Soap feels a little drying

sunny_ said:

Hello
2 months ago I made my first batch of soap- it feels a little too drying to my skin- when the soap is washed off of my hands they feel a little squeaky but after my hands are dry they feel fine. it's just when I'm washing my hands that I feel that draggy then drying sensation. This is the recipe:

As I don't have access to Lard cry, I have bought tallow to render and I plan to mix it with palm oil. Maybe that would change the skin feel? How much tallow would you recommend using is soap? I'm thinking about 25% tallow and 25% PO.
thanks!!

Click to expand...

penelopejane said:

I don't use tallow.
For my skin taking out all the coconut and adding it to the Avocado would be more conditioning.

Click to expand...

Kittish said:

What's the water like where you're using the soap? I bet it's hard water. All of my soaps are producing that squeaky, too dry feeling that goes away as soon as my hands are dry. In my case, it's definitely down to the water, and it may be in your case as well. Chelating agents are what counter that problem. Sodium citrate and EDTA are both chelating agents.

Click to expand...

BattleGnome said:

I don't use tallow or palm (availability issues) but your idea sounds like a good start.

Regarding the squeaking issues, there are a couple options. When I had squeaky clean feelings I dropped my coconut oil percentage. That solved my issue, but I don't have hard water. There is a possibility that you have hard water and the addition of a chelator would solve your squeaking. Citric acid is a common additive for hard water (you just need to add some extra NaOH) and EDTA is another. A chelator will bond with soap scum to wash it down the drain instead of allowing it to stick to you or the shower.

For a quick comparison you can switch the avocado and coconut percentages in the recipe you posed (keeping everything else the same). If it fixes things then your skin doesn't like coconut. If you still have issues we can help point you in the direction of threads about chelators and hard water (or I think DeeAnna has an article about it)

Click to expand...