Which oil/butter is the best at moisturizing skin?

[valen2]

I made my own soap (5% superfat) and send one to my friend. She always works in a room with air-conditioner. She told me that her skin was drying while there was nothing wrong to me. Now I wanna figure out which oil/butter is the best at moisturizing skin so that I can make my next soap more effective moisturizing?

Shea butter, olive oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil or another?

My recipe had olive, coconut and palm oil. It was like basic soap

[by the way, I have an experiment which may be helpful for some guys. I made a test and found that Kaolin clay was very good at holding scent in cold process soap]

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

You're best bet is to make a recipe with a view to stripping less oils (so less cleansing) as the oils, even in the superfat, are washed off during bathing.

What was the recipe? Maybe there is something there that stands out.

Also bear in mind, skin differs from person to person, so it doesn't mean that your soap is bad per se, rather it just doesn't agree with her

 

[BattleGnome]

Have you tried playing your superfat yet? A 6-7% sf might make a difference

 

[navigator9]

TEG is correct, no soap will moisturize your skin, but a well made soap will be gentler to the skin, and will not strip the natural oils from it. If your friend's skin is really dry, you might want to think about making something like a whipped body butter, easy to make and you probably have most or all of the ingredients you'd need. I find avocado oil to be one of the oils my skin likes best, but there are many that you could experiment with and I'm sure you could come up with something nice for your friend.

 

[dixiedragon]

It would help to know your recipe!

Off the top of my head, my suggestion would be to decrease the coconut oil. And, of course, lard.

 

[valen2]

Thanks, i've just add more details above

 

[shunt2011]

Please post your whole formula in % and weights including your lye and liquid measure. That will help a great deal. Too much CO can cause drying to a lot of folks.

 

[dixiedragon]

I personally do not recommend grapeseed oil for soaping. It goes rancid too quickly.

Can you post your recipe in percentages? Generally, the "standard" here is 20% coconut oil. It is "generally" agreed that more than 20% is too drying. I put the quotes in there because many people make soap with more coconut, less coconut, or no coconut and it works great for some people. Skin is different. Some people can't stand any coconut at all - others find olive to be drying/irritating, even though it's touted as one of the gentlest oils.

 

[valen2]

I do not remember the percentage but i can tell that i used more than 30% Coconut oil. So maybe that's the point. Thank you all

 

[HoneyLady]

Boy, this is like asking which one of your kids is better. Better at what? A sport? Mathematics? English Composition? Good manners? Telling Fibs and Getting his/her Sibling In Trouble?

Soap is a wash-off product. It does not moisturize.

For the kind of info you are looking for, Google Swift Crafty Monkey, aka Susan Barclay Nichols, and her lotion-making blog. She has TONS and TONS of info on different oils, their constituents, and who does what for your skin. Some oils and butters form an occlusive layer, keeping water in. Some are hygroscopic, attracting water from the air. Some have nutrients that sink into the outer or inner layers of the dermis easily. She does tons of detailed research, and breaks down chemistry into easily-understood bits. She is highly reliable.

What one person needs/wants/likes on their skin is likely totally different from someone else. Personally, what I put on my face is different from what I use on my hands, feet, or body.

Look up Susan, and be prepared to spend some time there.

Pax,
~HL~

 

[joy.]

I have to disagree with the idea that a bar can't be moisturizing. Yes, the soap portion cleans, but if there's a high superfat, the extra oils moisturize, too. It's like the idea of a shampoo and conditioner in one. I have a 7% superfat goat milk soap in my shower right now that leaves me feeling like I just moisturized. My husband refuses to use it because it feels too "lotion-y". I used a lot of shea butter & avocado oil.