Teach Soap

Oooookay, I welcome all suggestions on this issue. I made a batch of HP soap, tested it for lye content and everything once it was done cooking, and I've been using some smaller bars (that I accidentally cut too small) myself in the shower. The bars I've been using haven't been giving me any issues, but recently my husband finally started using one and he said that it made him break out and so I used it and it did leave my skin feeling itchy.... But the soap is all from the same batch.

I'm using
30% Canola
30% Coconut
40% Lard
6% Superfat

All the soap had been wrapped in plastic a few days after it had been made. I'm thinking maybe I should superfat it more.... I thought maybe the coconut oil was the culprit, so I changed the formula to 25% coconut, and 45% lard, but the batch I made from that came out too soft :S

Any suggestions?

It could be anything. Not enough cure time, low superfat, any of your oils. When was the soap made? Try a small batch of all coconut with a 20% superfat. If that makes you itch too, it's most likely the coconut. Anne-Marie uses a 5% superfat. I prefer 7% as anything lower makes my skin dry.

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

Hi Maetessa

Do you think that if they were wrapped in plastic a few days after being made that they may not have had enough curing/drying time. I understand that cut soap is best stored where air can circulate around it. Perhaps you could unwrap your soap and leave it exposed to air for a while and see what difference that makes. Good luck.

Opps just realised it was HP soap you made and not CP so please disregard the above.

Okay, well thanks for the suggestions... my husband seems to think that I just didn't rinse well enough! (Which I tend to do sometimes.... ) But that still doesn't explain why it had such a bad affect on him.... Does anyone know why hand-made soap might make someone break out?

My mother has told me that when you go from eating crap to eating healthy you break out on your face a bit; it's like your body is trying to push all the bad stuff out or something. Has anyone else experienced that?

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

It could also be from the fragrance oil/EO that you used (if you used one)

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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.

30% Coconut oil would dry my skin out and make me get itchy. Try using 20% or less and see if that helps.

Well, I did not use any FOs or EOs or additives or anything.

Also, I tried a new (small) batch with 25% coconut oil and 45% lard and the soap came out too soft for my taste :S

As for my husband, he didn't say that it made him break out again, but he was complaining about something else... I can't remember what it was though.... For some reason he seems to be very against using hand-made soap and it's very disheartening It makes me feel like "if I can't even get my husband to use it, how am I going to convince other people to try it?"

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

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

Listen to Linda! I have been making soap for 2 years now and still my hubby will not use - unless I am washing his back with it! He prefers liquid soap and I am not ready to try that yet. But I do have family and friends that love my soap. My daughter last month called me and said.... "help... I out of soap when are you going to send more?" Sometimes I overwhelme my family with gifts of soap that I do not hear that they could not get along without it! So just let him be and I believe in time they will come around.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

Thanks so much for all the support you guys!

Have you thought about making bastille soap? Meaning mostly olive oil with a smaller amount of accompanying coconut oil and maybe palm. Olive oil is moisturizing and gentle for sensitive skin. I made a soap recently that was 60% olive oil. Try using this lye calc (http://www.soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp) because it gives you the ability to see your hardness, conditioning, etc. properties of your recipe. You'll notice a huge difference in your conditioning : hardness ratio when you lower your coconut and up your olive oil. It's interesting! I add 3% sodium lactate to my recipes to take care of any softness. It hardens them up nice.

A nice butter like shea or cocoa may help too. Some people say shea makes their skin itch, so many just cocoa.

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Soapmaiden (Natalie)