Can anyone give me the buzz on beeswax?

[wearytraveler]

I'm always looking to try something new so what's everyone's consensus on beeswax for CP soap?

Thanks!

 

[dixiedragon]

I LOVE it at 5%. It makes a hard, sleek bar and I love the texture, look and scent. I always pair my beeswax with honey at I think 1 tablespoon PPO, and it has a very mild sweetness to it.

10% - too much! The soap is soft and it has a lotion-like quality to it.

 

[Obsidian]

I like it at 5% too but I always have issues with it overheating my soap, I have to watch it very carefully. I can't imagine adding honey to the mix. I do use "raw" wax from my families hives though, I'm sure it still has some sugars in it.

 

[wearytraveler]

Would anyone think that I'd have a problem with using beewax at the recommended 5% along with 1.5 tsp sugar PPO for a CP batch that I will pop into the freezer for 12 hours immediately after pouring?
Also, will sodium lactate be necessary if I use beeswax?

Thanks!

 

[IrishLass]

I like using beeswax at 3% in my 50% OO formula along with 5% honey ppo. It makes a great soap. I have absolutely no problems soaping mine, and I let it go through full gel. The first time I ever made such a soap I wrote a blow-by-blow account about how I did it, which you can read here. Edited to add: the blow-by-blow account is in post #16.

You can use sodium lactate if you want to, but there's really no need if you are only using it for hardness (the beeswax will make it hard enough).


IrishLass

 

[dixiedragon]

I have never had a problem with my honey soap overheating. (knock on wood) My milk soap usually smells like baby vomit, though.

I took an informal survey here, and I noticed that the majority of soapers making a soap with honey are also using some kind of honey FO, or oatmeal, milk and honey FO. So I think the FOs may be contributing to the problem.

When I soap with beeswax I soap hot, b/c beeswax has a high melt temp. I heat my oils and I melt the beeswax in the microwave with another oil. Take that other oil from someplace else in your recipe. For example, if my recipe calls for 1 ounce of beeswax and 10 ounces of olive oil, I will put 8 ounces of olive oil in my soap pot with my other oils and mix the remaining 2 ounces with my beeswax to melt in the microwave. I add the melted beeswax to the pot of oils. It may solidify a bit if your oils are too cool. If that happens, I gently heat the oil until the beeswax melts. Then I add the honey. I stick blend the pot of oils and honey as I pour in the lye water. The lye water is at room temp.

 

[wearytraveler]

Thanks everyone for their input and thanks IrishLass for the link to your post. I just ordered some beeswax from Amazon since I was toying with the idea of making a lotion bar (gonna happen for sure) and then thought about making a batch of soap with it (definitely gonna happen this upcoming weekend!). Unless someone can talk me out of using beeswax AND sodium lactate, that's what I'll do. I'm curious to see what the outcome is. Since I've gotten suggestions at 3% and 5% I'll go for the middle ground and do beeswax at 4% PPO. I'm totally excited to try this!

 

[IrishLass]

Unless someone can talk me out of using beeswax AND sodium lactate, that's what I'll do.

Go for it. For what it's worth, I do happen to use it in my beeswax/honey soap because I like the creamy oomph it gives to my lather, much like what happens when I use milk in my soaps.


IrishLass

 

[Kamahido]

I add 2% beeswax to my recipe to keep the soda ash away. Have seen a 95% reduction! :-D

 

[lathered_up]

Ariane from La Fille de la Mer has a video https://youtu.be/Q_zCteuCBdE about using both beeswax and sodium lactate in her recipes. However, she uses beeswax at a lower rate than what others have suggested here. I say experiment and see what happens. Who knows, maybe you'll get a really fabulous bar!

 

[Obsidian]

I've been meaning to try it at 3% instead of 5%, see if that will help at all. Maybe using individual molds will help it not over heat on me.

 

[wearytraveler]

I'm thinking this is what I'll try this weekend. I'll make this with 100% coconut water, add sodium lactate and FO. No colors. I'll mold then pop into the freezer for 12 hours. I'm looking forward to trying this.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I would use a recipe that you have made before, no other changes than the wax. Even the FO should be one you've used before.

That way you see exactly what effect the wax has on a recipe