Can I use 95% hard oils for cp soap ??
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Dawni
Well-Known Member
I'm sure you can, if can is the only question...
Now if you're gonna ask if it's gonna lather well then I'll say yes maybe but only after a longish cure. I have no experience with pko, palm nor mowrah, but butters in general aren't the best latherers at high amounts before 3-4mos cure (in my case). Some increase their castor when they have a lot of butters but I've not tried that either.
There's also a tendency that you'll get acceleration (for mango it is the case, not sure how fast for mowrah) so if you're going ahead with this then watch out for that.
Let's see what the others have to say...
Now if you're gonna ask if it's gonna lather well then I'll say yes maybe but only after a longish cure. I have no experience with pko, palm nor mowrah, but butters in general aren't the best latherers at high amounts before 3-4mos cure (in my case). Some increase their castor when they have a lot of butters but I've not tried that either.
There's also a tendency that you'll get acceleration (for mango it is the case, not sure how fast for mowrah) so if you're going ahead with this then watch out for that.
Let's see what the others have to say...
I made a 100% cocoa butter soap once, so yes, you can make a soap with 95% hard oils. Just be aware you probably won't have time for any design elements, like swirls. If you want to color, I suggest you add the color to the lye solution (such as indigo or alkanet, for example.) If you are okay with 20% cleansing, your oils will give you that, but for my skin, I'd use less of the two cleansing oils (PKO & CO) but that's me, it just would strip my skin of my natural oils and leave my skin feeling rough & extremely dry. But I think you live in a more humid climate, so it may be fine for you (I don't know.)
And as Dawni said, butters in high amounts are said to inhibit lather, so maybe add some sugar or sugar containing liquid to the mix, but maybe not. PKO & CO contribute to bubbles & lather, so perhaps you won't need a sugar boost. But if you have access to aloe juice, you could use that for making your lye solution and get that little extra boost of sugar that way. It's up to you; I'd try it either way with or without the extra boost just to see what happens.
Also, since this is an experiment (anything new is an experiment, right?), I suggest you make a very small batch. Something along the lines of 300 to 350 grams of oils. I'd keep the lye concentration to about 33%. And I probably would not insulate because it could lead to overheating and cause the soap to crack on the surface. So keep an eye on it if it is a single loaf-type mold & if you see cracking start at the surface, put it on top of a cooling rack to introduce air-flow to the bottom surface.
It may be hard to cut, so you will have to cut it early rather than waiting too long. Maybe individual molds would be a good option here, otherwise you will really have to pay attention to how soon to cut into bars from a single mold.
How many batches of soap have you made? If this is still your first batch, it may be a bit challenging as a starter soap because when we start out we tend to be slower & more hesitant in our actions simply because it's a new skill we are learning. In other words, making soap with mostly hard oils can be more difficult for a beginning soap maker simply because the learned skills are not yet well established. For a beginning recipe, I would suggest something with about 60% soft oils in order to allow the extra time so the beginner can get used to the process. But you can choose to start with a more difficult recipe, if that's what you want to do. I didn't always try the easy route as a beginner, either.
And as Dawni said, butters in high amounts are said to inhibit lather, so maybe add some sugar or sugar containing liquid to the mix, but maybe not. PKO & CO contribute to bubbles & lather, so perhaps you won't need a sugar boost. But if you have access to aloe juice, you could use that for making your lye solution and get that little extra boost of sugar that way. It's up to you; I'd try it either way with or without the extra boost just to see what happens.
Also, since this is an experiment (anything new is an experiment, right?), I suggest you make a very small batch. Something along the lines of 300 to 350 grams of oils. I'd keep the lye concentration to about 33%. And I probably would not insulate because it could lead to overheating and cause the soap to crack on the surface. So keep an eye on it if it is a single loaf-type mold & if you see cracking start at the surface, put it on top of a cooling rack to introduce air-flow to the bottom surface.
It may be hard to cut, so you will have to cut it early rather than waiting too long. Maybe individual molds would be a good option here, otherwise you will really have to pay attention to how soon to cut into bars from a single mold.
How many batches of soap have you made? If this is still your first batch, it may be a bit challenging as a starter soap because when we start out we tend to be slower & more hesitant in our actions simply because it's a new skill we are learning. In other words, making soap with mostly hard oils can be more difficult for a beginning soap maker simply because the learned skills are not yet well established. For a beginning recipe, I would suggest something with about 60% soft oils in order to allow the extra time so the beginner can get used to the process. But you can choose to start with a more difficult recipe, if that's what you want to do. I didn't always try the easy route as a beginner, either.
Completely agree with Dawni and Earlene! My own experiences with high-hard oils is similar, and I had lots of cracking (gaping cracks in some areas) and some leaking liquid throughout the batch, (log mold) (( on reflection I probably should have thrown it into the freezer once it was poured ) as well as some deep ash, although that may have been a function of the essential oils and very cool temps in my soaping room. I'd get in the line to suggest a small batch of individual molds. The thing is, our unique combinations of oils and butters, plus soaping temps, lye concentrations, the way we blend, the color mediums we use and everything that goes into what makes 'our' soap unique to us, is what drives the outcome. You won't know until you try, and your results might be glorious!! Keep good notes and keep us posted.
Dawni
Well-Known Member
People use superfat to counteract the cleansing factor. When that number is too high, some people find it too drying. I usually use no more than 18% cleansing oils, and I superfat low too at 2-4%. General rule for most is, the higher the coconut (and/or pko, babassu and others) the higher the superfat.
Remember though, that a very high superfat results in slippery showers lol
As for the cracks, you'll probably have to babysit this soap and cut when you judge it's firm enough to touch, not by number of hours..
Yes you 'can', but will it make a good soap is an entirely different question. From what I am reading, Mawrah Butter is similar to Cocoa and Kokum Butter which means you are going to need to up your Castor Oil or add sugar (add to water, dissolved complete, then add your lye) for bubbles and lathering. And from making Lotion Bars (with Cocoa and Kokum Butters), I have found (by accident) that bars are better for a long cure.
Bottom line...make a one pound batch of soap and see what happens...if you like it, go for it. If you don't, modify the recipe and try again.
I don't consider coconut a hard oil, but you could CP that recipe. I'd leave a stick-blender out of the batter because it may quickly become pudding, but it should be manageable to get it past emulsion and pour it if you use a whisk. ln time, I imagine that soap would have a dense, foamy lather.
I would suggest doing a dual lye of at least 90% sodium hydroxide and 10% potassium hydroxide to help with lather.
I'm not sure that's necessary. The recipe sang90 is asking about using only has a palmitic/Stearic total of 33%. Despite the title, only about 65% of the recipe contributes to longevity, the rest is relatively soluble.
Do you like a high cleansing number? I ask this question because the combination of CO & PKO is at 30. While PKO is a hard oil when solidified it is still a soluble oil like CO so not really a hard oil in soap. I really do not think you need dual lye since the solubility should be okay. I make a Shea soap with 57-59% Shea which turns out beautiful. The properties of your Mowah butter are closer to Shea than Cocoa Butter but I would add in a liquid oil if I were you. I use 24% liquid oil in my high shea recipe. I also use only 12% PKO/CO total oil blend and a 6-month cure with a 2-3% superfat.
You can use any liquid oil of your choice. Olive, Sweet Almond, Avocado, HO Sunflower, Safflower etc.....
