Passedpawn shampoo bar #1

[passedpawn]

New guy here, please be gentle.

Lard 'expired" 13 years ago, according to the label. haha.

I use a IR thermometer to measure temps.

I don't heat the lye mixture. It's room temp. I just stir (immersion blender) into fat.

Oils heated and cooled to 110F, then alkali added.

Immersion blender used to combine alkali and fats. Dye ( annatto) and aroma (orange oil) added after saponification.

PH meter measured 12.5 on the lye mixture.

Orange oil (1 oz) and annatto (random amt) added to saponified goo. Looks like artificial cheese (you know, the kind you get with your pretzel at the theater, or similar place where food is questionable)

 

[Dahila]

Nice but if you want to wash your hair with such harsh soap, you are going to irritate the skin. I was using shampoo bar but my cleansing number was like 8, and conditioning 78. Still I could not use it for long, The hair become very straw like ......
I remember using only 5 % of Coconut oil and 10% castor.
I switched to syndet shampoo bar and never regreted, We have few threads about shampoo. Please read it, and welcome to the forum

 

[shunt2011]

Way too much coconut oil. Plus, the PH of soap is too high for hair. Will totally ruin it. There are many discussions regarding this on the forum. There are some that have had luck but many more who have ruined their hair.

 

[earlene]

How did the expired lard smell? And how was it stored all this time?

 

[passedpawn]

How did the expired lard smell? And how was it stored all this time?

No smell really. Was in the back of the pantry cabinet.

Way too much coconut oil. Plus, the PH of soap is too high for hair. Will totally ruin it. There are many discussions regarding this on the forum. There are some that have had luck but many more who have ruined their hair.

I'll measure the pH when it's done (how do you know already?). I'm still new to this, so I expect failures along the way. I doubt I'll "ruin my hair" though. Haha.

What should I have changed to make it better for hair?

 

[earlene]

He knows because the pH range of true soap is around 9-12 (Kevin Dunn see page 67 of this article).

The pH of the human scalp is around 5.5 and the hair shaft pH is around 3.6. (See this study for more detail about how pH of hair cleaners affect the hair.

You said you've been using soap on your hair all your life, but if you've been using a syndet bar (synthetic detergent) rather than a true soap bar, then you've been using a lower pH 'soap' but not a true soap. If you're planning on making a bar soap that has a pH lower than that of true soap, you will have to make a syndet bar.

Perhaps if you keep your hair cut short (a buzz cut, for example) soap wouldn't be that much of an issue. But for me with longer-than-waist-length hair, I can attest to the fact that even a specially designed shampoo bar (true soap, but with luxury oils, etc.) my hair became like straw in no time and I chose to stop using bar soap rather than deal with hair that looked and felt like scarecrow hair.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

And please do not dismiss the experience of people here out of hand, especially if you want them to help you in the future.

Many soapers here HAVE ruined their hair and seen countless others do the same (one was a hair dresser and had to deal with many cases of soap-damaged hair). You might not ruin short hair, as has been said, but it might not do too well long term.

Soap is always alkaline, because it's a salt of fatty acids. Again, this was posted by an experienced soap maker so it's worth giving it the consideration it deserves.

As for that recipe, many would find it too harsh for use on the body, too. It's not a good recipe at all, unless it's for more heavy-duty cleaning like mechanic hands. Where did you get it from?

 

[Susie]

^What they said, also:

Orange EO will fade, citrus EOs always do. If you want a good "lemon" scent, use lemongrass EO.

You don't need to know the pH of anything when making cold processed soap. Just zap test in a few days. If it is still zappy, you still have free lye, so you need to give it an extra long cure.

 

[passedpawn]

And please do not dismiss the experience of people here out of hand, especially if you want them to help you in the future.

Right. Sorry for that.

As for that recipe, many would find it too harsh for use on the body, too. It's not a good recipe at all, unless it's for more heavy-duty cleaning like mechanic hands. Where did you get it from?

Just winging it. It's on the books now. We'll just have to wait and see.

Thanks for the comments. I'm learning by 1) doing, and 2) this forum.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

If #2 is true, I would read the first 10 pages of the beginner, cp, the recipe, and the process/tutorial sections. That will give you s foundation for things like what % of which oil is likely to cause an issue in some way.

If you put your #1 before your #2, you'll be making a lot of bad soap

 

[artemis]

I'm learning by 1) doing, and 2) this forum.

That's the order I used, too. Jump in and do it, and then read everything after the fact.

 

[shunt2011]

I'll measure the pH when it's done (how do you know already?). I'm still new to this, so I expect failures along the way. I doubt I'll "ruin my hair" though. Haha.

What should I have changed to make it better for hair?

How do I know....experience. I tried it and it ruined my hair. Had to have it cut ultra short.

Feel free to give it a try. At your own risk obviously.

 

[Dahila]

passedpawn, you just have a great entry to the forum :shark:

 

[Obsidian]

One of the more common hair recipes is in the first post of this thread. http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=30946 Personally I replaced the soy oil with coconut to boost the cleansing ability a little.

That being said, I'm one of the people who ruined my hair with shampoo bars. They were great at first, especially while my hair was shorter but after a year or so the high PH broke down the cuticle enough that my hair started breaking off in chunks. I ended up having to cut it back to 1/2" to remove all the damage.

If I had short hair, I would still be using the shampoo bars. There was a lot about them I liked. Now I'm using my left over bars for my face, they are really nice for that.