Teach Soap

I'm thinking of trying a bastille soap. I'm waiting on my castor oil to arrive but after scouring the forum, I've found people recommending coconut and/or almond oil (since it's good for sensitive skin).

Here's what I was thinking but any feedback would be great.

Olive Oil - 75%
Coconut Oil - 15%
Almond Oil - 10%

Also, do you think a superfat of 7% would be too high? I'm still new to CP and just trying to find recipes that me and my testers like. This is going to be a long year of experimenting

On a side note, I'm running the same recipe through SoapCalc & the BB Lye Calculator, but getting two different amounts of lye & water. I'm just trying to figure out how the water/lye amounts are determined. It's the analyst in me that can't let me go without wondering. Here's what I got:

SoapCalc: Water - 6.08 oz Lye - 2.128 oz
BB: Water - 5.28 Lye - 2.095

Can I assume that the Water as % of oils is lower for the BB? I just want to understand the calculations (stats major once upon a time) so that I can better understand what I'm creating. Thanks!

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Inspiri Body - Bath & Body products Inspired by Life

If you multiply the lye amount by 3, that will give you a 33% lye solution. So if you need 2 ozs. of lye, I would use 6 ozs. of water. You might get better accuracy converting your recipe into grams if it's a small(er) recipe. I don't use almond oil as it makes my soap soft. I love castor in soap for its bubbleage factor. I superfat every batch at 7%, but I'm not sure how well that would work with almond oil.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I also have avocado oil, would that be better for a harder bar (which I"ll run through the calculators again)? I'm just waiting on a shipment of oils and didn't want to do a true castile quite yet because the 4-6 month curing, for a newbie like me, just feels like FOREVER.

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Inspiri Body - Bath & Body products Inspired by Life

Avocado is a soft oil. It's nice in soap in a small % like 5% or less.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Can you tell I'm still learning

Thanks soapbuddy. I think I'll increase the coconut oil, reduce the almond/avocado oil (still debating which one to use) and do a little more research. But after I make it, I"ll post back!

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Inspiri Body - Bath & Body products Inspired by Life

I love castor in my soaps - use at 5% most of the time.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

wow does Castile really need 4-6 months cure? Is that why some people seem hesitant to do it? It also takes longer trace right? (sorry to hi-jack the post but was thinking about trying a castile this weekend...wanna know what I am in for!). thanks!

From what I understand from the other threads and the reading I've done, it's usable after 4-6 weeks, but gets better and to be a better bar after 4-6 months. If you search "castile" on the forum, there a lot of people that say that's how long it should cure to get the best bar of soap.

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Inspiri Body - Bath & Body products Inspired by Life

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Castille is fine to use after 4-6 weeks but for me I much prefer the "feel" of Castille when it has aged for a longer time.