What oils make whitest soap? And peppermint EO ?s

[Lin]

Hi all, I'm new. I've been reading quite a few threads though that I've found with google search. I'm very new to soap making! I've been making my own body products for a while now though due to skin issues and purchasing homemade CP soap. Now I'm venturing into making my own, plus hoping to give some to a few people for christmas.

I hope what I'm planning isn't too hard for such a newbie. I'm mostly planning on formulating my own recipes, but based on recommended percentages of oils and looking at known recipes. I'll be making the size of the recipe to fit the molds.

The one I'm hoping to do as gifts is make a peppermint soap that looks like a starlight mint. I'm going to just be using a pringles can as my mold, and make a star shaped piece to stick inside it for pouring my soap and then just slide that out. Watching youtube videos with that sort of thing, they've just poured the soap at a light trace and slid the divider out. Is this what I should do? Or should I go for a more medium trace? Wait a bit before sliding the divider out? I want as clean of lines as possible. I'm planning on soaping at room temperature, and thought with the pringles can I can just leave it out at room temperature without any insulation, I don't want to gel. Or should I stick it in the fridge for any extra precaution? And if I do this, when should I unmold?

So one of my questions, is what oils make the whitest soap? I've read that canola actually makes a whiter soap than olive oil. I'll also use about 20% coconut I think, I want it to be a rather mild soap so I didn't want to go above 20. Any suggestions for other oils to make a pale whiteish base? Then I'm also going to add a bit of zinc oxide to whiten as well, I don't have titanium dioxide or I'd just use that and not be as concerned about which oils to use.

For the red part, I'm planning on using red food dye. I know, I know. But I've found people that have used food dye just fine, and have some red 40 which is the red that I found recommended as it won't fade or morph.

I was wanting to make this a goats milk soap, but that would probably make the white more beige, yes? I happened to find some peppermint tea in the kitchen, anyone know if that would discolor the soap? And if I used tea, should I decrease my EO amount? I've found 2 different recommendations here for peppermint eo amounts. 0.2-0.4 ounces per lb and 2-3% of base oils. I'm probably going to go on the low end of the recommendations since peppermint is so strong.

And while digging around in the kitchen I happened to come across a tiny christmas tree cookie cutter, so now I'm also thinking about making an imbed loaf. Any suggestions on coloring the soap green?

Thanks so much guys! I prefer to "over" prepare for things, so I've been planning and working up various ideas for the starlight mint soap for the last week. I don't usually use colors and money is tight so I didn't want to be ordering something just for the red. Plus time wise and all since the soap needs to cure!

 

[Lin]

Sorry I'm asking so much! And if anyone can only answer one of my many questions, or just impart an opinion its much appreciated!

So much stuff spinning around in my head. With making the starlight soap, any ideas for things that I could mix the lye with that would still give a white bar? Probably any of the milks would be too high in sugar and give more of a creamy appearance, right? Like coconut/rice etc.

Opinions... In a pumpkin soap, should I mix the lye with canned pumpkin (frozen into cubes) or mix the lye with water and then add canned pumpkin at trace?

 

[osso]

Coconut milk or aloe will not discolor your soap. Pumpkin will, and pumpkin should be added at trace and discounted from your liquid amount. The tea will discolor some and the scent will not survive saponification.

 

[shivani]

For green color you can add spirulina,alfalafa or spinach..powdered or paste..add little at a time to see the desired color..soybean oil also makes a white soap..if you make milk soap,do not insulate,it will heat up your soap quickly..i learnt this in SMF only..leaving in fridge wud be gud if you live in hot weather..anything having sugars will heat up..if you have to swirl or do some extra work instead of plain soap,you must keep it at light trace as it will become very thick to think about anything..you can remove the devider immediately after pouring..but slowly and evenly..all the best!!

 

[shunt2011]

For a really white soap you could do 100% Coconut with a 20% Superfat. Pumpkin will discolor your soap. When using pumpkin I just subtract the amount from my liquid and add it to the oils and stickblend it well then add my lye mixture. Works like a charm. When using milk if you add the lye to the milk it can discolor if added to quickly. I generally add my lye to water and then add the milk to my oils, stick blend then add my room temp lye mixture to the batch and it stays light. You need to experiment to find what works best for you. If using a pringles can be sure to line it with freezer paper as it makes unmolding much easier and I've found that my recipe reacts to the lining in the can if not used.

 

[lsg]

If you don't mind using lard---it, along with coconut oil and Castor oil makes a great bar. If you freeze the goat's milk and add the lye a little at a time, stirring well at each addition your milk won't scorch. I also set my milk/lye mixture in an ice water bath while I work on the oils and fats. I put my milk soaps directily into the freezer after pouring to keep them from gelling. I took a cream/aloe soap out of the freezer this morning that is very light in color.

 

[kryse13]

Wow! Kodos to you for trying to attempt something like this on your first soap, or did I read that wrong...? I have just done 2 bars and one was a laundry bar that turned out very white 100% coconut.

I'm sorry I cannot add much to this as I am a new soap maker also. But I thought I would just comment on how much I am inspired by your ability to get right in and to go for it. I am much too scared to do that... but maybe I will try

 

[kikajess]

I've been using a very white palm oil. It is Spectrum brand vegetable shortening at Whole Foods. Probably any vegetable shortening would be white and usable, but I can only vouch for Spectrum.

Castor oil is quite clear so that shouldn't add any color either, but the recommended usage amount is 10% of total oils or less.

This link may be of interest to you:
http://www.zensoaps.com/singleoil.htm
A group of soapers created single-oil soaps to see what each oil looks like as a soap.

Your mint idea sounds really cool and ambitious. I hope we get to see pictures!

 

[TVivian]

For the "starlight mint" soap I would mix to medium trace or else the soap will run through the paper divider all over the place. I would definitely NOT use red food coloring. In order to get a vibrant red you'd have to use so much and it will most likely morph when it comes in contact with the lye. In the very best case scenario you will get a weird orange or hot pink and your efforts will be lost. Order red coloring specifically tested in CP soap,

For white soap I use extra light olive oil and coconut together. Good luck!

 

[SugarandOats]

If you use any teas as a base instead of water you will be left with a brownish soap I f you are trying to accomplish a white soap just use water and oils and add at the end of everything a peppermint essential oil good luck ! Here's my whipped peppermint !

 

[cmzaha]

If you are not opposed to lard using lard and coconut will give you a beautiful white bar of soap. Almost anything use you other than water to make your lye solution will turn color. Some yellow the water and some turn brown. I find I can never get a pure white using goat's milk even unscorched, it aways turns cream. As Vivian stated, use a soap colorant for high ph not food coloring. I agree with Shunt2011 stick blend the pumpkin puree into your oils, if added to your lye solution it will turn very dark and smelly. The same goes for any purees, deduct the puree amount from your lye water and add the puree into the oils. Peppermint is strong but does tend to fade. I always use 3% of oil weight. I always have a caution warning on my peppermint soap to not use on sensitive areas.

 

[lsg]

I just posted a lard, coconut and Castor oil bar in the photo gallery. I did use a little titanium dioxide in the white part for better contrast.

 

[judymoody]

If you want white soap, keep it simple. No milks (even coconut milk will change the color somewhat). No teas (you will get beige to brown depending on the tea). Oils: coconut oil, lard, palm kernel oil, babassu, and olive oil (not extra virgin, the grade A pale yellow stuff) will give you a pretty white soap.

You will also get whiter soap if you don't gel but suppressing gel is difficult in a pringles can or PVC pipe mold as there is less surface area for the heat to dissipate. If you want to avoid gel, I'd place it in the freezer immediately and cross your fingers.

If you want a long lasting mint smell, blend spearmint with peppermint. Spearmint lasts forever and is less tingly than peppermint. The combination is a bit sweeter too, like a candy cane or doublemint gum.

If you use any kind of fruit or vegetable puree your soap will heat up in the mold, possibly overheat. So keep an eye on it if you do.

Red is a very tricky color to achieve in CP soap, even with colors approved for soap making. You are likely to get brick or maroon, not a true red. And to get an intense red, the quantity needed can result in colored lather.

While I applaud your ambition, this seems overly complicated if you are new to making soap. You might want to try a simple ITP (in the pot swirl) with a contrasting color, perhaps pale blue or even black. Just my opinion. If you do try the star effect, I hope it works for you.

 

[dixiedragon]

I know your head is just swimming with cool soap ideas, but it's really best to focus on one or two, especially at first. Since this is your first soap, doing the red and white peppermint loaf is pretty darn ambitious, without adding milk or tea.

Instead of food color, you may want to consider icing coloring. It is in the baking area of places like Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc. The red should hold up in CP. (FYI, the blue probably won't.) I think the green might be okay as well. I will admit I have not used the icing coloring in 10 years, so it's possible they have changed the formula and it won't work. I recommend the icing coloring vs food coloring b/c the icing coloring is highly concentrated and the food coloring isn't, and you may have a hard time getting red with food coloring.

You will need to line your Pringle's can. You can use baking parchment. Wax paper isn't a great idea - it can soften a bit and you have to pick it off the soap in shreds. You need to line the Pringle's can b/c the shiny metal on the inside is aluminum, which reacts with lye.

You still have some time before Christmas. I would suggest you make your first batch ASAP, and then you have time to make a second batch if things go...awry.

Green - for a pale green, you can use green clay, available at heathfood stores. Mine is NOW brand. You can also use dried parsley.

 

[Lin]

Ok wow thanks so much for all the replies! I've only read a few so far but I'm not sure how much time I have before my bf is picking me up, so I thought I'd clear something up that it looks like I wasn't clear about.

I am making 3 separate soaps, that I discussed in my post. There will be the starlight mint soap, which I'm concerned about making the whitest soap for and will be scenting with peppermint. The second soap will be pumpkin soap, I've been planning on just freezing the canned pumpkin into cubes and using it as my complete liquid with the lye. The third soap will be goats milk mixed with the lye, and with that one I'm hoping to do some green christmas tree imbeds.

I'm not concerned about the pumpkin making that soap orange, or the goats milk. Actually I think the creamy color will be a nice background for the trees. I'm also thinking about adding a bit of oat flour into the goats milk soap. I'll be freezing both the pumpkin and the goats milk into cubes tonight, I'm thinking some coconut milk for the starlight soap. I'll be mixing the lye into the cubes so it doesn't burn the milk or pumpkin. I also plan on mixing it outside and leaving it out there until ready for use, its cold outside. Its also some extra safety because the kitchen at my bfs place really isn't well ventilated.

I did a bunch of research on what to use to color the green last night. Like I said I haven't read through this whole thread yet though so I'm excited to see what the suggestions are before one more trip to the store. I did pick up some celery herb and basil to try for some green. I was thinking of soaking them in some oil overnight to get the most color possible from them. I was looking for spirulina and wheat grass but couldn't find either, and I'm not able to drive across town to where I might find them.

I've never used colors before, I generally prefer my soap natural as possible because of my skin issues. I'm only experimenting with the red for the starlight soap and the green trees because of christmas. I wanted to give a couple friends some soap, if the color turns out horrible they won't care lol. So I don't have time to order special colorants, or really the money to get them. I got the basil and celery as $1 jars at kroger. I will look for icing coloring at walmart, but my research said to use red 40 food coloring so I do feel a little more comfortable using that then any other non CP specific colors.

I'll go ahead and freeze the pringle cans after pouring as suggested, I was wondering if I should fridge or freeze them. I've never done that before, but got the idea off youtube videos and thought it would be a great cheap way to make round soap. My loaf molds are cardboard boxes lol. And yep I've got freezer paper to line with!

 

[tryanything]

My 100% coconut oil, 100% coconut milk bars (15% SF) are very white bars, and increasingly conditioning regardless of the soap calc numbers. Just my 2 cents.

 

[judymoody]

basil will morph to tan in your finished soap. Parsley is probably your best best if you want to try for herbal green. Better still would be comfrey or nettle (available in health food stores).

I really wouldn't recommend the coconut milk for your white bar. IME, coconut milk does not improve the lather of your soap and it's finicky to use. And seriously, even if you freeze it, your lye solution will turn yellow and then will give you off white to beige in your finished soap.

 

[dixiedragon]

When I make milk soap, I use canned milk. I take the maximum water recommended by the soap calc at the sage, then divide that in half. 1 half is water, and I dissolve my lye in that. The other half is canned milk, and I add that to my oils just before I add my lye. I have found this way is consistently successful for me, whereas the frozen milk method was pretty hit-or-miss for me. I size my recipe so I use an entire can of milk, just b/c I don't really want the rest of the can of milk floating around in my fridge. You can buy canned goat milk at the store. My Publix has it.

Note: you wanted evaporated milk, NOT sweetened milk!

 

[shunt2011]

Also, you may run into trouble by freezing the pumpkin and pouring the lye over it. I would mix the lye with water and subtract how much pumpkin you want to use and add it to your oils , stick blend well and then add your lye mixture.

 

[nebetmiw]

My first soaps I made were white. They contained lard, coconut oil and safflower oil. No milk but a FO of peppermint is OK. FOs are easier to work with when starting than EO's as some of those can cause irritation. Use Kiss since this is your first go around. It will take 6 weeks for your soap to cure. So buy local for your oils and do not add colors or food to start since things will go wrong if this is all new. Soap making is a step by step learning process and can not be rushed. Be warned many videos are not all that correct for those starting out to try and should not be tried till you have a few batchs under your belt.