No lather in soap

[37ais]

I made this recipe.
Water 4.5 oz (snow formed in deep freezer)
NaOH 2.3 oz
Castor oil 3.1 oz
Coconut oil 2.8 oz
Beef Tallow 10.6 oz
The soap batter became really hard until it reached the moulds but it was mixed thoroughly.
I was expecting a very nice lather but I only get milky white soapy water without a single small bubble. Can anyone please tell me what went wrong?
We don't have hard water .

 

[AliensrReal]

What’s your super fat and how long did you let it cure?

 

[lsg]

I wonder about the superfat, also. I would have used less Castor oil and more coconut oil. Soaps higher in coconut usually lather, even in hard water. After your soap cures for a few weeks, you may see a big improvement.

 

[AliOop]

I am also wondering about the water that you used. If it is the frost from the inside of your freezer, it may have been in contact with, or already contained, metals that leached into the water. Those metals can interfere with the lathering and can also cause DOS over the long term. Do you have access to distilled or deionized water instead?

 

[Zany_in_CO]

TIP: When you need advice, it's best to share the printout of the whole recipe - like this one from SoapCalc:

5% Superfat
32% Lye Concentration
80% Tallow
15% Coconut
5% Castor
TEMPS: 120-135°F (49-57°C)

This is a conditioning/hard soap, with lather that leaves your skin feeling smooth and clean. You might want to use a few more ounces of water, if trace comes too quickly. Tallow makes a hard bar--any oils like coconut that make the bar hard will help trace to happen quicker. This is both a good and a bad thing, depending upon your speed of reaction as a soaper.

If you don't have a source for distilled water, and your tap water is less than ideal for making soap, you can use something like Aloe Vera juice instead. But I do agree with the others that frost from your freezer is probably not the best option.

HTH

 

[37ais]

My Sf was 5% and water I used was 4.5 instead of 4.66 oz that the recipe called for.
Now I am thinking of the bars that I made using water from the freezer.
1.One was hot process 100% Olive oil recipe with 0 Sf. It lathers.
2.Other was 100% Coconut oil soap with 0 sf. I will check it
3.This was the third recipe that I did.

Hope the bars will lather once they cure.
I made them on Thursday 30/11/2023 and checked them on Tuesday 5/12/2023.

I use Aloevera gel and herbal infusions for lye but taking snow out of the freezer felt so easy.

 

[AliensrReal]

With the amount of castor oil you used it can take a week or two before you get bubbles. That’s what I find with my high castor oil recipe.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Hope the bars will lather once they cure.

I'm not bragging, just thought I'd pass on this email from a neighbor that I gave a bar of my tallow soap to in exchange for 6 iris rhizomes from her garden last Fall. She went on to say that she and her 29-year-old daughter want me to teach them how to make soap after the first of the year.

Hi! We met when you picked up some iris bulbs from me in Lone Tree. You brought me a bar of your soap. I am currently using it and I love it!

 

[37ais]

I checked my CO soap too and they are making bubbles. So, I'll check these bars again after one week or something.
Thanks for helping me. May your soaps be as awesome as you.