Where is that single bar recipe...?

[lenarenee]

I know it's around here somewhere, but I can't find it.

I've been waffling between a dedication to lard or palm for my soap. Just when I make a decision something happens to make me question it. I'd love to permanently give up palm (roundtable does have limits, imo) but the soap with lard and w/o palm is so soft...and melting away before my eyes. (cured 3 months)

So I'd like to do a side by side comparison with single bars.

 

[Hazel]

I don't know what you mean by single bar recipe. Can't you just make 4 oz of each recipe for comparison? Although, I suggest double checking the weights for accuracy since the ingredients would be such small amounts.

 

[newbie]

To do a single bar recipe, you should probably get a jeweler's scale to accurately measure/weigh the small amounts needed. With that, any recipe is fair game.

 

[LunaSkye]

I know it's around here somewhere, but I can't find it.

I've been waffling between a dedication to lard or palm for my soap. Just when I make a decision something happens to make me question it. I'd love to permanently give up palm (roundtable does have limits, imo) but the soap with lard and w/o palm is so soft...and melting away before my eyes. (cured 3 months)

So I'd like to do a side by side comparison with single bars.

I have also found that lard soaps tend to be soft, but they really do make hard soaps. Much like OO, it is a matter of patience (it seems). Did you have a higher ratio of soft oils to hard oils? I found out (the hard way) that soft oils take longer to cure.

 

[goji_fries]

To do a single bar recipe, you should probably get a jeweler's scale to accurately measure/weigh the small amounts needed. With that, any recipe is fair game.

0.00000001 g :clap:

 

[lenarenee]

I don't know what you mean by single bar recipe. Can't you just make 4 oz of each recipe for comparison? Although, I suggest double checking the weights for accuracy since the ingredients would be such small amounts.

I remember reading (I believe it was a recipe from Kevin Dunn's book) a
recipe for making a single bar of soap in order to test the attributes of
different oils. I thought it was on the forum, but maybe it was someone's blog instead.

 

[lenarenee]

I have also found that lard soaps tend to be soft, but they really do make hard soaps. Much like OO, it is a matter of patience (it seems). Did you have a higher ratio of soft oils to hard oils? I found out (the hard way) that soft oils take longer to cure.

My recipes are a minimum of 40% hard oils....usually more. One specific recipe which I made for a friend is 20% co, 18% each lard and palm, 27 oo, 10 avocado, 7 castor. Made it the first of July and its still softer than I think it ought to be, with a touch of a gummy or translucent appearance and texture. It's a great soap...works well in her hard water but even the piece I kept here in CA is...odd.

It was HP'ed, with a 5% sf of avocado oil added after the cook...maybe that is more of a factor than I originally thought?

 

[LunaSkye]

My recipes are a minimum of 40% hard oils....usually more. One specific recipe which I made for a friend is 20% co, 18% each lard and palm, 27 oo, 10 avocado, 7 castor. Made it the first of July and its still softer than I think it ought to be, with a touch of a gummy or translucent appearance and texture. It's a great soap...works well in her hard water but even the piece I kept here in CA is...odd.

It was HP'ed, with a 5% sf of avocado oil added after the cook...maybe that is more of a factor than I originally thought?

That sounds like a good recipe. The castor oil may be contributing to the softness as it can yield a soft, sticky soap if too much is used. You may already know this, but castor oil attracts and retains moisture. Many soapers use 3% castor to be on the safe side, though there maybe a few who have no problems using higher amounts. I'd let it cure a little longer and see how that goes.