Thanks! I'd never thought to use d-limonene in soap, but it absolutely makes sense! I bet it would be perfect in liquid dish soap and stain sticks.
It sounds like it smells amazing!
Borax Hand Soap for Blacksmith or other dirty work
- Thread starter earlene
- Start date
Help Support Soapmaking Forum:
It sounds like it smells amazing!
I used Energy from Bramble Berry when I made this recipe. Using a citrus scent just seemed right for a scrubby soap
(probably because I'm used to using GoJo or something similar)Servant4Christ
Well-Known Member
@AliOop What does the D-limonene smell like? Lemon or oranges? Where do you prefer to buy it and what usage rate do you suggest with this recipe? I'd like to make it for DH's upcoming birthday. I've also got to come up with a bath soap for him, but that's a whole other dilemma with its own list of requirements.
Also, is the dual lye for this recipe worth it? I'm not exactly sure what the difference would be in performance. More bubbles? Softer bar? No clue.
Also, is the dual lye for this recipe worth it? I'm not exactly sure what the difference would be in performance. More bubbles? Softer bar? No clue.
Last edited:
Servant4Christ
Well-Known Member
Thanks. I'm only just beginning to experiment with scent options and very very cautiously at that. Fragrances and I do not get along, but as @Zany_in_CO says, scent does sell. I can't argue that, as everyone who sees and oohs and ahs my soap creations automatically lift it to their nose to smell even after being told it's unscented.I used Energy from Bramble Berry when I made this recipe. Using a citrus scent just seemed right for a scrubby soap
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Yes!as everyone who sees and oohs and ahs my soap creations automatically lift it to their nose to smell even after being told it's unscented.
I've been using it at 1-3% for bar soap, and will probably stick with 3% from now on unless I'm blending it with something else. On its own, it smells mostly like lemon to me, but when I blend it with an orange FO, the combo smells like oranges to me.
Sorry, I bought a good amount on destash that I'm still working through, so I haven't needed to purchase directly from suppliers.
Servant4Christ
Well-Known Member
I saw some on Amazon that I considered buying just to try it out, but if I can find it through a soaping ingredients supplier that would be my preference. I wonder if it would blend well with orange 10X EO. That would technically make both ingredients all natural, right?
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
It's like pine tar ... soap making suppliers aren't likely to have it because it is beyond the norm.
Walmart has d-Limonene.
Servant4Christ
Well-Known Member
Will this one work?
Florida Laboratories, Inc. D-Limonene 100% Food Grade Citrus Solvent 4oz Dlimonene Orange Oil https://a.co/d/fROfF7m
A chemical supplier might be your best bet. Here is one that offers free shipping in the US.
Servant4Christ
Well-Known Member
Thanks. I've seen that one, too. I just couldn't figure out if I should be looking for USP grade or food grade. Lol
Last edited:
I don’t think it matters for soap.
Adding KOH will make the soap a little easier to dissolve. What happens next is going to be recipe dependent. Here are some links to threads or posts with more info:
Dual lye castile
Hey, liquid soap makers, here's a new thing to make with your KOH -- I have been reading Anne Watson's "Castile Soapmaking" book. She discusses the issue of castile (100% olive oil + NaOH) soap forming that slimy gel we all love to hate (aka snot or slime) and the related problem of the soap...
www.soapmakingforum.com
Dual lye, why?
What is the rationale for using NaOH + KOH in a soap? If KOH added to a soap makes it easier to dissolve, which means it makes more lather or bubbles, why not just use more soft oils to get a softer soap? Is adding KOH most useful when you want to stick with a lower percentage of soft oils to...
www.soapmakingforum.com
Sugar and Aloe and Sorbitol?
In my experience softened water causes the feeling that soap is hard to rinse off. Yes @earlene, I think you are right. I was using 1% Na Gluconate TBW because our Southern Arizona water is horrendous-with a capital H! I have only one friend who doesn't use a water softener, so maybe I don't...
www.soapmakingforum.com
Servant4Christ
Well-Known Member
Thanks. I'm going to give the recipe a try without the KOH, for my first time anyway. I'm going to order some d-Limonene to try and some orange 10X EO because I cannot make up my mind between them and I know they will be useful in my dish soaps, too. Can I combine them as say 2% d-Limonene and another 2-3% orange EO?Adding KOH will make the soap a little easier to dissolve. What happens next is going to be recipe dependent. Here are some links to threads or posts with more info:
Dual lye castile
Hey, liquid soap makers, here's a new thing to make with your KOH -- I have been reading Anne Watson's "Castile Soapmaking" book. She discusses the issue of castile (100% olive oil + NaOH) soap forming that slimy gel we all love to hate (aka snot or slime) and the related problem of the soap...Dual lye, why?
What is the rationale for using NaOH + KOH in a soap? If KOH added to a soap makes it easier to dissolve, which means it makes more lather or bubbles, why not just use more soft oils to get a softer soap? Is adding KOH most useful when you want to stick with a lower percentage of soft oils to...Sugar and Aloe and Sorbitol?
In my experience softened water causes the feeling that soap is hard to rinse off. Yes @earlene, I think you are right. I was using 1% Na Gluconate TBW because our Southern Arizona water is horrendous-with a capital H! I have only one friend who doesn't use a water softener, so maybe I don't...
I'm actually using info from some of your previous posts to try to make a more desirable bath soap for dh. He doesn't like my current fave (ZNSB) because he says he doesn't feel clean afterwards. He feels like he's just used lotion (he's not a fan of lotion) that's sunk in and left him all soft and smooth. Lol. He's the type that actually needs his hard earned calluses for work. I told him he's definitely getting clean because there is literally zero sf, but my guess is I need to dial down the oleic and conditioning values for him.
I plugged in what I've seen you post and it looks more to his preference. I hope. 25 tallow, 25 lard, 20 co, 5 castor, and maybe 25 olive. And trying to get the palm/stearic to add to 30. Does this sound right? I take great notes (ahem, screenshots).
Can I combine them as say 2% d-Limonene and another 2-3% orange EO?
I would want to know the recommended skin safe info for d-limonene. EOCalc isn’t of immediate help. I would look in my copy of Tisserand and Young’s book, but it’s out of sight at the moment.
25 tallow, 25 lard, 20 co, 5 castor, and maybe 25 olive. And trying to get the palm/stearic to add to 30.
I like that recipe and have been using it with slight variations for months now, but recently wanted to try something a little lower in liquid oils due to the price. I ended up with tallow 25%, lard 32%, coconut 20%, olive 20% and castor 3% at 3% superfat with sorbitol or sugar at 1% and sodium citrate at 1.5% of TFW. With just a week of cure, one of the batches made with sorbitol is quite nice, with a rich lather that makes larger bubbles in the mix. The recipe is 32 p+s in the SMF calculator.
I stick to 20% CO in most my regular recipes (and 2-3% sf), which seems to keep all of my friends happy. Others have mentioned here on the forum that some people prefer higher CO, like 25-30% for a “cleaner” feel.
I would want to know the recommended skin safe info for d-limonene. EOCalc isn’t of immediate help. I would look in my copy of Tisserand and Young’s book, but it’s out of sight at the moment.
25 tallow, 25 lard, 20 co, 5 castor, and maybe 25 olive. And trying to get the palm/stearic to add to 30.
I like that recipe and have been using it with slight variations for months now, but recently wanted to try something a little lower in liquid oils due to the price. I ended up with tallow 25%, lard 32%, coconut 20%, olive 20% and castor 3% at 3% superfat with sorbitol or sugar at 1% and sodium citrate at 1.5% of TFW. With just a week of cure, one of the batches made with sorbitol is quite nice, with a rich lather that makes larger bubbles in the mix. The recipe is 32 p+s in the SMF calculator.
I stick to 20% CO in most my regular recipes (and 2-3% sf), which seems to keep all of my friends happy. Others have mentioned here on the forum that some people prefer higher CO, like 25-30% for a “cleaner” feel.
Servant4Christ
Well-Known Member
Thank you! What's funny is that of the things you have listed, tallow is the most expensive ingredient for me.
Out of curiosity, do you use part of your main oils to mix your colorants? I guess what I'm really trying to figure out is if your SF is the final SF or if there is more SF added due to your colorants.
Last edited:
I can get tallow for less than 15 cents an ounce delivered from Soaper’s Choice (30 lb cube). OO from Costco is the cheapest I can find and it’s 21 cents an ounce including the tax, but not including the cost of membership, my time or gas costs to get to the store which is 45 minutes away. 3% is the final superfat I aim for. Depending on the planned design and type(s) of colorants, I could be adding extra oil to a recipe calculated at 2% SF or using batch oils to mix the colorants for a recipe calculated at 3% SF. I don’t sweat it too much because there are many sources of error when it comes to calculating superfat, e.g. the real sap value of the fat vs. what’s in the calculator, lye purity, age of my lye masterbatch, scraping the bowl, etc. I keep my methods as consistent as possible, achieve consistent results and feel confident that the final SF is relatively low.
ETA: As an aside, I love lard soap and would use more of it except that when I use it at 50% or more I can start to smell it as the soap ages. It hasn’t been noticeable in the lard + tallow recipe so I thought I would try inching the lard percentage up a little to see what happens. I am also trying slightly higher calculated s+p because I think the tallow I get from SC is a bit on the soft side.
ETA2: From Tisserand & Young’s book Essential Oil Safety (2nd ed, page 584) “Unoxidized limonene, tested at 2% or 3%, was allergenic in 17/8,997 (0.2%) of dermatitis patients.” The percentage was 2% (101/5,116) for oxidized limonene. (Sweet) orange and grapefruit oil are in the range of 84-96% d-limonene, while the percentage in expressed and distilled lemon oil is lower (56-76%).
Last edited:
Servant4Christ
Well-Known Member
Wow, that's awesome info. Thankyou. I thought d-Limonene was going to have so much more degreasing value than orange 10x EO, but if I'm reading your last paragraph correctly, it seems they are fairly comparable.
yes indeed! American orange essential oil is mostly d-limonene (>93%), with myrcene and pinene in low percentages. The minor constituents vary a bit in orange eo from other places but all of the examples listed are at least 84% d-limonene.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Agreed. I once tested Orange Essential Oil X10 against d-Limonene used on a cottlon ball to remove tacky residue from labels I peeled off the glass bottles I use for storing EOs and FOs
Result: Both performed about the same but the Orange EO residue washed off easily with soap and water and rinsed clean; I was disappointed the d-Limonene didn't. I thought it would do better.
Keep in mind, d-Limonene is a solvent, not an EO. Its best use is in DIY cleaning products. Read the label.
Similar threads
