Antioxidants & Preservatives Help

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

cwarren

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2010
Messages
827
Reaction score
2
Location
south east texas
I want to try making soaps at 10% superfat ..
in winter months my skin gets soooo dry it hurts like a sunburn...

what do you recomend,
I 've been looking at rosemary oil extract or grapefruit seed extract..

or would it be better to use something like avacado oil ..
but do you need pres or antiox for that because of unsifonables
Your opinion please
 
Rosemary oil extract or grapefruit seed extract are anti-oxidants. They will not help if you have dry skin. How much of a superfat are you doing now?
 
i have only done 5 and 8 % but would like to try more to help my skin..
I am just afaid of spoilage if I go too high. I was thinking ...
make a batch of gm soap with 0% superfat and at trace add something that the skin will absorb to the point of 10 % ...

does that make sense ?
 
10% SF is a little high but I do know of people who like it that high - it really depends on where you live.

Rather than going super high on your superfat consider using really moisturizing oils. I don't know what you have or what you're willing to use but maybe try a recipe like this:

* Olive Oil - 50%
* Cocoa Butter - 10%
* Shea Butter - 20%
* Coconut Oil - 15%
* Castor Oil - 5%

SF - 8%
Lye Concentration - 35%

This is going to give you a very moisturzing bar of soap with thick luxurious lather and a hard bar of soap. If you want additional conditioning add some Goat's Milk Powder in as well by holding back part of your water and mixing the GM Powder in with that and then adding to your oils after you added your lye.

I think you'll find formulating for high moisturizing will be more satisfactory than getting into really high superfats.

HTH
 
cwarren said:
i have only done 5 and 8 % but would like to try more to help my skin..
I am just afaid of spoilage if I go too high. I was thinking ...
make a batch of gm soap with 0% superfat and at trace add something that the skin will absorb to the point of 10 % ...

does that make sense ?
Unless you are adding your superfat oil AFTER the cook, please don't do a 0% superfat. Add all your oils and butter to the lye calc, then try 8-10% superfat. If you add any "extra" oil at trace, there is no guarantee that that particular oil will end up as your superfat. The lye is still active at this point and it will take whatever it wants.
 
Lindy - I like your recipe. I think I'll give it a try, but I was wondering (and anyone feel free to chime in) - what are the differences between shea butter and cocoa butter? I ask because I happen to have shea butter. I plugged both of them into SoapCalc and the properties are pretty similar. Cocoa butter seems to be a little harder, but not much. Would it make a big difference to substitute shea for the cocoa?

I just noticed also (and please don't take this as an insult - just honest questions) - your recipe comes up on SoapCalc as being not very hard (but adequate) and with very little lather. That seems like that hasn't been your experience, but I was just double-checking.

Thanks!
 
It usually goes that the higher your moisturizing number the lower your bubbly number. You are going to get a really creamy, dense lather rather than a light fluffy, bubbly one.

BTW I just used my lemon shea bar in the shower and it was lovely. You feel just as clean with a bar that is low on bubbles. It's like washing with a lotion bar.
 
SudsyKat...hardness numbers on SoapCalc can be deceiving. Take 100% olive oil, for example. That's a 17 on hardness and 105 INS, and the soap is actually hard as a rock. My personal favorite recipe comes out a 138 INS, and it's also hard.
 
BakingNana said:
SudsyKat...hardness numbers on SoapCalc can be deceiving. Take 100% olive oil, for example. That's a 17 on hardness and 105 INS, and the soap is actually hard as a rock. My personal favorite recipe comes out a 138 INS, and it's also hard.

I have made castille soap. Before using it, it is very hard. Unfortunately, after showering with it mine starts to get a very unpleasent goo. Does soap calc figure hardness on the bar before it is used, because I though (possibly incorrectly) that it was for the bar in use?
 
I agree with cwarren. I hate the slime. I don't equate the slime with hardness, though. It's still rock hard; just the surface or what should be the lather is slimy. Unless you have it sitting in water; any soap will get soft sitting in water, no matter how hard it is to start with.
 
Sudsykat - sorry for taking so long to get back on here....

Shea Butter and Cocoa butter do have different qualities that they bring to a product other than just the hardness etc.

Shea butter is far more moisturzing as well as bringing anti-inflammatory properties with it. Cocoa Butter is buite a bit harder and although it is still moisturizing it's not as moisturizing as Shea butter. I like combining the two as I find they compliment each other.

As has already been mentioned the high Olive Oil content creates a deceivingly low hardness number. This bar is hard as a rock and feels amazing on your skin.

HTH
 
I have some 100% OO .. been curing 2 months now.. plain GM ...

but I will do the other recipe !! waiting on response about oil supplier in another thread
 
Lindy said:
* Olive Oil - 50%
* Cocoa Butter - 10%
* Shea Butter - 20%
* Coconut Oil - 15%
* Castor Oil - 5%

@Sudsykat, the difference is cocoa butter is quite high in stearic acid; which will give a creamy lather and in combination with an oil that gives a bubbly lather make that one more stable.
That's why many like to use either cocoa or stearic acid in shaving soaps ;)
Shea is higher in conditioning, although with that amount of olive oil you won't have any trouble there.

You could just leave the cocoa out and use palm instead, or up the coconut oil. In my experience even people with dry skin have no problem using soap with up to 25% coconut oil, as long as it's generously superfatted.

That sad, with super dry skin like TS discribes I'd personally go for palm kernal instead of coconut and would use 7% castor instead of 5.

@cwarren, my 100% olive oil soaps cure for 4 to 6 months at least :? The slimy feeling does get less over time; but I do prefer adding some castor, and a bit of coconut, that makes a huge difference.
 
Castille

I have learned from my 100% castilles works better if they are cured for LONG 6 months. They really don't get slime when you use them and your skin gets so smooth that you won't believe it!
 
Back
Top