Teach Soap

Hello everyone!

I've been working with melt & pour soap for several years now, so I decided to finally try out cold process soap. I love that the fragrances last much longer in the soap, as well as the longevity of the soap itself!

However, after several loaves of lye heavy soap, my frustration is starting to set in. I've just recently had my first "successful" loaf of CP soap. However, it took four days for it to be ready to cut (and even then, it was still very soft) and finally after SEVEN weeks, it was ready to use.

But, as I discovered, the very center of the soap was still soft. Thus, I was under a false impression that my soap was complete when it was okey-dokey for a few days and then BAM irritated skin once I got to the (surprisingly) soft core of the soap.

I have used lye calculators, but now I'm hoping more experienced CP soap makers can help me and see what I'm doing wrong.

Here is my recipe:

1/4 cup Lard
1/2 cup Coconut Oil
1/2 cup Olive Oil
3 Tbsp Lye
1/2 cup Distilled Water
2 Tbsp Fragrance Oil


Please help me out here. I would hate to give up on something that I'm -so- close to learning.

Using volumetric measurements is probably the source of your problems. It's always better to use weight for making soap, as it's much more accurate. If you don't have a scale, you can get one pretty cheaply.

Also, 2 tbsp of fragrance oil seems like a lot for that small of a batch. It's possible that it's also partially the FO that is irritating your skin.

If I convert your recipe into percentages and then ounces, for a small batch it looks like this:

2 oz lard (20%)
4 oz olive oil (40%)
4 oz coconut oil (40%)
3.3 oz water
1.45 oz lye
.3 oz fragrance
5% superfat

For a batch that small, grams is an even more accurate way to measure.

I'd probably reduce the coconut oil and up the lard myself, but that's personal preference. 40% coconut oil is pretty drying to me. I'd probably switch it to 20% and the lard to 40%, but if you decide to do that, then run it through a lye calculator again.

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~Kelly~

Ah...That would make since why I was the only one with that type of measurements.

I can totally add more lard so it's not as dry.

The reasoning for the small batch, is because I'm used to making two-three bars in M&P to conserve supplies, just in case the bars don't sell at shows or online.

For the fragrance oil, I was using the fragrance calculator on Bramble Berry for cold process soap. For 16 oz of soap, 2 Tbsp was the recommended amount to get the strongest fragrance in the soap. I'll try 1 Tbsp in the next test batch to see if it is less irritating.

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

Never go by cups. Always by weight, including any fragrance.

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

Okay, I've just made another batch of soap using weight instead of cups.

It went A LOT better this time! It took much longer for a trace to form, instead of just a handful of minutes. This is a great sign.

I only used the olive oil and lard with this recipe, not adding a fragrance. I want to make sure the batch itself will turn out okay before I make batches with fragrance.

Thank you guys for the help!

Congrats on your batch!

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

Grats!

BTW, if you do decide to "use" the soap right away, be sure to keep a bar back for at least 6-8 weeks. I am always pleasantly surprised how different fresh soap feels compared to a well-cured, mellow bar... SO much more of a pleasure to bathe with!

I figure soap is like wine or good whiskey - it gets better with age.

I just got around to opening & using a calendula soap from last October and it is FABULOUS now... Folks thot it was great at Xmas...

Gotta encourage folks to buy 6-packs & 12-packs of soap. Then each bar will seem better than the one before, eh?

I recently found that if I add .5 oz of sodium lactate 60 percent liquid to 36 oz of soap that it helps firm and makes it easier to come out of mold. I too have making soap for about two years now and there are several books out there to assist with receipes and helpful hints. If the burns it can also happen with some scents that are used if the concentration to oils is too high ex frankenscence. Also oils weight different so it is best to always use ounces not cups. You will be very happy. Also when using fragrance oils take care with pulmaria and gardenia they inhance trace so be careful. It happens ever time I use them but I have customers that want that scent so I keep trying. The books that I have are from Anna Marie brambleberry and soap makers friend and several others. If you have a kindle you can get them inexpensive and I read them all the time.