Advice on Soap Recipe

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ZandarKoad

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I'm making my third batch today of the following recipe (found here):

10 oz Olive Oil (I'm using EVOO)
6 oz Coconut Oil (I'm using Organic EVCO)
0.5 oz Castor Ooil
2.25 oz lye
6 oz Steam Distilled Water

I was wondering if that recipe is appropriate for a general purpose bath / sink soap. I've read in various places that the coconut oil is very drying, but that it is also very good at cleansing.

I'm also curious if that recipe is super fatty, and if so by how much? Or, how would I calculate it on my own?

My second batch turned out quite slimy and soft but I still cut it after 50 hours. I think it's because on that batch I added 1 oz of diluted Titanium Dioxide (essentially 1 oz water) and 0.25 oz of liquid colorant. The mold it was in was lined with plastic wrap, and it was covered in plastic wrap. I'm hoping it dries out normally after a few days / weeks / months, etc.

I'm loving these forums. So much activity!

Thanks!
 
I put your recipe through soapcalc and it shows that it's 10.5% superfat
and it looks like the cleansing is too high. I am very much a newbie myself so I can't tell you much more. But I'd go for something less cleansing.
Although since the superfat is high it might be ok. I don't know. Wait for someone experienced to help

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It would be too cleansing for me at 24 (12-22 is suggested), but it looks like it already has at least a 7% superfat, which will help make it less drying.
The softness is most likely from adding that extra water.

You can figure your superfat by just adding it in your recipe when you calculate. What lye calculator are you using? They should have an area where you can enter your superfat percentage that you would like.
 
If it were me.. I would adjust your recipe to 4oz. Coconut Oil & 12oz. Olive Oil - only because I generally try to keep my Coconut Oil around 25% and no more than 30% (this is my preference... just giving opinion).
 
OK, great, I will do that. And to turn the soap black, I would just add activated charcoal just after trace, and just before pouring, correct? I'm guessing I'd just add as much charcoal as I need to, to get the desired color. But how much is too much? I'm thinking around 1 dry ounce per pound of base oils?

Both times I made this recipe, it took FOREVER to trace. We are talking 3-4 hours. Will increasing the Olive Oil content further increase the trace time? Not that I really care... Just so long as it traces... eventually. :D

To answer your question: I don't have a soap calculator... I know there is a link around here somewhere...
 
OK, great, I will do that. And to turn the soap black, I would just add activated charcoal just after trace, and just before pouring, correct? I'm guessing I'd just add as much charcoal as I need to, to get the desired color. But how much is too much? I'm thinking around 1 dry ounce per pound of base oils?

Both times I made this recipe, it took FOREVER to trace. We are talking 3-4 hours. Will increasing the Olive Oil content further increase the trace time? Not that I really care... Just so long as it traces... eventually. :D

To answer your question: I don't have a soap calculator... I know there is a link around here somewhere...

Upping the olive oil will make the trace time longer.
Do you have a stick blender?

Soap calc has a great lye calculator http://www.soapcalc.net

As for the activated charcoal, I'd blend it with a little bit of oil or water first and then mix it in at trace or right before trace. 1 oz ppo will be a lot though. I'd go with 1/2 that.
 
Well, it's done. I didn't add the charcoal to any liquids before mixing. I do have a stick mixer. I am terrified I added way to much charcoal, but the worst case scenario is the suds is black and it will stain wash clothes. I'll prepare myself emotionally for that eventuality should it occur.

I used 96 oz of OO, 32 oz of CO, and 4 oz of Castor. My math showed I had over 8 lbs of base oils, so I was going to use 4 oz of charcoal max. It was VERY hard to pour that charcoal from one container into another, so I settled on just over 3 oz. After getting the 3 oz in a separate container, I was pouring it slowly into the soap at first, but I got impatient and dumped it in... I was mixing blind for the next 2 to 3 minutes. I couldn't see the soap in the bottom of the five gallon bucket I was using thanks to the amazing black cloud ... It's like working with the physical embodiment of pure evil. Kinda cool. :D

The mixture got quite a bit thicker, but I did add an extra 3 oz of water to my initial lye/water combination to accommodate for the absorption of the charcoal. I could have had an extra 2 or 3 oz... But it still poured just fine into the molds.

MAN is that soap black. I think I could have done with maybe half that amount of charcoal. I'll try less on my next batch. Won't know for sure until 6 weeks from now...
 
Holy moly....thats a huge batch! Crossing my fingers for you!
 
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