Making Soap Less Slippery

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songwind

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I made a soap a little while ago out of 50% olive, 25% coconut, 25% palm, with a 5% superfat. The whole family seems to like it, but my wife says it's very slippery and hard to hold on to.

Is there a way to make soap easier to keep in hand without making it rough on the skin?

Is it possibly just a side-effect of my fats profile?
 
I have two ideas. One would be, try a 3% superfat, but it could be a size preference thing. So, if you cut more "chunky" sized bars, it could make it easier to grip in your hands. I have a really cool soap supplier who does this, and I love it.
 
The high olive content might have something to do with it as well.
 
I actually find smaller bars are easier to hold on to. You might try making a harder bar with sodium lactate. Or making a salt bar.
 
I have two reasons for thinking a bar is slippery. #1 - a higher olive oil content. I look like a comedy routine when I use Castile >.< and #2 - the bar size & shape. As pretty as the peaked tops and big bars are, they are cumbersome for me to hold and use. I don't have small hands either. A Large nitrile glove fits perfectly and to get any wiggle room, I need an Extra Large. The peaked tops just make my fingers cramp when trying to use them. This is why I try to keep my playful tops at a fairly low profile.

One thing you might want to experiment with is trying a 30 30 40 formula, (coconut, olive, and palm, respectively, with a 7% superfat) and see how she likes that texture. I know people scream that above 20% coconut is too harsh. For every 10% of coconut, I place my superfat up 2%. So for 50% coconut, I do a minimum of 10% superfat to help alleviate the cleansing of the coconut. Even my mother who has very sensitive and dry skin was able to use my 50% coconut, 50% olive oil soap just fine.
 
Well, my salt bars are definitely not slippery.:grin: You might try adding a little cosmetic grade clay to a small batch to see if that helps.
 
Wow, lots of interesting ideas. Thanks for everyone's input!

Funnily enough, I had wondered about asking Sonya if she wanted to knit some washbags/soap cozies/whatever.

I think I'll try a salt or oat bar and see how that goes over. This one was for face and hands, so I don't want to get to exfoliating, but those sound pretty innocuous.

wouldn't 5% coconut butter give the bar some drag?
also the bar may not be fully cured

It was a hot process soap, and it's also about a month old, so I'm pretty sure it's cured, thank goodness.

One thing you might want to experiment with is trying a 30 30 40 formula, (coconut, olive, and palm, respectively, with a 7% superfat) and see how she likes that texture. I know people scream that above 20% coconut is too harsh. For every 10% of coconut, I place my superfat up 2%. So for 50% coconut, I do a minimum of 10% superfat to help alleviate the cleansing of the coconut. Even my mother who has very sensitive and dry skin was able to use my 50% coconut, 50% olive oil soap just fine.

Thanks, that profile looks pretty interesting. I think I know what to try next. :)
 
I do not consider my HP soaps fully cured until at least 6 weeks, and 8 is better. Even HP benefits greatly from a full cure. JM2C
 
I do not consider my HP soaps fully cured until at least 6 weeks, and 8 is better. Even HP benefits greatly from a full cure. JM2C

Yes yes yes, you are the one who doesn't like making CP :p I think if you made CP, you'd make EVERYTHING cure 6 months.
 
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