do you think you need to add sugar to up the bubbles?

Most of my recipes have been around 22 and above, but a couple that im playing w/ now are below that.

Also do you consider your hardness number before you start increasing discount? I would think high discount would equal softer bar unless you had a really high hardness number (like the 70 in cb)? Is that the case?

Peace

 

[carebear]

the numbers are the ROUGHEST of guides. at best.

I strongly recommend you make a few batches and see what you get - then modify the formulas and try again. Compare and contrast.

The numbers really do not predict. They are every so slightly better, in some cases, than no information at all.

For example: olive oil soaps apparently do not clean at all and is super soft. Yet the reality is that olive oil soaps cleanse and end up rock hard after the cure period.

 

[krissy]

i had wondered about that carebear, because my bars are great to me but the numbers seem to be less than ideal. it is partly why i asked about everyone's numbers to begin with.

 

[dandelion]

The cleasing numbers, I never go over 10 but I am super dry

 

[zajcek]

Carebear, if I remember correctly, you wrote, that you don't use castor oil any more. So I'm wondering how can you make non drying soap with bubbly number 50? Is it high % of coconut oil and high % superfat?

 

[carebear]

exactly!
Try 75% coconut oil, 25% cocoa butter (or whatever you like), with a 20% lye discount. Be sure to let it cure good and long (min 4 weeks) before judging the mildness/harshness.

Oh to give the lather more "body", try soaping with milk in place of 50-100% of the liquid.