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Soap55

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Hello:

I recently started making soap. I have a pretty good setup (scale, thermometers, etc...) and I've been able to make some decent batches. I've been using the same base oils for awhile now (Canola & Olive) and have been mixing EVERYTHING the same way (ratios, temperatures, etc...) for a few batches (I'm doing this because I'm experimenting with colorants and essential oils, and I want to kep the base consistent until I understand all of the additives).

At this point, I'd like to explore some different bases. The Canola & Olive is giving me a very hard bar that does not produce excessive lather. Are there different bases I can use to get much more lather? Is there any way to "aerate" the soap so it is "fluffier". Can I add anything to accomplish this? I'm trying to match the lather properties of something like Dove.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
We have a lot of discusions on here regarding bubbles and lather.

Are you using soap calc? This will give you bubble properties of both individual oils and for the overall soap.

Coconut oil is used for bubbles, castor for lather, some use sugar and milk also gives a creamy lather which might be considered similar to Dove.

Try using the search button for info on what these oils/additives do and the recomended usage. There is heaps of info, that you will find very useful.

You can also search 'soapcalc' for info on how to use this site.

Good luck :)
 
I agree that coconut and castor really improve the bubbly/creamy lather of soap. Palm kernal oil will also contribute to fluffy lather. You may be able to find coconut oil and castor fairly easily. Our local Wal Mart sells both. You can make an excellent basic soap with just coconut, olive, and castor oils. Canola oil has a short shelf life and can quickly become rancid. Soaps made with >10% canola oil are more prone to developing DOS.
 
I 100% about watching out for DOS with Canola or Soy oils. Its such a bummer making beautiful soaps and a few months later theyre rancid and no good. :cry: SoapCalc is one tool that will be most useful to you. I always use roughly 5-7%castor and 15-25% coconut you have to see what you like. Beef tallow helps out too. I bet your soap will be 10x better than Dove!
 
ilove2soap said:
I agree that coconut and castor really improve the bubbly/creamy lather of soap. Palm kernal oil will also contribute to fluffy lather. You may be able to find coconut oil and castor fairly easily. Our local Wal Mart sells both. You can make an excellent basic soap with just coconut, olive, and castor oils. Canola oil has a short shelf life and can quickly become rancid. Soaps made with >10% canola oil are more prone to developing DOS.
Click to expand...

Don't mean to hijack but where do you find castor oil at the Walmart? Is it in the pharmacy?
 
You can also find castor oil in natural food stores like Whole Foods Mkt (a lot of people use it for castor oil packs to be used with a heating pad in certain health remedies). I buy mine at my local, family-owned healthfood store. They sell it in a 32 oz bottle for around $11.00.

IrishLass :)
 
I make po, oo, co, castor and shea butter and love it.
If your going to keep soaping Id buy a big jug of castor, drugstore castor is outrageous priced, healthfoods not as bad.
 

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