What is your 'Go To' all around recipe?

[SoapWorks]

My 'standard' is:

35% coconut oil
35% olive oil
30% shea butter

I am gearing up in the next two weeks to make several kinds of CP soaps for the holidays- for family gifts and to sell on a small scale to friends who give them as gifts.

My two log molds each hold about two liters each 68 oz. (US) (4 1/4 lbs) so my batch size is not large. I will end up with less than 500 4 oz bars total.

would like to keep the quality up and the cost down so I was interested to know what ingredients your 'standard' recipe has in it.

I had one friend tell me that the composition listed above cleaned well but felt 'waxy' on her face. I think this is the shea butter. She was using it to remove her makeup for a couple of weeks and then stopped using it. Others say they love the lather and how their skin feels.

I'm thinking of making facial bars, body bars and garden soaps this year. Should I try something with palm oil to keep the costs down somewhat? Where are the best places to get the oils in bulk? I've been buying them at Costco, but could probably do better in larger quantities.

My EOs will include various combinations of orange, peppermint, rosemary, sage, lavender, tea tree, clove, lemon, and some pre-mixed fragrances.

Any suggestions on the base recipes or fragrances is greatly appreciated!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Personally, I would hold off selling them to friends until you have a recipe that you are happy enough with that you are willing to sell it - and that is not a recipe that you haven't already gotten feedback on.

In this recipe, I would drop the CO down to around 20% and then do a mix of OO and palm or lard for the rest.

 

[shunt2011]

I agree, your co is too high no more than 25% and I would add lard or palm and even lower the shea some. I know some do like high amounts of butters in specialty bars but for everyday I would stay between 5-15% tops. I would also add some castor oil. I like oo, co, po, pko, shea and castor.

 

[Susie]

My current go-to recipe is this:

Almond or Olive Oil, pomace-20%
Lard(may or may not substitute in some GV shortening to get rid of it)-55%
Coconut Oil, 76 degree-20%
Castor Oil- 5%

I am now addicted to adding 1 Tablespoon PPO of sugar for lovely bubbles.

I don't sell my bar soaps, so I love the fact that I can buy all of those oils locally and do not have to pay shipping.

 

[KatieShephard]

I only have 6 batches under my belt, so I'm still experimenting with recipes. I will say that the recipe I made with coconut milk is super nice and moisturizing. I just substituted it for half of my water and added it at light trace.

 

[judymoody]

In my opinion, the shea is too high. I have also noticed a 'waxy' feeling from bars high in shea. I'd drop it down to 10-15%. As mentioned by others, I'd also drop the coconut oil down to 25-30%. And I'd make up the balance with palm or lard.

You might also experiment with your superfat levels. Generally if you use higher % of coconut oil, you should use a higher SF.

 

[SoapWorks]

thanks for the input. I'd like to find another standard, so I appreciate your input. I'm also considering making some Castille out of olive oil- have you made this before? Are the bars typically plain or have you done any swirls and designs on olive oil bars?

Thanks!

JD

 

[dixiedragon]

Mine is:
Coconut 20%
Lard 35%
Olive oil 35%
Castor 5%
Sunflower 5%

 

[seven]

are you happy with this recipe? if so, then keep it. personally, i would not use coconut and butters like shea and cocoa for facial soaps. i have sensitive skin, and saponified coconut oil and butters are a no no for my face. but that's just me.

 

[jules92207]

My newest favorite is
40% olive oil pomace
30% lard
15% coconut oil
10% almond/avocado/ or rice bran
5% castor

For a facial bar I use Genny's shampoo bar actually. I love it.

 

[dougsfarm]

As a newbie, it is too early for me to have a 'go-to' recipe. However, my starter recipe (which got favorable comments from 100% independent sources --- friends and family) is:

Coconut - 180 grams
Avocado - 150 grams
Palm - 135 grams
Shea - 135 grams
Sunflower - 100 grams
Castor - 50 grams
Goats Milk in place of water - 285 grams (38%) and Lye - 104 grams

If memory serves me, the lye is a 5% discount, but with the fats in the Goats milk the discount would end up slightly higher.

Need to take care that the recipe does not get too hot and caramelize the milk sugars.

Soap was gentle to the skin, while still being cleaning. However, not much lather, so when my new testing molds arrive I intend to add sugar to get a bit more lather. However, that increases the overheating risks.

On another forum, there was a thread "favorite CP soap oils". For anyone interested, the results were:
- Olive and coconut were the most popular
- Castor and Avocado were almost as popular
- Followed by Palm and then Shea

 

[SoapWorks]

That sound like a great recipe. I'm trying that this weekend! Thanks!

JD

 

[neeners]

I think too you should look at the cost of your oils. Shea butter tends to be on the pricey side. If you're thinking of selling in the future (not just to friends) you're going to either buy in such huge quantities to bring down the cost of Shea or find another recipe.

If I were you, I'd drop CO to 25 or 20%, Shea can be dropped down to 10, up the OO, and maybe consider adding some castor. You don't need a lot of different oils to make a good soap.

And if you're thinking of doing a 100% OO soap, then go for it! Give it a try and see if you like it. Some people do, some people don't, but don't make conclusions on that soap until after a really long cure

Happy soaping!

 

[CanaDawn]

I found I dislike shea in soap, and that was at a far lower than 30% addition, but I also find that I like a much higher coconut oil than people swear is possible to like. (My go to bar right now has 80% CO). I'm about to move to different water, so I'm curious to see if I still like the same thing in the new place.

I think the sticky feel is either too short a cure for the OO and shea, or too much shea. You didn't mention how long you had cured the bars your friend tried.

Really though, as seven said....do you like it? If so, then it's good soap for you.