Can you check this please?

[mgood86]

Coconut Oil 6.4 40%
Grapeseed Oil 1 6.25%
Olive Oil 8.6 53.75%

add at trace:

1 TBSP Glycerin to help with the coconut oils drying effect
lye 2.3 oz
water 5 oz

soap at 110 F.

could I feasibly use whole milk instead of water for a lavender milk bar in a different batch?

Thank you.

 

[Hazel]

This is just my opinion but I'd just up the SF instead of adding glycerin. Why are you using CO at 40%? You could reduce it a bit and up the OO. This would also make it less drying.

You could use millk as your liquid in another batch. I like using buttermilk or cream in my batches.

 

[mgood86]

Because I read that using higher concentrations of OO makes it's cure time that much longer...hmmm. 20-30% maybe? No glycerin? Ok. I will make the rest of my soaps that way from now on. I am thinking of getting palm oil to include in the base oils and that would lower the CO amount as well. Just starting out I wanted to be as basic as I could to get "the hang of it" so to speak. Now that I am feeling a little more confident, I am more open to branching out a bit. Thank you.

 

[Hazel]

Yes, OO takes a longer curing time to develop nicer lather. I did a bastile with 75% OO/25% PKO and it was usuable in about 4-6 weeks but I didn't like the lather. It wasn't until about 4 months later that I thought the lather was okay.

You don't have to reduce the amount of CO. You can just use a higher SF. I think your recipe sounds nice but I'd use a SF of at least 10% if not slightly higher. Do you have any other oils besides the 3 you listed. I like using castor in most of my batches.

 

[kila73]

My recipe that I am happy with is

Olive oil 40%
Coconut oil 25%
Palm oil 25%
Grapeseed oil 5%
Castor oil 5%

Maybe you can try that, they say the caster oil help with the bubbles in the soap, and I must say I love the lather I get with this recipe.

 

[mgood86]

Oh ok, I can do a SF of 10%. I use the MMS lye calc and so it lists the variables nicely. I can def. pick up some castor oil. How does that react in the soap? I am going to get some Palm Oil to add but I don't want to get into the more expensive ones. I am not wanting to sell. These are just for my family and myself.

 

[Hazel]

Castor adds conditioning and bubbles. You can find castor oil in the pharmacy section at Wal-Mart, etc. However, it's expensive to buy it this way. But if you just want to try it, then this would be the best way to get a sample.

I buy oils from soaperschoice.com. Your inital outlay is more but it works out cheaper in the long run.

 

[mgood86]

Thank you both for your responses and help! It's very appreciated

 

[Hazel]

You're welcome. Please let us know how it turns out for you.

 

[tlm884]

You can also use lard or tallow in place of palm oil. I actually prefer lard over palm, I find it gives a harder bar. Castor is also a nice addition. As mentioned previously, it is very expensive to buy castor at the pharmacy. I buy it in 1L jugs for 13 dollars online.

 

[Soapy Gurl]

If you have olive, palm, coconut, grape seed oil and castor you really wont need any fancier oils. You can make some great soap with those. I love grape seed oil. You can also make a fantastic massage or body oil with it.

 

[mgood86]

Ok thank you Soapy Gurl. I will stick with those for sure then. I am making as many easy different kind and inexpensive kind of soaps as I can to put one of each in a package as Christmas Gifts. So far I have a plain soap for Sensitive Skin, Acne Soap, Honey, Lavender, Milk and Honey, and tomorrow I am going to make one I call Vanilla Shake which is just a heavy cream and vanilla fo recipe, and when my Brambleberry order arrives, I am making Hot Cocoa, and a Vanilla Shaving Soap. I am excited to make these newer ones.