Teach Soap

Hi All,
A question. My standard recipe is this:
Coconut Oil, 76 deg 30%
palm Oil 25%
Castor Oil 5%
Olive Oil 40%

Nothing too weird. I use the lye and water recommended by SoapCalc for 7% superfat. But I'm finding that it's a bit soft even on day two after pouring. Not gelatinous or anything, but when I cut it, it's like cutting cheesecake--moist bits crumble off it, and I don't get a really clean cut. After a few days or a week, it hardens up.

For the last batch, I added sodium lactate, but it was still moistly crumbling after 2 days. I will harden up, eventually. But I'd like something that cuts a bit tidier after a few days.

Any thoughts? Should I decrease water? Go to 5% superfat? Increase sodium lactate to 3%?

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Lesli Sagan
Avital's Apiaries
Like us: http://www.facebook.com/AvitalsApiaries

I'm assuming you don't gel your soap? It will stay a bit soft and crumbly for a few days if so.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

I don't force a gel. I insulate, but I soap in the basement, and it's rarely over 60F down there at this time of year. I was wondering about the temp difference now that it's colder down there.

Most loaves do get, and I can see a difference between, say, loaf slices and the "extra" that I pour into individual silicone molds. Maybe I should try to force gel once or twice.

For those who prefer no gel, when do you cut? I'd like cleaner cuts, even if I am going for a "rustic" look.

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Lesli Sagan
Avital's Apiaries
Like us: http://www.facebook.com/AvitalsApiaries

I prefer not to gel and put my soap in the fridge or the freezer. It does take longer for ungelled soap to harden at first. I cut mine as soon as they come back to room temp and cannot be easily dented with a finger.

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

If I want to make my soap harder, what do I add? I really don't want to change the formula. The soap is good, the consistency, fragrance, pH, color, etc., but I want it to last longer.

You could add 1% beeswax. My hardest soaps have beeswax. I'm trying sodium lactate now, which a lot of people seem to like.

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Lesli Sagan
Avital's Apiaries
Like us: http://www.facebook.com/AvitalsApiaries

Mellifera, I gel my soap. My recipe is almost identical to your recipe except that I use lard instead of palm. I can almost always cut my soap as soon as it is completely cool. Definitely within 24 hours.

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

I use pretty much the same recipe, but with 3% superfat. It produces super-hard bars! So, I would try lowering the superfat. With the high percentage of olive oil, my soap still is very non-drying.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Success! The seedling mat (and 1% sodium lactate) did the trick. The basement is far cooler now than when I started soaping last year, and I think that even insulation wasn't enough. I didn't want to force gel in an oven because I don't have an oven in the basement, and carrying a liquid loaf mold of caustic goo through the house and up the stairs was not attractive.

I unmolded at the 22 hour mark, and both the 40-ounce silicone loaf mold and the two individual bars in a silicone mold were nice and hard, and turned out of the molds without losing corners or leaving indents. Yeah!

_________________
***************
Lesli Sagan
Avital's Apiaries
Like us: http://www.facebook.com/AvitalsApiaries

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

_________________
***************
Lesli Sagan
Avital's Apiaries
Like us: http://www.facebook.com/AvitalsApiaries

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

_________________
***************
Lesli Sagan
Avital's Apiaries
Like us: http://www.facebook.com/AvitalsApiaries