4th batch, face and body

[Dawni]

A bit of background before I share the calc's results.

My son doesn't like switching between bars.
His problem is acne - red zits every now n then but mostly blackheads.
His pores are also huge.
He also has they typical sweaty, teenage male smell that bothers me after a day in school.

Previously, he was using a 50% coconut oil laundry bar that had papaya in it, which was meant for baby clothes (don't ask how that ended up in the shower lol).
This soap wasn't handmade btw.
His odor was significantly less.
I noticed his face was oiler but the zits were drying up.
Weird right?

So the goal is one bar for both face and body, that will help for acne and odor, but without drying him up too much that his face is making up with more oil.



How does this recipe look? Am I asking too much from a bar of soap? Lol

I have on hand:
About a kg each of Cocoa and Shea butter
A liter each Avocado and Grapeseed
some Olive,
2 liters of Rice Bran
About 150ml Castor
I have a lil bit of Sweet Almond that I was thinking to add to the superfat but it won't be the full coz I don't think I have enough (I want to finish that though).
Semi-unlimited supply of Coconut lol

Should I switch out any oils?
Should I up the coconut?
Should I reduce the butters?
Any other suggestions?

The plan is to also use an EO blend of Tea Tree, Rosemary, Cedarwood, Lemon, Eucalyptus and Lavender. If my Spearmint arrives before I try this I might add it in, too.

Additives could include any or all of the following:
Fuller's Earth
Activated charcoal
Neem powder
Moringa puree and/or powder

Thank you in advance for any advice, tips, well wishes and crossed fingers.

 

[steffamarie]

Shea could really kill lather at such a percentage. I would say up the coconut and reduce the shea. Lemon EO will not stick, and Lavender might not, but the rest of those EOs should be ok. I would throw in some AC and some sort of clay type material (like Fuller's earth). I've never soaped with neem or moringa so that's at your discretion

Other than that, this to me looks like a decently well balanced bar in terms of calc numbers! I hope it turns out as nice as it looks on paper. Your fatty acid profile is pretty aligned with the "ideal" that I've seen in my research. My own soaps typically have similar fatty acid numbers and they turn out very nicely. Best of luck to you in the fight against teen boy BO!! Let us know how it works out!!!

 

[Dawni]

Shea could really kill lather at such a percentage. I would say up the coconut and reduce the shea. Lemon EO will not stick, and Lavender might not, but the rest of those EOs should be ok. I would throw in some AC and some sort of clay type material (like Fuller's earth). I've never soaped with neem or moringa so that's at your discretion

I wanted to add the lemon and lavender in case some of their qualities are retained, since I'm doing HP. Not so much the scent. Just in case lol

Other than that, this to me looks like a decently well balanced bar in terms of calc numbers! I hope it turns out as nice as it looks on paper. Your fatty acid profile is pretty aligned with the "ideal" that I've seen in my research. My own soaps typically have similar fatty acid numbers and they turn out very nicely. Best of luck to you in the fight against teen boy BO!! Let us know how it works out!!!

That's exactly why I posted here. On paper many things look nice lol so I wanted first hand experience-based tips for me. Thanks for yours

If this soap turns out, I will surely post it coz it'll then be a first completely successful one haha my 2 others each had minor issues and one was a complete fail.

 

[cmzaha]

I would not go over a 3% superfat, since you have the butters which contain unsaponifiables. and add in some charcoal. If you have any neem oil I would use some or infuse some oil with your neem powder, it will sometimes help. For him I would definitely use grapeseed oil at 10-15% in a smallish batch, since grapeseed has a short shelf life. I make a bar with 20% grapeseed and 20% neem oil which people come back for. I also, would not make over a 1 lb batch since it is a trial.

 

[Dawni]

I would not go over a 3% superfat, since you have the butters which contain unsaponifiables. and add in some charcoal. If you have any neem oil I would use some or infuse some oil with your neem powder, it will sometimes help. For him I would definitely use grapeseed oil at 10-15% in a smallish batch, since grapeseed has a short shelf life. I make a bar with 20% grapeseed and 20% neem oil which people come back for. I also, would not make over a 1 lb batch since it is a trial.

Yknow what.. I'm stupid lol I forgot to decrease the superfat when I changed the oils. Earlier I had a lot more coconut than this. Thanks for pointing that out!

I have grapeseed but omitted it here because it was messing with my numbers.. I really wanted to use it though. What should I decrease if I was to add 10% grapeseed?

I do this much as a trial because I have a huge cooker lol and I couldn't even use my stick blender properly in an earlier batch with half of this. Also, in case it all works out, I'll have lots of soap lol

 

[Saponificarian]

I would make this recipe as is. I know a lot of Soapers say that Shea butter cuts lather, I am sorry but that has not been my experience. Maybe if you are using a high super fat but I use 2/3% now as I have learnt from cmzaha and with her 56% Shea butter recipe I get good lather from the 3rd week cure so I would like some science backing this assertion about Shea cutting lather that keeps going round the soaping circle.

 

[cmzaha]

I made 56% shea butter facial bars earlier this week and they already lather using 2% superfat but sorbitol is also added. I have used up to 75% shea butter and it will lather after a little longer cure

 

[steffamarie]

I stand corrected! Just goes to show I shouldn't believe everything I read Thanks @Saponificarian and @cmzaha for the re-education!!

 

[Dawni]

Wow.. 56% Shea sounds really luxurious. Maybe one day I'll give that a try. I'm saving the most of the butters I have for a balm I want to try, and they cost more than the oils, so...

How about this?
I reduced all amounts to make room for Grapeseed but increased the coconut.
Now that there's two, can it be said that one might be better than the other?


@cmzaha I have neem oil but so very little (I haven't weighed it), I'm guessing less than 30ml.. Should I superfat with it and risk the stink? Lol

I will be using activated charcoal for sure, and probably neem, moringa and turmeric powders, as well.

 

[lsg]

I second the recommendation for the addition of neem seed oil. It doesn't smell very good, but is supposed to be good for lots of skin conditions.

 

[cmzaha]

With a small amount of neem available I would add it in after as as a superfat. Neem really mellows out after it is cured. Do go with the grapeseed oil and neem combination and I am betting he will like the bar, of course we are all different so he needs to test it on a small area before using it all over

 

[Dawni]

With a small amount of neem available I would add it in after as as a superfat. Neem really mellows out after it is cured. Do go with the grapeseed oil and neem combination and I am betting he will like the bar, of course we are all different so he needs to test it on a small area before using it all over

Thank you

I revised my formula to include grapeseed above.. What do you think about it now?

And, if I can get my hands on more neem, what would be a good percentage/amount?
Which oil should I reduce more to fit in the neem?
Or reduce small amounts from everything?

 

[lsg]

I would reduce the cocoa butter to 15% and use 5% neem seed oil.

 

[DeeAnna]

I think anywhere from 5% to 20% neem would work good. It behaves a lot like lard in the sense that it makes a decently hard bar and a whipped-cream lather (as opposed to fluffy bubbles.)

The neem smell really does mellow a lot, so don't let the odd odor keep you from using it. Neem is never going to be my all time favorite fragrance, but it's not all that bad.

The one thing that isn't mentioned much is neem has a very bitter taste. Just be sensible and keep your mouth closed when using neem soap on the face.

 

[cmzaha]

As DeeAnna mentioned 5-20% for neem. If you go with 20% expect some acceleration, since Neem can and will accelerate trace. I suggest you start pouring at emulsion especially if using individual molds

I stand corrected! Just goes to show I shouldn't believe everything I read Thanks @Saponificarian and @cmzaha for the re-education!!

You do not need to stand corrected, some really do believe it cuts lather severly. I just find with a decent cure it will lather, not big poppy bubbles but creamy lather. I have one recipe that uses 75% shea and is beautiful after an 8-12 month cure. In fact I am going to run a batch this weekend, since I replenished my shea and, once again, have a fairly local supplier (within 20 miles).

 

[steffamarie]

I have one recipe that uses 75% shea and is beautiful after an 8-12 month cure.

Well that sounds just lovely!! Maybe I'll have to give a high shea recipe a try sometime soon. Put it away and try not to think about it XD

Maybe I should also give neem a try for some face bars! Looks like I have some more shopping to do...

 

[Dawni]

I would reduce the cocoa butter to 15% and use 5% neem seed oil.

Thank you @lsg

I think anywhere from 5% to 20% neem would work good. It behaves a lot like lard in the sense that it makes a decently hard bar and a whipped-cream lather (as opposed to fluffy bubbles.)

The neem smell really does mellow a lot, so don't let the odd odor keep you from using it. Neem is never going to be my all time favorite fragrance, but it's not all that bad.

The one thing that isn't mentioned much is neem has a very bitter taste. Just be sensible and keep your mouth closed when using neem soap on the face.

Thank you @DeeAnna. I learned something new about neem oil today!
I'll have to remember to tell my son to keep his mouth closed lol

As DeeAnna mentioned 5-20% for neem. If you go with 20% expect some acceleration, since Neem can and will accelerate trace. I suggest you start pouring at emulsion especially if using individual molds

Thanks for all your help @cmzaha!

I'm waiting for some more neem oil and I'll get started.. Will update you guys how it turns out

 

[Dawni]

Soap is done!

Here's what it looks like before I dumped it in a Pringles can.

I'm really, really hoping the neem odor fades lol.
It's as if I didn't use EOs at all haha and smells like burnt... Something.
I didn't expect that at all, coz I don't really mind the plain oil smell very much but cooking it is another story apparently.

The neem oil also colored it dark brown, no trace of the green oils and the moringa powder that was a nice, bright green.. And the activated charcoal made it worse lol

I did a zap test and washed my hands with some bits clinging to the spatula. Got some nice, small bubbles.
I'll post pics of the cut tomorrow.

Hopefully it looks and smells better over time.

Once again, thank you all for your help

 

[lsg]

The neem odor should fade somewhat over time.

 

[Dawni]

I think, as much as I tried not repeating any previous mistakes, I seem to have done it again.

This time, I am sure I did not overcook my soap. My guess is, I waited too long to pour in the mold.
I used a pringles can, and for leftovers I put them in small yogurt containers.
One pic is half of what was inside the pringles. Still too soft I think so I won't cut slices yet.
Other pic is what came out of the yogurt cups. Dry and crumbly but sticky.

I'm too far from quitting (3 out of 4 "failed" batches), but the waste of materials is becoming disheartening