Will this work for sensitive skin?

[Spryng]

Ok, so I've made several batches of regular soaps now, I feel I am getting a handle on the process and the science behind it (I've always been a huge science/chemistry nerd) But my friend is wanting to buy some soaps for xmas to give as gifts to her friends/family, the majority of which have very sensitive/dry skin. So after countless hours of browsing this forum along with tons of online sites, I have put together what I hope is a good recipe for sensitive skin. But I'd love your thoughts, especially those that make a successful sensitive skin recipe. I want to keep it simple and not have a million specialty oils in it, my aim for my entire soap line is SIMPLE lol so what do you think of the below?

Sensitive skin Recipe
55% Lard
15% coconut oil
15% olive oil
10% avocado oil
5% castor oil

replace distilled water for lye with aloe vera juice and add in colloidal oatmeal and honey at trace , no EO or FO but will use kaolin clay (white) and brazillian clay (green or purple, just something to give it color and swirl) as well.

So first, does that recipe work for sensitive skin? I haven't worked with lard yet, will it trace fast? and would I gel it like my normal batches, meaning, cover with towel for 24 hours?

any thoughts and advice are appreciated! thanks!

 

[Obsidian]

Lard traces slow, its great to work with and makes a nice mild soap. My recipe is similar and I have dry skin so I say go for it.

I would leave out the clay though, it can be drying for some. Its a killer on my skin

 

[Jess_]

Was just going post asking for ideas on soap for sensitive skin, in particular eczema. So I am glad I found this post. Very interested in the use of aloe vera juice instead of distilled water.
From my experience, I’ve made a batch and used cocoa butter at 10% and not had any irritation with my sensitive skin.
I’ve also read somewhere that palm oil is good for sensitive skin.
Your recipe looks good though, do hope you give it a try and it works out for you

 

[Spryng]

Was just going post asking for ideas on soap for sensitive skin, in particular eczema. So I am glad I found this post. Very interested in the use of aloe vera juice instead of distilled water.
From my experience, I’ve made a batch and used cocoa butter at 10% and not had any irritation with my sensitive skin.
I’ve also read somewhere that palm oil is good for sensitive skin.
Your recipe looks good though, do hope you give it a try and it works out for you

That's awesome to know!

Lard traces slow, its great to work with and makes a nice mild soap. My recipe is similar and I have dry skin so I say go for it.

I would leave out the clay though, it can be drying for some. Its a killer on my skin

So nice to know about lard! Don't know why I thought it would trace fast lol and didn't think about the clay being drying. Would micas be drying as well? Just didn't want to make a plain bar but give it a little color

 

[Obsidian]

Most hard fats do trace fast, lard is just a oddball.
Micas won't be drying and you won't need much if you are going for a lighter color.

 

[Spryng]

Most hard fats do trace fast, lard is just a oddball.
Micas won't be drying and you won't need much if you are going for a lighter color.

Great to know! I'll just use a little mica then for a little pop of color.

 

[KristaY]

I think your recipe looks great and you should give it a go! But in case it's still a bit too cleansing for people with overly sensitive skin, I have a recipe I've been using for several years that's worked out very well for everyone in my world who can't tolerate any CO or PO. I may have gotten the recipe here and tweaked it a bit so if I miss giving the credit to someone, my apologies!

30% OO or RBO
30% Avocado oil
20% HO Sunflower oil
10% Cocoa Butter
10% Castor oil
Aloe juice in place of water for the lye
Honey in place of sugar

I use no color and no scent. The bar is plenty hard and lathers well with a hint of cocoa scent from the butter. I'm sure you could change up the soft oils with different types and different ratios depending on what you've got on hand and what you may prefer in a soap. I've used RBO as an OO replacement with good results too. I plan to make a loaf as a Christmas gift for my aunt (who can't tolerate ANY scent or color) using oatmeal in some fashion. Maybe an oatmeal slurry for part of the aloe or maybe finely ground oats added to the oils. I'll see where the spirit leads me!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

@KristaY thanks for sharing your recipe. When you use both avocado and RBO do you have any problems with DOS? I would like to try the recipe, but I’m calculating 29% linoleic with that combination. I know others here have said they don’t have problems with RBO at 30%. I’ve read that the PUFAs can increase bubbles, which sounds nice if you don’t want to use much or any CO. So far I am seeing a lot of bubbles when I include enough RBO to bring the linoleic up to 15%.

 

[Spryng]

I think your recipe looks great and you should give it a go! But in case it's still a bit too cleansing for people with overly sensitive skin, I have a recipe I've been using for several years that's worked out very well for everyone in my world who can't tolerate any CO or PO. I may have gotten the recipe here and tweaked it a bit so if I miss giving the credit to someone, my apologies!

30% OO or RBO
30% Avocado oil
20% HO Sunflower oil
10% Cocoa Butter
10% Castor oil
Aloe juice in place of water for the lye
Honey in place of sugar

I use no color and no scent. The bar is plenty hard and lathers well with a hint of cocoa scent from the butter. I'm sure you could change up the soft oils with different types and different ratios depending on what you've got on hand and what you may prefer in a soap. I've used RBO as an OO replacement with good results too. I plan to make a loaf as a Christmas gift for my aunt (who can't tolerate ANY scent or color) using oatmeal in some fashion. Maybe an oatmeal slurry for part of the aloe or maybe finely ground oats added to the oils. I'll see where the spirit leads me!

That looks awesome! My cocoa butter is refined so it has absolutely no scent, so my bar will be completely scentless I think, which kinda makes me sad lol but thats why I want to add a little color,since they can't handle fragrance I still want to give them a beautiful bar. Have you tried any of the clays? Im getting conflicting info on whether it would be drying or not. Some say yes and some say no.

 

[KristaY]

@KristaY thanks for sharing your recipe. When you use both avocado and RBO do you have any problems with DOS? I would like to try the recipe, but I’m calculating 29% linoleic with that combination. I know others here have said they don’t have problems with RBO at 30%. I’ve read that the PUFAs can increase bubbles, which sounds nice if you don’t want to use much or any CO. So far I am seeing a lot of bubbles when I include enough RBO to bring the linoleic up to 15%.

Hmmm.... When I put the recipe into SoapCalc the linoleic is at 15, linolenic is at 1. But I don't have a problem with DOS. I do add tetrasodium EDTA to my soft oils though when I open the bottles. I don't think I've had any bars hang around longer than a year either as their used up quickly!

If you're worried about the higher linoleic, try splitting the RBO in half with OO. When I put 15% each into SoapCalc the linoleic went down to 12. You may feel more comfortable with that!

That looks awesome! My cocoa butter is refined so it has absolutely no scent, so my bar will be completely scentless I think, which kinda makes me sad lol but thats why I want to add a little color,since they can't handle fragrance I still want to give them a beautiful bar. Have you tried any of the clays? Im getting conflicting info on whether it would be drying or not. Some say yes and some say no.

I don't personally have a problem with clays being drying but I've always erred on the side of caution with this recipe and haven't added any. Since those who use it love it as is, I don't want to risk it. But there's a lot to said about the beauty and clean scent of "naked" soap!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Hmmm.... When I put the recipe into SoapCalc the linoleic is at 15, linolenic is at 1. But I don't have a problem with DOS. I do add tetrasodium EDTA to my soft oils though when I open the bottles. I don't think I've had any bars hang around longer than a year either as their used up quickly!

If you're worried about the higher linoleic, try splitting the RBO in half with OO. When I put 15% each into SoapCalc the linoleic went down to 12. You may feel more comfortable with that!

I put in the wrong sunflower! The linoleic came down to 15 when I corrected it to HO sunflower. Thanks!

 

[Auxotroph]

The oatmeal and honey will possibly irritate the skin. Also they clay might irritate the skin.

 

[KristaY]

I put in the wrong sunflower! The linoleic came down to 15 when I corrected it to HO sunflower. Thanks!

Ahhh.... That's the difference! I thought I was putting something in wrong! Good catch MB.

 

[Spryng]

The oatmeal and honey will possibly irritate the skin. Also they clay might irritate the skin.

I thought colloidal oatmeal and honey was soothing to the skin, no?

 

[Obsidian]

Oatmeal usually is, never heard that about honey though.
When I make soap for sensitive skin, I don't use any scent, color or additives just in case.

 

[Susie]

I have/had super dry/sensitive/eczema prone skin. I use honey as my extra bubble addition without any problems, but I add it to the oils. Adding it at trace will not affect how it acts in soap. Oatmeal makes me itch. I can eat it, but putting it on my skin is a no-no. Other people use it and love it. YMMV. Clays are a definite no-no, super drying. I use micas without an issue, nor have I heard of anyone having a problem with them.

I use a super simple recipe:

65% lard
15% olive oil
15% coconut oil
5% castor oil

I now live where there is hard water, so I have dropped the SF to 2% to decrease the soap scum. I have changed my recipe on my latest batch to 75% lard, 10% OO, 10% CO, 5% castor oil to try to boost the moisture left on my skin, but it is still curing, so IDK what it will be like.

 

[DeeAnna]

"...I do add tetrasodium EDTA to my soft oils though when I open the bottles...."

@KristaY -- EDTA is a water-soluble chemical. It needs to be used only in products that contain water. If you put EDTA in pure fat, the EDTA will fall to the bottom of the container and sit there, doing little or nothing.

You want to use the antioxidant rosemary oleoresin (ROE) in your fats for protection during storage.

 

[evolvethought]

I thought colloidal oatmeal and honey was soothing to the skin, no?

colliadal oatmeal and honey is great for skin but as long as soothing is concerned you can go for combination of aloevera and honey . eternalskinshine.site will definitely help you better.
thank you!!!