Carrier oils in Soap

[HoppyCosmetics]

I have a recipe for a bastille soap with olive oil and coconut oil, and after learning how to use soap calc i decided i want to make my own bastille soap, but add a few extra carrier oils.

If i reduced the olive oil from 80% to 70% and added 5 extra carrier oils at 2% each is that pointless?

 

[TheGecko]

If i reduced the olive oil from 80% to 70% and added 5 extra carrier oils at 2% each is that pointless?

Anything less than 5%, IMHO, is for label appeal.

 

[HoppyCosmetics]

Anything less than 5%, IMHO, is for label appeal.

That's not what i want, i want it to be beneficial for the skin. So should i just make my minimum 5% and only add 2 extra carrier oils?

 

[TheGecko]

i want it to be beneficial for the skin

And therein lies the problem. There are a lot of great oils and butters that are great for the skin...rich in all sort of vitamins, that nourish and hydrate, antioxidants, blah blah blah. But we're talking soap and three things that you HAVE to consider: 1) Soap is a wash on/rinse off product that is your skin for...five, maybe ten minutes. Boom, gone, down the drain along with dirt, excess oils and odor. 2) Sodium Hydroxide aka The Lye Monster aka Caustic Soda...it pretty much destroys all those 'benefits'. 3) Saponification. It's the process that turns all those greats oils and butters into...soap.

What is truly beneficial to the skin is to not dry it out, yet still get you clean...and not smell like you just left the Mustang Ranch (it's a famous brothel in the US).

But if you want to try it...then do it. Try a few test batches and see what you get.

 

[HoppyCosmetics]

What is truly beneficial to the skin is to not dry it out, yet still get you clean...

I think you're right in everything you've said, so i agree with all of it.

One of the reasons im asking about different oils is because i tried two different handmade bastilles, both same percentages, but one had dead sea salt added, and the other had carrot puree. The carrot one was amazing and left your skin feeling moisturised even after drying. But i don't want to add carrot to mine, so i thought about adding a few different oils instead.

Im just unsure of the perfect ratio if i decrease the 80% olive oil to 70% and add either 10% hemp oil or 2 extra oils at 5% each. Or decrease the 20% coconut oil. This is the first batch of cold process i'll be making. Im trying to keep it as simple as possible, but im getting carried away!

Any advice or tips?

 

[TheGecko]

It was so much that the carrot puree had the soap more moisturizing, but that salt soap can be a bit drying. But I'm not the one to talk to when it comes to salt soaps...I have yet to make a decent one and have given up.

So start with a small test batch (400 grams of oils) of a basic Bastille...80% Olive, 20% Coconut. Then make another small test batch with 70% Olive, 20%, Coconut and 10% Hemp. Then make another small text batch with 70% Olive, 20% Coconut and 10% Shea Butter. You'll need to let them cure about eight to twelve weeks (longer for the high Olive Oil). Then give them a test drive and see which one you like best.

Speaking solely for myself, I'm not all that big on adding real food stuff to my soap...outside of making Goat Milk Soap.

 

[HoppyCosmetics]

So start with a small test batch

That's a good idea. That's exactly what i'll do, thanks. I don't think i'd really be a fan of adding food to my soaps either, but there is a co2 carrot extract that might do, im not sure, and it is expensive for a 10ml bottle. There's two ways of making salt soap (so ive read), one where you add himalayan pink salt to the lye water, or you add it at trace. If you haven't thought of that, you could try both ways. You know more about soap than me!

 

[Rsapienza]

There's two ways of making salt soap (so ive read), one where you add himalayan pink salt to the lye water, or you add it at trace.

When adding salt to your lye water, it doesn’t have to be Himalayan salt. I would probably use whatever option is cheapest for you. As far is adding salt at trace, trust me when I tell you, Himalayan salt is not what you want. It is too sharp no matter how fine it is. It has actually cut peoples skin. Stick to fine sea salt.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

but one had dead sea salt added, and the other had carrot puree.

You can have the best of both worlds if you'd like to try making
Zany's No Slime Castile which you can use Dead Sea Salt to make the Faux Sea Water for the lye solution and skin-loving Carrot Tissue Oil -- using Olive Oil instead of Sunflower Oil for the infusion.

You will also be able to unmold and cut sooner than "normal" 100% olive oil castile and it is ready to use in 2 weeks, which is when I start using it, or 4 weeks as shown in this YouTube video:


I like more lather so I make this Combo: 85% Olive Oil, 10% Coconut Oil, 5% Castor Oil. You can certainly try 70% Olive Oil with 15% other oils of your choice and leave the Coconut and Castor as is but try a small batch first so you can compare what the other oils bring to the finished soap.

Pay special attention to setting up the SoapCalc printout. Choose Water to Lye Ratio and type in 1.7:1 and Super Fat at 0%

Be sure to read the directions over a couple of times ahead of time. In the video, she soaped at 85°F (30°C) instead of the recommended 100-110°F (38-43°C) which brings the batch to emulsion or trace more quickly.

 

[HoppyCosmetics]

You can have the best of both worlds if you'd like to try making
Zany's No Slime Castile

Yeah, i can give that a try. I have all the oils you mentioned to use, and i need a batch in time for christmas. Thanks.

Out of curiosity, is this your recipe or is it just the same name Zany?

 

[TheGecko]

That's a good idea. That's exactly what i'll do, thanks. I don't think i'd really be a fan of adding food to my soaps either, but there is a co2 carrot extract that might do, im not sure, and it is expensive for a 10ml bottle. There's two ways of making salt soap (so ive read), one where you add himalayan pink salt to the lye water, or you add it at trace. If you haven't thought of that, you could try both ways. You know more about soap than me!

If you're just making soap for yourself, nothing wrong with going all out. And if it is something that really adds to your soap, you can call it a 'luxury' bar and charge extra. I really want to try Cranberry Butter...it's $20 for 8 oz. I know, I could probably make it myself for way cheaper (shea butter, palm butter, jojoba oil and freeze dried cranberries), but it's something that I just want to 'try'.

As for knowing more...I don't know about that. I've had soap turn into concrete, I've made a soap that shattered. All the research in the world doesn't mean squat until you start to make soap...and that's when you start to learn. THIS place is the best resource for soap making...I didn't find it until after my soap shattered and my goat milk soap...let's just say it was really, really, really bad. LOL

The only downside to soap making...you need patience because your soap really needs time to cure to know if your recipe is what you hope it will be. I found patience by purchasing a couple of 4" molds that allowed me to make two test batches at a time. And I bought a lot of 1 oz FOs. LOL

 

[HoppyCosmetics]

I really want to try Cranberry Butter

The thing i really want to try is a beer soap without using bottled beer. What i mean is...
i either want to add dried malt extract to the lye water, and hops essential oil at trace or add a teaspoon or two of liquid malt extract instead of honey. Im unsure if that will work, and im unsure of how much to use, even after coming up with no results on a google search. Im also having trouble finding faex (cosmetic yeast).

I have a big loaf mould, one 4" mould, and a few single bar moulds.

 

[TheGecko]

The thing i really want to try is a beer soap without using bottled beer. What i mean is...
i either want to add dried malt extract to the lye water, and hops essential oil at trace or add a teaspoon or two of liquid malt extract instead of honey. Im unsure if that will work, and im unsure of how much to use, even after coming up with no results on a google search. Im also having trouble finding faex (cosmetic yeast).

For the Dried Malt...I'd try 1 teaspoon per pound of oils. From what I just read about Hops EO, it has a very low usage rate.

One thing you need to consider in your experimentation...is where that soap is going to be used. I'm talking about your man bits or someone's lady bits...especially lady bits because of the delicate tissues.

And I think I mentioned it before or I will now if I haven't...a lot of the stuff that gets added to soap is just 'label' appeal. Adding beer or wine or bourbon or coffee...isn't going to make your soap smell like beer or wine or bourbon or coffee. If you want that smell, get a good FO that replicate that scent.

 

[Arimara]

Anything less than 5%, IMHO, is for label appeal.

For me, castor oil is the exception. I've noticed the difference in a no coconut bastile I made with and without castor oil used. I usually use 3% Castor oil anyway.

 

[HoppyCosmetics]

For the Dried Malt...I'd try 1 teaspoon per pound of oils. From what I just read about Hops EO, it has a very low usage rate.

Thanks. Yeah, hops EO is quite expensive at $30 per 10ml, and the usage rate for dermal use is 0.13% which is 1.3g, and that's ok as long as there's a drop of hops in all products, i can still live up to the name "hoppy cosmetics".

I make lip balm too, and that was its soul purpose. Ive researched alot about hops, as im a beer blogger, and into homebrewing. I understand about the delicate areas, and it can't be used in high quantities anyway, but the maximum for non-dermal use is 2%. Hops can apparently help PMS symptoms! I'll be using other essential oil in my soaps. One in particular that i liked is Rosewood because it basically has all the characteristics of how hops would be in a beer if you were to do a tasting, and that is sweet, spicy, woody, fruity, and floral. Im not really interested in my soaps actually smelling of real beer, and i dont really want to use fragrance oils.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Out of curiosity, is this your recipe or is it just the same name Zany?

It's my recipe. So far, 75 members have tried it with positive results since I first posted it almost 3 years ago (December, 2018). The lady who made that video is not a SMF member... just one of the 500 or so "guests" that visit the forum daily. Kinda fun for me to see how it's reached the "outside" soapmaking community.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

RE: Posts # 12, 13 & 15: Fascinating!

FYI: It's best to start a new thread "Beer CP & Hoppy Cosmetics" (or something similar) so others can benefit and also weigh in. If the discussion continues here, it will be buried under the subject title: "Carrier Oils in Soap".

 

[earlene]

Regarding how you know which changes made the difference you are seeking by making these changes, is to only make one change at a time. In other words, don't sub 5 oils for one oil because you won't know which one(s) made the real difference. Sub one oil at a time. It takes time, of course, but if you really want to know if a particular oil gives you the result you want, you have to test with that oil as your focus. Then later you can add another oil to the mix.

As for oils making a soap more beneficial to the skin, I look at it this way: Is this soap too drying to my skin; does it make my skin feel really dry (stripped of natural oils that maintain my skin's moisture) and do I have to use a moisturizer after using this soap? If that is the case, then a beneficial soap would not be so drying. How do I obtain that? I use lower percentages of oils that contribute to a high cleansing number.

I may also use oils that, in my experience, produce a more luxurious feel. That may vary for different people, of course as we really do have different skin.